Dear Friends,

Our congregation in Pigeon Forge, TN is on a 21 day “Daniel” fast praying for the nation. We trust you are also praying for our nation to have a true turning to God so that we may experience his forgiveness and restoration. May we know the blessings that come from the fear of the Lord!

The early founders of the the nation took seriously the responsibility of electing competent leaders of character. We should do the same. Here is a word from 1932 from Noah Webster that I wish every sober American would appreciate.

“When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, “just men who will rule in the fear of God.” The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws.” -History of United States by Noah Webster.

“Jesus Christ is relentlessly given to our perfection. He knows that wherever we settle spiritually will be far short of His provision. He also knows that the more we are transformed into His image, the less vulnerable we are to the evils of this world. Thus, He compels us toward difficulties, for they compel us toward God, and God compels us toward change. And it is the transformed heart which finds the place of immunity.” Francis Frangipane

Let’s be honest. Sometimes I am not interested in His perfection, which by the way, is maturity. Sometimes I want to set down at the table and eat alone, in quiet. Right now I am tired, worn raw and tested in too many areas at once!

I hit a wall when a lovely family we adore back in Tennessee needed a place for a few weeks. We have a nearly empty house with plenty of space. We were pleased to let them use it and Theresa was game for company. They sent an absolutely knock-down beautiful response to our offer and I just lost it!! First I was humbled and gratified, but then I was angry. ‘Why am I not there to greet them and hostess them in my own home. Instead I’m out of my comfort zone in ALL areas of life.’

I have this really nice home, God set that up. I have a calling on my life, God set that up! I absolutely DO NOT want to retire from life. I have been in the desert for most of my existence. When others were sitting under the best teaching, worship, fellowship in America, I was slogging it out with Holy Spirit in some itty bitty congregations and home groups. God chose that for me too! SO I am hauling suitcases of stuff. Seems like little but it’s a lot when traveling with 8 other people across Israel again and again. Do you know I dislike travel? I love staying home.

I grew up in the high desert far away from anywhere – 2 hours over primitive country and two mountain ranges just to get to the next town – a good 8 hour drive to any metropolitan area or other family…all my growing up years! I’d rather just stay home!

So we have this amazing 9 passenger van. It holds each and every one of us, tightly. Just believe me when I say it’s a true God miracle in this land. And we got it for a song!!! But I am so uncomfortable in it. The traffic is so out of my realm of comfort I choose to set facing the back rather than subject my emotional stability to the near death experience of everyday driving in Israel.

Could it be God that allows the seats to face backward? So grateful!

Now I have a back issue (pain, discomfort). Oh I forgot, I am teetering on the brink of 60 y.o. and believe you me, my body tells me about it some days! I attempted to follow in the physical fitness plan of a much younger woman and nearly crippled myself. I was willing but the body just isn’t going there without a miraculous reduction in years on this model. Sheesh! Anyway, the van, the seating, the traffic and I’m in knots for days.

I’m a pretty good cook and keeper of house and home stuff. For the last 3 months my ideas are pretty much not how this family swings. They are not wrong or right, they are just different from the folks I’m traveling with. So I stay pretty quiet about me, and ask what they prefer. Sounds like a good idea!

I do not speak the language (at all). I cannot remember or hear the subtle, in the back of your throat sounds, of the Hebrew language and I get exasperated by 5, 7, 8 and 10 y.o. kids correcting my attempts. Maybe pride. I enjoy singing with the phonetic spelling in Hebrew, but even then they do not pronounce our consonants and vowels like we do.

We have worked to harmonize our lifestyles. It takes work. We definitely have different ideas about time. Staying up late is a stretch for us. Literally every person in the group wants momma’s time, me too. She’s an extremely capable person, can keep the plates of everyone in half a block spinning and still be on the phone. She needs to, she speaks the language and arranges literally all the connections and visits we make. She also does most of the talking when we are seeing someone.

Kids, you know them, they dislike most foods I enjoy. They have lived out of suit cases for some time now and are comfortable that way. Actually, I’m pretty certain they would like a place to call their own, but they are content (Most of the time)to be living face to face with their parents and siblings!

Their parents are skillful at keeping them engaged, entertained and educated and they have a LOT of fun! I have learned to keep the in-between moments engaged in games, conversation, cooking, reading to them, etc. They are ALL very verbal and sound like a flock of magpies when anything is happening. I have begun to dislike my own name lately. “Pam, Pam, Pam…!”. It has that ‘Mom, Mom, Mom.. .!” ring to it!

I greatly enjoy these people on a regular basis. The kids are a hoot and we laugh a lot! They can be so distracted I am worn out just getting them lined up to do anything (They do not line up). All we have to do to lose their attention is say, “We are leaving in 5, 20, 30 minutes!” And they scatter like cats! They begin playing 20 questions, that is per person per second and start a food project or cleaning service or take a nap!

