The Last Leg of My Journey

Near The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

I am on the last leg of my journey now.  It's been amazing.  God has definitely been at work in the hearts of the group members as well as ordering our steps along the way.  Our last day together was the climax of the trip as we focused on the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  We began the day by going to The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem.  The church has, since the 4th century, been venerated as site called, Golgotha, "the place of the skull" where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected.  The building is today a home for  Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism.  There has been much tension between the different Christians sects to point of fights breaking out between the different priests.  You can watch a Youtube video of one of the fights if you want to get disgusted at what religion has become.  

The Garden Tomb - (notice The Skull - top right)

Anyway, this is a site that is regarded by many Christians as a very holy place.  Thousands of people every year flock to the church and line up to touch the places where it is said that Jesus was crucified, where he was prepared for burial, and even where his tomb is said to be.  After this site we walked to the Garden Tomb, which is suggested, mostly by Protestant Christians to be the site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial.  Not that it matters, but to me it does seem to be the more likely location.  There is a hill near the tomb that actually looks like a skull.

After being taught by one of the retired pastors who volunteer at the Garden tomb, I led the group in a short communion service where we had a time of sharing how God has spoken to us through our journey.  I was very moved by what several people shared.  "I don't want to leave unchanged."  "The Bible has come alive to me like never before.  I am so excited to continue reading, studying, and hearing from God's Word."  These were just a few of the things said.

Bethlehem

After this we went across the Palestinian border to Bethlehem.  Eitan, our Israeli guide is not allowed to enter into Palestine so we were met by an Arab guide.  Bethlehem is home of Stars & Bucks Cafe.  Actually, it's more famous for the place where Jesus was born.  And again, it is a site that is highly venerated by Catholic and Orthodox Christians.  We waited in line at The Church of the Nativity with hundreds of other pilgrims waiting to touch the place where it is believed that Jesus was born.  While we were in the queue guides were quietly explaining to their groups some of the history of the church and the Nativity story.  Security guards would walk back and forth clapping their hands and telling people to be quiet.  Every so often, a gruff priest would walk near the group and yell very harshly whilst expelling fiery darts from his eyes, "SILENCE".  There was silence for a few seconds and then the chatting continued.  Bethlehem is probably the least moving experience for me.  It's important to go there for the group, simply to say that they were there, but as far as being an experience that is meaningful, it not that.  It always leaves me with a feeling of emptiness.  

Out on the last night

That completed our formal Israel sojourn.  We returned to our hotel and had a farewell dinner.  We shared stories.  We each, in turn, shared with Eitan, and Nabil, our driver, how they blessed us on our journey.  And they expressed to us how meaningful our group was to them.  We all left feeling like it was all worth the effort.  God has been good.

Most of the group had to rise at 3:45 am to get to the airport in Tel Aviv, but some of them wanted to go out for one final walk in the old city and have a coffee in Jaffa Street in the new city.  We bundled up, because it was a bit chilly in the night air and walked briskly in the city that had become so dear to us.  The group dynamics have been great on this trip.  We were smaller than the other groups I have been with so there was some intimacy this time that was not possible in the larger groups.  

Out for dinner with the Safadis

After having a bite to eat, those who had to get up early walked back to the hotel, while Justin, Ria, and I walked some more in the Old City.  We were not scheduled to leave until four days later.  Justin and Ria would go to Jordan, and I would stay in Israel and visit my friends, the Safadis and the Freimans.

After having a good sleep, the remaining three of us, called a cab and took it to the airport to pick up my rental car.  On my way to dropping Justin and Ria off I bought a Sim card for my phone so I could communicate with my Israeli friends.  I was very thankful to have a phone.  It made me feel safe and connected. 

