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News From Jerusalem
June 4, 2005
“I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD forever” (Psalm 89:1, NASB)
Thank you all again for your many prayers and gifts that have helped enable the things in this report to happen - I am so blessed to have such great family and friends in The Lord!
Last Saturday (May 28th) when a group of us were in Bethlehem, there was a little Arab kid who kept following us asking for a shekel (which is about the same as a quarter in the U.S.). We told him, ‘No,’ several times, but he kept following us; I even told him very clearly in Arabic that it was enough and that he should leave, but he just kept tagging along. Finally, Gary (another volunteer here) told me to ask the boy if the shekel would make him go away, and understanding, he received the shekel from Gary. It was a great demonstration of how persistence is successful, and I thought about the spiritual application. If that little kid went through so much for a shekel, why do we so easily tire in our prayers? Didn’t our Lord tell us to keep praying and not be discouraged?
Later last Saturday night, around midnight, Fareed and Nasir came to start a three-day project of building a wall and putting in a drop-ceiling. We had tea, and I asked if they wanted to hear an Arabic song that I had been working on, and they said, ‘Yes.’ I played the song (called ‘Qudus,’ ‘Holy’) and the lyrics translated say: ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is The Lord God. He is Faithful, He is Compassionate, He is Generous, and He loves you.’ They both really liked the song, and we talked some; Fareed shared how his young son gets teased a lot by other kids (Samid has an ear that’s slightly deformed).
On Sunday we helped the Hansons (volunteers here), move into their apartment (which is just down the hall). The Arab neighbors across the street from us asked me to come over for coffee, and they also served fruit and some snacks. They shared with me how one of their grandson’s had some time ago been hit by a car and died – the boy, Muhammed, was only 10.
The following day, the same family asked me to come over for dinner, and the wife cooked chicken, stuffed with rice. The amazing thing was that she gave me a whole chicken! It was really delicious but of course there was no way I could finish it, despite the husband’s continual urging to eat more.
On Tuesday, Fareed told me that he wanted to study English using The Injeel (New Testament) so he can understand it more, and also so he can learn how to pray! A new volunteer from CA arrived, named Tracey, and she’ll be with us for a few more days. Since Brad and his family are in the States now, his wife, Mariana, obviously couldn’t lead worship for the Tuesday evening service. God blessed/stretched me to lead, and one of the Hansons’ boys, Tyler, played as well. Later that night I went to Kaan Zemaan (the local Arab pastry/coffee shop) and was just playing some guitar when one of the workers (who considers me a friend and usually charges me less than what he should) asked me to play a song. He sat down, and I played one I had written and rapped to it. Several people there really liked it, but I felt so ashamed afterwards. Why? Because though they couldn’t tell, I purposely was not trying to say, ‘Jesus,’ too loud… I was worried about what they would think. I later repented and asked Him for forgiveness, and I want you to see my weaknesses too, lest anyone think of me as some ‘super-missionary’ or something. I can’t believe I did that… that I was ashamed of saying my Savior’s Name. I understand the need for balance in sharing with people, but surely ‘balance’ does not involve saying Jesus’ Name quieter because of worry/shame!
On Wednesday Fareed and I went through 1 John 1 together. He was practicing his reading, and also checking the Arabic translation to make sure of the meaning. He did a good job, and he’s very open to learning about The Messiah – I believe he is either a new believer or very close to becoming one. He himself came out and told me before that Muhammad was not a prophet, and that Yesua (Jesus) in The Only Way to God. He also understands that Jesus is God’s Son, and he believes The Injeel is more correct than the Quran. He reminds me of Cornelius a bit (Acts 10). He asked a question about The Trinity, and he seemed to grasp it (as though any of us can fully understand God’s Nature)! He also was curious about how to pray, and I shared with him that the physical position is not important, it’s what’s in the heart that counts. I gave him the example of how he talks with his wife – he can sit, stand, lay down, and so on; the heart is what’s important. The neighbors again asked me to come over for coffee, and later Rob (another volunteer) and I went and visited Len, who seemed to be doing very well.
