Sally will be ministering in concert today.
Come and worship the Lord!
Tree of Life meets at:
St. Peter’s United Methodist
20775 Kingsland Blvd.
Katy, TX
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Final Update
Dear Friends Of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour Of Roses,
To say our recent journey into Israel was a wild ride would be giving Mr. Toad of Disneyland fame unjust equivalency, the ride being rather tame by comparison. The Team might have chosen a slightly less exciting landscape, given their druthers, than the rockets-red-glare and bombs-bursting-in-air backdrop to the business of sharing a single long-stemmed rose. But when God calls, I suppose the best thing to do is look past world events and gaze into the grateful eyes of the people as they receive the gift of God’s extravagant love for His Chosen.
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 15 (Extra Innings)
I
The final Rose of 5,000 long-stemmed beauties handed out by ATOR in Israel , 2024
Dear Friends Of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour Of Roses,
Thought you’d finally heard the last of me? Not hardly. Not so long as there is breath in my lungs, electricity surging through my computer and, most importantly, there are ATOR TEAM Members stranded in Israel. Like the US Marines–“We Will Leave No Rose Person Behind!”
Having missed yesterday’s update–because there was simply nothing fresh to report–there is now new information about flights leaving the Middle East. And there are even new testimonies from the gang you won’t want to miss. First, let’s catch up.
A Tour Of Roses, Israel, Day 13
Dear Friends Of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour Of Roses,
You can see by their casual attire the Team did not attend the Young Missionaries Haifa Cotillion last night. Instead, they spent their final evening in Northern Israel holed up in a bomb shelter. While it was certainly no Studio 54 (for those of you under 100, Google it!) our heroes made the best of an uncomfortable situation. And it certainly made for the best ATOR team photo EVER!
We asked each Team member to share their thoughts and feeling in their final testimony. What was most special to you? What memory will you bring back home that will live on in your heart? Their candid reflections follow.
NOTE: Please don’t leave before reading the important message below in the Itinerary section.
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 12
Dear Friends Of Improbable People Ministries And A Tour Of Roses,
If you are looking for mystery, intrigue and a wondered sense of the unknown . . . answer these four questions for me:
● How does a woman take 10 large durable plastic flower buckets, magically turn them into a bunch of beautiful flowers, then make those white flowers disappear right before your very eyes for a Shabbat service?
● How does a casual trip to the mall turn into a 3-hour prayer session with a Nutella sandwich thrown in for good measure?
● How do 10 Americans make 900 roses disappear in just 40 minutes? And are they willing to share their secret with Penn & Teller?
● How can a conversation that takes place in Israel fail to be understood in English? Fail to be understood in Hebrew? But is ultimately successful in Spanish?
What can I say? It was a day for sleight of hand and slight of, uhhh–tongue. Mmmmmm . . . NU-TEL-LA! We know you can’t wait to see the connections in all this. So take it away TEAM Rose!
[Read more…]
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 11
Dear Friends Of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour Of Roses,
While there were no reports from Sally of heading for bomb shelters today, we are ever-vigilant toward the serious moment in history the good people of Haifa and our Team are facing at the moment. We ask you to continue to pray for their safety as well as a peaceful, fair resolution to the conflict. The Team continues to experience gratitude, gratitude, gratitude for the love we are showing Israel through the simple act of handing out a free rose as a gesture of the extravagant love God has for His Chosen. The testimonies continue to amaze. So let’s get right to them.
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 10
This soldier is packing heat. But so are our ladies.
Dear Friends of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour Of Roses,
We have reached double digits in days and possibly triple digits in temperature. Yet, when you read the stories below you’ll see there is nothing but joy being spread in Haifa these days. At least when it comes to our crack team of Rose-ologists. (It’s a word–trust me! I’m going to spring it on Sally in a game of Scrabble when she least expects it.)
But before we share those tales we’re going to break tradition and let you all know about some specific prayer requests needed for Team Members. They are not a complaining lot, but sometimes the journey can wear one down. So please take a moment to read and lift our street warriors and their issues individually up in prayer. We thank you for your ever-faithful covering of the Team.
ERIC is down with a sore throat and some congestion
LURA‘s ankle is swollen.
DAVE has a heat rash in and around–these are his words–“Area 51”.
