DILLY IS HAPPY TO WELCOME

HER BUBBA HOME...

The best part of gittin' back home was

re-uniting with my Dilly Doodle Bug...

She was quick to remind me of the

promise I made to her before I left

for Israel... I'd promised her we'd go

to McDonalds & to the Mall to ride

on the Merri-go-round... So, this

afternoon we had our Bubba/Dilly

date... Before I left I told her she

could be the BOSS of Bubba's Bird

Feeders~ that she was in charge of

making sure her Mommy & Daddy

kept our bird feeders filled... So,

this morning I told her that she

had done a good job being the

BOSS of Bubba's bird feeders

while I was away... To which she

responded~ "Bubba, but I don't

wanna be BOSS again!"

PRAISE YE THE LORD!!!!!
WE'RE SAFELY HOME!!!!!
Our L-O-N-G Journey back home was
purdy weary-ing~ but, we finally got to
our homes at about 9:30pm Sunday
night...and, thankfully report that we
found everybody well and happy to see
us... From Cairo to Columbus, we had
3 good take-offs and 3 good landings,
and the flights were smooth~ We thank
the Lord for His Grace, as well as all of
you for your prayers... We did have a
couple of "Security Issues" when we
arrived at Frankfort & Chicago... In both
places, we ended up having extra pass-
port checks, where they took individuals
aside to question them... From Cairo to
Chicago, we must've gone thru 12
different security checks (other than
Dave almost forgetting to retrieve his
precious Ol'felt hat, we got thru O.K)
Dave & I both praise the Lord for the
great experience we were able to have.
We both count a great part of it all to
have met and made so many new
Forever friends...
God Bless!!!

BE SURE TO TELL LEO KUHN
AND HIS FAMILY "HOWDY!!!"
FOR ME... TELL HIM THANKS!
FROM ME FOR COMING TO
PREACH IN MY ABSENCE...

WE'RE AT THE CAIRO AIRPORT,
READY TO DEPART IN ABOUT
AN HOUR & A HALF...
It's 8:45pm, Sat. Eve., Ohio Time, and
3:45am, Sun. Morn., Egypt Time...
Hopefully, if all goes to schedule, we'll
arrive safely at Columbus Airport at
6:20pm... Our flight departs Cairo at
10:20pm, Sat.eve., Ohio Time... So,
our flight time (including 4 hrs. of lay-
overs) will be a total of 20 ehrs...plus
a 2 hr. drive home from Columbus...

FROM THE SANDS OF EGYPT...

Howdy!!! from Egypt... Our last BIG

Day is now a memory... We are back

at our Hotel awaiting our departure

time... We will be leaving the hotel

for the Cairo Airport at 2am Egypt

Time, and flyin' out of Cairo at 5:20am.

It's about 8:30pm on Saturday eve.,

so I'm not sure whether I'll bother

with trying to sleep before we leave...

We'll be flyin' out with 8 others from

our Group... Dave & I have made some

great new Forever Friends...

Below, you'll see some of the pics

I took today of the Pyramids and the

sphinx... I was surprized by how near

to the city they lie... I wasn't quite as

awed by them as I expected to be...

To be honest, they didn't strike me as

much as the Red Woods of the West

Coast did a few back... I'm glad I can

say that I've seen them up close...

But, without a doubt, JERUSALEM

was the best part of the trip for me...

We went to the Cairo Museum this

afternoon... it's more like a flea-market

than a museum~ Really! It's dusty &

dirty... It's full of wonderful things~

but the place needs some work...

Oooops!!!!
PRAISE THE LORD!!!
IT'S NOT FRIDAY~ IT'S
SATURDAY~ AND, IN
LESS THAN 24 ehrs
WE'LL BE HEADIN'
HOME!!! YIP-PEE!!!
Now, don't git me wrong~ I've
enjoyed the trip VERY MUCH~
but, I R READY TO COME HOME!
Don't know where I lost the day in
my thinkin'~ 'guess it jus' sorta got
lost in the translation... jus' chalk it
up to Travel Weariness... (by the
way, it was Ol'Hays that enlightened
me~ so, for the record~ he was right.
We're goin' to the Cairo Museum,
the pyramids & the Sphinx today...
Our flight departs Cairo early
tomorrow morning (5;20 Egypt time)
We'll probably have to leave the
hotel tonight by bus to the Cairo
Airport around 2am~ so I don't plan
to actually go to bed... If I can git my
internet connection to work, I'll send
one last up-date tonight after returning
to the hotel...

GOD BLESS ! ! !