On Thursday I went to the Old City, and I ran into an Arab friend, Yahhaya; he thought he might have some free time later that day to learn some English, and said that he’d call me if so. I went around and slipped some tracts in some shops and different places, in both the Arab and Jewish quarters. I headed out through the Damascus Gate, and went to some of the different Arab shops in that area (north of the Old City) looking for opportunities The Lord might give. He blessed me to meet Taariq, a religious Muslim man maybe around forty or fifty, in the bakery he works in or owns. When he found out I was a believer, he went into ‘convert’ mode (still being polite), and rattled off several things which I’ve heard before. He’s the first Muslim I’ve met here to directly tell me I’ll go to hell if I don’t believe in Muhammad. I shared with him about a Hadith (story of what Muhammad did) that showed Muhammad didn’t know where he’d go after death, so how could Taariq? He admitted that he doesn’t know 100%, and I said, ‘This is different. In The Bible it says, if you believe in Yesua (Jesus), He promises eternal life.’ Taariq then went into the typical ‘The Bible’s been corrupted’ mode, and also explained to me that there are two things necessary to go to Paradise – just as a bird needs two wings to fly. The one wing is to do the Islamic religious things, and the other wing is to be honest, kind, have a good heart, and so forth. He told me that a bird with one wing isn’t much good, and I may have the one wing, but without believing in Muhammad, I’ll still go to hell. Taariq said, ‘If you don’t believe, you’ll go to hell,’ and I added, ‘And you.’ He asked for my e-mail address so he could send me more ‘apologetic Islamic information,’ and I also got his information. Pray that The Lord will open Taariq’s eyes! I later saw the one kid that was a partner with last week’s thieves – the one that I confronted – and I went up to him and said, ‘Hi – God loves you. How are you?,’ and I put forth my hand and we shook. He said he was doing good, and I again said, ‘God loves you,’ and I left. I went back into the Old City, and walked around hoping for some more opportunities, and our Lord blessed me to meet a friend of Yahhaya’s. He’s a younger Arab guy, 22, and his name is Akram; he has six sisters, and three brothers. God blessed us to spend about an hour together, and he told me that he doesn’t go to the mosque… that not every Muslim prays and is religious. He also shared about a sin that he has, and I asked him, ‘You know that God loves you?,’ and he said, ‘Yes.’ He invited me to go with him to a small pool hall and have coffee with him, and he treated me and wouldn’t accept any money. He shared with me how Bin Laden is not good, and I think he really understands that, because he said it to me in a very hushed voice. The room had lots of other young Arab men in it, and so I think that if Akram was just trying to say something I’d like to hear, he would have said it louder and later told his friends it was just something to impress me. After we left, he took me to the proposed site of the upper room where Yeshua and the 12 had the Last Supper. I saw Ronny, a Jewish believer working as a tour guide in the Old City, and he asked me, ‘You know him (Akram)?’ I replied, ‘Yes,’ and Ronny told me that he’s a good guy. Akram had to take off, and he said maybe next time he’d invite me to his house. After leaving him, I went and saw a friend of Chico’s (an Israeli friend of mine) that owns a small café in the Jewish Quarter, and got a snack. Chico’s friend and I talked about Gush Katif, and though I told him that I believe the Jews should stay there, he told me that he believes they should leave… that maybe that would bring peace. I told him that I’m worried, because I don’t think many of the Arabs will ever be satisfied. He told me that Israel should give them this land, and if doesn’t work, they can fight them because it will be apparent that the Arabs don’t want peace and that the Jews have tried. I don’t think it would pan out that way, but it was interesting to hear his perspective.
Fareed was supposed to come to FZS Friday morning and we were to take his building supplies back to his house, but he wasn’t able to get through the checkpoint – Israel had shut it down since it was Muslims’ holy day. He told me his kids were asking, ‘When’s Jason coming? When’s Jason coming?’ I later went to find out about Yuhanna, because I’ve been trying to call him for around a week but his cell phone must have some problem. I saw one of his brothers, who said Yuhanna had left that day to travel to Jordan, and that he was okay. That night The Lord blessed me to be able to teach during our service, and I taught on Matthew 19; Ian, our computer guy here at FZS lead the worship. We had a great guest speaker share a bit during the beginning of the service - Graham Norton, Ian’s uncle. Graham spent many, many years doing missionary work, and served many years with the Voice of the Martyrs as well (www.persecution.com). I spent Friday night in Calvary Chapel Bible College’s Men’s Dorm, as Brian Harrington (the director’s son) had earlier asked me if I’d lead worship at Calvary Chapel Tel Aviv on Saturday morning. The pastor, Steve Apple, is also in the States now with his wife.
On Saturday, Brian, Bergy (a girl that helps with the Bible College), and I headed to Tel Aviv. The service went well, and I greeted the saints there on behalf of CC Pittsburgh; Patrick, a believer from Holland, taught on John 10 and Psalm 23. Afterwards, we headed to the nearby beach and had lunch, and some of us went in the water as well. We saw one of the nightclubs that was blown up just a few months ago (see: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2005/Suicide%20bombing%20at%20Tel%20Aviv%20Stage%20Club%2025-Feb-2005) After returning to Jerusalem, Brian and I saw Ian, who invited us to his house and served us tea. We had a good time of fellowship with his aunt and uncle, and it’s awesome to meet other believers and instantly have that tight bond and common ground in Yeshua.
I’m getting more and more excited about returning to Beslan, if The Lord is willing. Bradley and I received our invitations, and I hope to go to the consulate soon to get the actual visa, and then buy tickets to go. Please continue praying that if God is willing, He’ll grant the visa, and that He’ll provide the resources to labor there. I hope to go for about 4 to 5 weeks, before returning to Pittsburgh at the beginning of August.
Thanks again for all the love so many of you have shown and continue to show, and glory be to our Great God!
He is Reliable,
jason
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God's love is eternal
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