My Trip to Israel - Part 1

What a blessing this trip was, and I will always be grateful to have visited that Holy Land.  G-d truly led me to it, and I'll tell you why:  I never had a desire to go to Israel.  I didn't want to go  because of all the unrest and terrorist bombings since the 60's.  I wanted to travel, yes, but Israel was not on my list of countries to visit.

In 1994, a friend visited Israel, and put my name on a prayer in the Temple Wall.  She prayed for me and other friends to be able to go there one day.  When she told me that, I was impressed, but still didn't have a desire to go.  I also could not imagine, even in my wildest dreams, that I would make the trip.

In the fall of 1995, I attended a ladies Sunday School class, where we had a visiting teacher who encouraged us to go with her on a ladies-only trip to Israel.  She told us to put our names on a list to sign up.  I didn't sign up, and she asked me why.  I said, "I'd like to travel, but Israel has never been somewhere I want to go. Plus I don't have the money." 

Recently divorced, I struggled to make ends meet for my teenage daughter and myself, so travel was  out of the question.  I laughed when she said, "Put your name on the list, Gail, and if the L-rd wants you to go, He will give you the money."  I was intrigued, so I put my name down, but didn't expect G-d to give me $3000.00

To my surprise, about six months later, I received a tax refund for a little over $3000.00.  Believe me, I was shocked.  Immediately, I thought of the trip, but didn't sign up.  I had a multitude of bills to pay, and with a teenage daughter, lots of other expenses seemed to take priority.    I spent the money almost as fast as I received it.  Soon afterward, I felt convicted about using my Israel money for bills.  I prayed, "Father, you know my situation and the bills I needed to pay.  I should have trusted you for the money for the bills , so please forgive me.  If you want me to go to Israel, please give me another $3,000.00."

Would you believe, He did?  Within a month, my rental house tenant moved out, and I put the house on the market for sale.  That house sold in one week.  This was incredible because I had tried to sell it a couple of years earlier with no success.  I remember crying to G-d, saying, "Father, you know I need to sell this house.  Why aren't meeting my need?"  Well, He definitely knew best.  This time, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was supposed to go to Israel, and paid for the trip immediately.

I went to Israel in the fall of 1996, and the things I saw and experienced there changed my life.  I will continue this story.