A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 8

Well, it was quite the day!!

We managed to pack up and depart Elisheva’s lovely home somewhere around 11AM. We headed for the Jordan River Baptismal site–in Jordan, no less. Pastor Neriyah hooked up a system to both our vehicles so he could give us direction as needed, and also give us a kind of driving tour as we headed out to the Jordan. We had a good time at the baptismal site. It was interesting since we were on one side and Jordan proper was on the other. There was a young Brazilian woman who conversed with Khalida. Shared that she was getting married to a Jordanian man. She was excited. Several of us dipped our feet in the Jordan and swished them around. We couldn’t wade out too far because there was a soldier on the other side who would shoot anyone who went past the boundary line in the river. Seriously! And then we went shopping. Everyone got some little or larger presents.

We started to head out to the Dead Sea nearby, but Pastor Neriyah realized his vehicle had lost the power to go in reverse. It is a manual stick shift. But he managed to lead us on to a gas station/restaurant across from the Dead Sea–which we were hoping to see. We had a good lunch and then engaged the vendors there. There were also 3 camels for people to ride if they wanted.

We decided since Pastor Neriyah’s vehicle seemed like it was losing gears fairly quickly, that we would follow him back to his house for his other car, but that never materialized since his car gave up the ghost on the highway. Fortunately, we were able to pull off onto the shoulder–all three of us–as he assessed the situation. At that point, we realized we would have to proceed to Haifa on our own, which we did.

Miraculously the GPS in the car Eric was driving (which I was also in) never stopped working, while the GPS in Robert’s car quit pretty quickly. We were able to follow the directions all the way into Haifa–to where we were staying, and arrived just as it was becoming dark.  It was truly a miracle!! We met Michael, kind of the caretaker of the place, and we brought our bags up in the elevator to where our rooms were. Soon after we did all that–the elevator quit for the night entirely. They say it will be fixed in the morning. Hoping that will be the case, since the roses will be here in the morning.

There’s a Russian grocery nearby with lots of food, so we are pretty well stocked for a couple days or so. Thanking God for all He has provided, and for getting us here safely. Trusting Him for what only He can do.

Believe me when I say that on behalf of the team, we are tremendously grateful for all your prayers!!!

Shalom

Sally

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Sally’s reference to a working GPS being a miracle may sound overblown. But the IDF has scramble most GPS signals in the area in order to make it harder to track vehicles and people who might otherwise be attacked by Israel’s enemies. So the fact their GPS escaped scrambling and helped lead them to their destination was, indeed a great blessing. As most of you know, Haifa is a hotbed for terror attack by incoming rockets right now. But the team feels called to be there. Sally is certain God has led ATOR there for “such a time as this.” So all we can do is enhance ur efforts at prayer and keep the visiting team covered at all costs.

We expect to have a much fuller report for Day 9 activities and thank you for being here with us on the journey. Until tomorrow then . . .  –Michael O’Connor

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