We are praising God for this time of rest and reflection and acclimating ourselves to Israeli life before we begin our ministry work, which will be Tuesday, October 2nd.
Come with us now for a small taste of Israel.
Friday, we got to experience the Mahaneh Yahuda Market - the Shuk, as the locals call it - fabulously fun and exciting! (Now I know that's God, because I usually hate loud, crowded places. When God makes you a new creation, He doesn't just stop at the point of your salvation - it's an on-going process. I love that about God . . . actually, I love everything about God!) I'm still a bit jet-lagged, so this is rather random. Anyway, back to the market - so fun and exciting. There was everything from fish to nuts, fresh produce to spices, breads and cheeses of every kind, and pomegranates the size of softballs! I think we may have been overcharged a few times, but it was still worth it . . . the produce was so fresh tasting and the breads and cheeses were delicious! We have been enjoying it for several days and sharing with others at the hostel as they have been sharing with us.
On Friday night we went to a Shabbat dinner at the Hostel where they prepared many lovely dishes. We were able to experience a traditional Sabbath meal, including the special prayers over the candles, the wine and the bread. We shared our table with a group of young ladies from Holland who are here studying at the University, and a young man from Israel, born and raised on a kibbutz, or communal farm. Very enjoyable and all of the food was wonderful! Here is the feast for your eyes.
OK, so you're probably thinking all we've done is eat . . . not so . . . we've walked, we've eaten, we've talked with many new acquaintances, we've eaten . . .
Last night we were invited to the home of one of the leaders of Bridges for Peace . . . um, for dinner. We do have to eat, you know! (smile) God has not called us to fast our way thru Israel, however, we could lose a few pounds . . . sigh. Oh well, back to our experiencing Israel.
Well, let's back up a bit . . . this was our first attempt at catching a cab in Israel . . . well, for that matter . . . ever! So we stand outside and a cab comes; we flag him down; we show him the paper with the address on, he says he has no idea where it is and leaves us standing in the street. A couple minutes later, the next taxi stops. We tell him the address with the area first - he says he knows where it is. Now, we ask the price (we were instructed to always ask before you get in, and don't pay more than 40-50 shekels for anywhere in Jerusalem.) The driver says 70 shekels, I say, how about 50? He says, but it's Shabbat, and he says 60; Chuck says forget it; I say lets take it, we're going to be late. We get in, the guy is mad, my flip-flop catches on the back of the seat, Chuck jumps in almost on top of me, the driver takes off like a lunatic before the door was all the way closed, and we pray as we're glued to the seat because of how fast he's driving. After a few minutes he says Ayala Street? I say no, Ayal Street. Now I'm praying he doesn't take us somewhere in the West Bank and drop us off, because we have no idea where this place is and we have no phone to call anyone. About 15 minutes later, he says there it is - number 43. So we get out, still praying that God has brought us to the place we need to be, pay the 60 shekels and he leaves us there. We look around in the darkness, walk up the stairs to an apartment, but don't see the number. We come back down, go around a corner . . . still praying . . . and it says number 5. We knock and it's the right place. Thank You, thank You, Jesus!
No pics of last night's food, but we did have multiple courses - appetizers, which included warm figs with blue cheese, tiny meatballs and pineapple, and proscutio & cheese melts; then the soup - a creamy spicy squash soup; main dish - curry-rubbed grilled chicken breasts, asparagus & cherry tomatoes, a beet, cabbage & pomegranate salad, and fresh bread. Then for dessert, one of the ladies from South Africa made chocolate cake with home-made ice cream loaded with cherries and nuts and I don't know what else, but it was delicious. We ate on their balcony overlooking the city of Jerusalem, not too far from the West Bank as a matter of fact, but what a beautiful view. (Not to worry . . . that part of the West Bank is safe because it's part of Jerusalem - at least that's what our host told us.)
In this photo of Jerusalem, just over the dark hill on the right is the West Bank - we were very close, yet still felt very safe.
It was wonderful to meet some of the other new arrivals to Israel - about half of them had been to Israel before, but some, like us, were first-timers. One young lady, Emmy, is from England, another, Carrie from the US, is 18 and has come by herself, Vincent, a young man from California has been here before, and he signed up for 2 years this time! There was also the lady from South Africa, Arina, and a mighty woman of God, Amy, an Hispanic great-grandmother of 79 originally from Puerto Rico, but living in Florida. A young Asian woman, Kathy, from Canada and a couple, Steve and Arlene from Idaho. Steve and Arlene have just been here 3 weeks, and they live in our general neighborhood (the others all live much farther away), so we shared a taxi back home. That was a much better experience than the first taxi ride, but the driver couldn't find Steve and Arlene's apartment, so they just got out when they saw a familiar place. After they got out, I started asking the driver questions. At first he was a little rude, but when we asked about his family, he pulled out pictures of his 2-month-old baby girl. He was so proud! And now he was even starting to be nice to us and told us he would have us home in five minutes - I think he had been driving around a few extra blocks to raise the price. Kindness works . . . Jesus works!
Our ministry here is to serve Bridges for Peace in anyway that they ask us to, but when we're out on our own, we really feel like we need to represent Jesus, by being like Him . . . to love, encourage and help everyone we come in contact with, no matter who they are or how they treat us.
"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved." - 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (NLT)
Please pray:
- that we can learn our jobs at BFP quickly so that we can be a blessing to them;
- that we will be sensitive to people's needs and that we will hear God's leading and prompting.
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