Israel 2024 - Week Three
Wed, Nov. 20 - Baka & Talpiyot with Sarah
Hadassah used to love this park...
What a lovely sky...
We ordered breakfast to share with Sarah.
We showed Sarah the birthday e-card we sent to her father, Koen. She was very amused.
This is the hat that starts conversations!
The colors of nature...
And tiny wildflowers
It's so special to admire God's handiwork.
What intricate design...
Visiting cafes with Grace is wonderful as oftentimes we receive free food- like these chocolate date snacks!
And little cookies too!
Delicious lentil soup....
Tuna nicoise salad- yummy!
And the Lasagna is great too!
To go to the bathroom, you need to follow the green feet.
This way!
Keep going!
You made it!
It's a beautiful day for Sarah to practice her photography.
Sarah took us on an adventure to Talpiot.
A little farther...
Wow- the largest second hand store we have ever seen! The clothes are freely donated. All the proceeds go to charity.
It's so big!
Where to start?
Let's try on a few things!
These are cute.
This is cute for 50% off- wow- that's $4!
Let's get a cart to collect clothes to try on.
It is certainly organized in here.
Hum...
This kitty stole the show for sure- the best part of the experience.
So cute....
Posing....
Trying another pose....
Why is this man not feeding me yet?
I'm outta here....
Walking back....
Let's stop in the music store just for a minute.
Well that was fortunate as the minute we stepped into the store, a huge storm arrived out of nowhere. We would have been drenched!
We better stay inside until the storm passes.
Such beautiful guitars...
Sarah knows how to play the drums!
She looked professional.
Oh no, was that too loud?
I will try to play the drums a bit more quietly. Is that even possible?
Which guitar would i pick?
She also plays piano and guitar. We are learning a lot of new things about Sarah.
Maybe I should try to play guitar again...
Doesn't Raoul look like a Rock Star?
Sarah said many people in Jerusalem love to visit this tiny bakery. Let's go in and see why!
They even carry Herbie's baked goods from Beit El!
Sufganiyot!
Looks yummy!
What about the pink one?
There are many wild flowers as we walk home.
Bright yellow daisies!
And cats of course!
You look sweet...
Look at the size of these pomegranates. We have to try them!
How do you select the best pomegranate?
Let's see if Stephanie is at the playground with her children.
Sarah taking photos as we walk.
Sarah needs a willing subject!
Wow Grace, very creative shot!
Here is the photo!
Cats draw our attention as they are all so beautiful.
Hello!
Thurs, Nov. 21 - Fri, Nov 22 - Michelle & Adriana Travel to Israel
Eleanor, Dennis, Nicole, and the girls took us to the airport to send us off to Israel
Jesse came back to the airport that night to come see Adri and Michelle before they departed!
The first flight of their journey was delayed, but even then, they felt God with them!
Comfy lounge chairs and cozy mittens! Ready for takeoff!
They had God's favor upon them - the longest leg of their flight - 11 hours and 30 minutes - and Michelle and Adri each had their own rows on the airplane!
All settled in and ready to fly!
From Cabo to Frankfurt to Berlin - they made it to a hotel for 1 night in Germany before flying to TLV the next morning!
The hotel had a restaurant and they were ready for dinner for the next part of their journey to Israel!
Yummy! Let's eat!
The journey to Israel continues... Adriana and Michelle are in Berlin flying "Blue Bird" airline for the first time!
On the tarmac in Berlin about to board the next plane! Little snow flurries started coming down as they walked up the stairs to board!
The journey to Israel was an experience unlike any other as most of the world's airlines are not flying to Israel at this time. Thankfully, there was Blue Bird!
But before they flew to Tel Aviv, Blue Bird decided to stop in Budapest, Hungary to pick up more passengers!
From the plane, Adriana saw snow for the first time in her life in Hungary of all places! She never could have imagined!
After many hours traveling for the second day, they finally landed at Ben Gurion just as the sun went down and Shabbat was beginning.
Vadim, our driver and friend, picked them up at Ben Gurion Airport and drove them to Jerusalem.
Thurs, Nov. 21 - Fri, Nov 22 - Walking through Jerusalem & Preparing for Shabbat
Overlooking the Old City....
We walked past the iconic windmill in the neighborhood of Yemin Moshe.
Artistic photo of the windmill at Yemin Moshe.
It was restored by "Christians for Israel" as a sign of friendship!
Christians from the Netherlands!
Psalm 147
A man named Montefiore established this neighborhood.
Later that evening, Raoul spotted the Taco restaurant. We need to bring our Mexican friends here!
It's called 'Tacos Luis" and is quite popular!
We pray and break bread together every morning for you!
Our beautiful flowers that Raoul bought us are lasting more than 1 week!
Good thing there is no construction trash coming down this street chute right now!
Eeeeeeerrwwwwwww!
We walked to the Shuk (the famous Mahane Yehuda outdoor market) to prepare for Shabbat. Michelle and Adriana are arriving today!
In Odad and Adir's shop we find the best gefilte fish and beet horseradish sauce.
Gili saves the best meat for Raoul at a discount, of course!
