After a typical Sunday service, two days of travel, and the excitement of such an amazing trip, I was finally in the Holy Land! To say that I was excited would be understating exactly what I was feeling. I was honored that my church was so eager to invest in me and my ministry to them that they sent me here. I was blessed to know that they were at home praying for me and already anticipating the stories and pictures that I would come home and share. And, I must admit, I was a even a bit nervous. I have watched CNN enough to know that the conditions in this part of the world are tense at best. There was a nervousness for safety that I had never felt before. I had no idea that my life was about to be changed forever After landing at the airport, gathering our luggage, and boarding the bus, we headed for our first stop, Beersheba. I had heard of the place but did not really know what it was that took place here. We all gathered around a pile of rocks that was clearly a well of some sort. Our tour guide began to point out facts about the land that was all around us and focused on the battles that had been fought here. It was interesting but I had been awake much longer than I was used to and beginning to fade. I just wanted to find a nice place to rest and so I leaned against the side of the well. The guide continued on and I got a sense that some really cool things took place here. That was about the extent of my excitement. Until he pulled out his Bible and read these words from Genesis 21:23-31: At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you.” Abraham said, “I swear it.” Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized. But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.” So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a treaty. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, and Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?” He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well.” So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there. After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God. I suddenly realized that I was leaning against what could easily have been the very well that Abraham dug and the very place where this oath of honesty had been made. It was overwhelming to me to be standing right in the middle of this place where God chose to intersect with humanity – I was in the Holy Land. My life, my ministry, my very soul will never be the same