Category Archives: Israel Mission 2009

Now that we are back in the states and have better Internet connections, we were able to upload TONS of pictures from our trip to Israel.  So check out our picture website for LOTS of pictures from our days of touring. 

Thanks to my awesome wife, Laura, for getting these up!

-Micah

Our final day in Jerusalem was on Saturday and we spent the morning doing yard work for Jerusalem Prayer Center, and some up keep that they needed to have done.  We also spent some time in the Prayer room, praying for a nation and our world and all that God had done and would continue to do in Jerusalem.

Our final time was spent preparing for the trip home, saying our final goodbyes at Shevet Achim and riding the Sharot to Tel Aviv. 

We are finally home and missing Israel and the people God gave us to pray for and pray with while in the country.

Pray for Nazmin, a shop owner who sold us sandals.  He allowed us to pray for him, his family and God’s blessings on his family.

Pray for Isaac, I(Jimmie) got to share Christ with him. 

Pray for the children at Shevet Achim who had surgery, Mohammed, Akram and Sidra.  They are all recovering and gaining strength.

Jimmie

It is so good to be home after an amazing trip to Israel.  Thank you so much for your prayers and support as we headed to Israel for our mission.  Everyday was awesome!  From the 4 touring days to the 7 mission days, scattered all over Israel.  I loved every moment of it.  Well, maybe not midnight to 2 am while we waited at the airport to begin check in for our flight home.  But all the other hours…amazing!  God was so good to us and we can’t wait to share as much as possible with you and everyone else.  There will be 2 opportunites for reflection.  First, we will have a reflection time this Saturday morning from 9 to 11:30 am in the North Campus Worship Center.  During this time, each of the 5 teams will take 20-30 minutes to share pictures, video and testimonies about their specific mission and all that God did during their 7 days on location.  If will be powerful to hear from each team.  Second, we will take time in the evening service this Sunday night to share with the church at large.  It will not be as detailed but it will be a great time to share and say thanks for all thier prayer support while we were gone.  It will be a wonderful service.

I thought you might like to see this picture of our group taken last Sunday, July 19th, on the Temple Mount.  Pretty awesome!  Well, I can’t wait to see everyone and share all that the Lord has done.  Thanks again for your love and support.

We just landed in Houston. Now we just go through customs and then we can head home!

Thanks so much for your prayers. Check back soon for more pictures from the trip!

-Micah

Well, we’re in Germany waiting to board our flight to Houston. We’ve got about 12 hours t we get home. Can’t wait!

-Micah

We are currently in the Ben Gurion Airport here in Israel and are waiting for our flight to board. It is 3 am here and our flight leaves at 5 am. Most of us have been here since about 8 or 9 pm, so needless to say, we’re all pretty tired of being in an airport. Good news though! Only 16 to 17 hours on a plane before we are home in Texas!

The security here is pretty intense, but fortunately, we made it through without any hold ups. Now, we’re just waiting by our gate… all alone because no one else is here yet – not even the gate attendant. Good news, a coffee shop just opened so we can fill our bellies while we wait! Now, if I could only find a Dr. Pepper.

See you all soon!

-Micah

Today was our last full day with our brothers and sisters in Ashdod.  We went to the beach in the morning and had a ton of fun.  We played football, dodgeball, and baseball (Michael Joo hit a homerun).  We went back to our hostel and cleaned up for the flight and now we will be meeting them for ice cream before we head out.  They only have one van so not all of the kids are getting to come and spend our last moments in Israel with us, so we already had to say some good byes.  We have already shed tears because we will miss them so much and we hope to see them again.  By the wonders of facebook we will be able to stay in touch with our new friends.

Pic 1) Team with the youth on the beach, pic 2) Dodgeball, pic 3) baseball

Friday was a much different day than usual for the Haifa team.  All this week we have been extremely busy with lots of various projects (that is except for the 2 hours that Jerome stopped in to visit… during that time we had nothing to do and looked like slackers!  Haha!)  Anyway, today we got the day off since we had completed all the assignments Tents of Mercy had for us and because they were busy preparing for Shabbat.  So check out how we spent our day from the view of the students who experienced it!

-Micah

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Today was such a relief! We got to sleep in the latest of the all the days in Israel, which was very much needed. From the hotel we attempted a voyage to Mount Carmel, we got a little lost and doubled the time that our trip should’ve taken. When we finally got there we were greeted with a spectacular view of Haifa. Micah then read us the story from I Kings 18 about Elijah’s victory over the 450 prophets of Baal. It was amazing to be in the same location where Elijah asked God to bring fire down from the heavens to prove the prophets wrong. From Mount Carmel we made our way into the town of the Druze. Since we didn’t get to experience the Jerusalem marketplace we were able to get some shopping in (don’t worry I got presents for the whole family). We ate a quick Israeli lunch and made our way back to Haifa to see the Baha’i Gardens. From on top of the gardens we had an extraordinary view of the Mediterranean Sea and all of Haifa.

