Day 3 Lesson 8 Wilderness

So its day three and we head south through the desert. We grab about 4 bottles of water and hike the deserts by the Sinai mountains. We climbed this hill for a wonderful lesson on the children of Israel as they left Egypt. We are in Timnah. This intense teaching was a highlight for me. Share your thoughts with us!

Day 2 Lesson 7 Wadi

After our wonderful shepherd story we visited our first Wadi. What lessons did we learn as we went down into the wadi? Whats the story about the tree in the picture. I remember we had a few stories in the wadi and also, RVL missed the highway out so we had to struggle in the cool desert with temperatures only around 115.

For the missing sheep

More pictures of the great weekend we had. We sure did miss the missing sheep. October of 2009 looks like the next big reunion when RVL is planning to preach to us for several days! It would be an awesome experience to have the full community in Ohio!

More reunion pictures

What an encouraging weekend to fellowship with the community. Thanks again to so many of you who shared financially with us. I've been overwhelmed by your generosity. You showed me a serious lesson in giving!! I was so busy with everything that by the time i was ready to relax and enjoy, it was over. I was blessed to see the fire in your hearts to know Jesus intimately. My cry is that we all develop such a passion for truth (TEXT) that we lay down ever idea and every opinion of self in exchange for a deeper revelation of the Jesus the Messiah. I was sharing Jesus several times today with people before I left for Erie Pa. As i drove up here i was so convicted of how many times i used the word I think. It makes no difference what I think, it's only what God says! I will take up this cross and follow him! Love you all!

Reunion Pic

What an encouraging 2 days we had here. We had several lessons and even did a hike. We were so busy with everything we hardly got any pictures. SORRY! Joe did the Herod story on Saturday morning followed by Amish made Pita bread sandwiches and unlike Israel, we had plenty of cheese and pickles!! Verna wrote a song for Marlene which we sang as a group. Andrea was presented with a gift for her hard work in writing the notes. Rosetta put Andrea's notes in a book and gave them to us. (Very nice with the group picture on the cover!) Raymond shared the Text with us in the evening. We had 13 missing if I counted correctly. We also saw the video in Hi-definition and it brought back lessons and memories. God blessed us so richly! Somebody from the community send us a check of $ 500 ahead of time to cover all expenses for the weekend. We were truly humbled how God provided for his sheep! We missed the 13 hiding sheep, but know in our hearts we shall see them again sometime. Bless God for all of you! Go and make disciples!!!

Day 2 Lesson 6 Sheep & Shepherds

We finally exit day one, get some rest and back on the bus for a trip south. As we head south on the bus God rearranged our plans with a wonderful flock of sheep surrounded by goats on a hillside. We stopped the bus and got up in the (green pastures)for a first hand look at sheep with their shepherd.

Every picture has an application and a very useful message for us today. Perhaps the lesson we didn't discuss much was a lesson that was perhaps much more then Psalms 23. In Matt 25:32, Jesus talks about the great day of separation when he will separate the nation (people in Greek) like a shepherd would separate the sheep from the goats. Remember how these animals walked together over those hills? The goats have a mind of their own and are often walking on the outside of the flock of sheep. The sheep would be guided by voice but the goats by force. Why would a shepherd want to separate these? What was Jesus teaching about this scene? A very heart stirring message for us who at times want to walk on the fringes of the flock and not be in community with one another because we have an opinion that to us is better or higher then others who we are called to walk with. Lord teach us from this all important lesson!