The Lost is Found 

Keep The Change 

Life was good for the Donut Man. Dukey had the finances to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, wherever he wanted — he had been in fifty-eight countries. His favorite idols were a Corvette, a beautiful 1971 Ford Torino convertible, [CLICK] a motorcycle, a townhouse overlooking the waters of Redondo Beach on the coast of L.A. He ran hard and fast attending 26 major world championship clinching events, played every sport known to mankind and worked hard to entertain extremely attractive women. Along with handling some of the biggest fortune 500 companies in the world these three things took up most of his time but something was lacking. He was the Donut Man — everything was good on the outside but there was a hole in the middle of his life.

He felt sluggish and was breaking out with some variety of hives. His doctor did some blood work and sent him a note telling him he needed a healthier form of entertainment! “Your liver enzymes along with the rest of your blood work is atrocious and if you continue this you will have a very good chance of getting deathly sick or die.” Hello, McFly! [CLICK] Dukey’s life in the fast lane was well over the speed limit. The ’80s were turning into a blur, and he looked like he was eighty although he was in his thirties. Spiritually he was in the same condition. 

About the same time Dukey’s sister, Carole, called and told him she was going to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. He responded, “with who?” 

“About two hundred Christians.” 

“Phispttt-phibt,” came the reply. 

“This might be interesting” came a reply to him self.

He’d been all over the world and found himself popular, content, confident of his entertainment value to others. very entertaining. Dukey felt comfortable with just about anybody from Red Aurbach to the street bums in Boston. He was getting some acting work in plays and in small roles on cable and felt like a big shot. How’s that pride doing, Donut Man?? Bucket lists came years later bThe Bucket List offered a challenge: How many of these ten have you done? Jumped out of a plane. Traveled around world (Fifty-eight countries for Dukey). Learn a new language. Change professions. Achieve ideal weight. Run marathon. Take up new sport. God scuba diving. Go skiing. Go paragliding. Go mountain climbing. Do all these? Change list? 

Egypt had some appeal. Dukey had never climbed a pyramid or rode on a camel. So he agreed to Carole’s invitation to join the Christian pilgrimage. He had no idea what was about to hit him. The tour was led by Hal Lindsey. If you don’t know anything about him, he is a Bible scholar with a masters in New Testament Greek. He’d written several books, including The Late Great Planet Earth and The End of America. His book, The Late Great Planet Earth became a movie by Orson Welles, Hal Lindsey and he London National Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Dukey quickly formed an opinion about Lindsey and found him to be a stand-up solid guy with solid teaching. 

The group flew into Amman, Jordan, and made their way down a hill to the West Bank. They crossed the Jordan River before arriving at the first day’s destination of Jericho. [CLICK] Hal told the story familiar to many from Sunday school classes. But it gave it in more detail. “The Israelite army marched around Jericho once a day for six days just as God had ordered. On the seventh day the marched around the city walls seven times. When enemy armies conquered cities in those days, the wall were push inward. But when the Israelite army completed the seventh march, God made the walls fall outward.” Dukey knew a bit about Joshua and the walls of Jericho, but Hal made the story into reality. It truly happened! It was also the site of Dukey’s first camel ride although history books don’t note that. 

Even though Dukey had no clue what he was doing there, he found himself excited at every turn. There were three buses. Hal was on Bus One and was leading the charge. Dukey and Carole were assigned to Bus Two, but after meeting two of Hal’s daughters and sizing up Hal, Dukey fanangled his way onto Bus One in traditional Carmody fashion. 

Hal had brought two of his three daughters and his son-in-law with him. One of his daughters, Robin, was pregnant. Dukey didn’t know what he did to entertain them, but soon Dukey and Carole were on Hal’s bus right up front with him. The two men hit it off like Laurel and Hardy. The tour went on to the Sea of Galilee. [CLICK] Even Dukey was impressed with the notion he was walking around on the same turf the Creator of the universe walked on. Such notions were alien to a man who had ignored the Bible for decades. 

The group was out on the sea, and Hal was noting the elevation of the sea was so low that storms could come over from the Mediterranean and swoop down and create havoc in a minute’s notice. As he was relating that this was the area where Jesus walked on the water and site of other good Biblical morsels, a storm blew in out of nowhere. The boats were rocking, the wind was howling, and we scrambled back to shore. A bit of that sudden storm story came alive centuries later. 

