Caesarea & Tel Aviv Explored by International Christian Tennis Association Pro Team!

Welcome back!

It’s been a pleasure having you come along on our excursion through the Holy Land.

After finishing up our fabulous days in Galilee, we (me-Rachel Snelen, my twin- Melody Snelen, Emma Hustad-our Fellowship of Christian Athletes mission partner, and my mom- Joy) made our way to Tel Aviv, where our ITF Pro circuit tennis tournament was being held.

Our big stop on the way to Tel Aviv was Caesarea.

This place is mentioned many times in Acts- one of my favorite books of the Bible.

In fact, the apostle Paul was actually imprisoned here.

We stopped at an excavated palace built by King Herod.

It was an enormous palace located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

We arrived in Caeserea early afternoon while the sun was shining brightly over the sea.

The suns rays projected a comfortable warmth.

Once we entered the palace, we started running around, trying to fathom how big it was.

For a moment we knelt down in a grotto and thought about what it must have been like to be a incapacitated prisoner…just because you were a Christian.

How brave and courageous the apostles had to be!

Their life examples are truly extraordinary!

We thank God that they were willing to sacrifice earthly comforts and conveniences to spread the Gospel…for the sake of you and me!

We walked in the sand along the beach shore and collected some rocks and seashells.

As we continued walking further, we came upon some large rocks that led out to the palace wall remains.

We climbed barefoot over the boulders until we made it to a section of the wall where we could sit for awhile.

It was such a special experience.

Openly talking with each other about our lives and our individual, undeniable Faith in Jesus was simply amazing.

The Mediterranean Sea was so calm and peaceful.

I truly savored this moment.

Not many people get the blessed opportunity to visit the land where God chose to send His son to save the world.(John 3:16)

I will always be highly appreciative for all the outstanding blessings God’s granted me…this journey being one of them.

Just spending quality time with my sis and mom was splendid.

Now add to the backdrop; a sparkling sea, the sound of the gentle waves brushing the rocks, the glistening sun as it prepares to set and a peace in your heart that passes all understanding…now that’s a blessing!

The splendor of God is seen in his beautiful creation.

Not in the old dilapidated buildings and man made structures…but in His abundant creation which he made for you and me to enjoy, together!

We finally managed to continue driving on toward Tel Aviv as the evening was setting in.

When we arrived in Tel Aviv we found an empty tennis court (which is very rare) at the Israel Tennis Center and got some hitting in.

Our matches are tomorrow!

Be sure to check back for more postings…see you then!

International Christian Tennis Association Tennis Team Explores Galilee and Mt. of Beatitudes!

WOW! Here we go again on yet another fabulously adventurous day through the astonishing land of Israel.

We were all so eager to get the day started that we easily overlooked our complete lack of sleep.

God gave us each plenty of restful rejuvenation as we went about our 4th full day.

Our adventure throughout the Galilee region started at Tabgha.

This was the area where Jesus fed the multitudes of people with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.

We visited a local monastery located on the mountainside where this remarkable miracle took place.

A friendly priest took us to a peaceful section of the monastery and shared some insight about the outstanding events that took place here.

We read from the Bible, shared our thoughts and sang old hymns.

It was such a pleasant, inspirational morning.

As morning turned to afternoon, we headed to the Mt. of Beatitudes.

This is where Jesus gave the illustrious sermon known as the Beatitudes.

“1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:1-12.

As our minds and hearts were expanding with new revelations, we lost track of time.

We totally forgot it was lunch time, so it’s a good thing we brought some snacks.

We munched on some nutritional bars and a package of tuna that we brought from home…yummy!

There was a small fruit stand by the side of the road where we bought some delicious bananas also.

They were tiny, but very sweet and tasty.

I recommend you try some when you’re in Israel.

We also made sure to stay hydrated with plenty of fluids during our trip.

No one likes to be around a cranking, dehydrated person.

Well, our day continued and we explored more and more.

Just driving around was a pleasure.

Seeing the majestic mountains and scenery made my appreciation for God’s handy work intensify even more.

After seeing so much of God’s beauty in His chosen land, I can’t agree more with Psalms 14:1 where it states–The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

It’s absolute folly to believe in anything other than our Intelligent Designer!

So, with a deep assurance of the one true God, we drove along with smiles on our faces and laughter in our hearts!

More Soon!  Rach

ICTA Christian Pro Tennis Team Explores Galilee!

Hey again!

Thanks for joining me for another marvelous day through the extraordinary land of Israel.