SUNNY asks for strength and safety.
KHAHLIDA has severe trauma triggers that are causing her to lose sleep.
KAREN has an issue with her knee. She requests prayer for better sleep and energy.
SALLY: “God gave me what I needed this morning. My voice is certainly not great. Tired.”
Please pray also for unity for the group. Mission trips can be true testing grounds for love and patience.
Sally administered communion today and asked the team to search their hearts and make right with
anyone on the team they were having trouble with.
Finally, keep praying for the flights for Air France to reopen on Saturday so everyone can begin the journey home safely and on schedule. THANK YOU.
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 9
Dear Friends Of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour Of Roses,
Given the circumstances and heightened tension of their surroundings, the Team’s first day in Haifa was relatively peaceful. The sirens only blared once to send our men and women to the local bomb shelter. Just another day in Paradise, I guess. Meantime, A Tour Of Roses hit the streets of Haifa with thrilling and heartwarming results. So let’s hear from them directly.
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 8
Dear Friends of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour of Roses,
The team left Tel Aviv Saturday morning and headed North to Haifa. As they spent the day traveling in the heat it seemed only fair to give them a rest from sharing for the day and also taking pictures. So today’s update will be short. Sally volunteered to give a glimpse of Saturday with the team and the journey into the eye of the metaphorical storm. So take it away, Fearless Leader!
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 7
Dear Friends Of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour Of Roses,
We’ve been experiencing more of our share of technical glitches in getting this Update out to you since the Team’s arrival last week. First it was Microsoft Word that resisted my charms and wouldn’t allow me access, even after trying “Pretty please” and “Open sesame!” A couple days later the entire IPM web site crashed and we needed tech support to save the day. Last night the crash occurred again, and we discovered that there were 30,000 individual attacks on our site that day with the intention of taking us down like Hulk Hogan with a roundabout haymaker. Order was restored, but I began to think that somebody out there doesn’t like us. It’s almost as if some unseen malevolent force in the universe would stop at nothing to keep you, our gentle pray warriors, from reading the Updates and springing into action. (pause) NAH!
So what is the latest tech-setback du jour?
[Read more…]
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 6
Dear Friends Of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour Of Roses,
Who is that singing on the outdoor baby Grand? Who just plopped down on the stool in the middle of Hostage Square in Tel Aviv and started belting out a worship set without fear of condemnation or reprisal? Why, it’s our very own Fearless Leader–Sally Klein O’Connor, that’s who! You thought maybe it was Sophie Tucker? Oy! How this happened will become apparent in just a few minutes. Meantime, back at the ranch, we have some long and meaty testimonies today. So let’s get right to them:
TESTIMONIES
LURA:
I just want to give you a little praise report about our day yesterday. It really was a glorious day. We had some misgivings about things and some wonderings about things when we first started out because we went to Holocaust Square yesterday and our first outreach was there.
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 5
Dear Friends of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour of Roses,
As we are still playing catch up with previous days activities of the Team, let’s not waste any time. Here are some testimonies of A Tour Of Rose on the streets of Tel Aviv on Wednesday. What can I say? Get your hankies and Kleenex ready. These are some very moving stories coming your way.
TESTIMONIES
ANNIE:
Praises are that there have already been so many Divine connections. Muslim and Israeli taxi cab drivers were calling us over to get roses. Some would give it to the woman in the back, others alone. The question, why are you doing this would come, and I could tell them that God loves them, that we in America are praying for them.
So many just couldn’t stop thanking us! The love God is evident and touches so many as we give out roses. There is so much more to report but it’s been constant running.
My biggest prayer is for enough sleep, and that the enemy will stop throwing up blockades.
Like today. I got locked in the bathroom. The first night we were locked out of our bedroom, and we also got stuck in an elevator. The enemy doesn’t like what we’re about, but the people receiving flowers are so touched! Today one lady wanted a picture of me holding the roses, she was amazed that we came from America to do this! So please do pray for more Divine encounters. Also, we cleaned and prepared these roses yesterday. So much more to come.
A Tour Of Roses, Day 4
Dear Friends of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour Of Roses,
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:
WE MAKE PLANS . . . AND GOD LAUGHS!
