A year like no other!

We had some of our meals in the caravan and some with the staff. There wasn’t a great deal of harvesting at first, so we tried to make ourselves useful wherever we could. With not much to do, I spent many mornings sitting in the park while the children played.

While everyone was in quarantine, HaYovel had arranged teachings and speakers throughout the day on Zoom. We did miss quite a few sessions, either because we were busy or because the phone signal wasn’t always reliable. Even though the schedule was full, the girls still managed to create a video series called “The Quarantine Games.” It was hilarious and captured how each of the girls was slowly becoming a little unhinged—very entertaining.

We were very fortunate that, being from Britain, which was on the green list, we didn’t have to quarantine. Tommy, Sherri, and their children—who were staying at home with them—were still in isolation when we arrived, but they only had one week left, having arrived earlier than the rest of us.

It was a good day when everyone was finally free and able to participate fully in camp life.

Once the harvest was in full swing, Pete and the girls joined in every day. The girls were amazing. They woke up at four a.m., helped prepare breakfast in the kitchen, and then went straight out to harvest—even through a heatwave. It wasn’t easy taking all the children out harvesting, so I stayed back with the younger ones, letting them play in the playground while I washed up from breakfast. That way, others were free to go out into the fields.

The weeks were quite busy, with Shabbat being the favourite day, of course. On Friday mornings, the mums all gather in the kitchen to prepare food for Friday night and Saturday. It can get a bit cramped in there at times. A few mamas arrive with a baby on their back (or front), and sometimes a toddler or two in tow—but it’s great fun.

This harvest has been very different from other years. Normally there are sightseeing tours—Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, Shiloh, and more. This year, however, it has been vines, vines, and more vines. And that’s what makes it so exciting.

God brought seventy volunteers from the nations to Israel to harvest grapes. Everyone else faced closed borders, apart from Israeli citizens and those making Aliyah—Jewish people returning to their homeland. It has been nothing short of a miracle that the borders were opened just for us. Many newspapers have even written articles about the volunteers who managed to enter the country—some favourable, some not.

But prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes, and both the land and the people are being restored. Sixteen years ago, God called a family with eleven children to come to these mountains and help Jewish farmers harvest their grapes. Other families began to join them, and HaYovel was born.

So life here has been wonderful. Normally there are many different programmes, which means volunteers come and go, but this year has been different. Everyone is here for approximately three months, creating a very close-knit group. We’re getting to know one another well, and it’s truly special.

It’s incredible to think that God brought this group together for His purposes. I’m fairly certain that no one yet knows exactly what He has planned for each of us—but everyone is very excited to find out.

One definite highlight has been celebrating the three Fall Feasts in the Land. Yom Teruah was great fun and was celebrated over two days. The Wallers dressed up as hillbillies and made us breakfast on the second day—it was hilarious. We also had a cake-eating contest and a very funny pretzel-eating contest, where you place the pretzel on your forehead and then try to work it into your mouth using only the muscles in your face. It was so funny to watch. There was also a water-balloon tossing contest that quickly turned into a full water fight, followed by a very nice barbecue.

Yom Teruah is a shadow of the day Messiah returns. Scripture speaks of His coming “at the last trump,” and this feast is marked by the blowing of the shofar—a day of shouting, noise, and celebration.

The Day of Atonement is a shadow of the day when God will judge the world. It is a day of fasting, but not a sad one. We fasted from food and water for twenty-five hours, which was really hard at the beginning but much easier toward the end. The feasts begin at sunset, so in Jewish custom you eat a meal before dark and then begin the fast. The kitchen crew made spectacular shawarmas—which was very brave, as almost everyone was wearing white! We ate very carefully…

After dinner, everyone gathered together, sat in a circle, and read through all the Psalms. It was wonderful. Pete, David, and the girls made it through the night, but the little ones and I didn’t. I was so tired that I put them to bed—and then went to bed myself.

Sukkot is probably the most festive of all the festivals. Everyone builds a sukkah—an outdoor structure with palm branches or bamboo for the roof—sleeps outside, and invites others over for snacks and games. It was such a joy to sleep outdoors.

A huge sukkah was also built for shared meals, and each night had a different theme as various families or groups took turns cooking. It was so much fun. On different days, we had sukkah gatherings at clusters of sukkot, and in each one there were games to play. I think our favourite was Spoons (played with cards and spoons), but there was also chess, a fishing game, apple stacking, and Pit, to name just a few.

We also played some games on a couple of days. One of the best was set up with a green tarp strung across the middle of the white tent. Everyone put on their harvest shoes, because when you’re out harvesting, often all you can see of the person opposite you is their feet beneath the vines.