If you’re just picking up on this blog, my name’s Rachel Snelen and I had the outstanding privilege of visiting the Holy Land with my twin sis, Melody, our mom Joy Snelen, and our missions friend, Emma Hustad.

We made quite a team as we adventured through God’s chosen Land with very little knowledge of our schedule or what would take place…we just took God’s lead!

To begin our journey to Galilee, we first needed to pick up a rental car.

The small vehicle we had reserved was out of stock, so we were given a much larger car for the same price. That was indeed a blessing, as we all have long legs and could use the extra space!

(Joy, Mom!, driving in Israel)

By God’s grace, we managed to navigate safely and accurately through Jerusalem and arrived to the main highway to Galilee.

During our over two hour drive we were highly observant and hungry to absorb all we were seeing.

Our attention was frequently drawn to the mountain sides as we noticed the many herds of sheep scattered throughout the terrain.

It reminded us of our essential need for The Good Shepherd (Psalm 93)…someone to protect us from danger, one to “herd” us in the right direction, someone to be patience with our ignorance…it’s all completely relevant.

(Notice the “Sea Level” sign, do you see any water around?)

As we continued our drive, we noticed a cute, well dressed camel sitting by the side of the road. We had heard you can ride one for a small fee, so we pulled over.
We approached the camel with apprehension at first, knowing that they have a reputation for spitting.

However, the owner assured us that “my camel does not spit.”

And he was right. This camel was super friendly and even smiled for pictures!

We each took turns taking a “joy ride” on the camel… we felt just like the wise men searching for Jesus!

 

We arrived in Galilee early afternoon, then grabbed a bite to eat at a local Kibbutz ( Hebrew for “communal settlement”- a self sustaining community) nestled along side the Jordan River.

While sitting overlooking the Jordan River, we read from Matthew 3 and Mark 1:1-12 where it talks about the baptism of new Believers and the Divine baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

Although we were aware that this wasn’t the exact location where the baptisms took place, this river is still very significant in Biblical history and it was a great pleasure to visit this site.

While in the gift shop at Yardenit (a baptismal site on the Jordan), Mel and I struck up a conversation with a guy working there.

We found out that he was a self described “Jewish Atheist.”

He was a well informed individual (even knowing a considerable amount of Biblical history…in fact, seemingly more than most Christians I’ve talked to) and has traveled internationally to learn about different cultures.

Although he was a bit obstinate at first, while we shared our Faith with him and why we’ve chosen to believe in Jesus, by the end of our conversation he had softened up and began listening…he even accepted a Christian book we gave him.

He said we were different than other American Christians and he wanted to listen to us. He also said he’d read the book we gave him.

He said he can’t stand the American Christians because he feels they are Christian only because their parents are and they seem to never think for themselves.

He also candidly explained to us how intellectually stunted American young people are.

In his words, all they do is live off their parents money, play video games and don’t think for themselves.

That might be a cynical stereotype, but there is some observed truth behind his assessment. We’re just glad we got to break down those barriers with him and displayed something “different”.

After that interesting stop, we headed to a friend’s house in Galilee.
Our friend then took us to some wonderful locations bordering the Sea of Galilee (aka Lake Kinneret).

We watched the phenomenal sunset illuminate the sky with a glow that celebrated God’s greatness!

It was a fitting moment to… “stop and consider God’s wonders.” Job 37:14

As the sun set, it marked the beginning of Shabbat (The Jewish Sabbath day of rest begins on Friday evening and ends on Saturday evening).

For the evening meal, we were invited to attended an Erev Shabbat (evening of Sabbath) meal with a family of Jewish Believers. We all sang together, ate (a lot!), talked and enjoyed our fellowship with one another.

This concluded a marvelous day!

I will write more as soon as I can!

Rach

Extensive Journey in Jerusalem

It’s me, Rach, again! Welcome to our first full day in Jerusalem! It’s one exciting ride…so hold on!

We, me-Rachel Snelen, my twin sis-Melody, our mom-Joy, and Emma Hustad, started out our day by having devotions on the veranda overlooking the city gates, at the King David Hotel. It was a perfect backdrop as we read from our Bibles about events that took place in this very city thousands of years ago!

“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore!” Psalm 125:2

********************* “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem…” Psalm 122:6

The picture on the right is the Jaffa Gate–where we met up with our lovely tour guide and began our journey!

As we were listening to our tour guide explain the history of the Jaffa Gate, we all got distracted by a sweet little kitty playing peek-a-boo in the city wall! That definitely got us laughing! The cat was so cute and acted like he owned the place!

