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News From Jerusalem
June 11, 2005
Do what’s right, love kindness, & walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
Thank you to all of you who’ve been contributing to His work here, in prayer, in encouragement, and in giving; I’m continually amazed at the doors He opens, and of how Faithful He Is!
On Sunday the 5th, a group of us headed to the Old City and enjoyed a great day packed with viewing Biblical sites. We started off the morning by gaining access to Temple Mount, though we ran into a problem before entering… you are not allowed to bring Bibles onto the Temple Mount! I tried to reason with the security worker, mentioning that the Quran calls The Injeel (New Testament) ‘Light from God,’ but the man basically said, ‘Do you want to enter or not?’ Reluctantly, we left our Bibles at the security desk. After looking around Temple Mount a bit, we headed back out and retrieved our Bibles; we then headed over to the born-again Arab Church that meets in the Old City. Above the sanctuary, John 14:6 is written out in Arabic – truly, Yesua (‘Jesus,’ in Arabic) is The Only Way to The Father. I couldn’t understand many of the lyrics to the worship songs as my Arabic is still very basic, but God helped me to pick up on two songs; one was about Yesua’s blood, and one about every knee bowing and tongue confessing. After the service, we got some lunch and then walked along some of the Old City’s walls. We exited through the Lion’s Gate (also called St. Stephen’s Gate as some believe Stephen was stoned outside this gate), and then we walked over to the Eastern Gate (the Golden Gate) and read the beginning of Ezekiel 44. We walked down into the Kidron Valley, which may also be the Valley of Yehoshaphat, and we read Joel 3. We continued walking through the valley as it leads to Silwan, where Hezekiah’s Tunnel is. Four of us went through the underground water tunnel, and one of the people that stayed behind (Gary) had the chance to talk with my friend named Shaadi - a young Arab man who helps run the tourist shop where you buy tickets to enter Hezekiah’s Tunnel. They talked for around an hour, and Gary left him a bilingual Gospel of Luke, which Shaadi said he would read.
On Monday, I took Fareed (an Arab worker who sometimes does repair stuff here) back to his house along with his supplies, and Fatima (his wife) served us a delicious lunch (grape leaves stuffed with rice and spices, chicken, and homemade bread). I’m trying to find out more information on the American surgeons that periodically visit Israel and do free operations for Arab children; their son, Saamid (maybe around 7), has a deformed ear, and gets teased by other children. It’s gotten so bad that he’s been threatening to not return to school in the fall unless he gets a corrective operation first. Fareed’s three young kids were very happy to see me, and they’re so full of life. After coming back to FZS, the Arab neighbors across the street invited me over, and tried to feed me a second lunch! I opted for the coffee and melon more so than the actual meal, since I was already full. Later that night, I talked with four Arab teenagers here in Beit Zafafa for a bit –Ibrahim, Muhammad, Nour, and Indri.
The next day I headed to the Old City and gave a CD of my rap stuff to one of the younger Arab kids I know there; even though it’s just an instrumental CD, he still wanted to check it out. I saw Yahhaya and then Akram (two Arab friends of mine), and Akram and I hung out for a few hours. The Lord blessed me with the opportunity to share with him that God promised Israel to the Jews. Akram didn’t agree – nor was he too thrilled to hear that – but the truth isn’t always comfortable, is it? Akram introduced me to one of his older friends, Moammar, who was curious to hear what I’ve found out since I’ve read some in the Quran and Hadiths. I shared with him the Hadith (record of what Muhammad did) showing how Muhammad said he didn’t know where he’d go after dying, and I then asked Moammer how he could know. I shared how Yesua promises eternal life to those that believe in Him.
On Wednesday, I helped Anya (a young Jewish immigrant, whose brother is now in the IDF) with some English work she had to finish for her school, and I had the opportunity to encourage her. The neighbors again asked me to come over, and they served coffee and things; I shared with the father the question I had asked Moammar.
