The crossroads of life

Quotes of the day:

"Are we gonna see the Eiffel Tower from the airplane?" —Kayla

"I'm really excited to have less butts touching my shoulder when we get off the plane" —Mr. Bell (he had the aisle seat right by the bathroom)

"Hold your camels" —Ronen ( our guide)

Day one was amazing! After not sleeping much on the plane rides, we were all a bit sluggish! However, once we arrived we hit the ground running. First, we headed to Tel Gezer. Tel Gezer was a key city in the ancient world due to its strategic location for water, agriculture, trade, and defensibility. We also saw the city gates that Solomon rebuilt. At the city gate, judges would sit and settle disputes fairly. We were reminded that the city was a place of justice. We are to be city gates in our world and judge fairly. God has placed his people in the crossroads of life, just like Tel Gezer. Just like Gezer, we are to be cities on a hill and shine bright for Jesus. Deuteronomy 16:18-20. Next at Gezer we saw large stones. These stones were used by the Israelites as a memorial/reminder of the wonderful works God had done for them. Joshua 4:4-8. We were challenged to think of how we can remind ourselves of the amazing works God's done in our own lives.

From Gezer we ate lunch, went to Beth Shemesh, went into a cistern, crawled in the cave were David cut off apart of Saul's cloak (Adullam) , Azekah ( the place of the David and Goliath story), and eventually ended up at our hotel. It's been a great start to our trip and we have all learned so much!

Prayer Requests:
-health and safety for the team
-for the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and soak it all in