Hey friends, I may be physically back in Phoenix AZ, but a part of me always stays in Israel. As I contemplate all we experienced as I led back-to-back tours over the past month, I am reminded, not of the grandeur of the sites, though they were. But rather, my mind is drawn continually to the experiences we shared.

The people we met and the projects we were blessed to be part of will linger in our memories long after the sites fade into the background of our minds. It’s true that the Bible comes alive when we see the sites, but the love of Jesus jumps right off the pages of Scripture when we engage the people and the culture.

A return from Israel is always followed by the arduous task of cleaning up email accumulated while away. One of the first things I noticed was a testimony video from Pastor Saleem Shalash, the Arab Christian pastor we partnered with to package Christmas gifts for the children of Nazareth. Pastor Saleem is filled with a heart of love and here is an example:

For Pastor Saleem, neither skin color, race, nor religion matter. What matters is the love of Yeshua! What joy in heaven when this Arab pastor responds to the request of the mayor of a nearby village to comfort a Russian Jew!

These are the things that matter…and these are the things we experienced in Israel. May we bring the message home to our own countries.