Final Blog on My 8th Trip to Israel: Mizpah Nancy and Jerusalem Friends

"Mizpah" means "watchman" and "witness." I pray I have been just that on this trip to Israel. Many wonderful things happened at Mizpah, and I actually visited the Mizpah (there are more than one Mizpah) that is seven miles northwest of Jerusalem in 1996. I tell all about it in my first book, Jewish Roots Journey: Memoirs of a Mizpah (see side bar). When God called me to be a Mizpah for Israel, He referred me to the story of Jacob and Laban making a covenant. They erected a pillar called "Mizpah," and Laban said, "May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another" (Gen. 31:44-49). I was so blessed to literally be a watchman on the walls of Jerusalem, as we walked the ramparts of the Old City and prayed! I felt that I was fulfilling the Lord's admonition: "I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth" (Isa. 62:6-7).

Here is another prophecy that we attendees at Lars Enarson's Jerusalem Sukkot Celebration were fulfilling: "For there shall be a day when the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, 'Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.' For thus says the Lord: "Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say 'O Lord, save Your people, the remnant of Israel!'" (Jer. 31:6-7). Lars taught us that the word "watchman" in this prophecy is notzrim in Hebrew, which to the Israelis signifies, "Christians"! Wow! And we were there on Mount Ephraim on our bus trip to Samaria!

The Mizpah designation has been used in jewelry that is a gift for remembrance to a friend. I think of myself as a friend to Israel, the Lord's chosen people, and I am delighted to have made friendships with several choice Christian ministers in the land, both Jewish and Gentile.

Roy Kendall of School of Worship in Jerusalem (and also Atlanta) came to visit me in Jerusalem. He was just back from ministering in Japan. It has been such a blessing for Curtis and me to know Roy and Mary. On seven of my eight trips to Jerusalem, I have seen them and visited in their home (but Mary was in the U.S. this time, and the visit with Roy was in our hotel). Roy and Mary are known and loved all over the Land. He has recently led worship for MK Yehuda Glick on the southern steps to the Temple Mount, and he also led worship for Benny Hinn on his recent visit to Jerusalem. What a blessing to be friends with this dynamic couple in God's Holy City!

Roy visited me at the Prima Royale Hotel.

Roy on the Temple Mount

Roy led worship for MK Rabbi Yehuda Glick

Roy & Mary Kendall

Roy Kendall playing the keyboard for Benny Hinn

On a free day some of us visited the Jerusalem Prayer Center, directed by Larry & Gail Osbrink, a Baptist couple. My friends, Shmuel & Pamela Suran of Chazon Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Vision), met us there. This was very special for me, because I wanted my new friends from the conference - Olof Amkoff, Kathy Markward, and Doris Murdoch - to experience this awesome place (my third visit), especially the interactive prayer room, and to meet the Surans. I enjoyed getting to know the Osbrinks, and they are doing a marvelous job. Larry told the history and the ongoing story of the Spaffords and of the historic house, home of Anna and Horatio Spafford's daughter, Bertha Vester. I got to play her piano, and we all sang "It is Well With My Soul" composed by Horatio Spafford upon hearing of the drowning of his four daughters!

Jerusalem Prayer Center on Nablus Road (part of American Colony) 

 Larry telling the story of the Spaffords, the house, and the American Colony

 Larry & Gail Osbrink, Directors

Bertha Vester, daughter of Horatio & Anna Spafford

Horatio Spafford

What a joy to play Bertha's piano! And what a joy to hear all our voices singing 

"It is Well With My Soul"!

Pamela (artist and tour guide) & Shmumel (pastor) Suran

Shmuel and Pamela, Messianic Jews, have spoken in my church. God has used them to raise up strong ministers in the land of Israel. Also, they take aid to the Iraqi Christian refugees in Jordan. Pamela is in demand as an artist. She painted the beautiful mural of "The Harvest" in the chapel of the Jerusalem Prayer Center (photo above).

