It’s always a treat for me when visitors come because it means that it will get a break from my routine and enjoy some time showing people the sites of my beloved Lebanon.  For this year’s conference we had several visitors from my home church, so it was a special treat.  My senior pastor, Larry Stockstill, and his daughter Melissa arrived in Lebanon two days early to be able to see the cedars of Lebanon.  I had not yet been, so I got to tag along for the tour.  It was really amazing to see these trees, some they say have been there 6,000 years, even surviving the flood!  These trees have grown large and plant roots, not in a fertile valley, but on arid mountaintops; their persitance to survive in this condition is amazing!

We had several other speakers for our conference, and one of them, Tony Foster, had been my youth pastor for several years at Bethany.  His wife, Margaret, has discipled me the past few years, keeping up with me while I am in Lebanon.  I visited them in Malaysia where they are now missionaries, so having Tony in Lebanon was like having family here.  We took several of the speakers for a tour around Lebanon.  While these sites I have seen several times, it’s always nice to see the tourist side of this beautiful nation.

It had been a while since I’ve taken a break from the city life and took time to see Lebanon.  As always, I am amazed at the beauty of this nation, and I am so proud to call it home!