We begin our adventure towards Israel...

Hello from Israel!

Zabrina Robinson and I are hailing you from the country of Israel itself!

Wow! It’s amazing to finally be here!

We have come through many trials and tribulations to get here to this place—in Israel. Let me share a few of these…
In October 2011, Zabrina and I attended Aglow International Conference in Houston, Texas. At the conference, they announced that there was an Israel Solidarity Trip occurring in late April/early May.

We prayerfully considered coming. The Holy Spirit told each of us in different ways that we were to “Yes, go.” So, in November, we started planning the work and working the plan. We prayed and worked and sent out letters to friends and family asking for their support.

Little by little, the funds started trickling in. We trusted and prayed and trusted and waited on the Lord’s Provision. We waited and trusted some more…and some more. We had people who doubted what we were doing. We had naysayers along the way who in essence hoped we wouldn’t reach our goal.

But we got together and we prayed over the whole situation. And while we were praying, I saw a figure with a pitcher. The figure was pouring out the pitcher and much waters were flowing out. The figure represented a heaven-to-earth transaction! God’s Provision—His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Out of the pitcher flowed never-ending provision! It never stopped…it just kept flowing and flowing. So, over the course of the past several months, we watched financial and prayer provision flow toward us again and again.

The naysayers? There was no place for their doubt and lack of faith. We watched the Lord provide abundantly over and over! As a matter of fact, we trusted the Lord right up until we were fixing to leave. Just a week before we left to come to Israel (and not before then!) were we able to secure a plane ticket from our local area to New York. (The flight to Israel left out from New York.) Talk about faith!

On April 27th through April 29th, we attended our South Carolina Aglow State Celebration. It was a wonderful atmosphere filled the Holy Spirit and fellowship with other beloved women of Aglow. Aglow is a wonderful safe haven for women of all walks of life to come be a part of! (If you want more information, please check out www.aglow.org)
The lovely ladies of Aglow prayed over us, blessed us with last minute needed funds, and sent us on our way. State Celebration was a wonderful springboard into heading towards Israel.

We then headed to Charlotte to spend the night with some awesome hospitable people—Al and Lasaine Yates. God bless them for blessing us! They fed us great food and provided comfortable sleeping arrangements for us. I felt like I was in a hotel! They took very good care of us. They will be the first to receive us back when we return from our trip.
Lasaine took us to the airport. We got from Charlotte to New York –no problem.

Then we get to New York airport. We wait to be able to check in for our flight. We see several stands (like music stands) lined up across the way behind some ropes. We think maybe they are translators. A line starts to form three hours before our flight leaves. We get in line behind a group. One of the people call us over. We each go in front of a stand. The people start asking us questions. “What is your relationship (between Zabrina and I)?” “How long have you known each other?” “What is your purpose in Israel?” Why are you going to Israel?” “Do you know anyone in Israel?” “What are you going to do when you get there?”

The lady asks me several times if I know anyone in Israel. I tell her no, several times. I guess they don’t like what I said. So, a guy comes over and starts grilling me with questions. Then, another guy comes over and starts grilling me with questions. I feel like I am being interrogated. I am not quick with speaking. I try to answer their questions to the best of my ability. It’s hard to answer questions quickly when someone is grilling you rather abrasively. So, the people start freaking out. They detain Zabrina and I in a “holding place” where we bump into a few other people…another lady heading to Aglow and two Fathers from Kansas. They hold us in there for a while. They take our bags from us. They tell us we are going to another room. They take us to another room and we have to step through their private security gate, then have a seat. One of the father’s asked one of the people a question and she turned rather gruff and took his passport. They swiped our shoes for “samples”. We wondered if they were going to take our DNA samples next! They stayed in earshot to hear what we were saying at all times. It was serious business. When we were done, they took us back to the “holding place” and we sat down again. We asked about our bags. They said they were going to hold them for us and to come back to them at 4:20. We went away a bit wary that they were keeping our stuff like that. We walked around for a bit, then went back to get our bags. They gave us our carry-on bags back. They still had our check in bags. When we went back to get our bags, they held us there for a few more moments. They grilled me again one last time. One of the guys asked me how much it had cost to buy my passport. This is not information that I had in my head at the moment…I had forgotten about that because we had taken care of that all the way back in November 2011. This information was not at the forefront of my mind. But Praise the Lord God Almighty for the Holy Spirit! As SOON as the guy asked me that question, the Holy Spirit quickened that information up out of me and I was able to quickly and accurately say without any hesitation—“I paid $110 for the passport and $30 for the processing fee.” Then he asked me where I got my passport. And was able to tell him specifically. Glory be to God for the Holy Spirit! As soon as I gave him that quick, very specific answer, he did not mess with me anymore after that. I thank the Lord for being my ever present help in time of need!

After all this mess, they told us that we would have to follow them through security and to the boarding gate. If any one of us went out of their eyesight, we would have to go find that person and start back from the beginning. They walked us through lines of people and through security. They led us to the boarding gate and when it was time to board, they allowed us to board first.
Not having to wait in all those lines was good…we did not miss our flight.

However, upon arrival to our first hotel in Tiberas, Israel, we opened our bags and checked them. Come to find out: half of my jewelry was gone. My husband had given me a beautiful jade bracelet and earring set from one of his trips in the military. They had taken my bracelet and broke it. The beads are scattered in my jewelry box. I also had an Israel shekel necklace that I had purchased from the International Aglow Conference that we just attended this past October. That necklace is gone. They also took another necklace pendant I had and a $60 gold chain that I had gotten on sale for just $6. They took my gold earrings. As if that wasn’t enough: I also took my anointing oil set with me in my checked bag. I had the notion to open the oils and smell them. Several of the oils do not smell like they are supposed to. I have used the oils repeatedly and I KNOW something is wrong with them. Also, there is something wrong with my mascara. It doesn’t apply like it is supposed to…it is very runny and takes longer to dry than normal.

When I discovered all these things from my bag, my eyes filled with tears. I’m just a wife and mom of five from South Carolina, raised in Arkansas with humble roots. Why would they do such a thing to me? I’m just Joanie! I got very angry about this. I took all my emotions from this junk to the Lord. The Bible does say “we wrestle not with flesh and blood”. I came in contact with some different kind of adversaries—trying to intimidate me and shake me up. But I know in Whom I put my Trust. Vengeance is the Lord’s and I know He will repay. The Lord God Almighty is a Strong Deliverer!
After all the airport fiasco, we endure our 10 ½ hour flight from New York to Israel. They fed us well with a very broad variety of food for lunch and dinner and they made sure we had plenty to drink.
Then…finally…TOUCHDOWN IN ISRAEL!

Let me tell you: it was NIIIIIIIICE to stand up after getting off the plane!
We FINALLY made it to Israel! We walked through the airport, collected our belongings, and then, as spoken over us before we left Aglow State Celebration, we were met by the Lord God Almighty! As soon as I stepped out of the airport into the air of Israel, a rush and gust of wind met me at the exit to the airport! I felt the refreshing of the Holy Spirit as I stepped into the air of God’s own people, Jesus’ beloved people and city—the Jews, the Israelites! I fully believe the Lord God Almighty met us right there when we got to the airport! He is such an awesome God…He said He would NEVER leave us or forsake us—that includes whichever country we travel to!

We hopped on the bus and rode to our first hotel…

I will report on more of our adventures soon and I hope to post some pictures, also.

Until then---Shalome!!!