The Ultimate Victory

The following is straight out of my journal from this morning. I just really felt that I should share this with you all. This is kind of hard for me because I don’t normally share with people whenever I fast, but I feel like God was leading me to tell you about this experience, so forgive me for sharing that. Ok, that’s my disclaimer… here’s my entry:

“On Good Friday, my school had a Tenenbraum service at St. Anne’s Church (a beautiful church with a 7 second echo which commemorates the place where the Virgin Mary grew up). We read through all the verses leading up to Christ’s death and left in silence. It was incredibly powerful. What struck me most was that afterwards, we just left. We walked out of that church and life continued. The Savior of the world just passed away, the darkest hour in humanity, and life just went on. Shopkeepers were open and selling, people were driving, life continued to be. It made no sense to me. Shouldn’t everything stand still? Shouldn’t we expect some sort of hushed silence? I feel like there should be a pause button were we step outside of time. This was a huge moment, shouldn’t it be more… momentous? I felt like I was in some sports movie where the clock was running out. Just then, everything slows down, and I wait. I watch as the shot is put up or the football is thrown down the field into the end zone. There is anticipation. So I spent yesterday, (Saturday) in anticipation fasting. Neither food nor drink could touch my mouth until my Savior was risen. I waited in anticipation for the Resurrection. I was anxious, nervous, hoping. Then Easter Sunday came. The shot went in the basket, the football was caught. We won the game! Death was defeated! Let’s charge the field rejoicing and hoisting our Savior high. He is risen! Hallelujah! This is the joy of Easter. The ultimate victory.

So right now, I’m celebrating this ultimate victory at a church service at the site of the Garden Tomb. It’s a beautiful dawn. Even birds are chirping Resurrection songs. What a glorious day. Lord, you are risen indeed. Amen.”

Have a happy and blessed Easter everyone. I miss and love you all. Thank you for your comments, prayers, and support. It is encouraging.

SHALOM

Lost in Translation

So I said I'd write about how I didn't end up going to En Gedi, which is absolutely beautiful by the way, and I have a couple stories to go along with that. Being in another country with another language has it's difficulties, as you might assume. Here are a couple instances from one day where there just seemed to be a misunderstanding...

It was Friday morning, and readied ourselves for our day at En Gedi. There were 6 of us who left the school at 6 in the morning to walk 45 min to the bus station. At the bus station we learned some very important lessons about Israeli weapons policies, something they really aren't too lenient on. Apparently Andrew (poor kid), brought a camping knife in his backpack, and as he went through security, they didn't like that too much. The conversation went something like this:

Security Personnel: You have a knife!
Andrew: Yes… it’s a camping knife.
Security Personnel: You cannot have this, it is legal in Israel.
Andrew: It is legal?
Security Personnel: Yes, this knife is illegal
Andrew: Oh, it’s ILLEGAL? But they sell them in the Old City.
Security Personnel: No, it is not illegal
Andrew: Wait, it’s NOT illegal?
Security Personnel: Yes, it is illegal?
Andrew: Wait, it’s not LEGAL?
Security Personnel: It’s not illegal.
Andrew: So there’s no problem then?
Security Personnel: No, it is BIG problem.
Andrew: So it’s illegal.
Security Personnel: No, it’s not illegal.
Andrew: No, it’s not LEGAL.
Security Personnel *frustrated*: It is not allowed in Israel.
Andrew: Then why do they sell them in the Old City if they are illegal?
Security Personnel: I don't know. It doesn't make sense. It is not allowed in Israel. You have two options (they loved this options thing...): One, you leave. Two, I call the police.
Andrew: Fine, call the police.

Police Officer: Why do you have a knife?
Andrew: It’s a camping knife…
Police Officer: It is illegal in Israel. You have two options (see, I told you!): One, you break the knife. Two, I keep it.
Andrew: You know what, it's a nice knife, keep it (*thinking, how exactly would I break a metal knife anyways?*).


