3,000 year old City Discovered in Valley of Elah

Published yesterday in the New York Times is an extremely interesting article depicting recent findings of a possible ancient city located south of Jerusalem in the Valley of Elah. Archaeologists are unearthing antiquities including a formidable fortress, that may possibly support writings within the Scriptures which emphasize the importance of Jerusalem and King David during the period of the 10th century B.Cc. The article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/world/middleeast/30david.html?_r=1&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin

Friends of Israel Dig the Holy Land

Ian Stern, the chief archaeologist who runs the very reputable "Dig for A Day" program at Tel Maresha, invited me to participate in one of his archaeological digs located within Beit Guvrin National Park. The site is situated at the southern end of the Valley of Elah in the Judean Hills. We had the pleasure of digging along with a Friends of Israel tour group, consisting of 40 people from all over the world who are members of the Friends of Israel Ministry. The Ministry is a 500,000 person strong organization which publishes a very popular newsletter entitled "Israel My Glory". According to Bill Sutter, an ordained minister and the Executive Director who personally accompanied the group, several Friends of Israel groups travel to the Holy Land annually, each with a different theme and/or purpose. The organization is evangelical and is very supportive of Israel. The participants traveled from as far as New Zealand and Calgary to experience the 10-day tour and it was very apparent from my conversations with them, that this trip was really a life changing event for them.