Sandi, Rima, Rami, Noor, and Mahmod Safadi

After driving Justin and Ria to the Jordanian border crossing I made my way to Shfar'am where the Safadis now live.  When I drove into the town it looked familiar.  Then I noticed a sign to a town called Adi.  That sounds like the town where the Friemans live.  A few seconds later I noticed a restaurant were Willie Frieman took me to eat the first night I was there.  That's crazy, the Safadis moved from the Golan Heights, over a year ago, to a couple minutes from the Freimans.  What are the chances of that?  This would simplify things for me.

Sandi, Rami, and Noor

When I arrived in town I dialled Mahmod's cell number.  I got a recording from my cell provider that I had used up all my credit.  I found a cell phone store and talked to a young lady who spoke enough broken English that I could communicate to her my problem.  She said that I used up my credit with the data from email and Facebook messages.  Drat!  She called Mahmod for me and he arrived about two minutes later and directed me to his place.  The family was very excited to see me and I was equally thrilled to see them.  It was quite a maze trying to track them down again and God was so gracious in helping us reconnect.  That made our meeting that much more special.  We all embraced and conversation flowed freely.  The kids had grown considerably since my last visit.  They are so cute.  The two girls, Sandi, the oldest, and Noor, the middle child have been studying English and worked hard at trying to communicate with me.  By the time they left for school this morning they were actually conversing quite well.

After arriving a young lady named Reem came over.  She is a good friend of Rima's and speaks very good English.  We had a good visit together with the rest of the family.  We all had dinner together and then went out for some very good traditional Arab ice cream that is famous in the Shfar'am area.

Noor and Rima

Last night I took them out for dinner at an Arab restaurant called "Fresh" in English.  The servings were extremely large and each one could have served three people.  I ate about a quarter of mine because we also had extras that came with the meal before the main course -- humus, tabouli, tahini, pita, Greek salad, garlic bread, French fries, and several kinds of salads.  By the time the main course came, I was full.  They had the leftovers packed up and had enough food to feed them for a couple days.

Among the many things we chatted about during my stay was there dream of living in Canada someday.  Mahmod seemed resolved to the idea that it was not going to become a reality.  The only obstacle is an English exam that he has to pass.  It covers reading, writing, speaking, and listening.  He needs a score of 6 to pass and he has gotten an average of 5.5.  He has taken the exam several times over the years, but has failed each time, not because he is not capable, but because he seems to freeze up during the exam.

Noor

I encouraged him not to give up on his dream.  Interestingly, his new job since moving to Shfar'am requires him to speak English regularly.  I suggested that this could be a blessing in disguise and that the practice would help get him comfortable enough to take the exam successfully.  His dream seemed to reignite.

This morning I said goodbyes to all the kids when they left for school.  Sandi said to me, "I love you so so so so much."  That warmed my heart.  I am praying for the Safadi family that they would be successful in finding their way to Canada, and that this would also lead to an encounter with Jesus, the giver of life.

Please pray for the Safadis with me.  God is big and good and able!

I am at their home right now.  They left me a key to lock up.  I am on my way to the Freimans.

Shalom,

Pastor Jeff

Closer to Jesus

A Bar mitzvah for a young boy

The Mount of Olives, The Garden of Gethsemane, The Western Wall, The Temple Mount, The Pool of Siloam, The Old City of Jerusalem, Caesarea, The Via Dolorosa, The City of David, Yad Vashem (the holocaust museum);  these are just a few of the places we have visited in the last couple days.  It's been an amazing couple of days to say the least.  We have been flooded with diverse emotions -- joy, sadness, thankfulness, shock, disgust.  We have experienced the full gambit.

Praying under the Western Wall

Today we walked through Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum.  Everyone should experience this once in their lives.  The motto of the Jewish people in regards to the Holocaust is "never again."  Never again will they allow themselves to be subjugated, humiliated, and destroyed like the Nazis did to them in WW II.  We only had forty-five minutes in the museum.  We could have spent the whole day in there.  I had to fight back the tears the whole time as I wondered how we, as a human race, could stoop to such depths.  But, the fact is, if the circumstances were right (or wrong) it could happen again.  We have not "evolved" to the place of being above such horrific events.  Six million Jews died at the hands of the Nazi regime.  It's unthinkable.  NEVER AGAIN!

