Hi friends! My phone has blown up this morning from well-wishers asking me about the situation in Israel. As you may know, our October Israel tour is set to launch in about one week. Given the news of a surprise attack by Hamas, many have contacted me. So here is the status:

I have followed details very closely and, in fact, just got off a Zoom meeting with officials on the ground in Israel. Though taken by surprise, the IDF will soon have the upper hand. While it is true there has been kidnapping of Jewish citizens in settlements near the Gaza Strip, the activity is contained to that area. Our tour does not go anywhere near there.

Our tour doesn’t launch until Sunday, so it is still too early to make final decisions regarding our departure. However, assuming there are no escalations that present a danger, our tour is a go at the moment. If we need to make adjustments to the itinerary to make sure we are out of harm’s way, we will do so, but that doesn’t appear necessary at present.

Most certainly, we will monitor the situation and I will be in contact with Israeli officials. We will not take guests into a dangerous situation, but we will also not make snap decisions before assessing the risk.

Please pray for Israel. May the IDF be granted wisdom and strong leadership as they deal with the situation. Pray God’s protection, particularly for the people living near the Gaza Strip. Pray for wisdom as our leadership team assesses the situation and makes decisions and pray for our tour guests. We met via Zoom this morning and we are all looking forward to our time in Israel!

Thank you for your concern and please continue to pray.