So after that incident, we missed our first bus and didn't really have the time to try the next bus. So we left and went to the Shuk (Jewish outdoor marketplace) just to walk around. It is there where we met oddly enough, a pirate (Note: there are absolutely no bodies of water in all of Jerusalem large enough to fit a boat). Our conversation with him went something like this:

Pirate Man: Ar! I’m captain Jack, do you wanna get HIIIIIIIIIGH?
Us *confused*: Eh… no thanks…
Pirate Man: Ai, where is your captain?
Us: Um… we don’t have a captain…. ?
Pirate Man: Ye don’t have a captain? Well, I be looking for a crew. Would ye mates like to join me aboard me ship?
Shlomy *getting creative*: No thank you. We do have a captain. Yeshua is our captain.
Pirate Man: Yeshua??? Well, I’ll kill him.
Shlomy: You can’t kill Yeshua! They’ve tried.
Pirate Man: Well, I’ll burn down his boat.
Me: He’ll just walk on water.
Pirate Man *looking rather confused*: Are ye sure ye don’t want to join me crew? …I already lost me woman and me rum in one day.
Megan and Jenna: Aw man, I hate it when that happens! That’s the worst.
Pirate Man: Do you wanna get HIIIIIGH?!? *blows smoke in Shlomy’s face*
Us: Er… no, really… no thank you. really.
*Pirate man mumbles something and walks away*

At first, I thought he was just joking around, but by the end of the conversation, I really think he thought he was a pirate. Well, it's always interesting around here, that's for sure. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

P.S. - Special thanks to Jenna for her recreation of these conversations that I stole from her.

SHALOM

Waterfalls and Palm Leaves

As many of you probably know, this is somewhat of a Holy Week for the Christian community. It began with the commemoration of Christ’s triumphal entry and ends with the glorious holiday of Easter. So this is a very exciting time for a lot of us. This is our pinnacle celebration because it marks the culmination of what our faith is based on, namely the death and resurrection of the incarnate son of God. Also, this is exciting for some of you who may be celebrating Lent and that long time of fast is almost over.

Well, on the note of fasting, I heard something really encouraging the other day from an Ethiopian Orthodox monk. He got really excited when the subject of fasting came up. He said, “It’s like when you fall in love with a girl. You are so in love and so infatuated that you don’t even think about eating. That’s how it is when fasting. You just spend your time falling in love with God, and you don’t even think about eating. It just becomes secondary.” I was really encouraged by that and definitely challenged, so I just thought I’d share that with you all. So all of you who are fasting right now, be encouraged and embrace this time!

This past Sunday I had a really exciting opportunity to partake in the celebrations of Holy Week. Every year on Palm Sunday literally thousands of people march to the top of the Mt. of Olives at a church commemorating the site where Christ mounted a donkey and they march down the mountain carrying palm leaves into the city gate. People brought guitars and drums and sang songs in many languages (but most of them were versions of repeating “Hosanna” over and over, so it was easy to follow along). So a bunch of us from my school went out to this and just clapped and danced all the way down the mountain. Here’s a couple things I learned from that experience:

1.) I don’t know what Jesus did without chapstick.
2.) I need to bring my ukulele everywhere.
3.) A palm leaf can cost anywhere from 1 shekel to several dollars
4.) I would much rather walk down a mountain than walk up one

I have a video of the experience if you are interested in watching it. I actually just uploaded several videos and now have an account on youtube if you want to check it out. Just go to youtube.com and search “WithUtmostDaring”, and my account should be the only one that shows up. I think I have 4 videos up, so check them out!

This isn’t just a holy week for Christians, however. This week is also the celebration of Purim, a Jewish holiday celebrating the book of Esther. To celebrate, my peers and I in my Jewish Thought and Practice class are going to a synagogue where there will be a lively reading of the book of Esther and everyone will be dressed up in costumes, somewhat like Halloween. It’s supposed to be a blast, so I’m looking forward to it.

