We are back after the filming of the first two tours. The Lord faithfully undertook in all that we wished to accomplish. But before we tell you anymore about the tour, please find a short video which we have uploaded for you on our website (https://www.kerugma.org/). It is part of a presentation by the local Israeli tour guide, Tal Megged, on Masada, a mountain fortress from the days of Herod. It will give you a glimpse into how the average Israeli experiences life in Israel today. She refers to a situation that had taken place a couple of days prior to this particular presentation, when an Israeli army base on the Golan Heights, not far from our hotel that night, was attacked by Iran. The rest of the night we could hear Israel firing back.
Upon arriving back home, many people told us that they were praying for us when they heard about Iran’s attack on Israel. Thank you so much for that. We experienced the Lord answering your prayers.
We are very excited and grateful regarding the filming of the tour. It has been our experience whilst on tour in the past that things have not always worked out. Many times we had only managed one or two sites that we could film well enough to enable us to actually edit a full DVD. But this time it was just the opposite. Both during the Italy and the Israel tours, there was only one site that we were not able to film as we would have liked. In Italy the tour just could not fit in a specific site because of unforeseen circumstances. In Israel we had a problem that resulted in a very short visit to one site. And at one new site that we had never before filmed, the person in charge just suddenly stopped us from filming.
Filming on tour offers many challenges. In Italy we are not allowed to use a tripod or even a monopod. Trespassers are fined €2000.00. In Israel you have to learn to know every site. And the rules are different at each site and sometimes circumstances can change without prior notice. At some sites you are welcome to film, even with a tripod, but at other sites, especially the church sites, one is not permitted to do so. We had learned from our previous experiences and so we carefully planned where we would film and with which cameras. It worked very well.
Previously we had tried to obtain permission to film and our experience was that, three months prior to the tour, you would have to sit waiting for days on end to get the stamped approval – and this after paying a lot of money. And then, after arriving at the site, the officials would present you with a long list of excuses as to why you were not permitted to film on that particular day. We thus knew that the best was to film as much as possible - and of course, only if allowed to.
What also contributed to our success this time, was the fact that our fellow tourists spontaneously helped and supported us where they could. As the tours progressed, some even started to work with us, taking photos and filming what they thought we might need, with their cameras. They also gave us all the photographs and film, at the end of the tour, with their contribution greatly assisting with the editing!
We praise the Lord for all of this. And even more for how He enabled us physically to complete the work we were assigned to do. As you will remember, I (Naas) asked you for prayer because I had a torn Achilles tendon. A week before we had to leave I still doubted if I would be able to walk on the rough terrain that we knew we would have to sometimes do. But we are just amazed at how well we coped.
Something interesting happened at one of the sites during the Israel tour. A young man walked up to Randall and asked: “Aren’t you Dr Randall Smith?” When Randall confirmed that he was indeed, the young man said, “I am from South Africa and I watch your DVDs. They are life changing! I stood here and heard you speaking behind me, when I thought, ‘that voice I know!’ Do you mind my wife taking a photo of the two of us?” Randall pointed to us and said, “They are from South Africa too. They are the people producing the DVDs”. The man looked at us and said, “Are you Naas and Marina?” We then, using their phone, had the privilege of taking a photo of him and his wife with Randall.
We trust you will enjoy the video by Tal. She is a very special and gifted tour guide. The video link is just a small portion of a very interesting presentation. We cannot wait to release the full DVD. According to Israeli law, only official Israeli tour guides are allowed to lead tours in Israel. Although Dr Randall Smith was involved in training tour guides, since he is no longer living in Israel, he is no longer regarded as an official tour guide. Tal is one of the guides who assists Dr Smith in guiding his tours. During the tours, the Israeli guides conduct the tours to sites such as Masada which are not Biblical sites as such. The video on our website is filmed from there.
We are planning to leave on 24 June for the third tour that we will film this year, God willing. During this tour we will again do a short part of Italy, and from there we plan to do what we have never been able to do before. We plan to go to the islands where Paul landed, such as Malta, where he was bitten by a snake. From there we will go to Greece where we will visit Athens and Corinth.
Please pray for us during this time.
But for now we have a lot of editing to do. We wish we could release all these DVDs for you already. Please remember to pray for us for the editing too.
We greet you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Naas and Marina
PLEASE PRAY FOR:
Thank the Lord for His faithful guidance and provision during the first two tours and continue praying for this tour (June 24 – July 10):
~ For everyone to have safe journeys to and from the tours;
~ For Dr Randall Smith’s presentation every day at all the different sites and on the ship while we travel to the islands where he will do six presentations on Paul, his writings and journeys.
~ For us to handle the equipment efficiently;
~ That Randall will not be interrupted by other groups;
~ That we will not be hindered by security, from filming;
~ For the strength and the ability to film everything correctly and capture all that is vital;
~ For everyone’s health as well as the weather during the tours.
You are welcome to send this letter to anyone that you think may be interested..