IT'S 6:40am EGYPT TIME, FRIDAY
MORNING (11:40pm Ohio Time...)
I was awaken this morning by the all
too common CATTER-WALLERIN' of
the Moslem Call to prayer, at 5:00am...
It is surely the most hopeless and
negative sound that I've ever heard...
I'm so thankful that our Heavenly
FATHER & JESUS prefer HAPPIER
sounds of praise from Their people...

F-O-R-T-Y YEARS OF
WANDERIN' IN THE
WILDERNESS?????
WOW!!! We just spent one day
traveling through the Sinai into
Egypt in a fairly comfortable bus,
and I had just about as much of
Wanderin' in the Wilderness as I
could stand... No wonder poor Ol'
Moses lost his temper... except for
the rare oasis, it is as completely
desolate place as I could imagine...
We rolled into Cairo about 8:30
last night... We're actually staying in
Giza~ the Pyramids loomed on the
horizon as huge shadows against
the dusk... The hotel is very nice.
I had trouble hookin' up to the
internet~ so I just waited till this
morning to come to the lobby
where my wireless works great.

THE REMNANT OF OUR ISRAEL

GROUP THAT WENT ON INTO

EGYPT... Just 16 of us... We

asked the Bedouin Family to

join in the picture...

THE BEDOUIN MOTHER AND

DAUGHTER WITH HER PET

GOAT... Bedouins are the true

Arabs~ the living testimony of

Ishmael's line~ they are direct

descendants of Ol'Abraham...

SOME PRECIOUS BEDOUIN

CHILDREN AT THE SITE

WHERE THE CHILDREN OF

ISRAEL GRUMBLED AND GOD

GAVE THE MANNA & QUAIL...

Everywhere we stop groups of

children come running up from

out of nowhere to beg... It's very

hard for this Ol'Softy of a Grampa

to ignore... I can't help but see the

precious little face of my own little

Dilly Doodle Bug... I sorta go against

the advice of our Egyptian Guide,

ans still give them what I can...

Most of all~ I wish I could give them

JESUS!!!

A VERY COMMON SIGHT AS WE

DROVE ACROSS THE SINAI INTO

EGYPT... If you look real close,

you can see the rifle stickin' out

the window on the shaded side.

ST.KATHERINE'S MONASTERY~

The traditional site where Moses saw

the burning bush...

IN AMERICA WE HAVE TROUBLE

WITH RACCOONS GITTIN' INTO

OUR TRASH... But, in Sinai~ it's

the Goats...

THE PREACHER & BRO.HAYS~
Ooops! My mistake...

HERE WE ARE AT BURNIN' BUSH...
The bush you see above us is 'spoze to
be the remnabt of the Burning Bush...
It's base & roots are protected by the
rock wall behind us... They say that
people have tried to take starts of it,
but it will not grow anywhere else,
and as far back as anyone remembers
it's always been there... It's on the
grounds of St.Katherine's Monastery
in the Sinai...

THIS IS OUR HOTEL IN SINAI...

It's the only building out in the

middle of nowhere for miles & miles

around... except for some Bedouin

huts & tents... The trees you see in

the picture are the only vegetation

around, because they are irrigated

from deep wells...

THE SUN IS COMMENCIN'

TO RISE.....

SUNRISE OVER THE

MTS. OF SINAI.........

I climbed up a rock out cropping,

out away from the Hotel and waited

for this picture..... Nobody is certain

exactly which particular Mountain

peak was the original Sinai, but

these are some of the Mts. of Sinai...

***DON'T TELL MODENA... But,

Ol'David even strayed further away

from the compound than me... He

went out about twice as far as I did.

But, I don't think the Bedouins git

up this early, because it's still so

cold... I don't think they git up and

about till the sun begins to warm

things up again...

MOOOOO!!! MOOOOO!!!
Going thru customs coming into Egypt
was a chore... But, the thing that they
held me up over was some of those
individual sealed Jack Links Beef
Jerky that I'd brought with me from
home... He held it up and said~ "WHAT
THIS???" I said "BEEF JERKY"...He
didn't git it... So, then I said~ "Biff" which
was how the Arabs in Israel referred to
it... He didn't git it... I said~ "COW MEAT"
He didn't git it...... Finally, I looked at him
and made horns with my fingers on the
sides of my head and MOOO-ED... and
then acted like I was eating something.
He Got it and said~ "Oh, yes~ FUUD!!!"
See, if you keep tryin', there's always
a way to git yer point acrost...