We also went to the Western (Wailing) Wall.  It's one of my favourite places in Israel.  The passion of the Jewish people is humbling for me.  We went in the tunnels under the wall down to the level of the second temple.  At one site in the tunnel is a location that is the most holy place for the Jews.  It is the closest they can get to the Temple Mount, which is now controlled the Muslims.  While in the tunnels I noticed a young lady, not more than 25 or 26 praying at one location.  Her lips were quivering as she was praying.  We moved along to another place and she walked past us, lips moving silently while she walked, carrying her Hebrew Scriptures.  She reached the holiest of sites and prayed fervently, fist clenched, rocking back and forth, scriptures pressed against her face.  I was more than curious.  What could she be praying for?  A job?  An illness?  A broken relationship?  I asked Eitan, our guide.  "She is praying for peace in Israel."

Wow!  That brought me back to 2011 in Vancouver.  The Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks in the finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs and a riot broke out in the streets.  Over hockey for Pete's sake.  We riot over hockey.  That is pathetic.  After the riot my friend from the Golan Heights, on the border of Syria, whose wife has not been able to see her family for about 15 years because of being locked out of Syria, emailed me to ask if I was ok, or if I had been hurt in the riots.  Hockey!  I was so embarrassed.  They pray and fight for freedom and the most important thing to us is hockey?  Really?  Something is out of whack. Sorry for the rant.  My eyes were opened to how petty we are sometimes.

I love Israel, especially Jerusalem.  Jesus walked here.  He taught his disciples here.  He cleansed the Temple here.  Here he was arrested, tried, and found guilty.  He carried his cross here.  Here he died.  He rose from the dead from Jerusalem.  And it was from here that the Holy Spirit came in power on the disciples and the Christian faith spread like wild fire.  When you experience the Land you leave changed.  I have seen it over and over again.  I am witnessing it again this time.

I just finished having a heart to heart talk with one of the group.  She said she does not want to leave here unchanged.  She wants to take the change home with her.  She is excited about Jesus and her faith like never before.  She's not the only one either.  Several others in the group have told me the same.  The group ranges in age from 30 to 79 and each one has a similar story.  My heart beats for stories like this.  I want to keep bringing groups to experience this life changing journey.

Please continue to pray for us.  Tomorrow we finish the Via Dolorosa, we go the Garden Tomb, where we will celebrate communion together, we will go to the pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the crippled man, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and finally we will cross the Palestinian border into Bethlehem to see the Church of the Holy Nativity.   This is the climax of our trip, so we need your prayers.  We will be focusing on the death and resurrection of Jesus.  My prayer is that we will all leave with a new resolve to live in the victory of the risen Christ.  I want the entire group, including our guide and driver to experience the power of Christ crucified and risen.  This is what will change us, not an experience in a place, unless we experience Jesus there.

Tomorrow night we have our farewell dinner and then we rise at 3:00am to leave for the airport.  I will say goodbye to the rest of the group and then spend a couple days with my Druze family near Haifa and then a couple days with my Jewish family near Nazareth.  Please pray for me that I will be able to have some rich conversations with these families.  God is doing something.  I want to be a part of it.

May you experience the peace of Christ as you walk with him.

Pastor Jeff

Towards Galilee

I have been trying to write my blog for several days but haven't had a very good internet connection in our hotel.  So, this is the first post in about 4 days.  There's no way I'll be able to fill in all the details, so I'll just touch on a few of the highlights.

Part of the ruins at Bet She'an

We left our beautiful setting at the Dead Sea and headed up the Jordan Valley towards Galilee.  That means we were getting closer to the stomping grounds of Jesus.  Our first stop was Qumran.  This is the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1948 by a Bedouin shepherd boy who was looking for his lost sheep.  Contrary to what someone said on the internet, it wasn't us who found them.  

