Around this time of year, grape harvest commences in Israel, and like so many other fruits grown there, harvest is generally bountiful! If you doubt that God’s favor is upon Israel, consider Israeli produce!

Israel is known as the land of milk and honey, but fruits and vegetables grown in the land are absolutely amazing. Depending upon the variety of grapes, strands may grow as long as 3-4′ or may cluster in orbs as large as a basketball. It is perhaps a little-known fact that award-winning wines come out of Israel every single year.

Though I am not a wine drinker, I had an opportunity to visit an Israeli winery a few years ago and heard the story of how a Dutch wine-making family moved to Israel but found the land much too barren to grow healthy grapes. Yet, they poured their effort and energy into cultivating vineyards and they watched the Lord do miracles in developing their vineyard into one of the most prime vineyards in all of Europe and Asia. They now produce some of the world’s best wine and they export it around the world.

Yet another testimony of God’s hand of provision on Israel!

One of the fun things we do when we go to Israel is visit the open-air markets where fruits and vegetables fresh out of the fields are brilliantly displayed and sold. Lettuce the size of basketballs, overgrown carrots, peaches and apples the size of softballs, and more pomegranates and persimmons than you have ever laid eyes upon! Israel uses no chemicals, so the fruits and vegetables are brilliantly colorful and incredibly tasty!

You have not truly seen the “real” Israel until you have visited the market! You are immediately drawn to the plethora of varieties and are tempted by the vendors squeezing juice of all kinds right before your eyes, making it difficult to walk away without tasting a bit of heaven! (A mix of orange and pomegranate causes my tastebuds to dance!)

The markets are filled with all sorts of other yumminess as well….but that’s a story for another day! Visiting the markets is the perfect mix of tasting the good life and intermingling with the natives. It truly brings every-day Israel into focus as you realize it isn’t just tourists purchasing the wonderfully tasty treats, but the locals buying a day’s supply of mouth-watering goodness for their families as well.

Yes, we EXPERIENCE ISRAEL when we go there! Nothing like rubbing elbows with the locals while sampling the tastes of Israel! But I have to warn you: it will sour you on your next grocery store visit back in the States, knowing you will never get such top-quality fruits and veggies at home!

I would love for you to join us when we make our next journey to Israel in February 2024. The markets are a popular stop, but we will also fill your days with excitement and intrigue as we walk where Jesus walked, yet also experience Israel in unique ways. Visiting Holocaust survivors and IDF soldiers causes our own selfish introspection to fade away, and seeing Jews and Palestinians work happily side-by-side provides insight you will never glean from the nightly news!

It is truly a trip of a lifetime, and I hope you will consider joining us in February.