Sorry So Late!!!

Hello Everyone From Jerusalem,

A few days ago we made it up to Jerusalem, the beautiful capital of Israel and home to the City of David and the Temple Mount.  A little update: we left Galilee and headed south for the Dead Sea where we floated for a few hours.  Some of the group got excited and bought Ahava Dead Sea Mud and lathered themselves with it before jumping in Yam Memelch (Dead Sea).  In the Judean Desert we climbed the famous Masada where King Herod built his vacation/hideout palace.  Masada provides a place to see well preserved artifacts and a view of the Dead Sea like no other.

After Masada we headed north toward the holy city of Jerusalem.  We have been touring here since Saturday, and we have been blessed by the good weather and the middle eastern food.  

Jerusalem's splendor is eternal and her beauty has no end.  The Talmud says, "Ten measures of beauty descended to the world; nine were taken by Jerusalem and on by the rest of the world."  The group has been captivated by the history of Jerusalem, from the remains of the City of David on Mount Zion to the bullet marks on the walls surrounds Zion's Gate from the Six Day War in 1967.  We traveled the same path Jesus might have taken, sat on the steps Jesus must have climbed, and stood on the Temple Mount where Jesus might have stood.  We have been busy moving from site to site and God has blessed every step.

Today we assisted the archeologists and workers from the Temple Mount Salvage Project.  Click Here to find out more information on the Salvage Project.  Let me just say, our group found 3 ancient coins that could date back to the 2nd Temple Period, and yours truly found a 1st Temple Pottery Shard.  We spent the whole day digging with the attempt to salvage the remains of dirt pulled from the Temple Mount.  We were blessed to have Dr. Barkay stop by the site while we were helping.  Dr. Barkay is the head over the Salvage Project and a world famous archeologist.  

We are fast approaching the end of our trip, tomorrow is the last day of touring and on Wednesday we head back to the states.  Thank you for your prays and please continue to pray for our group.  Your prayers have certainly blessed our group over the past 4 weeks.

With Love,

Chris

Touring the Region of Galilee: Monday

Greetings from the road,

    On Monday we started early on the Mount of B-Attitudes where Christ gave His Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7).  After the Mount of B-Attitudes we traveled to Nazareth to see the 1st century farm that has been excavated to show how the village (kafar) of Nazareth would have looked during the time of Christ.  The land is not just an archeological excavation, but also a working farm with actors who dress up to give you the affect of a 1st century Jewish village.  After the village  in Nazareth we took a trip to a mount side outside of the city.  The mount side is a location where the Jews wanted to take Jesus to kill Him after He read to them from Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" indicating He is the Messiah (Luke 4:16-30)

   Ephrat, our tour guide, and Shimon, our bus driver took the group west through the Jezreel Valley to Tel Megiddo. Tel Megiddo is an ancient city loaded with history from the Canaanite Period extending into modern times.  We spent a moment in God's Work at Megiddo remembering the omniscience of God and His sovereignty over history knowing that God has already written history and by His grace He has given us insight into the last days through His Word as we read Revelation 16.  Although Tel Megiddo is an ancient city destroyed several times over God still has plans to use it to manifest His glory in the last days.

   We ended our day with a magnificent view of the Jezreel Valley from Mount Gilboa where Saul and his army fell to the Philistines.

   More updates on where we have been and where we are going coming soon.

Your Co-Leader and Troublemaker,

Chris

So Much To Say!!!

Shalom from McDonalds,

Good internet access = FREEDOM!  Well we are entering our final weekend in Rehovot before we tour ISRAEL.  Sunday August 10 at 8:30am our group will leave for Tel Aviv to see Israel's Independence Hall and then drive up the coast of the Mediterranean.

Since my last post a lot has happened:

(1) We worked our last few days at the kibbutz and hospital

(2) We visited the IDF base in Modi'in

(3) Joined with Kaylah for their College and Career meeting

(4) Visited the Rehovot Museum

(5) Heard the testimonies of the believers in Rehovot

(6) Caved in the Adulam Grove

Yesterday was the last day the hospital workers worked and today is the last day for the kibbutz workers.  The head of maintenance, Yorum, took all eight of us + some of the workers to a true Middle Eastern lunch (more like 3 days worth of food for a whole army) in Ramla an Arab city (no danger) a few miles north of Rehovot.  Let me tell you the food never seemed to end.  First, the appetizer which consisted of pita, hummus, fried chick peas, vegetables, tihnah, pickles, olives, etc. I thought this was the lunch.  Then Shlomo screams from the kitchen, "Save room for the meat!!!"  Everyone's face turned white in fear of stuffing more food in their stomachs.  The meat arrives along with more hummus and pita for making huge sandwiches. We couldn't eat ANYMORE, then Yorum called for the Turkish coffee and balaclava and magically our stomachs were emptied (a true miracle).

We really enjoyed our time volunteering at Kaplan and the Kaplan workers really appreciated our help.  The volunteers (mitnakvim) made an impact that the head of public relations wanted our picture taken for a possible article in the local newspaper or for the hospital staff letter.  It's amazing how a little hard work for the Lord can go a long way.  May glory be given to our God.  

