|
Mission Field Report: Israel 2004 Wednesday, Nov. 3rd – Tuesday, Nov. 16th, 2004
The traveling missionaries on our team were: Pastor Kevin Mallon, and his wife, Krista; Alec Hofmann; Pastor Kevin Doyle, along with one of his daughters, May; and myself. The first part of our trip was spent serving at For Zion’s Sake, a humanitarian aid agency that helps new immigrants in Israel. Many humanitarian aid groups have signed a contract with the Israeli government that they will not evangelize – but, praise be to God, For Zion’s Sake has not… they’re active in sharing Jesus our Lord! They currently help support many families, providing furniture, food, counseling, medicine, clothing, and so on. For Zion’s Sake is a “sister ministry” of Calvary Chapel Jerusalem, the Christian church there to preach and teach Yeshua HaMashiakh (Jesus The Messiah). As this was my second trip to Israel, due to God’s great mercy and provision, it was great to see old friends and make new ones, also! God greatly strengthened the relationship between us and His church and ministry there, and there is a very real intimacy and love between us all. YHWH (The LORD) blessed us to be an encouragement to His people there, and also for them to be the same to us. The Lord brought together this team of missionaries, ones with many varied gifts and talents from His hand. This is not a boast, for it is God Who has given such gifts, and Who brought this team together. Both Pastor Kevins are skilled teachers, and great musicians; Krista is a very talented musician, with the gift of sympathy and encouragement; Alec is a former atheist from Russia, gifted in connecting with the Russian immigrants in Israel (around 1 out of every 5 people), and he has a heart for the lost; May has a heart for reaching out to hurting people; and I’m able to speak simple Arabic and Hebrew, and do music as well. YHWH (the LORD) used us in many ways, both as a group, as well as individually. Much of my report will be about the opportunities The Lord gave to me – not to boast in myself or forget the other missionaries, but rather to share more specifically what He allowed me to experience. In God’s mercy, He allowed me to play bass during one of the church services, and to teach a morning devotion as well. I helped fix some chairs at For Zion’s Sake/Calvary Chapel Jerusalem, as well as helped clean trash out of a nearby field, which was a very interesting experience! Alec and I were working together to clean up the field, and we both nearly got “stampeded” by 100 to 200 sheep and goats! We were just picking up trash when we looked up, and saw all these animals running straight towards us! It was scary, interesting, and incredibly funny! I was able to speak Arabic with Mahmoud, the shepherd, who had brought the animals to eat from the grass and the olive trees there. I also spoke with Ali, one of Mahmoud’s sons that’s probably around 9 years old. The animals were there for around forty-five minutes, and we took pictures and had a great time! Alec mentioned that Ali kept staring at me, and he thought that Ali really liked me and was impressed with my Arabic ability, and he took a picture of Ali and me. I gave Mahmoud my address, and said I’d send the photo if they wrote to me and gave me their address. We all had a great time, and Mahmoud genuinely seemed touched by just our simple conversation. By God’s blessing, He enabled me to speak to our many taxi drivers in Arabic and Hebrew – often about God and The Bible. I also was blessed to hand out several cassettes that have Gospel messages in Palestinian Arabic, an ELYAH tape (ELYAH was the Christian band I rapped with), an Arabic tract, and a ‘Questions for Muslims’ sheet. I tried to locate Ali (not Mahmoud’s son, but the Ali that The LORD blessed me to spend time with last year), but his shop was closed due to the lack of business. However, I saw one of his friends, and gave him an Arabic Gospel of Luke and ELYAH tape to pass on to Ali, and my business card as well. Alec and I witnessed to Ali’s friend, and we opened The Arabic New Testament to John 20:28, showing Jesus is more than just a prophet. Ali’s friend corrected my pronunciation (!), but he didn’t try to fight what the verse said. We visited a dear older brother in The Lord, Len, who is now dying of cancer. Len was raised Jewish, and accepted Jesus when he was 12. But there was a heavy price to pay for doing so – although Len was only 12 years old, his father kicked him out of the house. Len has had many heartaches throughout his life, and he was deeply touched as we visited him. The music Kevin and Krista shared really ministered to him, and was very appreciative and grateful. Kevin (Mallon) and I walked through Hezekiah’s Tunnel - a long, narrow, and twisting underground water tunnel. It was so much fun! The water was about knee-high, and we got quite