On the way to Tiberias, where we would stay for three nights, we stopped at Bet She’an, which is the largest archeological dig in Israel. There are several civilizations buried under the rubble.  I could have stayed there all day exploring the ancient city.

Eitan Chamberlin - Our Israeli guide

We also were able to stop at Bethany Beyond the Jordan where I had the privilege of baptizing my good friend Cam.  We were both very moved by the experience.  He had been baptized as a believe already, but wanted to take this opportunity to rededicate is life to the Lord.

We also stopped at Tel Hazor- once the largest city in all of Canaan. The multi layered Tel of Hazor is a fascinating site that offers intrigue and insight into five thousand years of civilization.. Captured by Joshua and burnt to the ground this city was eventually rebuilt by Solomon in the 10^th century BC.(Joshua 11:10-14; Judges 4:2; 1 Kings 9:15).  Our guide, Eitan was in on that dig several years ago and believes it to be a very important find that substantiates the authenticity of our Bible.

Harod's Spring near where Gideon sifted the soldiers
to fight against the Midianites

 We made several stops on our way to Galilee and visited many more once we reached Tiberius in Galilee.  We've been here two nights and leave in the morning.  I am very tired and need to get some shuteye, so I'll simply list the sites and then tell you a significant story of how I tracked down my Arab Druze friend, Mahmod.

The group, minus, Cathy.

A Worshiper at Capernaum

In the last two days we spent time on the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7; Capernaum, which was Jesus' headquarters and where most of his ministry took place.  Peter lived there with his wife and mother in-law.  We went to Bethsaida, where five of the disciples were from, Tabgha, where Jesus is said to have fed the five thousand, and then across the lake to Kurzi where it is said he cast the legion of demons out of a demoniac and sent them into a herd of pigs.  We went to the Golan Heights to the border of Syria and Lebanon, to Caesarea Philippi where, in Matthew 16, Peter confessed Jesus as "The Christ, the Son of the Living God."  We went to Nimrod's Fortress, not a biblical site, but a historical one from the days of the Crusaders.  We sailed on a boat on the Sea of Galilee and was led in worship by Daniel, a Messianic Jew who loves Jesus and expresses his love beautifully in song.  At each site another piece of the puzzle, of who Jesus and his disciples were, falls into place.  "It gets better every day."  That's what I keep hearing from the group members.

Nimrod's Fortress in the Golan Heights

In our worship service at RBC before leaving on our journey, we prayed that I would be able to find my friend Mahmod and his family in the Golan Heights.  I had lost contact with them for the last year or so.  We stopped in his Druze town of Masade at the bakery that is a regular stop on our trips.  I asked if they knew him.  They drew a blank.  Eitan suggested I go next door to a restaurant and ask the owner.  I took Nabil, our driver over because he speaks fluent Arabic, among five other languages.  We asked the owner if he knows of him.  "Yes, he said.  We can show you where he lives."  He asked a young teenaged boy to walk me there.  The boy put up a bit of a fight, but the gruff restaurant owner won out and my reluctant guide walked with me up the street about two blocks away and pointed to a house.  "No, that's not it,"  I said.  "That's his wife right there," he replied.  "No, that's not his wife."  He shrugged his shoulders.

Secret Passage out of Nimrod's Fortress

A couple men walked by and the boy asked them if they spoke English.  "Yes," they said.  I asked if they knew Mahmod (and said his last name along with his wife and kids' names).  "Yes, I know them."  He pointed us to a different area.  Another guy walked up to us and said that he knew them too and would drive us.

I was starting to get a bit anxious anticipating surprising them with this visit.  By this time, Nabil showed up and was able to do some translating for me.  He came with me in the car of the stranger who was giving us a ride.

A couple minutes later we drove down a street that looked very familiar and then stopped in front of their house that was unmistakably the one I remembered from two years ago.  Nabil went with me up the long flight of stairs.  We knocked on the door several times.  No answer.  We kept on knocking to no avail.  It was a duplex with the neighbours door right next to theirs.  I recalled that Mahmod told me that his bother lived there.  We knocked on that door as well.  No answer.  We kept knocking until finally someone opened.  Reminds me of a parable of Jesus.