On another free day Kathy Markward, Doris Murdoch, Johanna Finskas, and I walked to the new Friends of Zion Museum. It told the story of the "biblical figures, academics, businessmen, and military officials who, through their faith, have forged an everlasting bond between the Jewish and Christian peoples." These Zionists did mighty exploits! Here we are - Johanna, Doris, me, and Kathy:

I had another Jerusalem friend visit me at the hotel. She does not want her name published, so she sends out email reports in the name of "Ema Home." She was on her way to work and stopped by to see me. I had visited her once before at her home in 2012. That day she fed me and gave me her testimony. Wow! She had an encounter with Jesus Christ in Alaska when she had barely even heard of him! He revealed Himself to her, and she has been a faithful follower. She found out how wonderful it is to be Jewish and no longer wanted to hide it. She and her husband made aliyah many years ago, and she works for a doctor. Her email reports are descriptive of her many observations of the people of Jerusalem and her spiritual interpretation of events there. 

Of course, I am friends with the Enarson family, Lars & Harriet, Johanna & Doron Keidar, and John & Sophie. Our history goes back to 1992, when they moved to Columbus, MS, where Curtis and I were pastoring. They live in a community close to Gaza, but Lars and Harriet go all over the world to bring the message of preparing the way of the Lord. To learn more about their ministries, you can visit The Watchman International and Cry for Zion. Doron & Johanna and their children will be speaking in the United States in January through March.

Finally, let me say that I took tracts to Jerusalem. We gave out a few along the way, but the bulk of them found a home at the Jerusalem Prayer Center. I got an email from Larry Osbrink, saying that visitors were picking them up! I was overjoyed and shared the good news with my Mississippi friend, Joyce Linton, who had commissioned me to make the tracts. A poem I had written so blessed her that she wanted it presented in a tract for my trip to Israel. These tracts and I were prayed over at my "send-off" at South Luverne Baptist Church. I am believing that they will bring about a harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God. May Yeshua be glorified and many saved! Please join me in this prayer.

I will end this series of blogs on my Jerusalem experience with this hopeful prayer:

Part Five: My Personal Experience in the Mountains of Samaria

We went on a tour bus to the mountains of Samaria up the Patriarchs Highway, which goes from Beersheba up to Shechem (Nablus today). We were heading for Shiloh, where the Tabernacle (with Ark of the Covenant) stood for 369 years and where Hannah prayed for a son (Samuel). This was where Joshua divided up the land. We would also see Elon Moreh where God first promised the land to Abraham. We went through the Judean wilderness in the area of the tribe of Benjamin.

Along the way we saw Jewish and Palestinian villages. As posted on the signs, the Palestinian villages were sponsored by the United Nations and the European Union (UN and EU). We could see the contrast of these villages with the less prosperous Jewish villages. We saw that Ramallah is large and flourishing despite media coverage to the contrary. The guide declared that the accusation against Israel of being "apartheid" is obviously untrue, because it's the Palestinian side that shows apartheid, At the entrance of Nablus (biblical Shechem) the sign says, "No Jews allowed." Former President Jimmy Carter declared these roads to be apartheid, but our guide pointed out that the green and white Palestinian car tags outnumber the Israeli yellow and black tags. Israelis build their own homes. Israel's government doesn't help, because it doesn't want Jews there! The guide said the Patriarchs Highway goes right through an Arab town, Hawara, and the United States paid for the road to be widened.

The "poor Palestinians" narrative from the media is not true, our guide said. He said they are wealthier than the Jews. They have a "welfare mentality," however. They don't have to work for their prosperity, but the Jews do. It surprised me to hear that the number one funder of Palestinians is the German government.

Since the Oslo Accords of 1993, this heartland of Israel, Judea and Samaria, is politically divided into three sections: Area A is under complete control of the Palestinian Authority. Area B is mixed control. Area C is Israeli governed. Jews live in this area which is 60% of Judea and Samaria.