Last week, I went on a 3 day field study all across southern Israel. It was an amazing and intense and long trip. I went to Beth Shemesh, a small town along the Sorek system, Azekah, Lachish, Gerar, Beersheba, Arad, the gravesite of David Ben Gurion (the founder and first president of the modern state of Israel), The Wadi Kiln, Avdat, Machtesh Ramon (the largest erosion crater in the world), Masada, the Dead Sea (yes, I did float in the Dead Sea), En Gedi (an oasis in the desert where I got to jump off some waterfalls), and Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found). My favorite place of all that I went to was probably En Gedi. I tried to go back there that next weekend, but that pretty much didn’t happen. I’ll write another note to talk about that experience.

Other than that, I’m doing well and enjoying my time here. Pray that I can use my time here wisely and enjoyable, God continues to guide me safely, and that I continue to discover the fullness of his grace. Thanks for your blessings and prayers!

SHALOM

No Worries, I Am Safe

I'm sure many of you have read the news or heard about some escalating situations in Jerusalem. For those of you that haven't heard, there was a shooting attack by the Hamas terrorist organization at a Jewish college in Jerusalem. It's about a 40 min walk from where I am, so it's a bit of a distance. I want you all to know that I am safe though. I feel safe, too. The school is doing everything they can to make sure I'm in safe areas and am under no threat of harm or danger. So I ask that you please not worry about me. Rather, I ask that you spend some time in prayer for those who have been affected by this attack. There were many injured and several killed, and many in Jerusalem are mourning this horrible event. Please pray for those who are injured that they might be healed, for those in political power that they might have discernment on what to do next, and for the hardened hearts of the Hamas terrorists and those who are parading over the death of those tragically killed. Also pray that I may be able to be a strong witness of grace and Truth to those around me in this city and that I may have words to speak lovingly to whoever I meet at this time. Thank you so much for your prayers and concern. Once again, I want to reiterate that I am safe. The safest place to be is within God's will, right? I love you all and will keep you posted if anything else occurs.

SHALOM

Stones for Crosses

I've been thinking a lot about grace lately. Maybe it's just because the lack of it has been thrust upon me while living here in Israel at this time. With the fighting between Israel and Gaza to the disputes you hear between shopkeepers walking through the Old City of Jerusalem, grace is a concept that I've found lacking in humanity... and lacking in me. We see this in John 8 when the Phariseees bring out an adultress to stone. I wrote a poem last night from these stirred thoughts. It's called "Stones for Crosses". First read John 8, then read this, reflect, and respond not simply with a comment but with a lifestyle. I'm trying this, too.

"Stones for Crosses"

Take her and her scarlet letter outside these walls
Make her walk till she crawls
Though everyone falls

Stones stones
Pick up your stones
Sing a praise to yourself
As each one is thrown

Give her justice, not grace
With a stone to the face
Then maybe she'll taste
Her sin and disgrace

But it's hard to aim right
With a plank in the eye
But at least it's convenient
To crucify

Stones stones
Pick up your stones
Hide behind your own guilt
As each one is thrown

So I judge in my heart
On this woman defiled
Not realizing I
Needed reconciled

Then a man above men
Speaks to me once again
Saying he without sin
Can only condemn

Now the stone of my heart
Is the stone that I hold
I must bury my pride
'Lest I bury her cold
.
.
.
Stones stones
I lay down my stones
Just to pick up a cross
And carry it home

A Little Man in His Eye

So maybe some of you have heard some news that there are some things going on in Israel. I first of all want to let all of you know that I am safe, and the school is undergoing guidelines to keep me safe. This upcoming weekend, we were planning on going to visit the site of Ashkelon, but seeing as a bomb just hit there the other day, we won’t be going there. So for those of you that may be worried about my safety, I want all of you to know that I am fine and Jerusalem has not felt any effects on what has been happening. I went into Bethlehem (in the West Bank) yesterday with a friend, and noticed all the shops were shut down. This typically booming town was entirely barren. I ran into a shopkeeper I’ve been developing a friendship with, Adnan, and he told me that the entire West Bank was on strike in protest/mourning for what happened in Gaza. Earlier that day, the whole town had a rally to speak out against what had happened, but later that day, I walked down a road that is normally the busy strip and I could literally see no one before me or behind me. It was an eerie feeling.