The Jesus Boat

Nabil asked if they knew Mahmod and his family.  "Yes.  They have moved near Haifa closer to his work.  The wife called Mahmod's wife and at the same time, the husband called Mahmod.  I talked to both of them.  They were very happy to hear from me.  I was ecstatic.  I could hardly believe God's providence.  It was an answer to prayer.  We exchanged contact information and over the next couple days we arranged that I would stay at their place for two days before visiting my Jewish friends, the Freimans.

Worshiping on the Sea of Galilee

I am so thankful that I can carry on these relationships.  God is at work.  I am going to continue praying that he would prepare us all for the conversations that would lead to greater understanding of Jesus for all of us.  The last time I stayed at their place, two years ago, I asked them about the Druze beliefs, and after listening and drawing them out I asked if they knew what the Christians believed about Jesus.Mahmod said that he had no idea. I asked if he wanted me to tell him. He said, “Yes, please.” I shared the Gospel from Genesis to Christ. After listening, Mahmod said, “I respect all religions: Judaism, Islam, Druze, and all others, but from what you said, Christianity seems to be the most reasonable.” We left it at that, but I am praying for them all that there would be more opportunity to share the love of Christ with the family this time around.  I'd like to dialogue with them more about their beliefs and, perhaps plant the seed of the Gospel of Jesus so that it can grow to fruition.  Please pray with me as I visit with both the Safadis and the Freimans.

You can go back and read my archives about my visit with both families. http://pastorjeffsblog.blogspot.com

Tomorrow we head to Mount Carmel where Elijah faced off with the prophets of Baal, Caesarea, a major Roman city that Herod built, Megiddo -- a site where multiple layers of civilizations are buried beneath the earth, and Nazareth village where Jesus was raised.  At each stop we will uncover more treasure into the life and personality of our Lord.  Each day we will be enriched spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, and exhausted physically.  But, we will be satisfied and more in love with Jesus.

Climbing the Heights of Sinai

It's been a couple days since my last bog.  We didn't have internet access at our last stay in Egypt.  We were at Mount Sinai, the location God have Moses the Ten Commandments, and the law.  I would have to say this was one of the highlights of my life thus far.  It was amazing to walk up the same mountain that very same mountain.

We started the climb at 1:30 am.  Yes, you read right.  It's not a typo -- 1:30 am.  Simon, the tour manager introduced us to Solomon.  He was dressed in traditional Middle Eastern dress.  His English was quite good, but a bit broken.  He actually speaks eight different languages.  He led us in the dark on foot for about a kilometre or two before we were met by some Bedouin men with Camels.  We had the choice of riding up and then walking down, or walking up and then down.  Everyone except for Rand chose to ride.  I wanted the experience of the feeling of the same sort of transportation some of the biblical figures would have used.  Part of me wished I hadn't.  That part is my tail bone.

Ancient transportation

Justin taking a photo of the amazing Sinai sunrise

 I don't know if my saddle was built wrong, or my butt is built wrong, but there was a piece of wood digging into my tailbone and it was so uncomfortable and painful that, after about two and a half hours, I finally had to ask the 15 year old Bedouin boy, Rafa, to let me off so I could walk the rest of the way and give my poor tailbone a break.  I noticed later that it was rubbing so much that it wore the skin right off.  That's a hard place to wear a band aid.  Anyway, who's complaining, only my butt.

The trek to the top took over three hours.  We rode about two thirds of the way up and then had to walk the final 750 steps because the camels, apparently aren't made for steeper terrain.  I'm not sure I am either, but I did make it.  It was actually the descent that was the hardest part.  By the time I reached two thirds of the way down I was grunting with each step.  I actually didn't realize it until someone pointed it out.  Then to make me feel better they started to grunt with me.