I really love them so, with all their individual ways of being them! They laughingly say they needed a Mary Poppins to help them…well I feel like Captain Von Trapp. I’d have them answering to a whistle IF I were in charge. I am NOT in charge, never was, never planned on being!

After 3 months I’m feeling this mission trip is over extended and I’m hanker-en for home. But what’s home? Now Tennessee is hot and humid. I do not do humidity well. Not now, not never! But that’s where my home and family is! Really, I feel like Paul; I’d sure like to be living in Glory, looking down from an elevated position, but it seems He prefers I stay around in this body.

Now that I’ve complained and moaned…

I’m so glad God called me and put His hand on my hidden Eastern Oregon desert life to drag me across the world. Steve loves to tease me about my globetrotting. Sunday we will get to Crete for a few days in order to renew our visa and continue on in Israel.

The ‘Footsteps’ poem is a comfort to me, except it feels like He’s dragging me by the collar, face down through every sand dune from the Oregon coast to the Mediterranean. Maybe if I could successfully get my anchor up, I’d fly. In the meantime, I’m spitting sand from my teeth and grinning into the wind.

Here is the biggest thing:

I just can’t give up when I see an empty place at the banquet table.

Psalm 23:5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

I’m always looking around to fill the table. Come my new Jewish friends and sit with me.

Pam Johnson

Pam and Liam

There is too much to tell. We have had a most exceptional week and one experience has folded in on another until our thoughts are jumbled and full to overflowing. From a magnificent day in the old city touring ‘new’ tunnels and seeing extremely old stones with history all over them to meeting ‘new’ friends in Yeshua and observing again and again how G-d puts together people for His purpose. After meeting a Christian archeologist it looks like we will be spending a day digging at an archeological dig. Steve is pumped and the kids will have a blast!

Finally we have returned to Netanya. Aaaah, sweet Netanya, much fewer people and we will have our first quiet Shabbat.( Last week we fed and feasted in Yeshua’s love with 20 others) How I soak in the nearly constant ocean breeze and the hot sunshine. Our devotions take on new depth as we sit on the deck and rest in Gods wonderful provision for us.

We arrived late and were ready to sleep deeply only to find the refrigerator had stopped working and all our ‘planned’ meals were now garbage! It felt so icky and hard! We have had other appliances fail here and to call the owner each time has its own burdens attached. But Steve and Liam came to the rescue and had it soon running again. So after a quick cleaning and filling of garbage bags we were back in business and off to needed sleep.

Having nearly a week here this time seems to have given us time and focus to dig deeper into school and prayer. As each new friend,or part of the 100 comes into view again we redouble our prayers, asking Holy Spirit to do what He so aptly does.

We have received scathing rebuke and warm embrace, one never knows how our sharing of Life will be received by these sabra (cactus) people. Listening to Papa and going only to those He directs us to is a lesson in grace and obedience. So many clammer at us, but fewer are being called by Yeshua. We pray for all and expect a crescendo of Life as the numbers increase. The music of heaven is constantly in our hearts and we laugh and share throughout the day together.

Thank you Papa for this blessed relief where we stretch out the intensity of Jerusalem and your work in your beloved people.

Looking forward to greater strength, refined hearing and more God appointments!

For more about the Israel prayer mission please see our blog at:
www.landingstripenterprises.com

Pam
[email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before returning to Israel I had three dreams in which I had been in the country for a time and I had not yet gotten to the old city of Jerusalem. It is so curious to me because that is the way it has happened. My previous three times here were centered around Jerusalem, archaeology, study and worship. This time our focus has been support of the Bellas, home school and travel in the broader nation visiting believers and unbelievers.

Curious also is my attitude. I would love to spend more time as a pilgrim appreciating the history of the land but the Lord has us appreciating the people in the present, bringing the light of Yeshua into people’s homes and inviting them into our apartments. We are typically in the newer Jerusalem the Sabbath evening and returning to Netanya Tuesday nights.

We have been able to spend an afternoon in the old city where I showed the family the tomb of David, the home of the upper room/Pentecost, the Cardo – main street, Hezekiah’s Broad Wall, and The Burnt House – the home of a priestly family destroyed when 1.1 Million were killed in the city as the Roman’s decimated it in 70 AD. The stones and old pottery tell powerful stories.

The quarters in Jerusalem have been cramped but a change is coming. Starting tomorrow when we are in Jerusalem we will stay with a single woman who is renting us a room. She is an opera singer and although she is not a believer she enjoys friendships with many believers. We have attended one of her concerts. Would you pray that a River would flow into this woman’s sixth story apartment?

After interacting with many people during the week, which can be very emotionally draining, we all love to return to the beautiful apartment in Netanya with the lovely ocean breeze and a sense of peace and rest that can’t be found in Jerusalem, yet.

Pam and I work hard as support crew. One of my delightful tasks is teaching the kids to swim. The kids are having a blast and I love being back in the water and getting some sun.

Shalom!

Steve