wet. The Arab man that sold us the entrance tickets had seriously suggested that we take off our pants and tie them around our necks, so we wouldn’t get them wet. Thanks be to God, we didn’t listen – if we would have followed his advice, we would have been quite humiliated, for as we entered, there were about 50 Israeli soldiers there on a tour – about ½ of them being girls! Additionally, the candles the man’s son sold us were pretty close to burning out before we actually finished going through the pitch-black tunnel! I visited Korea House, a delicious Korean restaurant in Jerusalem’s new city, and brought the short note one of my Korean students (thanks, Hee Jung!) translated for me - introducing myself, why I was there, and so forth. The waiters were really glad, and we talked a little (I mean very little!) Korean. They told the owner, a Baptist pastor with a small church there as well, and he and his wife came and talked with me. The owner gave me some free drinks (non-alcoholic, of course), and we were happy to meet one another. Surprisingly, one of the waiters shared with me about the deep pain that filled his heart – this is very, very different for a Korean to do… to quickly open up and share a hurt with a stranger. This meeting was set up by our Lord! The waiter told me how he had been hurt so much by hypocritical church leaders, and that he was leaving for Korea – the very next day! He’s 25, and doesn’t want to leave The Lord Jesus, but he’s been hurt so much. I tried to encourage him, and we exchanged contact information. I said I’d pray, and he told me to contact him if I go to Korea. As I’m sure many of you know, Arafat died while we were there, and the added military and police presence was really seen in the Old City. For those wondering, yes, terrorism is very possible in Israel… as it is anywhere. If we think that it’s “safe” here, but dangerous there, we’re deceiving ourselves. Safety is found in God alone. “Earthly security?” Please let me know what place on earth never experiences evil deeds! Yes, terrorism has hit Israel. It’s also hit America. It’s also hit Korea, Japan, Argentina, and countless other nations. Our basic guideline was, ‘trust God and be smart.’ This means that we didn’t ride public buses there, we avoided the huge areas or mourning Muslims after Arafat was pronounced dead, and so on. Just as in America, trust The LORD, and look both ways before crossing the street. We also traveled to Galilee, and met and encouraged Jewish believers on the kibbutz (a small, private, cooperative community) where we stayed. Kevin (Doyle) and his family are, Lord willing, moving back there to pastor the people there, and the believers are very excited. Pray that God opens that door quickly, and provides for all the Doyles’ needs! YHWH blessed us to see many Biblical places in Galilee – Hatzor (which Joshua burned with fire, Joshua 11:10-15), Tiberias, The Mt. of Beatitudes, and The Sea of Galilee. How wonderful to be where our Lord Jesus was! We were also truly blessed, because the kibbutz we stayed on has the most believers on it, at least to the knowledge of the believers there. One sister, Shulamit, genuinely told us to thank the church here for their prayers – and that it really means so much to them. They also told me that I really looked like an Israeli! So much more could be written and said, and this report could easily become a novel! In summary, YHWH (The LORD) brought all of us together (those that prayed, gave, and went), and has glorified His Name in this trip. Praise, thanks, and glory be to our Great God! And thanks to all of you as well; I say, ‘God used us together,’ and I truly mean that. We are the body of Christ, and no one part is able to operate by itself. How well would our hands work if we had no arms? Two things I would ask of you – to pray about personally visiting our brothers and sisters in Israel, and for my being able to serve there for a longer period of time. We were blessed is so many ways by going, and if our Lord is calling you, we know that you’ll be blessed and strengthened as well. Pastor Bradley at For Zion’s Sake/Calvary Chapel Jerusalem said that their greatest need is for committed workers! I really want to go back and serve, soon, and for a longer amount of time. Several of the believers there want me to come back and spend a longer time with them, and I’ve been encouraged that I’d be a natural fit there. Our brother Kevin (Doyle) told me that I’d be fluent in Hebrew if I spent a year there, and I believe my Arabic-speaking would also greatly improve. And on both trips, The LORD has given great favor and amazing opportunities with the believers, as well as with the non-believers. Please pray for our Lord’s direction, will to be done, provision, and faith to walk where He leads.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”
|
|
|
