Update on the Israel Journey and Website

In just 5 days we will be headed to Israel and Jordan. We did scrap the Egypt portion of the trip and I'm sure you are not surprised. We have opted, instead, to go to Petra, in Jordan. This is the city that was literally carved out of the red sandstone. It was made more famous recently by the filming of the Indian Jones film, but even better by a feature article that National Geographic did.

I have the new website up for my book. It will eventually replace this one, but you might want to check both sites to see which is working more easily. The new site can be found at marvinwray.com but, like I said, if you are not seeing pics there then check here. Eventually I want to get Mozambique, some of the Martin Luther tour, the Sabbatical ride and Israel as well as future trips all on that site.

We leave early Sunday morning, Feb. 20 and will return on March 5. Of course you can understand that we won't arrive until the evening of Feb. 21 so don't look for pictures until a day or so after that. You know me, I'll do my best to keep you up to date.

A New Journey Is Coming Soon!

If you like to keep up with my various travels and pictures I have an announcement for you. On Feb. 20 I will be leaving with 22 others to lead a tour of Israel and a side trip to Egypt. I'll be posting daily pics and commentary. I hope you will join me for the adventure.

The book, "Journeys" is selling well and has opened some doors already. Let me know if you want to get a signed copy. Just email me at marvinwray@sbcglobal.net. Otherwise you can get them at barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, or at the local ABC. You can get paperback, hardback, or ebook formats.

We just cleaned up after having a massive celebration for Hanna's (Ingrid's mom) 90th birthday party. We had 15 guests sleeping at our house and it took a couple of days over the long weekend to reassemble the house, but it was worth it. Now the New Year is well under way and we have many things to look forward to. See you there!

BOOKS ARE HERE!

THE BOOKS ARE HERE, and they're actually selling pretty well for the little bit of awareness advertising I've been able to do through Facebook and a few other sources. I've been a little surprised at how many have ordered and downloaded the Kindle or Nook versions. It's certainly been a fun venture (Journey) in every aspect and it is exciting to hold the final product in my hand. If I can help in any way, let me know. Let's see what happens. I'm looking forward to setting up a new website in the next couple of weeks as well. I'll keep you posted here. Thanks for riding along!

We're getting close! I have received the advance copy of both soft and hard cover books and they look great. I gave the "all clear" sign to the publisher and they are rolling the presses as we speak (uh, write and read). I hope to have my order of 300 books in hand within a couple of weeks, give or take. You can order them directly from me and I'll personalize them postpaid ($20 & $27.50) or you can get them from barnesandnoble.com or from amazon.com. This has been an act of faith. Let's see how it turns out! I'll also keep you posted on how the new website is coming along soon.

"Journeys" will be available very soon as I mentioned in the previous post. You can order it direct from us postpaid for $20 in paperback, or for $27.50 in hard cover. Just send an email to: marvinwray@sbcglobal.net. I am also in the process of setting up a website at: marvinwray.com. In the meantime I will be posting more often again here and keep you informed as to the actual arrival and availability. A lot of this is very new to me, so I appreciate your patience.

An interesting side note: I just made contact with Renee Martin, the wife of John Martin. John was one of the pastors I met with at the Arizona Campmeeting. He was the pastor at the Holbrook Mission Church. Unfortunately John died of a heart attach at campmeeting the following year. I have his picture in the book and I wanted to make sure that was OK with his wife. She was so delighted and told me that she and John had followed the journey right here. I assured her that a signed copy would be on it's way to her soon. Please keep Renee in your prayers as she continues on her journey.

Here's the copy of the hardcover edition. I am supposed to have the advance copies of paperback and hardcover within the next day or two. Then I have to check them through for any copy errors and we can move on to final printing. It will be a race to see if I have them before Christmas. Likely it will be in early January and then begins the fun of trying to get the word out, sign copies, and send them out. This has been a long, but fascinating journey for sure. I just pray that it will prove to be a blessing to many. Thanks for riding along!

THE BOOK IS COMING OUT!

I know it has been forever since anything has appeared here and probably most of you who were following our happenings have given up. I am even considering just starting a new blog, but I want to at least try to get the word out to those of you who have been faithful followers.

The good news is that the book "Journeys" is just about to be published. I should have advance copies in hand in December and will probably try to organize some kind of major release in the early Spring. I am very open to advice and help on this project, but I am very excited about what is coming. I am just going through some touch-up editing this week in the final proof process and we'll be on our way.

"Journeys" has been a long project and often interrupted by a wide variety of happenings and I am so thankful that it has been completed. The book is 210 pages and will be available in paperback. hardbound and ebook. I'll give out more details soon and will also try to learn how to let all of you know if I begin a new blog related to the book and its content.

If you read this, leave a comment so I'll know you're still there.

Many blessings, Marvin