Day 44 - Loving Israel

Hey guys,

Sorry that I have not been too consistent with updating my blog. I'll try harder to do so from now on. Anyways, we have just finished our second block of the life of Christ classes. It was really nice. Mr. Doug Search taught this block. Now, this week is our travel week. We get chances to go all around Israel and explore without any school to do this week (except for those lovely chuck tracks).

I went to John the Baptist's church yesterday with Dean and Tori. Sadly, the place was closed, but it had such a lovely little courtyard there that felt nice and secluded from the city. So we stopped there and had a fun little picnic! I love how different this city is. There are little gems all over the place, you just have to get out and find them. It's pretty interesting to see it. It is not just handed to you on a little platter, you have to either know where to go or you have to seek out these places.

So yeah... Israel is just plain amazing. The longer that I am here, the harder it is to describe what life is like here and what my impressions of it all are. The longer I'm here, the less words that are even available to my mind to say about this place.

The farmers market (the shook) is very very crowded... if you are claustrophobic, then just don't go there. The buses will take you pretty much anywhere in Jerusalem for about 6 1/2 sheckles. Falafel is quite yummy, just make sure that you are specific on the extra stuff that is put on it. You don't have to let them put all the cucumbers on it!!! Oh yeah... and last little tidbit for tonight, don't flush the toilet paper!

Love,
V

Day 37 - Yad Vashem

So you are probably wondering what Yad Vashem actually is. Well, it is the Jewish holocaust museum.   Unlike other holocaust museums that you may have been to, this museum focuses less on the horrible things that happened during this time (though they certainly did not gloss over them), but the main point of this museum is to help you to remember. They see that it is more important to remember that each one of the people that died during this time had a name, had a life, and had a family. Each one was special in their own way, and we should never forget what happened.

Walking through the museum, we weren't allowed to take pictures so I took notes and I drew little sketches, but really, I can not say much about it. It's surreal to realize that because of a person's desire to  be as God and for his desire to become the most powerful, perfect person in the world, an entire people were wiped out from the earth. 

The murders in this war were so many and so horrible that even Himmler (the biggest mass murderer of all time) fainted when one of the bodies that had been shot dead bursted a blood vessel and spurted blood all over Himmler. At that point in the war, they decided that just shooting people, throwing them in a huge ditch, and then covering it with dirt was not a very effective way to kill people. At that time they resorted to mass industrialized murder. Think about that phrase for a second. Mass means that the killing was not limited to a small area but was spread everywhere. Industrialized means that they used the same process to kill people as Henry Ford used to build cars! They had a system that was so set out that thousands of people were involved in the killings without even having to shoot a gun. Because of that, many people thought that they were "innocent" of murdering hundreds of thousands of people when in reality they were guilty of that very thing. Then, of course, murder is murder. Thousands upon Thousands and even millions of Jews were murdered during this horrible time... Why weren't more saved? Why aren't there more Christians that helped these people? It is because they were scared. How often are you scared to do the right thing just because the process may not be very comfortable. Christians, don't forget. Don't be scared to do the right thing. Be bold and do what God is calling you to. 

See that tree that I'm standing next to in that picture? That tree is planted in memory of Corrie Ten Boom. She and her family dedicated their lives to saving Jews from the holocaust. All of them ended up in a concentration camp, and her sister and father died there. By the grace of God, Corrie survived the camp until the end of the war, and then she traveled around the world sharing the gospel with everyone, even her old prison guards that had abused her during the war. God gave her the strength to forgive her old enemies. Because of how she served the Lord and was used by Him so mightily during her life time, Corrie Ten Boom is one of my heroes. I love her very much, and I want to be used of the Lord as much as she was! :) 

Love,

V

[Forgotten Video - Sorry everyone!]

Day 30 - Yom Kippur

This Friday night through Saturday was Yom Kippur. This was one of the most holy celebrations in all of the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur (or the Day of Atonement) happened on the 10th day of the 7th month. Now this was based on the Jewish religious calendar. The Jewish religious calendar begins around our month of April, so the 7th month usually falls around our October.

The Day of Atonement is a very holy day. It's like the shabbat (sabbath) only much more holy. That means that it starts on the sundown on Friday night and ends on Saturday night. It also means doing no work. Originally, this was a special day where the high priest of Israel would make all these sacrifices for the sins of all of the people. He would do all of the sacrifices by himself (this was symbolizing Jesus Christ coming to pay for the sins of the people all by Himself). Hence the name "Day of Atonement." It was the day that the sacrifices would pay for all of the people's sins for the past year.

Today, Jesus is our fulfillment in this Day of Atonement, and we can rejoice in that. Sadly, the Jewish people do not see it that way. Now remember that sacrifices can only take place in the temple. Is there a temple? No! So that means that the Jews can't have their sacrifices once a year to cover up their sins. So what the rabbis have come up with is this system of prayers. They pray all day long starting at least a day before the feast so that once Saturday night is done, their sins are "paid for." They even lay hands on chickens to "pass on" their sins. It's ok for them to sacrifice chickens because those were never named as a sacrifice that is only supposed to be done in the temple. So basically, this whole weekend is a spit in God's face. These people have rejected the ultimate and perfect atonement for their sins and they are now stuck in this bondage of prayers, fasting, and make-shift sacrifices. It's really sad to see this happening.

If you notice in the picture that we are all dressed in white. This is almost mandatory to do if you are going to the wall (turns out more so for men than girls) and wearing white represents the washing away of sin. It was quite interesting to see all of the Jews praying at the wall. On Saturday night there was singing and dancing because they could break their fast that they had been having since Friday night. They are so serious in their fasting that they do not even brush their teeth because they are afraid that some of the water might trickle down their throats and make them break their fasts. Crazy isn't it? This is the culture that Jesus was in when He talked about the strict legalism and the coldness of the law. It's such a blessing to know that Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the old laws. He has paid the ultimate price for us! Praise God!

Love,
V

Day 27 - Tel Aviv

Day 24 - Shevet Achim

Today (Sunday), we went to Shevet Achim. It's a really neat place that basically takes kids with heart diseases from countries (usually Iraq and the Gaza Strip), and brings them here to Israel to get proper health care that they would never otherwise get. It's such a beautiful ministry. Shevet Achim is based on Psalm 133 where it says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" It was such a blessing to see these little kids and their mothers just being so loved on by people that they thought hated them. Pretty much all of these families are from Arab countries. They are told that they are worthless if they do not have any money or influence. They are told this all of their lives, and then they come here to Jerusalem and see that they have worth in Christ.

So I got to play with the kids all morning! Yay! This little boy was certainly a handful. He did all sorts of crazy stuff! Haha... then this little girl blowing kisses is named Kazhim. She was leaving the next day because her surgeries were sucessfully over and she was ready to go home! We got to be there for her farewell party. I thought it was so sweet! :) Then the little girl in the window was named Lamu. She was a year and a half old. She was such a sweetheart. I got to spend a lot of time with her because she can't walk yet. It's kinda sad to see that... Then the last little girl that I'm holding in that picture is named Aya. She has a really long scar all the way down her chest from the heart surgeries. She's doing a lot better now. Praise God! 

So yeah. That was Shevet Achim. Hope that you guys were blessed. Please keep this ministry in prayer. They are always in need of prayer!

Love,
V

p.s. You can see more of the kids and the ministry at http://www.shevet.org/