Day 2 in Israel

Well, day 2 has come and gone. The days are truly so rich, we wish we had bigger brains to hold it all in. Just an example of the morning devotions: There was a rabbi in the desert ready to climb a mountain. On the way up, he found a scorpion. The scorpion said, "pick me up and take me to the top." The rabbi said, "no way, you'll sting me and I'll die." Oh no, I won't, said the scorpion, If I'd sting you, how would I get to the top." I promise I won't. So he picked up the scorpion, put him on his shoulder and carried him up. When they were almost to the top, the scorpion reared back & stung him in the neck. As the rabbi was dying, he asked, "Why did you do that?" You promised not to. The scorpion's answer? YOU KNEW WHO I WAS WHEN YOU PICKED ME UP! Wow! We went to the desert today; the first thing we saw was a herd of sheep and goats cross the road in front of us. Ray says that is almost unheard of this time of year here. So he changed his plans, we stopped and had a Psalm 23 time. It was incredible terrain for sheep to be on -steep and rocky and rough. We found tiny tufts of brown grass that the sheep eat. These are the green pastures!! And there's only enough for 1 day. They completely & totally trust the voice of the shepherd. And the shepherd, believe it or not, are usually girls. Today there 2 girls and a little boy. Ray said when there's only 1 shepherd, and they die, the entire herd had to be slaughtered, because the sheep would not follow another voice. So they often have younger ones along to get them used to several. It was just incredible. We also a desert experience today. Literally. We walked and climbed through a wadi (canyon) for about 5 hrs. It was 115 deg. and it was brutal. This was very likely the same wadi that Abraham and Lot walked through. And perhaps the children of Israel. From thinking the children of Israel were whiners and complainers, we were rather sympathetic and were surprised they never grumbled about the heat. And where did they sleep? It is completely rocky. And there is no source of water or food for miles. The desert is where we trust Him (our shepherd) with our life. We sat for sessions in there and it was so beautiful to have people open up & share the deserts they're in or have been in. We wept together and prayed together.
One more thing in the desert was a small broom tree. It is the only shade in there. A verse in Psalms says The Lord is the shade at my right hand. He's never further than what we can reach. And we need to be shade for each other. So we concluded that the desert times are also the most beautiful times. There's so much more, but it has been a full rich day.