After the gardens we made our way back to the hotel to take a quick nap and get ready for one last dip in the sea. We spent our last hour in the sea body surfing and taking pictures of the beautiful sunset. We topped it off with dinner from a coffee shop, which was good but unsatisfying for us guys. So we attempted to make a trip to good ole’ Mickey D’s but it was closed for Shabbat so we had to settle for some watermelon and chocolate. And thats how our night came to an end.

-Geoff Brentlinger

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Today started out with me running just a tad bit late.. which may not surprise some of you, but that was the first time I’d been late all trip! So considering that we weren’t on any certain schedule, I consider that to be not too bad! Once we left the hotel we headed for Mount Carmel. I had been looking forward to this part of the trip all week because Elijah and the prophets of Baal is my favorite Bible story. It just amazes me how God choses to show His awesome power to prove He is the one and true God! Not only did He send down fire to light the sacrifice, but the altar & the sacrifice had water poured on them three times till the altar was overflowing. It took us a while to find the right spot, Geoff was navigating and Bobby was driving, but eventually we ended up in the right place. I found a rock with the perfect view and got out my Bible. I began to read the story from 1 Kings and look out at the same valley Elijah, the prophets of Baal, and all the witnesses saw as God once again proved Himself to be the only God worthy of our praise. Micah then read the story aloud & we took a picture on my rock. I took a leaf from a nearby tree & marked my Bible with it, as I’ve been doing with other sites that we’ve been to.

Then what we’d all been waiting for… shopping!! I fell in love with the hand painted pottery in the Druze market place!! The funny thing was the guys got more into the shopping than the girls did. Later that night we went to our spot on the Mediterranean on the Boardwalk that I am going to miss so much! As the sun was setting over the water, we quickly got out of the ocean and grabbed our cameras to take pictures. Once the sun had gone below the water, I walked out and sat on the edge of the rock formation that went out a little past the shore line. It was amazing to feel the warm sea breeze as I took in the sea for the last time this trip, but hopefully not forever! It was amazing to watch God’s creation do what it was made to do, glorify Him. I thought to myself about how I would like my life to do exactly the same thing, glorify God simply because that’s what He made me to do. It was an awesome time to sit & pray until it got dark & we left for dinner. I was sad to leave the beach that I am soooo going to miss!! Dinner was amazing! I had the best Mocha Coffe I think I’ve ever had in my life! I’m really tired, and I’m still getting over being sick, but overall it’s been an amazing week! God has shown Himself in little ways as we have worked indirectly to further His kingdom. It’s been a good opportunity to have a servants heart & show Christ’s love by working where we were needed. I’m really excited to experience Shabbat tomorrow morning with the Tents of Mercy Congregation. After that, I will definitely not be looking forward to the hours in the airport & on the plane. I’m homesick for Texas & am ready for my own bed, Mexican food, and free refills!

-Allyson

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As we were shopping in the Druze marketplace this morning, Katherine and I began to notice a lot of campaign posters around the village. There was a certain politician’s picture that made us laugh because of the funny expression on his face, so when we found a banner with the same picture on it next to one of the shops we visited, we decided it was a good opportunity to take a picture next to it. While showing Micah and Laura the picture we took, the owner of the shop happened to see it and suddenly exclaimed, “That’s my father!” He then proceeded to tell us about his campaign and he gave us a few flyers (with the funny picture on it). He even ended up giving me his e-mail and asked me to send him the picture we took, which may or may not happen, but nonetheless, it was pretty neat meeting a politician’s son here in Haifa.

-Katy

Thursday was a long and hard day for us as a group, but it was exhilarating to see all that we accomplished at the end.

We started the day yesterday with a slightly earlier breakfast than normal so that we could get to our project sites before it got too hot. Once we met up with Avi Shalom, we split into three teams. Philip and Geoff went with Avi to pick up clothes donations and deliver furniture. Katy, Ben, Bobby and Belinda went to the Tents of Mercy guest house to work with Judith, a missionary from the US, to spruce up the house. Katherine, Travis, Allyson, Micah and I headed to the youth counseling center to finish our work from the previous day.

Our day at the teen center proved to be pretty incredible. Travis and Micah covered the bathroom and kitchen with paint in no time. I followed behind doing trim work and touching up the room we painted on Wednesday. Katherine and Allyson got very creative and added some decorative detail to each room. The social worker who had greeted us the day before had asked that we add some “feminine touches” to the center. She explained that they are currently reaching a number of trouble teenage girls, but they haven’t been able to make the center warm and inviting enough for the girls to gather in groups. This is what they had envisioned, and we made that our ultimate goal.

One of the aspects of this project that I enjoyed most was the opportunity for leadership from our students. As a very general vision was laid out for us (mostly in a foreign language!), our students’ wheels began turning. Katherine came up with the idea to add turquoise accents to the beige and lavender room. She and Allyson then brainstormed about the decorative touches. Travis took the lead Thursday on the “grunt work,” painting around toilets, sinks, kitchen cabinets, etc. Not an easy task! The two girls spent the majority of the day making turquoise “squiggles” that truly added a girly touch to the center.

