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News From Jerusalem
June 19, 2005
“The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” (Ezra 8:22, NASB)
Thank you for your prayers and support of all He’s doing here! Although these reports just sort of highlight the ‘bigger’ things that happen, so much more also goes on – your partnership has not only been in these things that are written about, but also in the things that are not written (understandably, it would take way too long to try and record all that happens on a day-to-day basis). Glory to God for how He is using us together!
Last Saturday (the 11th), I went down to Kaan Zemaan (the coffee/pastry shop here in Beit Zafafa) with a guitar. I met Faadi, a local keyboardist interested in having me look at some of his musical equipment at his house, and we talked some. The owner gave me free coffee and dessert (Arab sweets are simply THE best), and I talked some with him and with another man, named Anwar. Anwar and I spoke for about an hour, and he told me about how he thinks The Injeel (New Testament) has been changed. I asked him if it would be possible to change the Quran, and Anwar said it would be impossible. So I then asked, ‘How’s it possible that The Injeel was changed?’ I don’t understand Muslims’ thinking… if it’s impossible to corrupt the Quran because they believe it to be the word of God, how can they believe The Injeel was corrupted, since they also believe it’s The Word of God? The Lord also enabled me to share with Anwar how he doesn’t know where he’s going after his death, and that Muhammad sinned but Jesus didn’t.
On Sunday, Merlin (a new volunteer here) and I took two tourists around the Old City – two brothers, named Dan and Jeff (maybe in their early twenties). Our tour started off with a bang as they told us they had just bought a pack of batteries from an Arab store inside the Old City, but they didn’t work. Looking at the package, we realized these ‘Durasell’ batteries weren’t legit; the company’s name was spelled wrong, and they even looked old and used. We went to the storeowner, and I tried to reason with him in Arabic. He insisted that since he had already written a receipt, he couldn’t give the money back… he would, of course, be willing to give another brand as a replacement – if he also received a little more dinero. I tried to argue and reason with him for a while, but he wasn’t willing to listen. I left by telling him that God was Faithful… not him. Later, I saw two Arab guys I know (Akram and Moammar) and we chatted very briefly. Something came up about marriage, and I asked Moammar, who has three wives, if it was difficult for him – if they got jealous. His answer? They don’t know about each other – ‘if they did, it would be a big problem for me.’ ! His wives live in different countries, so apparently at this time he’s able to hide the truth. I’m not sure how successful he’ll be in the future, though, because he looks like he’s only in his late thirties… I don’t think many people could hide such things for perhaps another 40 years. Merlin, Dan, Jeff, and I went over to the Mount of Olives, and I had the opportunity to give a young Arab kid a bilingual Gospel of Luke. We also got to see a really cool underground water cistern in the Old City – it was big! I saw the young Arab kid, Aladeen, that borrowed the CD of some of my instrumental rap music last week, and he said he liked it.
Later that night I spent some time with the Beit Ha-Yeshuah (the drug rehab program we help) guys, and tried to make sense of what Pastor Tsvi was teaching on (he taught in Hebrew). Tsvi was sharing about ‘Shavuot,’ or ‘Pentecost,’ which was the following day. After a time of prayer, we went up on the roof and had some tea and snacks and hung out for a bit.
On Monday, I spent some quiet time with The Lord, and read through The Book of Ruth, which the Jews read on Shavuot; I also read Acts 2, where The Holy Spirit was poured out and many Jews believed in Yeshua. The weather was great that day... there was a nice breeze, and some light rain. I stopped by one of the grocery stores in the neighborhood and said ‘hi’ to the owner – I know him and his son, Mahmoud. As Arabs will usually ask, he said, ‘How are you?’ or ‘Are you okay/happy?’ I replied, ‘I’m happy.’ So he asked me, ‘Why are you happy?’ I said, ‘Because God Is Compassionate.’
Tuesday morning was fun and challenging, teaching English to 2 people with very different levels; Tami helped also, and we taught by continuing in John 1. If somebody were to pursue it, this could easily be a full-time ministry – both to those in the church, as well as those outside. Pastor Jeff Burnell, who heads up For Zion’s Sake in the US, arrived to pastor here as Brad’s away, and it was great to see him again. The neighbors invited me over again, and they’re very considerate... I wish my Arabic was way better! I stopped at the store and picked up some groceries for Len (a friend that has Cancer that the ministry helps). During the Tuesday evening service, we were visited by the police: they want to use our building for a period of time to stake out things in the surrounding areas (regarding possible terrorist activities). Later that night, several of the guys in Beit Ha-Yeshuah helped me out with learning more Russian.
On Wednesday morning, I spent some time searching/emailing groups that may be able to help Fareed’s little son, Saamid. Saamid has an ear defect, and has been really getting teased a lot by other kids; he threatened not to start school again in the Fall unless he first has a corrective operation. I later headed out to the Old City, hoping for some opportunities to share. I talked with some people I know, but it was a pretty uneventful time in terms of reaching out. I was discouraged, for I had really asked The Lord for a good opportunity to share. God did answer – but not in my timing. I headed over to Kaan Zemaan that night, and the owner asked if I’d come back the following night and play some of my music… there would be a party there, and he wanted me to play a few songs. Praise YHWH!
On Thursday night, I headed out to Kaan Zemaan. What’s interesting is that even just walking through the neighborhood of Beit Zafafa with a guitar generates discussion – a few younger teens started talking with me as well as some little kids. The Lord blessed me at the coffee house to be able to share a few different songs that I’ve written, and they were well received. It wasn’t much of an actual party, but maybe it was better that way – with fewer people there, it was easy to interact with people one on one. There were several young men that really seemed to like the music, and throughout that night, I was able to give some of my contact cards to some of them. One of the young guys in particular, Muhammad (15 years old), hung out with me for quite some time. His brother is one of the main workers at Kaan Zemaan. Glory to God – He is so Good!
Please pray for two of the police officers that have been spending time here as they survey neighboring areas regarding possible terrorist actions; I’ll call them ‘Skremi’ and ‘Cashmeik.’ I spent some time talking with them one day, and Ian (our computer guy) and I had a chance to talk with them one other day as well. Pray that God allows us to share Yeshua with them. Please also pray concerning my visa to Russia – I’ll know this Thursday whether it was granted or denied. Whether God opens that door or shuts it, I’ll be needing to make some decisions, so please ask Him to guide me and show me what is best in His eyes. Once again, thank you for all your prayers and gifts that have helped make this past weeks’ activities possible. Our God is Awesome!
He is in control,
jason
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God's love is eternal
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