Just one more

We went back to the Memorial park for the Australian Soldiers in BeerSheva this morning. The tour group wanted one more picture, as a group, at the memorial.

Beersheva Memorial and the Charge of the Lighthorse

I'm out with a bunch of guys who talk knowledgeably about shooting German Mausers with accuracy at the 400 meter range. I didn't bother to tell them about my skills with the 38 featherweight.
We spent some time this morning walking part of the battlefield from the charge of the Light Horseman (October 31, 1917 Beersheva).


It just seemed like the right place to encourage them to tell stories so we stood in a circle and listened to the old warriors, their sons and their heirs.



One of the main reasons many of them came was the dedication and unveiling of a new park and memorial in the center of Beersheva.





The statue is one of the most powerful war memorials I've ever seen...

Tanks and other powerful forces

Somebody posted a message on my message board that Aish HaTorah was building near the Kotel (Western Wall) Here is what I saw today.

Just below the expansion project is a large archaeology dig that is nearly ready for tourists.



My tour group is a bunch or Aussies who are here to celebrate the opening of the Anzac memorial. Naturally they are interested in all things military. So... I took them to the armor corp museum today.

I had to post a picture of the Merkava IV for Neil. I told you they had better stuff!

Taking a look at Jerusalem

We didn't spend all of our time at memorial services. We also visited the scenes of several battles and even some biblical sites.

This one is the group standing on top of Nabi Samwill. This was one of the tough battles alongside the British forces that brought about the conquest of Jerusalem by General Allenby. It also overlooks the valley of Gibbea where Joshua began the battle which ended after Joshua asked God to cause the sun to stand still.


What tour would be complete without a group photo on the Mount of Olives. They weren't quite ready yet in this photo because they were waiting for instructions from the professional photographer and not paying attention to the tour guide. (Good choice occasionally.)

Anzac Memorial day

It was a very early morning for me. I needed to arrive at the hotel in time to take the group to the British Cemetery on Mt. Scopus before 6 AM. The sunrise service was very moving and it was attended by several members of the diplomatic corp in Israel including the Australian Ambassador as well as the US Ambassador.

Anzacs remembered

The Australia New Zealand Corps fought side by side with the forces of General Allenby in the early 1900s. It has been 90 years since that heroic struggle against the Turkish Empire. Some of their relatives and friends are here to celebrate the anniversary and I will be leading them through the land. This picture was taken moments after they arrived. They are sitting under a tree in the gardens of Naot Qedumin.

Mom!

But Mom, you know I'd walk a mile for you!

This one is for Clay

I just wanted Clay to see that I had lunch with mutual friends yesterday.

I am currently guiding one bus of a larger group than I usually guide. Altogether there are nine buses but we are not exactly together. One of the other guides is pictured here. He met me at the door to my bus this morning to show me a bible that Dr. David Lewis had given to him in 1978. He considers it to be one of his treasured possessions. He sends greetings to the Lewis family.

Churches are interesting places and I've been to some that were anything but silent. In fact, I always thought that making noise was part of the plan. Evidently not at the Church of All Nations at Gethsemane.

This one really got me to thinking about some sermons I've heard. Are there pastors out there who have taken this commandment to heart? Surely not!

Old Friends

It has been a week of meeting old friends. Rami, pictured above, has been a friend of the family for a long time. Recently, while my wife's sister was here on a visit, she gave him a call and began the process of meeting up with him again after several years since she moved away. It didn't work out for some reason but I ran into him this week unexpectedly. Sandy? Rami wants to know when you are going to come back.

I love this incredible country and Sandy inspired me a bit with her pictures. Since I get to tour the land over and over, I probably have a different sort of viewpoint. So, I thought I'd just snap some pictures and share them.

This is the sea of Galilee this morning.



And this was the Galilee boat as we sailed with three bus loads of tourists at the same time.