It started out as joining a team for a 5-week-long tent mission ministering in 4 different cities throughout Israel, a trip planned by Global River Church in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Chris was committed for the entire 5 weeks, and Kati and the girls would join in for the last 2 weeks, culminating on the Mount of Olives during the Feast of Tabernacles & coinciding with the last blood moon of the tetrad. So, we bought 4 tickets to Israel. Then several weeks later, the mission trip was cancelled. With non-refundable tickets, we decided that Chris would change his ticket to match the girls’ dates & we would plan a family trip of a lifetime – and so, we did!
We received mixed reactions to our news of travel to this tumultuous land. Some people responded with excitement while others had a more ‘fearful’ reaction. “Why?” “Aren’t you worried about your children?”
We are not ignorant of the times we are in. We trust in the Lord – He is our shelter, our protector, our provider. We know the promises God has made to Israel. We are ecstatic to share this experience as a family – to walk where Jesus walked and to be immersed in rich history for two weeks – knowing that we will be forever changed. We are not afraid. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of peace, of love, and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Yes… we will be smart and careful. We do have a plan. We have a safety strategy. We have people praying. Most importantly, we have Jesus. And greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
So, in the words of Bob Marley, “don’t worry ’bout a thing… ’cause every little things’s gonna be alright.”
[… added in after our return]
Now it’s in the past. The Lord did many amazing things for us. We had no delays, no sickness, no injury, no loss, no theft or harm of any kind. We had people show up at the right time to help us when we needed it, and with surgical precision, we were in and out during times of strife and bad weather on both sides, and our way was clear, our path was straight, and we had the family trip of a lifetime. Thank you for your prayers!