It is good to be on Israeli soil again! I’m 100% American and proud of my country, but a part of my heart lives in Israel, so it is good to be reunited! Arriving in Israel is one of the greatest thrills in life for me and it never gets old!

Thankfully, we had several tour guests who made their way to Israel early, and several more who joined us from other countries, thus missing the airline chaos in America. Unfortunately, almost everyone else who flew out of US airports on Saturday had delays and/or reroutes. However, we’ve got a resilient group! Everyone hung in there and we’ve got our entire group with us with the exception of one person who went dark on us prior to leaving for the tour! That’s a miracle! We are so grateful for your prayers!

As mentioned before, I’m a travel nerd who likes to check in on the status of flights. It was time to get excited when Israel was not only in view, but only minutes away! I arrived on a flight with two of our Israel-loving tour guests, so we stopped for a quick “Welcome to Israel” photo!

Those who arrived before us were scattered, enjoying a gorgeous 85-degree day on the beaches and streets of Netanya. So, I took a walk on the beach! It is so refreshing to see families out enjoying sun, sand and wind surfing (an Israeli “thing!”) The beach was filled with healthy-looking, sun-tanned bodies, lots of families with children, couples walking hand-in-hand, and no alcohol to be seen! Compared to America, there are very few overweight people, so it was just a pleasure seeing good, wholesome, fit people enjoying God’s beauty. (BTW – no membership fees at the gym below, and it’s totally fine to workout barefooted in the sand!)

Our home for the next two days is situated on the cliff above the Mediterranean Sea. Check out the view from my balcony!

The “mood” in Israel is so much lighter than when my small group was here in February. That was during the season of hostage releases and Hamas’ reneging on agreements. There was a heaviness over the entire country that I just can’t describe. It is much different now. There is a sense of relief and great joy following the release of all the live hostages recently. Furthermore, IDF hero Hadar Goldin who was killed and taken into Gaza during the 2014 skirmish was returned today, 4,118 days after being taken into Gaza.

We enjoyed our first meal together and then orientation. We talked about God’s faithfulness to Israel being the guarantee for God’s faithfulness to us. Indeed, God’s faithfulness in sustaining Israel in recent times, as well as in the past, is evident here. Furthermore, God’s faithfulness to us in making a way to get all our tour guests here is also meaningful evidence of His character. It was an emotional evening as many shared deep heart desires and expectations of their time in Israel. The next 10 days are going to be absolutely incredible! Join us on the journey!

Tomorrow, we start with a service project, preparing food boxes for a Messianic retirement community! But tonight, we’ve got some tired campers, so we sent them off to bed.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed a brilliant sunset over the Mediterranean Sea this afternoon and will be sleeping with windows open, listing to the sound of waves coming ashore! What could be better than that!

Stay tuned!

PS: If you are following a loved one on our tour, WELCOME! Let them know you what a “hello from Israel” video posted! We’ll create the video and post it for you!