Last Tuesday the group took a trip to and IDF (army) base in the city of Modi'in.  When we arrived we were greeted by Nitzan an Israeli-American who is from the great state of New Jersey.  He's a Yankees fan; we forgave him.  He was born in Israel and his family moved to America 15 years ago.  Although he was not required to join the army he felt compelled to serve Israel.  He was a great asset to our group because he could translate the Hebrew to English and vis-a-versa.   

We were surprised to find out the army company we were paired with was Gilad Shalit's company.  In fact, one of the members of the company was with Gilad when their tank was attacked by the Palestinians.  We had a chance to meet and talk with him about the incident that took place more than two years ago.  For more information about Gilad Shalit click on his name.  All of Israel knows about Gilad and anticipates his return soon, as do we.

The company gave us a tour of the base, let us hold their guns and try on their uniforms they use in combat.  It was truly an honor and privilege to partner and show support for the IDF.

On Wednesday we left work and traveled west to the Adulam Grove to cave in the chalk hills.  These tunnels you see us crawling through were hiding places for the Jews during the Jewish revolt against the Romans circa 135 AD.  All of the hills in the Adulam Grove are made of an extremely soft rock that resembles chalk.  If you wanted to you could pick through it with your fingernails, it would just take a really long time.  There are tunnels all over the park, and several more yet to be discovered.  There's no marker to say how deep the tunnels go, but if you want my expert opinion the tunnels probably go 200 ft into the hills.  Again that is just one of several hundred tunnels in the park.  This is always a highlight of our trip and the most daring.    

We have been busy working, traveling, and meeting new people.  Keep us in your prayers as we end this stage of our trip and enter the touring portion.  The way the IYA understands Israel now, living in Rehovot as an Israeli, will radically change as they enter the life of an American tourist.

Much love from Israel, please continue to pray for more relationship building as we continue are adventure.

Your Co-Leader and Blogging Engineer,

Chris 

A New Work Week

Hello from McDonalds again,

What a busy weekend!!!  Last night after kaylah (church) we jumped in the van and took an evening trip to the beach at Ashedod, a city a few miles north of the Gaza and a few miles south of Tel Aviv.  There is no sunset like the one from Mediterranean so we took advantage of it and took several pictures individually and as a group.  After the sun set we sang songs of praise to our God and Lord Jesus Christ for His love and grace toward us.  Bruce also gave a devotion on the Biblical event that took place at Ashedod: anyone brave enough to comment on what happened at Ashedod (clue 1 Samuel)?

Earlier in the day the group worshipped with the kaylah through prayer, song, and a message from Bruce.  Also before the message Jon and Joy Courville sang Be Thou My Vision acapella, they are quite the musicians.  The kaylah has certainly taken us in and made us feel apart of their small family.  

Today we returned to work at the hospital and kibbutz.  Shlomo our boss put us right to work cleaning the filters from the large A/C units.  There are probably 25 industrial A/C units scattered throughout the hospital bringing cool air to the people.  These filters were filled with dust and soot collected through the months.  The IYA workers were able to clean about half of the units today providing both cool and fresh air to the people (anashim).  

Tonight we will here the testimony of our friend Adi from the kaylah.  He is going to tell the group how God through the Holy Spirit captured his heart and brought him to faith in the Messiah Jesus.  

Since I am at McDonalds I can put up some pictures for your viewing pleasure.  These are pics from the kaylah, Ashedod and work today.  God Bless and continue to pray.

Until He Returns,

Chris 

 

If You Work Hard; You Play Hard!!!

Like they say, "You Work Hard; You Play Hard" Yesterday we worked at Kaplan until 2pm painting the older A/C units in the basement and roof.  These A/C units supply cold air to the doctors, nurses, and patients in Kaplan for those hot Israel days.  The group is doing such a good with their work at the hospital and kibbutz.  Their dedication to hard work without pay surprises the Israelis at the hospital.  Everybody is excited to meet the famous volunteers from America just so they can practice their english.      

After work we went back to our apartments and prepared for an evening of fun at the pool at Kibbutz Shiller.  We relaxed under the sun playing volleyball with our friends at the kibbutz.  Gal is a good friend who is always excited to see us when we come to Israel.  He lives on the kibbutz and worked in the fields with our group from last year.   Gal is always encouraged as a believer in Israel by the presence of the believers from America.  Let me tell you he made a mean ice cream sunday for the whole group yesterday, and I know we have his well known banana shakes to look forward too.

As I type this (from McDonalds) several of the guys from the group are playing softball with the locals from Rehovot.  I have a few pictures for you all to see from their game, sadly I don't know the score (check ESPN jk).  

Today (Friday/Yom ShiShi) is the beginning of Israel's weekend because tonight begins Shabbat.  The group will be split up this evening enjoying Shabbat dinner with several different families from the Kaylah (church) and the city of Rehovot.

We start work again on Sunday so continue to pray for our work at the hospital and kibbutz as we minister to the community of Rehovot and beyond.  

Praise God.

Chris