WOW!!! I'M IN ROCK HUNTIN'
HEAVEN... THIS MORNING BEFORE
THE REST WERE UP, I TOOK A BIT
OF A HIKE OUTSIDE THE HOTEL
COMPOUND (DON'T TELL MOM...)
I just went about a half mile "or so..." to
some rock out croppings... Don't worry~
I never got completely out of sight of the
Hotel... The rocks here around Mt.Sinai
are volcanic in origin... There's red granite
and a black granite, too...plus veins of
quartz running through some of it... And,
you know me...I LOVE to look fer purdy
rocks... (By the way~ if anything had
happened to me, it would've been folks
like Hope Nort & Tammy Little to blame,
because they told me to bring them a
rock...) And, I wanted to be certain they
were authentic rocks pulled by my own
hand out of the cliffs surrounding this
area... I found a vein of white quartz
that has the red granite mixed in with it.
***NOTE TO MODENA~ I offered a real
purdy one to Ol'Dave to bring to you~ it
would make a beautiful paper weight...
and he turned it down because he said
he didn't wanna lug it around... So, I'm
bringin' it to ya... That is, if they don't
confiscate it from me at customs....

GOOD MORNIN' !!!
FROM THE SINAI MTS...
Ol'Dave & the Preacher had the best
night's sleep we've had the whole trip...
We went to bed at 9:30pm and woke about
6:00am... We both really needed it, too...
We'll be leaving here at about 10:30am...
We're scheduled to get to Cairo around
7:00pm tonight...

WE STOPPED FOR LUNCH TODAY

IN EILAT ISRAEL (pron. alot) It's

on the northern end of the Red Sea near

Acaba in Jordan... Back in 1949 when

the Jewish army decided to conquer

that area, they sent a small army,

and when they got there, they found

one lone soldier defending the hut

that still stands... it's that brown

structure in the middle of the picture.

4 CONTINENTS..........
When we cross the Suez Canal tomorrow
(on Friday) will will be entering Africa...
We left from North America... Stopped off
in Germany(Europe) And , then Israel &
Sinai are Asia... Guess all me & Dave
gotta do next is visit Anartica & South
America... Lowell Thomas eat yer heart
out...

OUT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF
N-O-W-H-E-R-E THEY HAVE FAR
BETTER INTERNET RECEPTION
THAN I HAD IN ALL OF ISRAEL...
They have a satellite cellphone link...
As we made our way here, I felt sure
there would be no Blog entries tonight~
But, 'guess one never knows... I must
say tho'~ the locals were quite taken by
my lap-top...

THIS IS WHAT IS RIGHT OUTSIDE

MINE & DAVE'S HOTEL ROOM...

This is what the whole area looks like.

Mt. Sinai is just about a mile or so

behind us... We will go part of the way

up the Mt. tomorrow to the Monastery

of St.Katherine... supposedly where

Moses saw the burning bush...

SEE THE RUINS OF ONE OF SALADIN'S

CASTLES ON AN ISLAND ON THE RED

SEA...

BET THIS IS A SHOT OF LIL' OL'ME

YA NEVER EXPECTED TO SEE........

No~ this is not a staged shot in our hotel

lobby... This is a real Bedouin's tent near

our hotel... When I say that we're out in

middle of nowhere, I mean NO-WHERE!

Our host is named Mohamed~ he's a real

Bedouin, who is an Ishmaelite... he

invited us into his tent to share his

hospitality and a hot cup of the best

tea... If they don't slit your throat first,

and you actually git into their tent, they

are very friendly...We enjoyed their music,

and our broken English conversation...

No insults to BUSH and no hatred of

Christians... To be honest, I was shocked~

because as we crossed the border and

drove thru the Sinai Desert, there were

security road blocks all along the way.

Guns were everywhere~ and we had an

armed guard with us on our bus...

(don't tell Mom...) It was like we were

in a world 3000 yrs. passed~ Bedouins

on camels in groups of 5-10 all along our

route... It is a Bleak, yet beautiful land-

scape... When we pulled into our hotel,

I had a bit of apprehension~ but there

was nowhere to run... I almost had 2nd

thoughts... But, these desert folks are

very friendly & neighborly... Dave &

I aren't taking the trek up to the top of

Mt. Sinai~ but 4 or 5 of our young

bucks are... I gave one of them my

jacket, because it will be near freezin'

at the summit, and they're leaving to-

night at 1:00am, and will meet up with

us again in the morning... near the

summit there are 750 difficult stone

steps, following a 3 hour camel ride

in the dark... I DON'T THINK SO......

So, I'm not quite as stupid as some of

you might've thunk...Hmmmm?????

THE OL'SHEIK OF ARABI~

DAVID HAYS... BUT HIS OLD

FELT HAT KINDA RUINS THE

MOMENT...

