Yasuua esta aqui
Hi CCK family,
Jesus has been bringing our team closer each day as we fulfill his purpose here on our trip. It would not be real if we write only of the blessings and not of the struggles. The other day, we learned that many times people need to be brought to the desert before there can be a paradigm shift (in perspective) in their hearts for there to be reconciliation. Our team is beginning to experience that shift in our perspective spiritually. We are being changed into the likeness of Christ, not only by living together 24 hrs a day, but by taking up a new identity to serve others more than ourselves.
Today, we went on a prayer walk around the city. Oh, yes up hills, through the stones, and dusty paths. We understand why the context of shaking dust of your feet really does apply. As well as being covered in the dust of your Rabbi. In fact maybe we should do a feet washing like Jesus gave his disciples, hopefully Josh won't mind since his name is Joshua.
We were able to serve families by listening to their needs and praying with them. Being here makes one really face John 3:16 "For God so loved the WORLD, that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." We are His treasures. Tonight we really were praising God because of His lavish Grace upon us here. We love you, until our next update Grace be with you!
-Heather
Our group family night:
Before our walk:
Group prayer:
Natie and Berny: Look! Turkish delight! I thought of you guys and just had to post it... Doesn't taste like I would have imagined, but it was still good! I didn't have an uncontrolable urge to eat more though... Miss you guys!
Hello from Lucy, 2006 team member
Hello everyone in Miami!!!!
It is beautiful here. I am really happy to be a part of this team. It is wonderful to be the first ones here from CCK in 2006. As Michelle just finished briefly narrating our arrival and first endeavor, we will continue updating as much as possible. We are all doing just fine and rejoicing in the Lord.
Hello to my family, coworkers and brothers & sisters in Christ.
Shalom from us in the Holy Land!!
Lucy
P.S. Hello, mom, miss you and wish to share this awesome experience with all of my family. I'm praying for you. GOD BLESS!!!
Shalom from the Holy Land!
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Michelle Hernandez and I'm 18 years old. You may have heard of me from your kids as "Miss Michi." Anyway, I figured you guys would be sick of getting only one perspective (sorry Pedro), so I decided to update the blog myself. You'll also be hearing from the rest of the group throughout the next two weeks as we alternate updating our trip experiences.
When foreigners enter the United States they're sometimes welcomed by Mickey Mouse, and I found it comical that here in Israel I
also was greeted by a mouse... IN MY SUITCASE!!! Thankfully, I'm not exactly the kind of person you would consider "girly," so I woke the others girls with a loud laugh instead of a blood-curling scream. Aside from nibbling through Heather's nuts, a bag of MnMs, and my bath rag, no serious harm was done. I
think we're going to be OK. (For those of you who are wondering, I guided the little guy out to our rose garden safely... I think he was
really cute, but the others tend to disagree!)
Anyway, I'm blown away at the fact that this is only our first full day here and it has already been an incredible blessing! Everything is absolutely beautiful! The weather has been blistering during the day but surprisingly cool at night. We're all anticipating to see the rest of the Holy Land in the coming weekends!
This morning we spent sometime in prayer and worship, and than set out for a good hour and a half walking around and praying for the area we are staying in. We were joined by a group of about 20 people here and we split off into 8 groups, each having a specific topic to pray for. These areas included government, economy, hospitals, churches, communications, arts and media, schools, and sports. God moved strongly in each group by placing verses in our hearts and opening doors to speak to and even pray for some of the local people here. When we reunited we spent our time sharing personal experiences and praying for the needs of the community that God revealed to us.
I also invite you guys back home to pray for the situation here as well. It's amazing how such a small area can so drastically attract the attention of the entire world. The needs are countless, but we can see that God is undeniably moving in this place by bringing His people to do His work. Pray that He would protect his laborers and continue to send more; the harvest is
definitely full!
In closing, I'd like to thank all of you for your prayers and encouragement on behalf of the team! We have
definitely felt them and were blessed with 3 month visas and a Shalom welcome at the airport in Tel Aviv, which are oftentimes hard to come by. We are praying that things will go just as smoothly while leaving, which is usually much more difficult than coming in. I pray that all is well back home, we miss you dearly! God bless!
Our arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv:
It was a
LONG trip...
The group briefing before our prayer walk:
I hope you enjoyed the pictures, I'll be posting more as the days come so continue checking for updates!
Ready to Rumble
We're here at CCK, half of the group is here, we're all excited about the trip, we're about 20 minutes away from leaving so we're ready to go.
Galilee
The Galilee area in Northern Israel has to be one of the most beautiful places in all of the world, it would've been really hard for me 2000 years ago to leave this tropical paradise to travel south to Jerusalem, which is engulfed by a desolate desert wasteland. The only complaint I have about the Galilee is the party boats that destroy the ambiance,
GET OUT OF HERE WITH THOSE STUPID BOATS!! The last thing on my mind when I was sitting out by the water on a windy Galilee night is going out on one of those boats. The Galilee is a tropical paradise surrounded by rolling hills and mountains.
There's plenty to do out there, there are hot springs, old church, old capernaum is there, the mount of the beatitudes, there's water sports, hiking, mountain biking, and even hang gliding.
Yummy
It's Pedro again, and I'm not sure if I'm using this blog for its intended purpose or not
BUT I feel the need to address the food situation, I love felafel, and shwarma, and mint tea, and the coffee over there is awesome, so the food is just one other thing to add to the list of things that I'm looking forward to . Thank you for your time.
Old City Sights
My name is Pedro, I'm one of the team members going to Israel. One of the things that I enjoyed most about Israel when I went last year was the Old City in Jerusalem.
The markets are incredible, all these exotic foods and herbs and spices, there's all these different types of smells, its sensory overload! One of my favorite things to do was to just walk around the Old City, there's a certain allure to it, it has a mysterious nature, maybe not to the people who are there every day but to me it does, especially at night.
Walking around the Old City at night is awesome, there are lights that hit up the outside stone walls, it just looks so cool, and visiting the Wailing Wall in the middle of the night was definitely a cool experience. This is just one of the many experiences that I'll enjoy this summer, I really didn't think that I would've gone back, praise the Lord that His plans for me are bigger and more exciting than my plans for me.
