The happy couple pictured in this "Local News" section is Donald and Maxine Smith from Covina, California. Their unexpected trip to Michigan, (which makes the news "local"), came as a delightful surprise for many of us who met with them.

The Smiths stayed a week in Michigan and, at their request, we invited LeRoy and Leona Benson, Jack and Kathy Crusan (two other site sponsors), along with Candy Boden to join us for dinner at the Olive Garden in Grand Rapids. We had a great time eating and visiting. These good times will be etched in our memories for a long time.

Dear Dr. Coxon,

We see and read about so much going on in the Middle East.  We are glad to see that Egypt seems to be making a peaceful transition after the ouster of Morsi.  We hope that a more moderate leader will be elected, but it will be some time before we know how that will be resolved.

It looks like things are continuing well for Blossoming Rose.  Here is our monthly gift.  Our best to you and Blossoming Rose.

God Bless,

Bruce and Harriett

Florida

Hello Dr. Coxon

My mom, Lois Elkin, went to be with the Lord this past Sunday, July 28.  As you may recall, she went to Israel 12 times with Blossoming Rose and had a special fondness for your ministry.  I had the blessing of accompanying her on a tour with you in 1998, and both of you baptized me in the Jordan River.

My dad is doing well at 89 years old.

I pray that all is going well with you and thank you again for what your ministry has done in the lives of our family.

God bless,

John

LEAVING BIBLICAL TAMAR PARK

I have been back home in Kansas for about a month now.  It is great to be sleeping in my own bed again after three months in Israel.  It is a blessing to be able to live in Wichita but to spend time in Israel.  Learning more about the Jewish people and the Holy Land each time I go is an added blessing.

It was fascinating managing Tamar Park with different groups of people coming and going and with the various needs that arose.  Overall, things ran smoothly, except for my fall from the ladder.  I'm grateful to be fully recovered now. 

After the three groups who used the Park while I was there, had departed, two volunteers, Fred and Barry, assisted me and we spent a lot of time on maintenance around the Park.  The summer is a good time to do this as there are not many visitors.  I would get up around 5 am and work outside until 8:30 and then have breakfast.  Then I would do some inside work.  We are blessed to have air conditioning in all of the buildings.  One of our projects was adding a bathroom for one of the sleeping rooms.  Barry finished up the sheet rock and Fred and I did the plumbing.  There is another man, Jimmy, who is going in September who will finish the rest of the bathroom.

Just before I left I had my first mangos from our neighbor's mango farm.  He lets us glean the left over fruit from the harvest.  The dates were not quite ripe yet.  They need another month.  I will miss picking and eating them this year.  There were olives hanging on our trees.  Last year was the first year that the olives at the Park were picked.  The November tour group picked them and they were taken to the olive press.  The desert is blossoming!

Early in 2013, Darick and Kate, our Biblical Tamar Park Managers, requested a leave of absence in order to visit family and friends in the United States.  Their first child, Chava, had been born a few months earlier (August 2012) and most of their family had not had the opportunity to meet her.  They also needed time to rest and reenergize. Kate went to the Park as a teenager, over a dozen years ago, and Darick made it his home six years ago. They were married, both at home in the US, and in Israel a couple years ago.

Their six month leave of absence was to be completed this month, but after much thought and prayer they decided to remain at home here in the States.   In an email to Rob, Kate wrote: "We are not positive of our plans just yet, but I have realized that I just need family right now."  Rob answered her, "Your need for family at this time in your life is totally understandable and I wish you the best as you seek direction for your life.  The years that you gave to the Park are appreciated more than you know and will not be forgotten.  Darick and you helped us to bring the Park to a new level of operation." Darick also wrote, "Thank you for the opportunity to work at the Park.  It has been a real honor to work with you, your father, and everyone else in this wildly unique adventure."

I'm confident that the whole Blossoming Rose family would agree as we express our appreciation for what Darick and Kate did for Blossoming Rose, and the Park, and the positive impact they had during their extended stay.  We couldn't have accomplished what we did without their help and we wish them the best.

They have expressed a desire to remain close to the operations of the Park and have offered their assistance any time we need it. We are thankful for this offer and we have already taken advantage of their assistance.

Many of you remember that in March we sent out a "News Alert" requesting volunteer applications to assist in the Park during the absence of the Beishirs.  We had an excellent response to that appeal and as a result staffed the Park through September.

The government numbers are in regarding the count of visitors to Israel for the first half of 2013. Over two million tourists and pilgrims visited Israel during this time.

Tourism Minister, Uze Landau said, "Israel is an attractive country and the tourists are voting with their feet." We are also witnessing these surging numbers as we see registrations increasing for both our tours to Israel and also our volunteer work activities at Biblical Tamar Park. The desert is a very peaceful and pleasant place to work, meditate, study, and pray.  The buildings at Tamar are all air conditioned but even during the summer, volunteers enjoy the cool mornings and evenings.

MAJOOL DATE PALMS AND OLIVE TREES ARE PRODUCING FRUIT

Twelve years ago the Israel Antiquities Authority invited Blossoming Rose to become the curator and caretaker of what would later be named "Biblical Tamar Park." It was the name chosen Dr. Yigal Israel because he believed that the site was truly the Tamar mentioned several places in the Bible.

Part of the Blossoming Rose mission was to "green the desert," which was a major challenge. As years passed, over 1000 trees and shrubs were planted. Hundreds of names, on brass plaques on the wall in the dining room, bear witness to the diligence of many to see the sand covered.

Many of the trees planted were desert varieties given to Tamar by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to provide needed shade.  Today some of them are over twenty feet tall with trails winding under the trees as they circle the Park.

A major effort was made during the early years to plant both olive trees and date trees. Last year the kitchen at Tamar was able to begin cooking with its first olive oil and visitors ate both green and black olives that were harvested from our trees surrounding the tel.

               

You can bless Israel by announcing to your friends that they are welcome to join our fall and winter tours and volunteer work activities in Israel. One upcoming tour, sponsored by Dr. James Tabor and Ross Nichols, is November 1-10, and they have a few more seats available.  It is always nice to fill every seat on the bus and every bed at Tamar.  You will find both of these academic professionals very interesting as they lecture on historic Christianity and Israel today. Register by calling 800-317-7673.  Jodi will take care of you.

We need a dozen more people on our "Founder's Tour to Israel," November 11-22. You will see more of Israel on this tour than any other tour similarly priced. You will travel from the northern border and Galilee to the southern tip of Eilot.  If you have visited Israel before and want to skip the tour, you can join the thirty people who are going from November 9-22, straight to Biblical Tamar Park to help us finish the foundation of the 3000 year old Israelite house and also work on the British building and the Israeli bomb shelter.  We need cooks, housekeepers, mechanics, and gardeners to help us maintain the Park.  Your costs will be considerably less if you do not go on the tour but choose only to work at Tamar, which will provide you with the satisfaction of accomplishing important tasks to bless Israel.