Once we arrived inside the Old City, we were quickly drawn to a BELIEVERS bookstore! We went inside instantly and started looking around. Emma struck up a conversation with the owner and asked if he had any gospel tracts we could pass out.

He was very helpful and gave us a bag full of tracts in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and English, for free!

However, we were warned to be careful when passing out tracts, because you can get arrested if caught sharing the gospel with anyone under 18 years old! Who knew?

The bookstore owner also gave us each a free book for ourselves and we were very appreciative of his kindness and generosity!

During our tour, we were taken to a roof top, giving us a birds-eye view of the city!

It was an amazing site!

We found it interesting how such a small place can hold so much history!

As we were making our way to the Western (aka: Wailing) Wall, we heard a lot of music and commotion….it turned out to be a Bar-mitzvah.

Jewish tradition celebrates when boys turn 13 yrs. old and when girls turn 12 yrs. old. This ritual welcomes them into “adulthood”. I really like how they recognize 13 year olds as adults and there’s not a “teenage” phase. I think it teaches them much needed responsibility at an earlier age.

While observing the Western Wall ,we were amazed at the reverence Jews show towards it. We found out that the wall is considered the Holiest site to the Jews.

They go there to pray and also mourn the destruction of the temple…

They even write out prayers to stick in the cracks of the wall!

Mel and I decided to follow Jewish customs and we each added prayers to this “sacred” wall!

Our fervent prayer is that the Jews put their faith and trust into Yeshua the Messiah that came to save them (and the world) over 2000 years ago!!!

Let’s see—our next stop was Gethsemane ( Matt. 26:36, Mark14:32) as well as the Mount of Olives (Luke 19:29, Mark 13:3). We were very intrigued by the ancient olive trees that are still alive! The structures of the trees were very fascinating! I wish I could plant one in my backyard!

After awhile, we all took a short break from walking and got out our Bibles. We read verses that related to the places we just visited. It was phenomenal to see the words in the Bible come alive! The historical and geographical accuracies of the Bible is incredible!

 

We spent some more time walking through the old city, before exiting through the Damascus gate. At that time we heard some loud shouting and saw some people fighting! A group of Arabs had started a fight with some Israeli Military soldiers.

 

We got out of there as soon as possible! I had no idea there was such tension between those two ethnic groups. This trip has been a huge eye opener in so many ways! And it’s just the first full day! However, it did make us even more motivated to hand out Christian tracts!

 

One of our favorite places of the day was the tranquility we found at the Garden Tomb. This site is the projected burial place of Jesus! We had a wonderful, thorough guided tour of the garden, given by a little Englishman with a walking stick. He was a hoot! So funny and very informative!
We took our time at this beautiful location. The whole feel of it was totally different from the chaotic city. We even met a Christian tour group from Alabama and Tennessee who invited us to their communion service in the garden. It was the perfect place to recognize what Christ did for us on the cross and to share in communion with other believers while celebrating the EMPTY tomb of Jesus!

Our mom also sang a spontaneous duet with a lady in the tour group! It was an amazing event and it’ll stay in our hearts forever!

Once we finished visiting the Garden Tomb, we made our way to the main section of the city. We stopped briefly and tested some shofars, an instrument made from a horn of a ram. We made some really silly noises!

Next, we picked out some food items at the “shook” (market). The selections were so large that it made it hard to decide what to purchase. We ended up getting olives (best ever), figs, pita bread, pickled garlic mushrooms, and dates. Our final stop of the day was at a friends house for a time of fellowship. We had pizza for dinner and a delicious carob cake for dessert.

After we ate, we sang some songs, had prayer time, then made our way back to our flat…after a quick power nap!

I still have a hard time believing all this occurred in one day! Needless to say, we were pretty wiped out!

We didn’t stay wiped out for long though, because the very next day we had another full round to go! That’s when our extraordinary quest to Galilee began! Camel rides, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee…this’ll be one day you don’t want to miss!

I’ll see you then!

ICTA Christian Tennis Team Arrives in Israel

Shalom Y’all, this is Rachel. You’re invited to join me and my twin sister, Melody, on our phenomenal journey through the mysteriously marvelous land of ISRAEL!

After much prayer, God’s gracious provision, many changes in scheduling, and intense preparations, our—God ordained—trip to the Holy Land became a reality!

We departed from Daytona Beach, FL with a connection flight in Atlanta going on to Tel Aviv. Here we are boarding the plane in Daytona! We are so excited! We love to FLY!

In Atlanta we re-connected with our good friend and missions buddy, Emma (arriving from Minnesota), along with our jubilant mom, Joy (flying in from Dallas), to complete our team!