That night the group was having dinner about a mile from the hotel in a restaurant along a beautiful shoreline. As everyone started back to the hotel, Dukey met an attractive Israeli doll face. She reminded him of his future wife, the woman of his dreams. [CLICK] She was strong and young with radiating olive skin (Whew!). Dukey was captivated and they ended up talking until real late. He had a few too many and was a bit out of control and blew any chance of any kind of relationship. Yes, he can be Mr. McFly1 sometimes. 

Anyway, it was real late and everything was closing down as Dukey started walking or maybe stumbling his way back to the hotel along the shore. When he reached the hotel, he went around back to the docks and kind of hung out looking over the Sea of Galilee. As he made my way to the back of the hotel it got dark in that little corner (Real Dark!) He tried to open the doors at the back of the hotel but they were locked. 

Then something came over Dukey that he could not explain. It was like evil was creeping in on him in the darkness. He tingled all over and felt like Moe2 with his hair on end so he quickly ran around the front of the hotel commanding himself, “Go to bed you idiot!” EXPAND if anything to add so reader gets clearer understanding. 

As they traveled the next day through Nazareth [CLICK] and on to The Jezreel Valley [CLICK] otherwise known as The Valley of Megiddo. We stood on a tel, which is a hill of conquered cities one on top of another. After each city was conquered they built a new city on the same site. Probably the reason they didn’t move was because the geographical location was prime for the trade routes of the past. As we stood there fighter jets were coming out of the ground from the underground Israeli Air Force. What a site! And what a stage for the final battle. 

They skirted Haifa and Caesarea, where Paul defended himself before Felix, [CLICK] Tel Aviv, and finally ended up in Jerusalem. Listening to Hal along the way and looking at geographical sites where history had been written moved Dukey. He had a great time with the Lindsey family too. Dukey and the Lindseys would break away from the pack lots of times. That right? You and Lindseys. Was Hal able to break away? They would hit the beach, [CLICK] go to eat and then catch up with the rest of the gang. Dukey trod up the hill from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and heard Hal tell how the city without any natural seaport or resources, and no reason to be a vital trade route and is still the focus of the attention of the entire world. God promised in Zechariah 12:2 … I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. ... We checked in to a nice hotel and saw the sites the next few days. 

The tour included wild walks through old town Jerusalem, Gethsemane, the Upper Room, and, of course, the Tomb. Hal asked how is it possible that Christ was crucified on the exact hill that Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac two thousand years before? How can over 300 prophecies fulfilled? “It’s insane! What a coincidence! Yah!!! It’s all about His blood,” Hal exclaimed. “It was the same blood used in Passover, an is pretty much explained in Hebrews 9. It’s amazing reading about The Hinge of History with eternal implications.” The whole thing just blew Dukey’s mind!! He surrendered, and down at the Jordan River he was dunked!! [CLICK] He was baptized by Hal in pretty much the same place John baptized Jesus. Now what?? Well, Dukey had experienced a divine touch like never before in his life. But Dukey was still a babe in faith. Spiritual maturity doesn’t happen overnight. 

A few days later the Lindsey group toured Masada, the mountains the Jews fled to when Titus invaded Jerusalem in 70 AD fulfilling Jesus prophecy that not one stone would be left unturned because the temple caught fire and Titus wanted all the gold taken out. [CLICK] What a wildly historical place. Dukey ran around Herod’s old palace and looked down at the old Roman fortress. [CLICK] 

Next stop was Eilat, which was in Israel at the time and is now Egypt. He dove into the Red Sea, which turned out to be the best and clearest diving he had ever done. A day he was climbing Mount Sinai at 2:30 in the morning so we could make it to the top by sunrise. Another wild experience. [CLICK] Onward to Jordan and Petra where Indiana Jones dad Sean Connery was shot [CLICK]. He rode down the canyon of the crescent moon which is probably the strangest place Dukey had ever witnessed. Cliffs 900 feet high and at some points only eight to ten feet apart. Hal and his gang went home and Carole and Dukey made their way to Cairo.