Thursday was a rather interesting day! I took the train to Tel Aviv to go to the Russian Embassy for my visa approval, and waited in line outside the office for a few hours before even being able to enter. I spoke with one of the employees and told him that the Consulate General knew Bradley, so they let me in. As I entered, I saw the Consulate General and received a much different reception than we had the last time. He was pretty upset and asked why we felt we should get special privileges from him. He said, ‘Why did you ask to see me personally? I’m the Consulate General, do you think I don’t have anything else to do than to stop work and help you? I helped your organization the first time, and then again, but why should you be different from everyone else that has to wait? Please don’t think I have a hard heart towards you – I respect what your organization does, and I know you help people without getting money.’ He said to just get the right papers, fill them out, and go through the normal process. So, I did. I then went to the window, and was informed that the visa would cost $450 – which our inviter never mentioned to us. By God’s grace, I had the money at that time since I had brought a lot with the hope of purchasing flight tickets if my visa was approved. One of the workers then told me that he had forgotten, but I also needed to fill out two more papers – so I did. I went back to the window, and the worker told me that I’d have to leave my passport with them and come back in two weeks to get it. I was stunned… what! (She explained that because the city ‘Armavir’ was listed as a place I’d be going to, they’d have to check more before issuing the visa. She had earlier told me my invitation had to match my visa form, and had corrected a wrong date I had written down.) I tried to reason with her, explaining the problems that could happen if any soldiers asked to see my passport. She said, ‘Just tell them it’s in the Russian Embassy, and they can call us to confirm it.’ I said, ‘You’re only open Monday through Friday, from 9 to 3 – so if something happens to me Friday night, I have to sit somewhere for three days?’ She understood my concerns, but said that was the only way to get the visa. I tried to reason with another worker who had a higher position than her, but still to no avail. I don’t often argue about points, but I tried to argue this issue with them for several minutes. He also understood my concerns, but said the same thing. A frustrating end to a long visit to the Russian Embassy, filled with surprises. Realizing I couldn’t get back in time for evening prayer at FZS, I decided to walk over to Jaffa and maybe talk with some people. I spoke with Farad, a 23-year-old Muslim guy from there. He told me that he’s Muslim ‘only in name,’ and that he doesn’t pray, go to the mosque, or even believe in God. I said, ‘Am I able to ask – why are you Muslim?,’ and he just laughed, realizing it was a good point. Farad laughed quite a bit during our conversation – he seemed to really enjoy our talk, and I know he now has some things to think about. I also saw the outside of the house which may possibly be the home of Simon the Tanner, where Peter stayed (Check out Acts 9-11). On the train ride home, God blessed me with the opportunity to talk with an Orthodox Jew for a bit. He knows I’m a believer, and that I love Israel… as many American Christians do. He told me that I don’t have the same God as The Psalms speak about; I said, ‘I believe in The Messiah, and you believe in The Messiah, but The Person is different,’ which he agreed with. He asked me to give him one proof of why I believe Jesus is The Messiah, and I told him how Jesus has changed my heart. Before I believed in Yeshua (‘Jesus,’ in Hebrew), I didn’t like Jews, Arabs, and others… I just liked myself. But Yeshua has changed my heart! The guy didn’t seem convinced with that answer, so I told him about Psalm 2:12, which speaks about ‘Kissing The Son.’ What’s very interesting is that though Psalm 2 was written in Hebrew, the writer wrote the Aramaic word for ‘son’ (‘Bar’), not the Hebrew word for ‘son’ (‘Ben’). Yeshua spoke Aramaic. Rather interesting that God inspired the writer to speak of The Son with the Aramaic word, rather than the Hebrew word. After returning to FZS, I had a good talk with one of the new volunteers here named Merlin.
On Friday I experienced teaching the 7-12 year-old kids during our Friday evening service in a rather new way… I had no interpreter! There were four girls in the class, and as God helped me with the Hebrew, it went pretty well. Glory to The LORD! Later in the evening I spoke with one of the Arab guys that works in a nearby grocery shop; Mahmoud and I talked for around an hour. I recently noticed a memorial marker across the street from the local Arab coffee shop I go to in Beit Safafa, and so I searched for what happened via the net. On June 18, 2002, a suicide bomber got on a bus and detonated his bomb, killing 19 and wounding 74. The following link is where I learned about this, and you should take a look at it… it puts faces and stories to the dead, helping us to realize 19 isn’t just some number – it represents 19 lives snatched by hatred and insanity. The attack was instant, but the sorrows still linger. Check out:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/6/Suicide%20bombing%20at%20Patt%20junction%20in%20Jerusalem%20-%2018
Please continue praying that if God is willing, He’ll grant the visa to return to Beslan; please also pray for His guidance concerning when to return. I was planning to go to Beslan for about 5 weeks, return to Pittsburgh for a few weeks in August, and then go back to Beslan for a longer period of time. But with the holdup at the embassy, even if the visa is granted, I’m not sure whether to go there for a shorter trip before August, or keep my attention focused here. Either way, I leave to make a visa trip before July 17th – you can only be in Israel for three months at a time as a ‘tourist.’ Please ask God to show me what’s best in His eyes.
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 in control,
jason
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God's love is eternal
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