During our layover we got to spend a lot of time talking and catching up on what God’s been doing in each of our lives.

We each read some scriptures and shared our thoughts about this amazing opportunity to visit the land where the God of the Universe decided to send His son, Yeshua, to save the world!!!!

So much to grasp- yet absolutely exhilarating!

Boarding the plane to Tel Aviv!!! Went through an additional full security screening before being allowed to board.

Took our time getting settled in our seats, as we had a 13 hour flight ahead of us!

We slept most of the trip, but also listened to music, read, and ate every chance we had!!!

The 13 hour flight went faster than I expected and next thing I knew we were exiting the plane in ISRAEL!

We were overflowing with adrenaline and excitement!!!

After getting our luggage, we boarded a “Sharrut” (aka: Shuttle) and headed to JERUSALEM!

During our stay in Jerusalem, God provided a precious little flat for us to stay in, which belongs to a fellow Believer (the term given for people who believe that Jesus/Yeshua is Messiah).

I was full of gratitude to have such a cozy place to lay my head at night, despite the fact that the tiny, enclosed quarters and high white walls made me a bit dizzy!

The shower was rather small and ran mostly COLD water…but it got the job done!

With our hearts racing with eagerness to get the day started–plus EXTREME jet lag–our first morning in Israel began at 4:30am. Sleeping isn’t much of a priority when your in Israel…so much to see and take in! With far too much to comprehend, sleep becomes an afterthought.

Waiting for a bus at 6:30am to meet up with a friend, before beginning our extensive tour of Jerusalem!!! Did you know there was an “Old” Jerusalem and “New” Jersusalem? Well, I didn’t find out until we got there!

We had no idea of the spontaneous adventures God had in store…Old Jerusalem, New Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, and so much more!!! I’ll have more for you later! Bye for now!

Day 1: Flight to Israel for Christian Pro Tennis Team

Rachel and Melody Snelen have just called me from Atlanta International Airport.

(a pic this morning of Rach working on her serve)

They are on their flight to Tel Aviv, Israel. The current time is 10:37 pm, and though they have had a long day, I could sense the excitement and anticipation in Melody Snelen’s voice as she embarks on this very special ICTA Women’s Pro Tennis Team outreach.

Joining Rachel and Melody is their mother, Joy Snelen, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes Campus President and Athletes in Action leader, Emma Hustad.

(A pic of Rach, Ana, and Mel after church on Sunday. Ana will go to Mexico with me and a second ICTA Pro Team this month.)

Each missionary will keep a daily journal, some of which they have generously offered to share with our readers.

Yet, they have asked for privacy for much of their ministry activities as they do not seek applause. They simply want to provide outreach to hurting female pro tennis players, and whoever God brings to them.

Me, my name is Scott Paschal. I am the Founder of the International Christian Tennis Association.

(A pic of me adding pop to Mel’s backhand this morning.)

My role in this is I have been Rachel and Melody Snelen’s tennis coach since they were basically beginning tennis players at 16 years of age in 1999. Within 6.5 years both had earned their WTA rankings. Many girls train for tennis for 15-20 years and never earn a WTA ranking.

These Texas twins have done something special and both believe God has a purpose for their tennis games.

I do, too.

Neither player seeks fame or fortune. They do seek to help others on tour.

Thus far their pro tennis tour ministry has reached many, many players and beyond.

About a dozen top 100 WTA players have been reached in a meaningful way, a way they will not forget. And literally dozens of players ranked from 100 to 1500 WTA, plus world class juniors, have been reached.

One of my favorite stories is of a Canadian WTA player who accepted Christ at a pro tournament!

Another is of an abused National Junior Champion from Eastern Europe who was assisted in fleeing her abuser to come here to ICTA Headquarters in Florida where she became a Christian within 1 month of arrival!

And another is of a suicidal WTA player who God worked a miracle in her life and now she has a new start!

We have yet to mention the impact the ICTA Women’s Pro Tennis Team has had on pro tournament staff, umpires, host homes, volunteers, coaches, player’s parents, airline personel, bus and taxi drivers, grocery store and restaurant workers, newspaper journalists, photographers, and hotel staff.

The impact has been profound.

As I close this entry, I would like to ask each of you to bring this small team to God in prayer.

If you would like to send them an email of support, please send to teamicta@yahoo.com. Or to PO Box 350505, Palm Coast, Florida, USA, 32135. I can be reached at 386 793 0557 and can pass along messages, as well.

I would also like to hear from you with any prayer requests needs you might have for your life or someone you love.

God bless each of you.

Scott Paschal

International Christian Tennis Association