There was a half-marathon taking place at Shiloh, so we were delayed getting to our destination. This was the Bible Marathon, and thousands of people had come. Participants retrace the path by the "man of Benjamin" who was running to Shiloh with the bad news that Israel was defeated by the Philistines, and the Ark of the Covenant was captured! (I Sam. 5:12)

As we were going up the hill to the ancient site of the Tabernacle, a man approached me and asked where I was from. I said, "Alabama." He exclaimed, "Sweet Home Alabama!" and began singing. He said he was the "Elvis of Israel," and then he sang an Elvis song. I tried to use my Hebrew in conversation. He said, "Don't trust anyone, just trust God." I answered in Hebrew that I loved HaShem, but I also love Yeshua from Bethlehem, my Messiah. As we walked away, Doris Murdoch said to me, "Didn't you tell me this morning that you dreamed about Elvis?" "Oh! Yes, I did!" I replied. So, evidently the Lord had set up this little encounter! 😀

We walked up the hill to the site of the ancient tabernacle at Shiloh. First we viewed a movie about Joshua's conquest of the Promised Land, dividing up the land, and the story of Hannah, Samuel, and Eli the Priest. Lars Enarson gave us some outstanding teaching at the overlook of the tabernacle. He said the prophetic ministry of Samuel came out of Hannah's prayer. Samuel was God's servant to prepare the way of King David, similar to Elijah (John the Baptist) preparing the way for the Messiah, at both His comings. The Jews pray Hannah's prayer first every day, then Genesis 22 (Abraham binding Isaac).

Next we drove up to the Mount of Blessing to visit a non-profit organization that brings Christian volunteers from all over the world to serve Jewish farmers, HaYovel (Jubilee). The Tommy Waller family from Nashville started this ministry in 2005. Can you imagine Christians being accepted by Orthodox Jews here? In ten years, they have had 1700 volunteers to harvest hundreds of tons of grapes and olives! They help the "settlers" to fulfill Bible prophecy of restoring the land! It was exciting to see so many young people. We had lunch in the communal tent and got to meet the volunteers. I sat by a lady from New Zealand. When I told her I had met a lady in Jerusalem in 2007 who was from New Zealand, I found out that very same person had been at HaYovel just four weeks before! Now that was a God-incidence for sure!

The last site of the day was on the mountains of Samaria at Elon Moreh, east of Shechem, overlooking Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal. It is the place where God appeared to Abram when he first came into the Promised Land. There he built an altar (Gen. 12:5-7). We could also look out and see the place where Joshua built an altar upon coming into the Promised Land. We had another good teaching at this site.

I hope you keep reading my blogs and also comment on them. Shalom!

Part Four: Thousands of Christians Join the Annual Jerusalem March

A highlight of my Jerusalem Sukkot Celebration was to participate in the 3-mile march in the heart of Jerusalem. It was estimated that 80 nations were represented in the thousands of Christians who marched. This yearly event originated in 1980 when a couple from Canada, Merv and Merla Watson, began the festive celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) to show solidarity with the State of Israel. Thirteen countries had withdrawn their embassies in reaction to Israel's declaration of Jerusalem as their eternal capital that year. The International Christian Embassy was established in response to the hurt the Jewish people felt, and the Christian celebration of the Feast has become a yearly event.  I was blessed to meet the Watsons, who are outstanding professional musicians. Merla has written 500 songs, and I knew some of them, such as "Jehovah Jireh" and "Awake, O Israel." She plays the violin and viola beautifully, and they both have excellent voices, leading in worship. Our group was treated to a concert, and Merla gave her testimony of a miracle healing after a grand piano fell on her hand and crushed it! She showed me the scars.

Doris and I had come prepared to march in our American flag kimonos, but we decided it would be better to give the visibility to our Cry for Zion T-shirts. We gave out little American flags and candy to the children who clamored for them along the parade route. We soon gave out of our supply, but we still had our wide smiles, and we waved to the enthusiastic Israelis lining the streets, sometimes engaging them in quick conversation. I told them we were praying for them. They loved us, and we loved them. It was awesome!

Maybe we can wear our kimonas on the Fourth of July! Ha!

Waiting in the park to line up for the March - Nancy talking to an Israeli

The Asian nations were very well represented!

Yea! We completed the March!

"And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem (battle of Armageddon) shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles" (Zech. 14:16). Here we are, rehearsing!