Joe Bryant and the Travels in the Promised Land

Wow, I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while, but there wasn't any internet access where I was staying in Eilat. God is amazing. I had been praying that I would be able to find a ministry of sorts to help out with, but I hadn't been able to find one in Jerusalem. So, I went down to Eilat to go visit Petra, which was the only thing I had actually planned to do during the time between the tour and the classes. I ended up checking into a Christian owned hostel which also serves as a hub for ministries. A mission team from America checked into the hostel about the same time I did, and they've adopted me into their team. Seth, the team's leader, is an incredible teacher, and we just finished a four night series looking at how the Torah points to the need for a new covenant and to Jesus (The series "just happened" to be on the four nights I was in Eilat). In an even greater "coincidence," they had already planned to stay at the same hostel that I had been staying at in Jerusalem, so I stayed in Eilat an extra day and came up with them this morning to show them where it is. The team is mainly evangelism based, and God has provided incredible opportunities for conversations with people. I almost skipped going to Petra on Wednesday to continue helping them, but I got to thinking that if God used me wanting to go to Petra to hook me up with this mission team, then maybe there was something else in store at Petra. So Wednesday I woke up at 6:00, which was an hour later than I had planned on, and headed to the border crossing. While there I met a couple of girls from France and Switzerland that were also going to Petra for the day, so we shared a taxi up there to cut expenses. Unbeknownst to us though, King Abdullah of Jordan had arranged a conference of Nobel Prize Laureates in Petra that began that same day, so they wouldn't let us into the park for an hour or so after we got there for security reasons. So, the three of us found a local restaurant and sat down to wait. After a while, the conversation turned to why I was in Israel, and then to religious beliefs, and I was able to share my testimony with them. They both asked several questions afterward, and then sat quietly thinking for a while. The name of the restaurant was the Mystic Pizza, and one of them remarked later that it was a "mystic moment." I pray that God continues to work in their hearts. Petra was very neat though. I'll post some pictures later. The "coincidences" have been amazing on this trip. God continues to provide in tremendous ways. The mission team that adopted me is leaving Sunday, which is also when I head to Kibbutz Tzuba to start the Hebrew classes. Tonight, a friend of Seth's has invited us all for Sabbath dinner. It should be a real treat.