How smart to train her puppy in the midst of so many distractions. What a well behaved puppy!
Yossi and Boaz are so kind to us at Tzidkiyahu's stand.
Everyone cones here to prepare weekly for Shabbat.
On our way to Raoul's treasured Filipino store to pick up his favorite cochinta!
This is a beautiful area just off King David street.
Let's stop for a coffee.
While having coffee, we met another customer named Rivka. While you can't see her here, you may see her at one of our concerts. God is always gifting us with divine appointments.
We are so happy that Michelle and Adriana arrived safely!
They were overjoyed to finally arrive after 2 days of fun-filled travel and an overnight in Berlin!
Grace lit the candles and prayed for us to enter into God's peaceful Sabbath.
One of the most beautiful women showing us the most beautiful challah!
We say "L'Chaim!"- "To life" in a Shabbat celebration that is celebrating bringing our family together in Israel!
Now you can appreciate how this lovely, handmade beaded Massai necklace is supposed to look on our model, Michelle.
Adriana created these fun and adorable mittens to bring joy to all who will see us this winter!
Grace created this "must have" dessert tray with figs, persimmons, dates with walnuts, dove dark chocolates , more chocolates and candies from the Shuk. How can you resist?
Sat, Nov. 23 - Shabbat Walk & New Friends
Adriana and Michelle made us an amazing breakfast to start our day together!
Picking our prayers to start the day!
Gefilte fish, beet horseradish, Israeli Salad, olives...
Delicious creative eggs over easy on Italian Focaccia Bread...
We headed out for a walk.
What is God planning for us today?
We are standing in the archway just behind the YMCA on King David street.
Beautiful little bird
Please stand with us!
My handsome husband!
Spectacular view!
Beautiful Michelle!
The lovely Yemin Moshe neighborhood is just outside the Old City walls.
Pomegranates grow everywhere here.
Sending you love from Jerusalem!
Sending you more love from the stone steps of Yemin Moshe!
Patriotic Israel!
Yemin Moshe is filled with flowers, tiny alleys and stairways.
The red flowers reflect the sunlight.
We love the many Israeli flags.
The Windmill was a source of revenue for this neighborhood!
The iconic Montefiore Windmill is right behind us.
Overlooking the Old City...
...where modern and ancient blend together in a perfect tapestry of time.
This is what "happy" looks like.
Lovely girls!
Wild rosemary grows with abandon.
The rosemary has tiny flowers.
Striking flowers grow in every path.
Civilians with guns enjoy a beautiful Shabbat day with their families.
The street signs are in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
The ice cream store is open even though it is Shabbat. We can stop for ice cream!
Adorable Adriana is thrilled with her Pavlova ice cream cone.
Raoul was so excited to have Rum Raisin!
So much fun!
Enjoying ice cream on a beautiful sunny day in Jerusalem!
The girls sang in Spanish for the man from Argentina.
Raoul wanted to walk more!
This path is the old train track.
Everyone comes outside to walk with their loved ones on Shabbat.
There is great excitement in Israel for President Trump!
Thank you, Lord for this beautiful nature!
A tiny red flower has big personality.
How striking!
An amazing little lion greets us on our walk.
One little cat has so much beauty.
These little green Parrots are flying everywhere today!
Grace has an incredible eye for photography!
Look, how amazing!
Excellent camouflage.
Isn't God spectacular to create all of this?
Perfect wistful pose...
Each new flower becomes our favorite.
Raoul was so kind to take us to dinner to celebrate the girl's arrival. Let's also celebrate Michelle's birthday!
Yummy Spicy Tuna tartar on toast
King Fish Sashimi
Beef filet skewer served with Mashed Potatoes
Grilled Drum Fish fillet
Wow! Super delicious tuna!
Cherry tomatoes were invented in Israel!
The cauliflower with lemon blew us away!
We celebrated Michelle's birthday with a fabulous chocolate dessert!
Michelle and Grace sang "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" for the table next to us.
Sigal and Elad loved this surprise blessing!
God planned this divine appointment. Sigal is the CEO of the largest dental HMO in Israel - and they serve Holocaust survivors!
Sun, Nov. 24 - Meeting with Holocaust Survivors
Grace and Michelle sang for a small group of Holocaust Survivors.
They were so touched that the girls sang in Russian for them.
On our way to meet Michal's group of Holocaust survivors, we sang for 3 survivors from another group. They were so blessed, they cried, hugged us and they thanked us for coming in to meet them.
We finally found the right location.
This is Michal. She had cancer surgery in September and is just now gaining strength to meet her group again.
The performance was inspiring.
She was classically trained.
And many more beautiful classic songs...
She sang opera.
This survivor just turned 96 years old.
Starting the dance...let's go!
Let's dance!
We were crying tears of joy together!
This 96 year old survivor charmed the crowd.
We all cried when we saw Michal standing strong after her surgery.
Grace was able to share a few words of encouragement.
She shared about how happy we are to see them again!
Our "groupies" remember us from last year.
You came back!
Michal and Avia were thrilled to see us again. Sarah also came to join us!
