Travelling from Jerusalem to Cairo

By: Gloria Gault Geary
I have a new appreciation for Moses. For nearly 12 hours we rode through desert. If it wasn’t flat and sand, it was mountainous and rock and sand. All day I kept thinking, “What was he thinking wondering out in this?” He must have been a desperate man to leave the Pharaoh’s palace and to wonder in the desert. No place to stop for water and food. It was hard enough for us to find a place to stop; we literally went hours without seeing anything but wilderness.
It reminds me that sometimes God takes us through desperate times to prepare us for His perfect will for us. What if Moses had not braved the desert? What if he had chosen to stay with the easy life of being the Pharaoh’s son? It was only because he ventured out that he was able to see the burning bush and experience the deep relationship he had with the Lord.

Top Security
The security today was more than I have ever seen. We went through two check points coming out of Israel, then two check points going into Egypt. From there we walked through two gates where they checked our passports again. Then we loaded the bus. The bus was then inspected (it was from Egypt) and we drove through two more stops where we had to show our passports again. At the last stop two security guards got on the bus with us, complete with guns. It was at this point that I thought maybe I should have prayed more about the decision to take the bus instead of fly.
For the next 7 hours we went through probably ten more police stops…. I lost count there were so many.
We arrived past midnight (two hours late) in Cairo, but gratefully our hostel had sent someone to pick us up. Cairo was very much awake and active at this hour of the night….shops still open. We were happy to see our Cairo home and get some rest.
Reid has a fever. Please pray for health for all of us.

Reid's fever finally broke after hours of nightmares and restlessness. God is good!

Jerusalem ~ Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Church of the Holy Sepulcher….

this stone is said to have been where Jesus’ body was laid after He was crucified.

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Click here to read about this on Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre

Damascus Gate in Old City Jerusalem

Taking a strawberry break near Damascus Gate in Old City Jerusalem

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Click here to read about the Old City on Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_City_(Jerusalem)

and lots of other cool stuff!

The Western Wall in Old City, Jerusalem

Visiting the Western Wall…men must go in one area and women in the other

Jerusalem!

Harrison haggles with street vendors and purchases his very own guitar!

details to follow...

2 Chronicles 20:28

So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD.

Worshipping with Palestinian Christians

Jerusalem, Israel
Jaffa Gate Hostel
Worshipping with Palestinian Christians
The last 24 hours have been one of angst for me. I have been praying about going to Jericho. To go, one must hire an Arab taxi driver who can get you through the border. I have felt led to visit the ministry in Jericho…where they minister to new Muslim Christians.
After much prayer yesterday, the Lord answered me in several very dramatic ways. On Monday we had eaten at a restaurant where one of the boys gave our waiter our website bracelet and the salvation bracelet, sharing the Gospel with him. On Tuesday, we returned to the same restaurant and our waiter invited us to a worship service on Wednesday night. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to worship with local believers and assured him we would be there.
Wednesday night we attended the worship service to discover it was a group of Palestinian Christians. My heart was full to be able to worship with these believers in the Holy Land.
The worship songs were sung in Arabic with English and Hebrew words posted. The sermon was preached in English and translated to Arabic. Please visit their website: http://www.upperooministries.com/
At the end of the service I asked if there was someone who could drive us and of course there was. So tomorrow, our brother in Christ, Johnny will pick us up and drive us to Jericho to visit the Jesus House of Prayer.
Please pray for this ministry which is located right outside the Damascus Gate of the Old City.
24/7 Prayer room
We also had a chance to visit one of the five prayer rooms located in Jerusalem. After entering I turned to see a fellow IHOP Intro Class member from Switzerland. Elizabeth had come to Israel to be a part of “The Call Jerusalem”. How wonderful to see a familiar face so far away from home.
On our way out, we walked by Mike Bickle and Misty Edwards. They didn’t recognize us! Oh well, maybe next time. Thanks Mike and Misty for your tireless devotion to the Lord.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

The Call Jerusalem

The Call

After getting settled into the Jaffa Gate Hostel, we immediately took off for The Call located at the International Conference Center. We were able to get in and what a treat to worship with believers from all over the world. The Call was focused on prayer for Israel. Israel celebrates 60 years as a nation this year and plays an important role in the second coming of Christ (read the book of Revelation).

I didn’t realize how empty I was spiritually until I got there.

It was like we have given and given these last couple of months (and please know we have also received enormously from others) and my spiritual tank was empty.

I felt like the Lord just filled me up again while we worshipped.

This day was also the Global Day of Prayer so there were large screens of prayer meetings from all of the world being shown as we worshipped.

What a great experience to have our first day in the Holy Land!

Please pray for peace in the Holy Land.

Pray for a coming together of all Arabs and Jews.

The Call Washington, DC will be Saturday, August 16th, 2008.
This will be a day of prayer and fasting for America.
Please pray about being a part of this.
http://www.thecall.com/

Asem at the Jaffa Gate Hostel

Asem and Noir are the owners of the Jaffa Gate Hostel. We shared with them about Christ and prayed for Asem. They have kind hearts.