A group of about seven people stands behind the green tarp, while the rest of the group stands on the other side with only their shoes visible underneath. The seven then have to guess who each pair of shoes belongs to. This continues until everyone has had a turn to guess. It was great fun.

Another favourite game was Cornhole. Britt Waller made the boards himself. They’re wooden rectangular boxes with a hole near the top, set at an angle. Two boards are placed opposite each other at a distance of about thirty feet, and two teams take turns throwing beanbags into the holes, scoring as they go. It’s really good fun once you get your eye in.

Each morning during Sukkot, there were special prayers in the big sukkah, using the lulavim, made from the four species God specifies in Leviticus 23. We also sang the Hallel Psalms—Psalms 113–118. The Wallers are a very gifted family and have put the Hallel Psalms to music in both English and Hebrew. It’s such a wonderful way to memorise Scripture and to be able to sing it together.

One of the highlights of Sukkot was the annual talent show. This year, they decided to spread it over two evenings—one dedicated to music and the other to various skits. In previous years, it had all been done in one evening, but too much humour after eleven p.m. can be a bit exhausting!

The level of talent on the mountain in 2020 has been incredible. We heard some truly amazing singers and musicians, and one of the ladies who is also on staff is currently recording her own song—it’s beautiful. I’ll be sure to share it once she releases it on Spotify.

The following evening was an absolute scream. The volunteers and staff here are not only godly and talented, but also incredibly funny. It’s been a long time since we’ve laughed this much. It was a very memorable evening.

Sukkot is the shadow of spending eternity with God—when He will tabernacle with His people forever. Sukkot is an eight-day feast, and in Hebrew, the number eight represents new beginnings.

Now the Fall Feasts are over, and the grape harvest is almost complete. There are a few days of olive harvesting still to come, but the most exciting part is tree planting. HaYovel is preparing to plant four thousand trees. This area was once covered in forest and was incredibly abundant. Josephus wrote that the land was so productive that even the lazy were compelled to farm it.

God has sent HaYovel a tree expert to help select species that are likely to have been native—using the Bible and other historical sources for guidance—as well as to plan and oversee the planting. Funds have been raised to purchase hoes, pickaxes, shovels, pitchforks, wheelbarrows, mulch, and, of course, the trees themselves. The harvesting volunteers have now become thorn-bush clearers and pick-wielding hole diggers, not to mention pioneers of new access routes through some immensely challenging terrain.

While the work is underway, we have someone on prayer watch and someone on Arab watch, as at times people may come up through the valley from the town below to try and disrupt the work.

The weeds here are enormous. The most prevalent one is called widow’s garment, and it is very large and thorny. I’ve had the pleasure of digging up a few around the base, though they were only the smaller ones. Where the trees are being planted, they’re knee-high.

We also went on a very exciting trip to Elon Moreh. You can read about it in Genesis 12—this is where God appeared to Abraham and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” It is a beautiful place, looking out over so much of Israel. On a clear day, you can see incredibly far, and knowing how fruitful the land was even back then, it must have been breathtakingly stunning.

The valley in the background is also the one the Israelites travelled through when they came out of Egypt. You can almost imagine how the inhabitants of the land must have felt, watching such a vast multitude moving through the valley.

A few days ago, most of the volunteers were whisked off to Arogot Farm. It’s a hilltop in Judea where they have built a prayer house for all nations and are in the process of developing a retreat centre. The girls had the honour of sleeping on the floor of the prayer house in their sleeping bags, while one of our friends had a very close encounter with a centipede!

The men slept outside, either under a large pergola or just beside it, with a beautiful view of the stars. They have also built a freshwater swimming pool, which is naturally filtered using four species of plants and fish.

The next day was the first olive harvest—four hundred trees. They came home very dirty and completely exhausted. Pete had taken the three eldest with him, while I stayed on base with the other four. It was a long day all round.

We are incredibly excited to be joining the HaYovel staff next year. They are an amazing group of people, full of passion for what God has placed before them to do. In just over two weeks, we will be heading back to England so that I can apply for my citizenship and so that we can begin seeking supporters who will join us in this work. It’s all so exciting—though also a little sad to leave behind some wonderful new friends. At the same time, we’re very much looking forward to seeing our family and friends back home.

It is an honour to be part of the restoration of the Land. We watch with interest as good and evil contend, but we know that God’s will will prevail. This land—so contested now—will ultimately belong to God’s chosen people again, along with those who join themselves to the Name of YHVH, the Creator of the universe.

Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants— Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant—

Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Isaiah 56:6-7

A number of the really good photographs were taken by a very gifted young lady called Gabbi Van Baalen.