Shalom Friends,

Blessings to you from Israel!  It has been a very emotional and exciting past 24 hours for me here in the 18th Maccabiah Olympic Games.  Early yesterday morning we awoke in the shahar blackness of the pre-dawn hours and assembled our racing gear and headed to the starting line for the 1st ever Olympic Cycling Time Trial event in Israel’s history!  The competition was held in the Negev just a few kilometers from the Gaza border with top Jewish cyclist from around the world. 


(Pre-race briefing)


(Team USA prepares for battle)


(Canada, Mexico, and USA mingle)

The atmosphere was filled with such excitement as we were led to the starting ramp and released like arrows out of months of dedicated preparations and training. I must say that the solidarity and fellowship with other Jewish athletes, coach’s, and racing officials was so delightful and issued out of the prophetic oracle of Psalms 133!  And in the backdrop of the Western Negev next to the Gaza Strip where just 6 months earlier we were in a major war of kassam rockets raining down on these Israeli communities is so remarkable!  I love to see terrorism stifled and our people continuing to thrive here in the Promised Land!


(Here I’m released out of the gate)


(Building speed…)


(And building…)


(And building)

The race conditions were extremely hot even in the early morning hours and I knew that I would have to dig deep and push myself before dehydration started to creep in.  Once I was out of the starting gate and pedaling up to racing speed (43+ KPH), I was praying that Abba would send a little windward help to push me along so I could have some type of intro testimony to share later with the competitors.  Abba was again so faithful as He sent a very short but supernatural breeze out of nowhere on the most difficult stretch of the course to give me just enough encouragement to keep hammering it!  I actually felt the breeze come out of my belly and then enveloped me and the bike just long enough to push me along faster, knock out the lactic acid cobwebs, and cause me to laugh in the Joy of His strength.  I suddenly now began to have the strength to pass other riders that had started out before me and I did not know it at the time, but one of the Elite champions of Israel was behind me passing the same folks and trying strongly to catch me…but could not!  We later had a good time discussing with him why he could not overtake me even though he won the medal for this race!  (hint, hint)


(Final Sprint to the Finnish line)


(Tired but happy)

Once back at the staging area I was very happy to find out I placed in the top 10 in my category and was able with my strong time to help the USA team win the silver medal!  Though I did not reach the podium for the individual results it was however, so fitting in the Spirit of Psalms 133, to be able to be the 2nd fastest on the USA team and help us get a team Silver medal!  Glory to God!  I’m just so filled with holy laughter because you should see all of these top Cat. 1 and professional cyclists faces when I tell them I did not know how to ride a bike or even race 11 months earlier!  Again…Glory to God!


(Women’s Olympic medalists)


(Men’s Olympic medalists)


(Here is me with our team Silver medal)

The Opening Ceremony

This event was beyond description as together with 9,000 other Jewish athletes from over 64 nations enter in the procession to Ramat Gan Olympic stadium in Tel Aviv.  To hear the roar of a capacity crowd as they express their mutual bond and solidarity with these visiting Jewish communities from around the world is very special.  I was extremely overwhelmed to see so many young people on the athletic teams so happy to be in Israel and bonding to this Land.  They had so many question for me and really are feeling a mysterious supernatural pull to Eretz Yisrael!  I was in the right place at the right time with so many divine appointments!


(USA delegation enters the Olympic stadium)


(The largest Maccabiah Games ever!)


(We waved with one hand and took video with the other)


(The look on our faces says it all!)


(We are packed in like sardines!)

I could not get photos of all the countries represented but here is a few….


(Australia and Mexico is all fired up!)


(…As is the delegation from Spain!)


(Scotland in their traditional dress)


(France)


(Oh Canada!)


(Russia…look how tall that flag bearer is!)


(Here comes the Olympic torch carried by swimmer Jason Lezak who is remembered
for his amazing comeback in the Olympic games in Beijing)


(Let the Games begin!)

There is two very significant spiritual events that happened last night in the Opening Ceremony that I would like to share with you.  First was the speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  I was listening to him and as he was ending this formal communication to the huge crowd…suddenly something very powerful happened!  All the athletes from around the world standing close to me suddenly were overcome with Godly sorrow and apprehended in a mysterious way!  It happened as soon as the Prime Minister invited all the athletes to come back to Israel again and make Aliyah!  When he said that suddenly I felt the anointing fill the athletic area around me and I looked at the faces of all the athletes as they were pierced with the supernatural call to come home and live here!  It was so powerful and gripping that I do not have the English vocabulary to described what happened last night.  Just that it is the hand of God moving on His ancient people to come home again!

The second spiritual event that happened last night was the ending theme of the ceremony that was presented as a live musical in 3 acts.  I was about to leave the stadium early to miss the traffic as the musical presentation was humming along.  When suddenly Dalit calls my mobile and tells me to come back into the stadium because they are showing a video on the big screen about waters in the desert!  The musical was telling of the Jewish people being like lone wayfarers in the desert that finds waters and thus can grow roots into this Land!  I was stunned to see this presentation as it is totally confirming what Rives in the Desert is called to do in Israel!  And here it is being played out on the most expensive and largest media stage of Jewish history!  Wow!  Talk about confirmation about being here and a new vigor to keep pressing into the new thing of Rivers in the Desert to break out here!

Mega shalom to you’all and stay tuned for more updates soon!

In His service for your faith,

Scott and Dalit