Mount Sinai

Once at the top, Justin, Ria, and I climbed on top of a huge rock that gave us access to the top of an ancient Orthodox church.  We had the best seats out of the hundreds of people who made the ascent, probably because to get there meant standing on a narrow ledge with a several hundred foot drop to the one side and then climbing the rock with the help of someone boosting, or pulling you up.

Our descent on foot

Once on top, we waited for about forty-five minutes for the sunrise.  While waiting we took several long exposure photos.  I'll post some of those on Facebook after I have some time to process them.

The sunrise wasn't as spectacular as it was built up to be, but being at the summit and taking in God's glory and viewing the same vista that Moses would have seen was certainly worth the pain of getting there.

The descent took us about two hours or so, and like I said, it was good for the first two thirds and then very painful the rest of the way as my knees started to give way.  But, who's complaining -- besides me.  

When we got down, Cam said, "That was the best experience of my life."  I was thrilled that I had the privilege of being a part of making that happen for him and for the others.

Our group has gelled very well.  We are made up of different connections I have, and most did not know each other, but it's like we have been a group all our lives -- another thrill for me.

En Gedi - 1 Samuel 24

After reaching the bottom we had about forty-five minutes to take a quick shower and wolf down some breakfast and try to join a convoy we would be travelling with to the Israeli border where we would meet our guide, my friend, Eitan.  I was excited to see him again after two years.  We got the border and everyone got through the several layers of security quite easily, except for Justin and me.  They kept us back and put our camera bags through the scanners about five or six times each and searched them each time.  That whole process took about forty-five minutes, meanwhile, not only was our group waiting for us, but about two hundred other people behind us in line were held up.  We finally got the go ahead and met the rest of the group.  Eitan and I greeted each other warmly with a hug.  We got caught up while organizing the group's tour bags.

After that we headed towards the Dead Sea where we would spend two nights.  On the way we stopped for a quite bite to eat at Kibbutz dairy farm, and then carried on to our hotel.  Eitan, true to form, was a fount of knowledge along the way.  We arrived at our hotel, got settled in our rooms and hurried down for an amazing buffet dinner.  I went up to my room right after dinner and started to work on this blog, but fell asleep while typing.  My finger rested on the jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj.  I woke up with a jerk and had to delete about 12,000 of them.  

The pools of En Gedi

We had a wake up call at 6:15 the next morning and went to Masada.  This was the place where, in 73 AD, over 900 Jewish Zealots committed suicide before the Romans army could capture them and subjugate them to a life of slavery.  It's an awesome extra biblical story as told by the Jewish historian, Josephus.  After that we went to En Gedi (1 Samuel 24) where David was hiding out from Saul.  We walked along the same pathway that these ancient men would have walked on.  Some of the group experienced the refreshing pools of En Gedi and let the water fall wash over them.

We had a short day and arrived back at our hotel at about 2:00pm and spent the rest of the day having some much needed free time.  Some of the group went shopping, while others floated in the Dead Sea.  You can't swim in the Dead Sea.  You can only float.  The high salt content makes it possible for anyone to float, even those who normally sink like rocks.

Justin and I went to a coffee shop and did some work.  I continued to work on this blog and process these photos and Justin did some work on some events that are coming up at the church.  After that we went back to the hotel for our Shabbat meal.  Eitan taught us the symbolism in the different aspects of the meal.  It brought tears to my eyes as he showed how everything brings glory to God.

After dinner I went back up to room and, again, worked on this blog, and once again, fell asleep without finishing it.  I had my first good sleep since being here - about 6 and a half hours.  I feel quite restd.

We are now in the bus.  We stopped by the Dead Sea, where I gave a devotion on Gideon from Judges 7.  We are stopping at Harod's Spring, then off to Qumran, Beth Shean, and Bethany by the Sea at the Jordan where we will do a baptism.  I am going to publish this now and finish up in the next blog.  Blessings.

Water falls of En Gedi

Cam getting refreshed after a long walk up to the En Gedi Falls