Hi Everyone!

We are here in Eilat. It has changed so much, wow. It feels like we have gone into a time warp. There are a lot of people here – I mean a lot of people. Tom is out diving right now and I just finished unpacking for our week here. It is hot, yesterday at 5:00 pm it was 110° (in the parked car it was 126 °) not sure yet what it is today. I love it, it feels good don’t quite think that Tom agrees.

It has changed so much that we are wondering if the place we lived at in 1979 is still in the same spot or even the same building because of all the remodeling that has happened. We are so happy the Lord opened this opportunity for us to come here again.

What a long but fun trip down. It was longer then we expected plus we stopped along the way. We ate at the lowest McDonalds in the world (396 meters below sea level) at the Dead Sea (the lowest place on earth) and I put my feet in the water, wow, was it warm.

We had a great time in the Galilee, seeing Yudah and Yona was such a blessing. The ranch has changed a lot. Mom & Dad Yudah and Yona send their greetings. When things change for the better that means things are being blessed.

Haifa was bitter-sweet the hostel had been abandon for many year and they have started cleaning it up and making changes.

Have we mentioned all the children around here? Getting on the plane in Atlanta there were so many children. Almost every young couple had a baby or at least three if not more kids. The kids where well behaved and it was delightful being around so many. Then here in the land too, kids and babies are everywhere. Coming from the northwest where it seems there aren’t as many children it is stark in contrast.

The water is so blue! Sure am glad for that. There are a few pleasure boats and a few tour boats. The strangest things to see are the commercial ship docks and all the foreign cars coming into the land.

Many signs along the way down saying beware of water on the bridge, which were dips in the road with a dept meter in the middle of it. We only crossed over one bridge.

Well good-bye for now I am going to drive around the city for a while.

Shalom and Love, Cindy

Internet Posts

Sheesh... internet access is 16 shekels for 30 minutes... about $4.

Yes, I'm a cheapskate! :-)

If you don't see us online often you'll know why!

Love you all,

Tom & Cindy

Images of Vered Hagalil, Rose of Galilee

This picture is sunrise over the sea of Galilee our first morning there, just outside our cabin.

These pictures are from the far end of the ranch, overlooking the Sea of Galilee

Yudah & Cindy

He Was Ready

One of the things that Cindy and I wanted to do while in the Galilee was to visit the grave of a man of God. There are lots of famous and infamous folks buried in this land, but this one is unique. Unlike most of the tombs here, this one was pretty recent… and he was a friend.

Ray Cornwell went to be with Jesus March 25th, 1996. His name is “of blessed memory” for Cindy and I. I know that I will miss many details in the short thoughts that I share, and I will go ahead and acknowledge that up front, but it is still a story worth sharing, even if short a detail or two!

Cindy committed her life to Christ at a Bible Study in Ray and Virginia Cornwell’s home in 1971, Ray and Virginia were working at Miracle Ranch, sharing their two loves, horses and young people, along with their main passion, the Lord Jesus Christ. What a fateful, blessed day that would be, and how one encounter influenced the direction of so many lives in years to come.

Making a long story short, Ray and Virginia’s daughter Mary went to Israel to work at a “dude ranch” in the Galilee called Vered Hagalil, or Rose of Galilee. Cindy followed not too long after. At about the same time Ray and Virginia heard Jesus’ call to move to Israel and love her people, and at the time of life when most people were taking it easy in retirement they sold everything they had and left kids and grandkids and moved to Israel. Not a few folks thought they were nuts, including no doubt, a couple of their kids!

Tagging along with them on their initial trip was a young man named Tom, who was headed to Israel after a young woman named Cindy!

Cindy and I returned a short time after that initial trip and were married, coming back to Israel about two years later having finished college and bringing with us a 7 month old Jesse. Ray and Virginia were a constant presence and encouragement to us.

In the meantime Ray and Virginia lived and worked at Vered Hagalil for almost 20 years, and quietly became elders and sweet influencers of the Body of Messiah in the land, and tireless lights of His love to all they came in contact with. Ray was a strong, gentle man, with strong, Biblical notions (that he loved to share!) and a gentle, loving heart that embodied “the truth spoken in love”. After Ray’s passing Virginia returned to the Puyallup area where she is living out her years enjoying her kids and grandkids until she joins her husband in his reward.

We miss you Ray, and we honor your memory. May we all live for Jesus with the passion and servant’s heart that you demonstrated.

Jet Bing

I’m writing this at about 5 AM. I could have been writing it at 3 AM, I just chose not to. I’m not really a night owl; I’ve just got “Jet Bing”. For the last couple of days and no doubt for the next couple of days, I will be waking up around 3 AM every morning. If I’m lucky, I’ll lie back down and get a bit more sleep. It is tempting to get up, but if I do I know I’ll pay for it later in the day.

My body clock is telling me it’s day time, and it is a pretty powerful clock! Even though Cindy and I slept a good chunk of the time of the last flight here, and then went to bed tired at about 10 PM the night we arrived, it still wasn’t enough to “flip” the old clock. We had hoped it would be, but…

So I’ve got “Jet Bing”. Most people call it Jet Lag, but I’m officially renaming it.

At least until about 2 this afternoon when everything starts slowing WAY… DOWN… and my eyelids start getting VERY… HEAVY… Then I’ll call it “Jet Lag” again!

We're Here!

Just a quick post to let everyone know we are here and well. Our hotel in Tiberias does not offer internet access so we have been unable to post or check email.

We arrived late on the 4th, staying in a cabin at Vered Hagalil. We were greeted warmly by Yehuda Avni, the owner of Vered Hagalil, and spent some time visiting with them in their living room that overlooks the Sea of Galilee.

Yesterday we drove around the sea of Galilee and spent some time walking around downtown Tiberias. Today we drove to Haifa, Israel's third largest city. It is a jewel of a place and holds many fond memories as we spent a year working at the Bethel Youth Hostel there. We'll post some pics later.

Love you All!

Tom and Cindy

Isn't She Lovely? :-)

I love these pictures taken at Vered Hagalil in Israel in 1977! (And because I have to, I'm including one or two of me as well.... :-)