Israel at War:  Day 6

Joel C. Rosenberg

(Ashkelon, Israel, November 19, 2012) -- Today, I decided to Tweet (@joelcrosenberg) moment by moment on a visit to the Israeli city of Ashkelon, not far from the Gaza border. I thought it was going to be an interesting visit. I didn't know the half of it.

It's one thing to watch on TV as rockets are being fired from Gaza into Israel, and to watch the Iron Dome system fire missiles to intercept them. It's quite another thing to be there in person and hear the air raid sirens going off, and run for cover to the nearest bomb shelter, and see the contrails of the rockets and missiles screeching across the sky, and then hear the earth-shaking booms, and to feel your heart pounding in your chest as you thank God that He protected you. May you never have to experience this.

As I headed to Ashkelon from Jerusalem, I was accompanied by several of my colleagues with The Joshua Fund. We had been invited by a dear friend to come back to visit a hospital that serves as the primary medical center serving some 500,000 Israeli citizens who live on the southern tier. For the past several years, The Joshua Fund has been honored to invest in the purchase of much-needed medical equipment for the hospital through the generous donations of evangelical Christians in the U.S. and Canada.

We knew that Ashkelon had been targeted for the past six days with a relentless barrage of rockets and missiles. We knew it was risky. But we also felt the Lord was telling to go and see how the staff was doing, encourage them, pray with and for them, and try to get a better understanding of what they and the residents of Ashkelon face. I'm so glad went. For awhile we thought we were going to be able to depart without incident, and that was what we were praying for. But Lord had other plans. Today, some 120 rockets were fired at southern Israel and 30 rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome. There is plenty of talk of a cease fire, but no evidence of one happening yet.

On the blog, I briefly tell the story and share each of the Tweets I sent out from Ashkelon. [Above is a picture of the undetonated warhead of a rocket fired from Gaza that landed not far from where we were having lunch in Ashkelon.]

Also on the blog is a link to the online video of the sermon I preached in Jerusalem on Sunday evening on leadership lessons from the Apostle Paul from the book of Titus.

One other story you might find interesting: on Saturday, I visited the "Armageddon McDonald's" in northern Israel with some pastors from the U.S. and Europe. But the kids who work there don't know the prophecy. On the blog, I briefly share the story of what the "Armageddon McDonald's" is, and the conversation I had with an Arab Muslim teenager serving us at the counter.

Please keep praying for the millions on both sides of this border -- Israelis and Palestinians - who are living inside the missile zone. And thank you so, so much to all of you who are making contributions to the work of The Joshua Fund right now. We deeply appreciate your prayers and financial support. It is truly helping people who are living in great need and people who are being deeply affected by the latest war.

[To read more about my experience in Ashkelon today -- or learn more about the new e-book, ISRAEL AT WAR; or to find links to the latest news and analysis of events and trends in the U.S., Israel, North Africa, Russia, and the Middle East -- please go to: http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/.]

* TWITTER -- Please track the latest developments @joelcrosenberg.