So yes, this is the A Tour Of Roses Update, Day 4. You’re in the right place. And I hate to make this all about me—Michael O’Connor, husband of Sally Klein O’Connor, born July 15, 1955 in Sacramento, CA to Charles and Dorothy O’Connor—as I said I hate to make this all about me despite being a devilishly handsome senior citizen who loves baseball, classic TV, a good book and great humor by favorite authors, a truly great hamburger and fried seafood of almost any variety; I truly hate to make this all about me . . . but a funny thing happened on the way to writing and compiling the Day 4 update.
Microsoft Word happened.
Or, more precisely, didn’t happen!
I received the daily Team Testimonies Robert Emmert sends me with all the stories of the day’s events and intimate encounters with the Israeli people. He sends them to me in Microsoft Word because it is the most compatible software between his phone app and my computer. Then I gathered the few photos I received from various team members to help bring these scenes to life for you, our dedicated readers. I clicked on the first Word file which held Dave Panther’s adventures for the day. The file opened as it always does. But it contained a yellow banner across the top and the banner informed me that I would either need to purchase the software I was opening or to please sign in with my already-purchased license.
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 3
Dear Friends of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour of Roses,
The fellow above, presumably an Israeli citizen, looks a bit dazed as he studies the beautiful, long-stemmed rose which was handed to him just moments before by a member of the A Tour Of Roses Team. “Why would someone come all the way from America, a Christian no less, just to share this beautiful gift with a complete stranger?” He may be pondering this thought for several days, for there is no clear answer to that absurd question. Except maybe this:
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD . . .
With that idea in mind our Team loaded up the vehicles and left Jerusalem today, headed back to Tel Aviv, Having cleaned, removed withered petals, stripped of thorns, tied ribbons and a card on each long stemmed rose, they headed out
[Read more…]
A Tour Of Roses Israel, Day 2
The Team found this dove peacefully nesting inside the Western Wall
Dear Friends of Improbable People Ministries and A Tour Of Roses,
Sunday brought a bag of mixed blessings for our A Tour Of Roses Team. A clothing bag was lost by the airline. The night before, several of the women were locked out of their rooms for the night. Without a desk clerk available they were forced to share a room with other women of the team. There were too many women and too few beds. Sound sleep was hard to come by. The next day brought the greatest concern. The rental car’s electronic key Fob went missing a was nowhere to be found. How would the team make their travel plans? On the other hand, reports are the Sunday morning worships session was lovely and healing. A dove appeared at the window as Dave sang and played on guitar with wife, Yara, accompanying him. Later the team took the 20 minute walk to the famed Holy place of Jerusalen: The Western Wall.
They saw natives and tourists. The saw IDF soldiers. One was even praying at the wall herself. Many were crying tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears of uncertainty. Their prayers were fervent and their hearts were focussed. Some of those stories appear below. As I said, Sunday was a mixed bag. But what does Scripture remind us to do?
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
—James 1: 2-4
TEAM TESTIMONIES
KHALIDA:
After our Saturday evening service at Succat Hallel, I approached a young lady who was writing in her journal. And the Lord was giving her the writing about the “one new man”—about the love in the Arabs and the Jews. And the Lord gave me the same Word as He gave to her. I found that that she just came from South Africa three days earlier to serve in Israel and so-called “halal.” And the Word that the Lord gave me matched exactly the same word that she was writing in her journal! There was so much love, hugging, and tears between us. Many tears. And we talked about the Tour Of Roses.
When I was at the Western Wall praying today, the Lord put it on my heart to pray for the hostages. And I started weeping, and it was coming from the depth of me—because I felt the Holy Spirit weeping through me. And I notice a young lady on my right and she was also weeping. I couldn’t talk to her because I was just weeping so hard. All I could do was show her my hostage necklace that I have been wearing since October 7th. And I showed her I am praying for the hostages. She started crying harder and I started crying more also, and we couldn’t talk for 20 minutes because we were crying so hard together. Then we hugged each other and wept on each others’ shoulders. After awhile we were able to exchange words. I found out she is a Canadian who is taking a year to live in Israel, and to pray for the Jewish and Arab people in Israel. As we exchanged about our prayer time, I found out that during the time we were both crying early on, she had been told by the Holy Spirit to intercede for the hostages. And, as I showed her my necklace she was really touched. So we were on the same wavelength through the Holy Spirit.