OASIS IS SPELLED
M-C-D-O-N-A-L-D-S...
Here we are out in the middle of NOWHERE
in the middle of the Negev Dessert in Israel
Nothing for miles around... but, as you can
see... The American Culture is taking over
the world...

*NOTE~IGNORE THE DATES ABOVE
EACH PICTURE...MY COMPUTER IS
STILL ON OHIO TIME...SO THE TIME
HERE IS 7 HRS. AHEAD OF YOU...
WHICH CAN THROW THE DAY OF
WEEK OFF~ FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S
5:45am, EARLY THURSDAY MORN.,
HERE IN ISRAEL~ BUT, IT'S STILL
YESTERDAY IN OHIO (11:45pm on
YOUR WED. NIGHT...)

HERE'S A FEW MORE PICTURES
THAT I DIDN'T POST LAST NIGHT.
It takes about 5 min. to post each
picture... and, if you click on each
picture they will enlarge so you can
see much more detail... or, go down
to the lower right hand corner of
the computer screen, where the
100% appears~click on it and
the screen size to say 200%...

GOLGOTHA~PLACE OF
THE SKULL... LOOK AT
THE HAUNTING EYES &
NOSE IN CENTER RIGHT
OF THE PICTURE...

VIEW OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT

THAT JESUS WOULD'VE SEEN,

AS HE APPROACHED THE

EASTERN GATE...

STANDING IN FRONT OF THE
REPRODUCTION OF TEMPLE
MOUNT...THE TEMPLE APPEARS
BEHIND ME JUST ABOVE "MY"
LEFT SHOULDER (but to right of
my head in the picture...)

SMALL SCALE REPRODUCTION OF
WHAT THE TEMPLE MOUNT WOULD
HAVE LOOKED LIKE IN JESUS' DAY

VIEW OF LANDSCAPE AT THE
HOLOCAUST MUSEUM IN
JERUSALEM...

TOMORROW IT WILL BE OFF TO
SINAI~ AND THEN ON INTO EGYPT~
Our Great Guide will take us to the
Southern border of Israel (4 hrs.)
Then we will bid him a very fond
farewell~ we will all miss him very
much, as we will our Driver, Zion...
And, the Apostle Paul, will also be
parting ways with us, too... We're
not really sure what to expect in
Egypt~ but, the LORD has surely
blessed our way thus far, and we are
confident that He will in Egypt as
well... However~ who knows what
the internet will be like, down there?
I will continue trying to keep the Blog
up & going...
We are set to fly out of Cairo 5:20am
Egypt time... If we have to be at the air-
port 2 ehrs early, we'll probably have to
leave our hotel at about 2:30am or so...
We are scheduled to arrive back at the
Columbus Airport, at 6:02pm on Sunday
night... if we have no unexpected delays,
we should be back to our respective homes
around 9pm...
The time has gone quickly~ we have
been kept so busy doing so much good
stuff...

LIKE A WEEK AT CHURCH CAMP!!!!!
Some of our tour group won't be goin' on to
Egypt with us tomorrow~ so tonight is our
last night to see them and say Good-bye...
And it's like bidding farewell to family... We've
experienced so much together... Truly! the
feeling is much like the emotion that is
experienced after a Mountain-Top Church
Camp experience... I'm sure we've made some
new Forever Friends... We've exchanged
addresses & email addresses... Many have
said they'll be checkin'' out the Blog...
Say a prayer for their safe journeys home
tomorrow morning... some will be on their
way to the airport in just a few hours......

OUR GROUP OUTSIDE THE GARDEN

TOMB... WHAT A SIGHT TO BEHOLD!

A SCALE-MODEL OF JERUSALEM
AT THE ISRAEL MUSEUM OF JESUS
DAY... IT'S ABOUT 150' x 150'...

I HESITATE TO SHOW YOU THIS
PICTURE~ BUT, IT IS SO MUCH THE
CASE ALL OVER ISRAEL, WHERE
THE ARABS CONTROL PROPERTY...
Yes! This Golgotha... and, Yes! them are
buses from an Arab business interest...
The own the land right up to beside
Golgotha~ and they built a storage
parking lot right there... It's so hard to
fathom... But, nobody better show any
disrespect to their Holy sites, or they'll
kill your children... When I left the
Golgotha/Garden Tomb compound
area, and walked back out onto the Arab
Street (Don't tell Mom...) An Arab man
approached me, and asked if I was a
Christian Born-Again??? Well, of course
I said~ YES!!! He then asked me~ "Is
your George Bush born-again??? And,
again, I said~ YES! He then said~ then
being born-again is shameful thing...
Bush is murderer! I said~ NO! and
walked away from him... I was sorta
at the end of our line, and nobody was
behind me~ save JESUS... True story~
It happened just like that.