Sun, Nov. 24 - Special time Together
Sarah is really having fun with us now.
Blessings raining down upon us!
Of course, eating is a vital part of our activities.
Roman salad with mushrooms
Burrata and cherry tomato salad
Mushroom Risotto
Tortellini with mushrooms in cream sauce... wow, a mushroom crazy meal!
Perfectly crispy salmon with veggies
How about this angle?
Burrata cheese salad...
...with heirloom tomatoes
Of course, we celebrated Adriana's birthday with the now famous Luziana's delectable Chocolate Cheesecake!
Michelle and Grace sang for Sahar, our waitress. She was so touches she started filming,
Sahar was so touched when we sang for her! She had the girls stop for a moment so she could film the moment.
Mon, Nov. 25 - Visit with Maxim & Singing for Kalo Cafe
Our early riser!
Making breakfast for our day!
Let's practice a bit more for our concerts.
Wow, what a large pomegranate with sweet kernels the size of corn!
Adriana made this delicious fruit plate- we have to try everything here!
Grace is ready for our day!
Thank you Adriana and Michelle for this delicious breakfast buffet!
It's quite chilly outside as we make our way to meet Maxim in the German Colony.
This little picturesque park is on the way!
Maxim has collected a few cats since we last saw him.
They are a bit scared of us...
...but very cute!
First on the agenda was making a little film for supporters in Australia.
We have Grace on camera #1...
And Raoul on roving camera #2...
Maxim always makes us laugh...
...adding in a sprinkle of Karen Faith and Michelle to the mix.
Can you imagine the fear?
One of the rockets hit the home of a Holocaust survivor this week in Haifa.
Thank God she survived (again!)
We will stop by and sing this precious woman this week when we go to Haifa. On top of being a Holocaust survivor, and her home destroyed by a rocket, her husband died just 2 months ago.
After our meeting with Maxim, we stopped at Kalocafe for lunch.
Kalocafe is owned by a Spanish family. The owner is named Carlos. We met his son, Yonatan, last week.
It's a bit chilly out but we don't mind.
Karen Faith has her puppet mittens on that Adriana made!
Michelle looks cute in her puppet mittens too!
Adriana is so creative!
We moved inside the cafe- much cozier!
Time to sing in Spanish fir Carlos. He loved it so much, ge kept right on singing as he worked.
Now they know us at Kalocafe!
Carlo was so touched by the singing. He started singing along with us.
Caprese Salad
Tuna Nicoise Salad
Smoked Salmon Croissant
Baked Eggplant
Are you hungry yet?
Tues, Nov. 26 - Visit to the Western Wall
Pomegranate salad with big, fresh, juicy pomegranates!
Ohhhhh..... you had me at 'steak and eggs'!
With Adriana and Michelle preparing breakfast, and Raoul providing the food, we feel very blessed and highly favored of God!
Walking the streets of Jerusalem
We set off to pray for loved ones at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount, the #1 Holy site of the Jewish people!
This Indian looks as cold as we feel!
The path to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City
Colorful mural envisioning the past, present and future.
The Flag of Israel adorns the wall.
It flies so majestic against the blue sky.
Overlooking the Mount of Olives
Beautiful vistas catch Grace's photographic eye as we peek out on the landscape
Iconic view of the Temple Mount
This sign reminds us that the Western Wall points us back to the days of the first and second Temples of the One True God.
The Word commands us to pray and seek the welfare and peace of Jerusalem.
This is the women's side of The Western Wall.
It is always busy here with women praying to God with all their heart.
We are so excited to pray for you here!
Look at that beautiful smile!
Michelle is adding more prayers to leave in the Wall.
Adriana has carried these precious prayers all the way from Cabo!
Recording the moment...
Adriana is placing each prayer upon the wall.
She is remembering you and bring your prayers to God!
She prays and then strategically places the prayer in the wall.
Michelle is taking a photo of each prayer she places on the wall.
Michelle will pray for each precious person, one at a time.
...and then place the prayer carefully in the Wall
Oh Lord, Please hear and answer!
Michelle is praying with all her heart.
Karen Faith wholeheartedly praying to our One True God.
Women crowd in, awaiting their turn
The feeling of God's Holy Spirit here is palpable with all the prayers.
The birds love nesting here in the midst of God's Spirit.
Just be careful not to stand directly under the birds...
Or you may feel a surprise blessing hit your head.
This clock is in the Women's area. It is easy to lose track of time here.
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil...
We don't want to leave.
Basking in God's Holy Spirit...
Adriana, Karen Faith, and Michelle in front of the Western Wall
Beautiful - Michelle and Grace are filled with the Holy Spirit!
Isn't Michelle a beautiful Way Cool Angel?
Isn't Grace a lovely Way Cool Angel?
Look at that smile!
Adriana and Karen Faith are filled with the Lord's Spirit!
The AISH Hatorah Center overlooks the Western Wall.
Back on the streets...
A man shouted to Michelle that she dropped something- his broken heart!
Israel honors America
...another amazing day in Jerusalem
We love walking through the many park paths.
Beautiful tree