I’ve had some other interactions in the West Bank as well. Last Monday, I went to Jericho with a few friends (Andrew, Molly, and Karen) just to walk around and talk to shopkeepers (and because it’s somewhat of a tropical paradise… it kind of looks and feels like Florida). When we got there, we noticed a high amount of security everywhere and massive amounts of people all heading one direction. So we asked around to try to figure out what was going on, and we discovered that everyone was heading to the West Bank/Jordanian professional league Soccer Championship game. The match was between Jericho and Ramallah. Well, I got excited, because that just sounds awesome, and we decided to try to see if we could get into the game. Some people notice we were Americans, so we got escorted into the game for free, sat in a VIP section (midfield center) with at least 4 personal body guards standing right in front of us the entire time. It was an amazing experience. We only stayed for half of the game for safety reasons, but we later found out that Jericho won, who I think I was rooting for. It’s hard to tell when it’s all in Arabic.

I’ve been trying to learn some Arabic lately. I want to be able to learn some small conversational language, and I’m getting there. I know about 4 or 5 phrases… which is enough for a 10 second conversation if I speak slowly, but that’s a start. I’ve been volunteering at a school on a hill near Bethlehem called Beit Jala. The school is for all grades, but I’ve been helping teach 10th grade English and middle school gym. I’ve really been enjoying that so far, and some of the kids there are teaching me some basic Arabic since, for many of them, it is their primary language. They are also destroying me on the basketball court. Of course, many of them are taller than me too….

Some sites that I’ve seen that have been pretty cool are the tree the Zacchaeus climbed in Jericho to see Jesus (or at least the site where it happened), Old Testament and New Testament sites of Jericho, the oldest man-made structure still standing (a tower in Jericho that is dated as being 10,000 years old, which is several thousand years older than the pyramids – oh and I definitely climbed it!), some pretty remarkable Orthodox churches in Jericho and Jerusalem, the city of Shiloh (where the Tabernacle was first set up when Joshua and the Israelites came into the Promised Land), the church that marks the site where Jesus met the woman at the well, Mt. Ebal, Mt. Gerazim (where we met a Samaritan priest and saw their sacrificial altar where they still yearly practice animal sacrifice), and the ancient city of Samaria. This was all in the last two weeks, so as you can tell, they’re keeping us really busy.

I’ve been feeling and doing really well. I’ve been able to keep in at least some contact with quite a few of you, and that’s been so encouraging. I’m making good friends here, and have been overwhelmingly blessed, but please know that you are most definitely not forgotten and you are in my prayers.

I’m taking the next couple weeks to read through Psalms, and I came across a verse the other day that reminded me of something we’ve learned on our field study. It’s an amazing spiritual insight, and I’d love to share it with you. It’s from Psalm 17:8 and reads, “Keep me as the apple of your eye…”. We read this atop a hill overlooking the vast Judean wilderness a couple weeks ago. This phrase literally translates in the Hebrew as “Keep me as the little person of your eye”. If you are sitting near someone, look into their eyes. Do you see your reflection in their pupil? It almost looks as if a little person is in there. This is how close the Lord keeps us. It’s not simply that we are the object of his affection, it is that his gaze is on us. He’s watching over us and holds us so close as if we were little people within the pupil of his eye. This also shows us how little we are and how BIG God really is. This is really put into perceptive while looking across a hilly desert of nothingness. Seriously, when you are gazing straight into miles of nothing, you start getting a picture of God’s big-itude.

I just want to leave you with that in mind, knowing that God is watching over you. I pray you take courage in that. I love and miss you all. It’s amazing how fast a month can pass by!

By the way, I took the picture above on the hills of Gezer. They're poppy flowers, and I thought they were really pretty, so I thought you should enjoy them too!

SHALOM