I POSITIVELY GUARANTEE IT!!!!!!!!!
THAT TOMB IS EMPTY!!!!!

~THE GARDEN TOMB~
What a powerful place~ the very place
where JESUS arose from the dead...
It is no more than about 300' or so
from Golgotha... Oh! Yes! and it is very
empty~ Praise the LORD!!!
Our Group (both buses) had a worship
Service just about 40' from the tomb...
We had a re-enactment of Paul... I led
some Hymns (The Old Rugged Cross,
Christ Arose! He Lives! I Serve a Risen
Savior) Then, I had the privilege to take
charge of the communion service.....
What an experience!!!!!

GOLGOTHA~ PLACE OF THE SKULL...
There is nothing added or fake in this rock
formation~ It is just the natural erosion
and weathering of the face of the cliff...

NO PICTURES WERE ALLOWED TO
BE TAKEN INSIDE THE HOLOCAUST
MUSEUM~ SO I BOUGHT A BIG BOOK
FOR OUR CHURCH LIBRARY.........
But, let me tell you~ it was too much to absorb
and process... Such horrific things were done.
AND, Much of what was done in the Holocaust
was inspired by belief systems such as
amillennialism and "replacement theology",
as preached by Martin Luther & Augustine~
as well as many preachers & and churches
today... Augustine said that the Jews were
not GOD'S chosen people, but rather they
were & are the children of the Devil...much
protestant & catholic religious thought is
based upon such ideas~ even still today...
***BUT THIS I SAY~ If, as they insist that
the Jews are forever cursed, and they
deserved what they got, and that GOD
can not possibly restore and redeem them
again in these Last Days~ then, SURELY!
I be damned to Hell as well... BUT!!!!!
Praise the LORD!!! He is full of Mercy,
Love, & Grace~ and, He has the Power
and the Desire to save!!! AMEN???

ANOTHER WELL-ARMED YOUNG
LADY, WITH HER FELLOW JEWISH
SOLDIERS, ASSEMBLED OUTSIDE
THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM...

A VERY COMMON SIGHT IN ISRAEL...

This young Jewish Girl is a security guard

for groups of Jewish children that visit the

tourist sites in Israel... The Jews are such

easy targets for the Arabs that the Gov't

demands that for the protection of Jewish

children, they must be accompanied by

such guards... She was sitting at the table

next to us at lunch, and I asked her if I

could take her picture...

WELL, IT'S WED.MORN. OVER HERE IN
ISRAEL (7:20am here~12:20am in Ohio)
I was up bloggin' till 12:30am last night, and
was up & at'em at 5:30am...and that's purdy
much how it's been...I plan to catch up with my
sleep on the flight home on Sunday (I Hope...)
We're going to Golgotha & the Garden Tomb
today, where we'll have a group communion
service.... also, to the Holocaust Museum, the
Jerusalem, & the Dead Sea Scroll Museum...
Will try to do more pictures tonight...
Shalom!

OUR GREAT GUIDE~

EHR-EZ BAR-DAVID...

He's has to be the best in all of

Israel... He's a Messianic Jewish

Believer... His Zeal & Witness for

the Lord is truly contagious...

We all love him... And, I know I

bug him to death with all my

questions... but, he is so eager to

listen and answer... Please pray

for him and his family as they

strive to be witnesses for JESUS...

REPLICA OF THE GOLDEN
CANDLABRE, WHICH HAS BEEN
PREPARED FOR USE IN THE NEW
JEWISH TEMPLE SOMEDAY...

THE POOL OF BETHESDA...

GRAFFITI ON THE WALLS OF
JERUSALEM...

LUKE 21:24~ "...AND JERUSALEM

SHALL BE TRODDEN DOWN OF

THE GENTILES, UNTIL THE TIMES

OF THE GENTILES BE FULFILLED."

The picture above, and the next few

that follow give shameful testimony to

how gentiles are trashing JERUSALEM.

This litter and graffiti were what greeted

us as we were entering JERUSALEM...

Even tho' the Arabs claim JERUSALEM

as their 3rd holiest city~ they sure don't

give testimony to it... Quite literally~

they're not jus' troddin' it down~ they's

outright trashin' it...

A GROUP OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS...

Nobody else wanted to ask them if we

could take pictures of them... BUT, you

know me... I walked right up to them

and said Shalom and saluted them and

did sign language with my camera, and

smiled warmly, and in broken English

said~ "Yes! But, Please to take picture

with our camera, too..." So, I did...they

are truly Wonderful Beautiful People...

Oh! how my heart yearns for them to

know JESUS.