My name is Stan Goodenough. I am a Gentile, and for over half my lifetime Israel has been my home.

I was born to Protestant parents on a Swaziland mission field, and raised in South Africa where, as a child, I made a Christian commitment but later wasted years on prodigal living.

During the 1980s I volunteered on a number of kibbutzim before returning to South Africa where I worked as a newspaper reporter through the final years of the  apartheid era.

In May, 1991 I was invited to write and edit the Middle East Intelligence Digest – an organ of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ).  My first assignment was to Madrid, Spain, where I reported on the International Middle East Peace Conference being hosted there. Over the decades since I have borne witness to the disastrous effects of the international community’s effort to impose a “peace” on the Middle East.

In 1993, I met a visiting Czech Christian, Františka. We were engaged at the Western Wall and were married at Christ Church, inside the Old City.

For 27 years we have lived in Israel’s capital raising seven, locally-born, children. Our three oldest were granted Israeli citizenship after full service in the IDF.  The rest of the family recently became permanent residents.

Going out from Jerusalem, I have spoken in a number of nations about the momentous events tied to Israel’s restoration, as it unfolds in precise accordance with the words of the Hebrew prophets of old.

In 2011 I became an accredited Israel tour guide and, since then, have enjoyed the never-diminishing thrill of showing Christians around God’s Promised Land.

My deepest wish is to be able to share Israel in this way for the rest of my life.