The great adventure continues...

Dear friends,

Peace and grace to you all in Jesus name!

What can I say? At this point in our trip to Israel, we are all homesick. On the one hand we are blessed by the Lord to live a very unusual life of adventure. This coming Sunday, Brandy and I will celebrate our 18th year of marriage and what a joy it is to be able to do so in Jerusalem.

On the other hand, we are both very basic "homebodies" who love nothing more that our daily routine in our own home.

These are outrageous extremes that we both deal with on nearly a daily basis. During our lives together, we have had the pleasure of doing the Lord's work in several countries and unfortunately we end up falling in love with each of them. When we are at home in Mexico, the fact is that in short order, we can't wait to "get on the road---somewhere, anywhere"! What's up with that? When we are ANYPLACE OTHER THAN HOME, we are homesick. When in Israel we can't wait to return home and when at home we can't wait to be in Israel, Africa, the United States---and I could go on and on. We simply do not live what most people consider to be a normal life. Brandy has a relative that whenever she speaks to on the phone, immediately says "where are you"? Not HOW are you but WHERE are you because no one ever really knows for sure where we are until we pop up somewhere.

That may seem to some like a very dis-connected life style but for us it is "NORMAL". For us it is simple. If the Lord says go, we get in the car, on the plane, or ? That IS a life of adventure and frankly we would not have it any other way. So at this moment we are in downtown Jerusalem, the city of the Great King. To narrow that down a bit, we are in our hotel preparing to prowl the Old City of Jerusalem that dates back several thousand years. Right now we are about 6 blocks from the Temple Mount where both the Temples of Kings Solomon and Herod stood. Of course those events were separated in time by multiple lifetimes of normal people who also prowled this phenomenal city.

Our formal tour is ended now although the group we have led for the past two weeks is still here for another 5 days "in vacation mode". We are on the one hand helping them plan interesting days of sight seeing and on the other hand, spending time with our son Santiago, just prowling, meeting pastors and making the most of our time here! Today we will be in both the Jewish and Christian quarters of the old city. Two days ago we were in both the Armenian and Muslim Arab quarters. What a tremendous mix of cultures they are, all crammed next to one another in a fantastic boiling pot of International humanity and wildly different religious perspective. Each is frankly fascinating beyond belief.

This morning we will go visit our long time friend Basim, the owner of a tiny Armenian spice shop that goes back to his great grandfather. This man will break out into an ear splitting grin when he see's Santiago and try to express his joy trough a mixture of at least a dozen languages that he speaks nearly fluently. Within two minutes he will have ordered turkish coffee delivered by a small Arab child delicately balanced on a shiny ancient brass platter. This coffee is so strong that it is served in teeny, tiny little cups because if you drank a full mug of the stuff you would most likely spend the next three hours "bouncing of the domed walls" of the merchants shouk that has been in continuous operation since camels were the Mercedes of the Middle East.

After that reunion we will visit other shops, many owners of which will also remember and greet us as long lost relatives while at the same time try to relieve us of every last cent we own for priceless thousand year old coins and antiques-------that we really minted sometime last week-------! Of course we know this and they know FULL WELL that we know it but the friendly game of "grin and lie" is on and we will all have a great time trying to outwit one another for the best possible price. They will be miserable and broke by the time we leave (as they laugh all the way to the bank) and we will be thrilled that we obtained what we wanted for less than what we planned to pay in the shop next door.

Then off to a falafel stand for lunch and to just soak in this complicated atmosphere that cannot be duplicated anywhere else on earth.

On Sunday, Brandy and I will leave Santiago here at the hotel with "Auntie Meli" and the Penner family for a few hours so we can "steal away into the night" and celebrate our anniversary. First on this most important of "dates" is to visit the Western Wall under the Temple Mount where Brandy will pray on the women's side and me on the men's. While there we will place written prayers into cracks into the wall that were sent with us by many folks in both Coronado, California and our home area of Mexico.

From there we will stroll hand in hand throughout the city with no particular purpose in mind other than to enjoy each others company. Eventually we will end up at the famous "King David Hotel" and enjoy a quiet time of private conversation over hor'dourves and cappuccino. A very romantic time, after which REALITY DAWNS, and it is back to our own hotel to resume our mantles of just plain old Mommy and Daddy. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Now THAT is a life of adventure!!!

Until next time,

May the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you all!

From Jerusalem,

Pastor Rance.

Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Museum

Hi Everyone, this is Rance's wife Brandy filling in for him today. We are almost to the end of our tour in Israel and Santiago and I stayed back to rest today and prepare to have worship and communion at the Garden Tomb this afternoon. Rance is currently with our group at the City of David and King Hezakiah's tunnel.

Rance wanted me to update you today about our time yesterday at Yad Vashem, the first Holocaust Memorial here in Israel. I will be putting some pictures in between my writing.

