My phone rang twice before I answered it. The "Caller ID" said unknown.
The voice on the other end seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it. It sounded like a voice I had known my entire life, yet was somehow changed, distant, filled with new emotion.
Then it clicked in my brain. The person on the other end of the line was my mother -- calling me from Israel just before her and dad go downstairs for breakfast.
Ten hours ahead, mom and dad were preparing for breakfast as I prepared for bed. Both voices were enthusiastic. Their trip to Israel is more than just a sight-seeing tour. As Christians, it is like going home. Mom described their first days in Jerusalem as emotional, spritual, and giving her a feeling of fullness.
Two weeks is the length of their tour. They are in Israel at the same time as President Bush, and informed me that Condi Rice is staying in the same hotel that they are. Mom recalled and told me about an amazing conversation with Jon Voight in the elevator of their hotel, and the powerful experience of praying at the wailing wall, with her hand pressed against it.
Mom and Dad also told me about meeting Israeli soldiers stationed near the Syrian border. Mom says she got a picture with one of the Israeli Defense Force troops, and will get it to me when she can.
In addition to their time in Israel, they are going to spend some time in the country of Jordan as well.
I have been many places, but Israel is not one I have visited yet. My mom urges me to go. She says, "I am unable to convey how wonderful it has been to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, to see the places He preached. You need to make this trip, Doug. You need to see Old Jerusalem before you see New Jerusalem in the near future. For a Christian, coming to Jerusalem is like coming home."
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Joel Richardson is the editor of the book, Why We Left Islam. The controversial new book is the first in America to feature an image of Muhammad on the cover and tell nearly two dozen horror stories of former Muslims. Tonight, Joel Richardson was my guest on Political Pistachio Radio . . . Listen to the archive HERE.