Day 46 — Israel in Crisis
Thank you all so much for praying for me the other day. I was able to deliver a 5-minute speech to a crowd of roughly 10,000. The London police were amazing and were out in force. We arrived late because we were speaking in southern England. It took a three-hour drive, and a one-hour train, and a divinely appointed taxi to get us to the rally. (On the way back to the hotel, we spent 40 minutes trying to get a taxi with no success.)
With my backpack and a suitcase, we had to trudge through the mud, convincing people that we were actually there to speak and to let us through. We were told that they were starting late because of a generator issue. I'm not joking when I say that as soon as we opened the taxi door to exit, the microphone came to life. It was a nice little confirmation that we were in the right place at the right time.
The most moving speakers were two parents of kidnapped children in Gaza. I don't know how they even function. It is the grace of God. One of the men remembered how initially he “rejoiced” that his daughter Emily had died. He could not bear the idea of her being abused by Hamas terrorists. But later, they received proof that she was alive. Indeed, his initial response was a coping mechanism, as now he is fighting for her release.
[And Emily might be coming home! As I am writing, a possible deal is coming together to release many of the hostages. Please pray that this goes through. The nation can’t bear these people being killed.]
He is a mess, confessing that he's lost two stones (28 lbs.) since October 7th. He talked about how annoyingly she would sing to him constantly. And how he would do anything to hear it once again.
Another mother talked about her son being kidnapped. She held herself together during her speech but then broke down afterward. Elana and others were able to express their love to her.
When it was my turn to share, I was interrupted several times by the crowd shouting: “Shame, shame, shame!” This is a very English thing to do when you speak about the crimes of others and, in this case, we were speaking about Hamas and the BBC.
Please take time to watch the video, and then please share it on YouTube, Facebook, and other places. We will post an Instagram version and a lower-level resolution link that you can share on WhatsApp.
When we arrived last night in Richmond, something came over me. It may be connected to being at home after such an intense life-and-death ordeal, or it may be that after working day and night since October 7th, we could have a few days’ break. I just started weeping and could not stop until I got home. It is nice to be with my family. There is a part of us, though, that feels very guilty for leaving. We will be back very soon. In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving. If ever there was a time to be in America, it’s now, to be with family for Thanksgiving.
