More ISRAEL October, 2012

More ISRAEL October, 2012

Gaza Strip. Pastor Pochtara and Vika took us as close as possible to Gaza. You can see it in the distance. You can see tall buildings which are on the Mediterranian beach. No man’s land is a couple kilometers wide. There are Israeli towns behind us which receive missiles constantly. Our prayers are needed in this area of the world to support Israel.

Pastor Israel drove us on past Gaza and we had lunch on the beach.

Pastor Vladimir is dedicating a child just two days old. It shocked us because Ukraine custom is normally that children don’t go around people for six months or a year. It was so unusual, we just had to take a picture to prove it.

They took us to lunch and we found the best restaurant in all of Israel. It was buffet style and every dish was super tasty. You can see its Arabic style. We will look for this restaurant again.

This is the man’s side of the Wailing Wall. Can you find Rick? He is in the yellow shirt. He was busy praying and did not notice that he was a bit out of style.

We always visit our friends in a Catholic Convent on the Via Dolorosa called ECCE HOMO. We met a new sister who spoke English, loved Jesus with her whole heart and wanted to talk to us about prayer and what God is doing. She was so loving. She is the one in a white top and is hugging our interpreter Katya on the upper porch where you can see the dome. We have stayed here several times. We appreciate their atmosphere.

The 24/7 Prayer House of Tom Hess was a wonderful time of fellowship and meeting new friends. They have been constantly praying for 25 years. This particular afternoon, Tom was speaking to people from at least 8 different nations. You can see Chinese people around Rick. About 50 people were crammed into the upper room.

Katy Hess met us for lunch the next day on our way to the airport, returning to Kiev. She is an exciting, creative and organized young lady, full of great ideas from the Lord. She is marked by the Holy Spirit for Kingdom use.

This is my favourite place on the Wall. Of course, it’s on the women’s side. It’s a great place to pray if you can find room.

As we were in Israel, our hearts especially felt compassion for the young people. Boys and girls both have to go into the Israeli Army. It is a place of strict dicipline and a trial by fire to live like they have been taught. Pray that they live what they believe! We love them and want to see them past this test. Thanks for your prayers.

We just got a news note from our pastor friend in Israel that 70 missiles have been sent into the towns around the Gaza…..they like mornings when kids are on their way to school. Hundreds of thousands are in shelters every time the alarm sounds and many have been severely injured. Of course, we don’t hear this in our newspapers or TV….this is from pastors who live close and see them in the air. Israel get severely criticized by the world when they retaliate so they hesitate to do so. Please pray for them.

Thank you for partnering with us in our call in this area of the world! We bless you and we love you!
Rick and Bette Strombeck