Just before we broke for lunch, we had a divine appointment. Gilia, the social worker who had introduced us to the center, and Yoela, Gilia’s supervisor, walked in for a visit. There immediate reaction was loud exclamations of “Whoa!” I guess that word is the same in any language. We felt a little bit like the designers in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition as we listened to them rave about the rooms – and at that point, we still weren’t even done.

The two ladies proudly presented us with a “Certificate of Merit” from the city. They explained to us that it took them multiple hours to put together the certificate, as it was written in English. Take a look, and notice the adorable grammatical errors (my writing would be much worse if I were trying to translate into Hebrew!) -

Before they left, we asked them if we could pray for them. They agreed and then asked us to pray that our work would allow more girls to come in and feel comfortable. It was a great experience to pray over women who are doing great work in their community, yet probably do not know Yeshua. 

Later that afternoon, Yoela returned to the center and came bearing a gift. Apparently she did not think the certificate was enough to express their gratitude, so she brought us a box of Israeli chocolates. Through our conversation, we were able to invite her to Shabbat at Tents of Mercy on Saturday. I’m not sure that she’ll come, but maybe we planted something with her.

As the day ended, the rest of our group joined us and we quickly added the final touches. We wiped down everything, set up a TV and rearranged the furniture. The final product looked great!

After our hard work, we got cleaned up for a prayer service at Tents of Mercy. It was a very interesting experience, as everything was in three languages (Hebrew, Russian and English). Then we headed to dinner with Avishalom and Hannah. The Italian food was delicious, but the conversation was even better. Avi asked each of us to share our favorite parts of the trip and our work this week. What a great time to share! 

-Laura

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Shabat Shalom (Israeli greeting for the Sabbath),

On Thursday, the other half of the Haifa team went to work at the Tent’s of Mercy Guest House. Our small but mighty group consisted of Katy, Ben, Bobby and myself. This modest, yet inviting 5 bedroom home provides a short term “half way house” for newly arrived immigrants until they find work and a place of their own. Another function is that it houses some volunteers who come to work (for a nominal fee) as well as guest speakers for Tents of Mercy.

We were under the direction of Judith, a lovely lady who is missionary from Nashville, Tennessee. She is doing a stint managing the guest house. Previously, she was working with street kids in Romania for 13 years. One of my favorite aspects of this trip has been meeting people serving In Yeshua’s name and whom love “the apple of His eye” (Zech. 2:8)

Before we started with our tasks, Judith invited Michael, a resident of the house from Russia, to play his guitar and we did a few songs together and then prayed. He sang in Hebrew and we could pick up a few words here and there (thank you, Jerome, for having us learn the Shema). It was the perfect way to start the day and lovely to know that not only does our God hear our praises in different languages, but that he created those languages!

The tasks set before us was to wash windows and clean the exterior window louvers and window sills. The window sills were FILLED with dirt and leaves. No vacuum was available so it was slow going getting the dirt out one wet rag full at a time. The other task was to paint the ceiling in the den.

While we were hard at work, Judith graciously prepared us a home made lunch of sloppy joes and fried sweet potatoes. Sloppy Joes have never tasted so good. Ever. She also made us a pitcher of sweet tea (remember….she’s from the south).

We finished up at about 3:00 and headed over to the other house and helped them finish up with cleaning and mopping.  As Laura said, it was a long, hard day, but extremely satisfying. We have felt the touch of God this week at every turn. He has kissed us with his kindness and mercy and enabled us to love us others in His name. Even when we return home safely and you are not praying for our time in Israel, please continue to pray for Tents of Mercy. Pray that their church would share a common vision as they grow and change.

Tomorrow morning, our last day here, we will be worshipping with our new friends and fellow Christ followers at Tents of Mercy.

-Belinda

What an amazing day we have had in Nazareth. Well, not actually Nazareth. We have spent our entire week in Eilaboun, a small village about 30 minutes from Nazareth. Today was Day 5 of Kids Games and our last day to spend with the children. Instead of coming back to Nazareth for lunch like we have done every other day this week, we were invited to eat and spend the afternoon in homes of some church members. We enjoyed Arabic hospitality at its best. We were served wonderful lunches at the 3 different homes we visited, and then were able to spend the afternoon relaxing and visiting with our hosts.

Tonight was Celebration night for Kids Games. Parents were invited to come and see all that their children had been doing this week. The children performed songs, dances, dramas, sign language and even cup stacking. Can’t wait for you to see the video of that!!!!!

We are grateful to God for the 33 children who made decisions this week.  Each child was counseled and extensive follow-up will continue for several weeks for each of these children.  Pray for them and their families.   The decisions they have made are life changing not only for them, but also for the familes. 

Then all of the workers, adults and teenagers were treated to an Arabic BBQ.

Today was a long day for us, so we will relax tomorrow, do a bit of touring/shopping in Nazareth and head to the airport on Saturday night.

We have some great pictures, sorry we can’t upload them. We’ll be sure and flood you with them when we get home.

Thank you for all your prayers. Keep on praying. We love you and miss you.

Carolyn