Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava Desert

During the December holidays, my last nights were at Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava Desert. The Arava is a narrow piece of land in far, southern Israel located between the Negev Highlands and the country of Jordan. It was my first time there and the stay was very enjoyable.

Parking lot at the Guest House in Ketura.

Flourishing palm trees.

Ketura is landscaped very well. This posting has many floral photos.

A solar-heating garden.

Kay would have been at "home" in Ketura. She would have saved her apple from breakfast to feed to this guy.

Being Saturday morning, it was a good day for a Shabbat (Sabbath Day) walk. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. Acts 1:12

The Negev Highlands that I drove thru the previous night.

The wilderness and the desert will be glad,And the Arabah (Arava) will rejoice and blossom;Like the crocus. Isaiah 35:1.

Winter in the Arava desert.

As I was driving, I spotted some camels in the kibbutz close to the horse barn.

Near the entrance of Ketura.

Looking out the passenger's window the other way.

The sign for Ketura spelled with a "Q". The map used a "K". Those letters seem to be interchangeable in the Middle East.

This is the day I would head to last week's posting, the Hai-Bar Wildlife Preserve, towards Eilat.

The view of the Negev Highlands from the back porch of my room at the guest house.

The cup of coffee I was enjoying. You know you have been in the Middle East too long when you drink Turkish Coffee. It might grow hair on a bald man. Elisha and I should be able to recognize each other in eternity. Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him (Elisha) and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!" II Kings 2:23.

A little sparrow in the upper right corner came to visit me during quiet time on the porch. It always reminds me of the song, "His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me!"

Looking out the front door with the mountains of Edom (southern Jordan) in the distance. Edom is where Esau settled when the mountains were called Seir. So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom. Genesis 36:8.

A group of daisies on my walk.

These daisies reminded me of Gideon asking God Almighty to put the dew on the fleece and not the ground. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken." Judges 6:37. What I was thinking of was "make the center of this flower yellow, but the outer petals white". Then on the next flower, "make it all yellow", etc.

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?" Jeremiah 32:27.



















The guest house at Keutra with a nice walkway around the kibbutz.

My stay also coincided with Hannukah. At night on this mountain, there were several oil drums burning in the shape of a menorah. You could see it for kilometers (miles) down the road.

My kitchen sink had two faucets with a sign to only drink from the one on the right. I did appreciate the warning also being in English.

On a recent trip to Sderot, we saw the IDF patrolling a border fence. Just two weeks ago after the cease fire, a young Israeli man in the IDF was killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol.

The past few weeks we have been able to bless many families in Sderot. One lady was so grateful that she wanted to write a "thank you note". She was too poor to have any stationery and could only write the note on a piece of paper with just a little knowledge of English.

The construction business is booming in Sderot building bomb shelters. No pun intened.

This apartment complex is having bomb shelters built. What other city would have classified ads like this "Apt for rent. Two bedrooms. Kitchen. Brand new bomb shelter with easy access."?

Just last Thursday, five of us went to Sderot and were able to bless nine families. It was a busy day driving around the town trying to read a map written in Hebrew. I have learned the main streets but those side street addresses can be tough to find. One of the families told us to stop at the building with the picture of the mayor on it. I knew where that was. This is Mayor Bouskila that we met in the bomb shelter a few weeks ago during the Gaza conflict.

Even Sderot still has some beauty.

After a very rewarding day, we were on our way back to Jerusalem in the jeep that I had rented for the day. Reinette from South Africa, Emma from England, and Gergana from Bulgaria. Varya from the Ukraine was on her cell phone in the car and missed the photo. Five of us all together, each one from a different country. I am always amazed how the Lord Jesus touches hearts from all around the world to come and serve Him. Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? Mark 11:17.