In a nutshell, I can tell you that this is my 7th time being there and I almost didn't make it through. Half way through I told Rance, "I can't stay here any longer". Then, right after that, we came to the place in the museum of the "righteous among the nations". That's when I completely fell apart. But being there yesterday got both of us painfully refocused on why we started "Comfort Israel" in the first place. www.comfortisrael.ws

(To try to properly write about this horrendous subject, I need to wait until I go home, where I can take all the time I need to write. For now, however, I wanted to share with you the website to Yad Vashem where you can get just a glimpse of an idea of where we were. www.yadvashem.org.il )

For those of you who are not familiar with the term "the righteous among the nations", they were gentiles who saved and hid Jews during the Holocaust. They risked their lives to save Jewish children, men, and women alike. Some were discovered and put to death, some made it along with rescuing and saving lives of the future of Israel. I am so without words right now on this that it will be best for me to write about it after I get home, back to Mexico, where I can have quiet time to process, weep, sit before the LORD and then share more... there could never be enough words to share about it, and never, ever enough tears.

I know one thing for sure, both Santiago and I wouldn't have made "the cut", Him being handicapped, and me being a Jew.

Someone once asked David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, "if there hadn't been a Holocaust, perhaps there would never have been the nation of Israel" and to that he thoughtfully replied, "but if there had been been the nation of Israel, there never would have been the Holocaust."

Just above this photo is of Rance, just coming out of the horrific reality of walking through Yad Vashem and seeing the horrific atrocities committed against the Jews, simply because they were Jews. Yet a magnificent statement is made when you come out of that heartbreaking place. The exit doors open wide, you walk outside and all you see are the MOUNTAINS OF JERUSALEM, FILLED WITH HOMES, WITH PEOPLE, WITH LIFE!!!!! Am Yisrael Chai!!! The people of Israel LIVE!!!!

The truth is, is that what satan tried to accomplish once again by trying to snuff out the Jewish people from the face of the earth during the Holocaust - he failed. Just like Pharoah, Haman, Herod, many others and now the diabolically inspired Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is trying to do... the resurgence of the spirt of Haman from ancient Persia, modern day Iran's president. BUT HE WILL NOT SUCEED. For thus says the LORD of hosts: "He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. Zechariah 2:8 (In other words, he who touches Israel pokes God in the eye).

Be sober and alert during these days, and be a watchmen you who call upon the name of the Lord. Isaiah 62 May we be found faithful at His coming, about our Father's business, preaching the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile, sharing the Truth of His kingdom, and loving His chosen people Israel, NO MATTER WHAT THE COST. He died for us, let us live for Him.

With blessings from Jerusalem,

Brandy Cook p.s. Below is another picture I took at Yad Vashem near the children's memorial. Did you know that of the 6 million Jews who were systematically murdered by the Nazis, 1.5 million of them were children????????? Here you can see a photo that EVEN IN THEIR OWN LAND, they must be protected by an armed guard against the terrorists who want them dead. God have mercy. Genesis 12:3.

Jerusalem, the continuing adventure!!!

Dear friends,

Peace and grace to you in Jesus name!

Well, here we are in the city of the great King! Lot's of people, lots of clutter, lots of history. Layer upon layer of people groups and Kingdoms who have lived and died here over many centuries. If you could peel away the layers of ground---somewhat like you would peel back the lid of a sardine can, you would literally see and feel peoples lives from multitudes of cultures and ethnic origins.

There is simply no other place on earth that draws so many people from so many religions, like one huge multifaceted magnet. We have done the normal tour things that all visiting groups do but also much more. Brandy and I have prowled the back alleys, had coffee and swarma's, talked to folks and renewed our "feel for the land" in places that tourists do not normally go. It is truly amazing to walk into a hotel, falafel stand---or just run into people on the street who remember us from past visits. Of course, truth to tell, it is normally Santiago that draws attention. This little guy NEVER forgets someone he has met in the past and seldom do people forget him. What a trooper he is on these trips. He NEVER complains, always has smiles and hugs and kisses for everyone we meet.

My comments will be brief today since it is just after 4 a.m. We were high up on a rooftop yesterday overlooking the old city of Jerusalem. It was a doomed roof and I stepped on a slippery area and hit the ground pretty hard. Lots of initial pain but praise God nothing broken.

Fortunately it was a very long day with lots of miles walking and climbing stairs so I was able to "work out the kinks". Brandy doctored me up last night so other than being stiff and sore, I am fine and getting ready for another day leading our group to Yad Vashem. That is the holocaust memorial so we know that it will be a very emotional time of facing reality for our group members.

Brandy has been exhorting our group as no one else can do but her. Also doing testimonies and short teaching times as the Lord leads her. I am doing daily teaching times at various sites plus talking about Biblical prophecy as it relates to the (past, present and future) events and areas we have visited. Our guide Allen is a walking encyclopedia of historical facts and Aaron the bus driver (who has fallen completely in love with Santiago) is a master behind the wheel. We all work basically as a team.

We are still having problems with internet availability but when we arrive back home I will write more about our adventures.

Now, my eyes are getting a bit heavy so I think I will try and "snooze out" for a while before breakfast.

Brandy and I sincerely wish you could all be here with us but who knows what may be possible in the future??? In the meantime, as they say here in Israel, "NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM"!

May the Lord bless you all in the great name of Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah).

Signing off for today from Jerusalem,

Pastor Rance.