It is so hard to believe we were in Old City Jerusalem for the first time today!
Here's some of the highlights:
The markets
The Dome of the Rock
The Western Wall
The Mount of Olives
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
"Jerusalem is a wonderful place full of magic and beauty!"-Mia
I could not agree with you more Mia. Musalaha had us run an errand with the volunteer coordinator John in downtown Jerusalem today. We spend a lot of our time probably looking like tourists as we were in awe of all the newness around us. The Old City is absolutely amazing... I can hardly wait to get lost in it! We went and prayed at the Wailing Wall and walked down the Villa Delarosa.It is hard to imagine how many years of history there are and that we are walking on the same stones that Jesus did.
I am also enjoying the time that we spend at Musalaha. The people there are so friendly, and they have made us feel so at home. This weekend Mia and I have been asked to go on a women's conference with the female employees of the office. There will be Palestinian Christians, Israelis, and Messianic Jews all represented at the retreat, and the focus of the weekend will be dialog between the women in hopes that there will be further reconciliation between them. I am so excited to see the frontline work of Musalaha... please pray for God's hand to be at work in this event!
Today is Christmas for our Orthodox family, so I feel like I should say Merry Christmas to all you, even though the season is passed in all your minds. It is amazing to be in places like Manger Square and the Shepherds Fields during this holiday... reminders of fun blessings that God has given us as a team.
Thank you all for your prayers!
Shalom! Saalam!
Adrianna
I could not agree with you more Mia. Musalaha had us run an errand with the volunteer coordinator John in downtown Jerusalem today. We spend a lot of our time probably looking like tourists as we were in awe of all the newness around us. The Old City is absolutely amazing... I can hardly wait to get lost in it! We went and prayed at the Wailing Wall and walked down the Villa Delarosa.It is hard to imagine how many years of history there are and that we are walking on the same stones that Jesus did.
I am also enjoying the time that we spend at Musalaha. The people there are so friendly, and they have made us feel so at home. This weekend Mia and I have been asked to go on a women's conference with the female employees of the office. There will be Palestinian Christians, Israelis, and Messianic Jews all represented at the retreat, and the focus of the weekend will be dialog between the women in hopes that there will be further reconciliation between them. I am so excited to see the frontline work of Musalaha... please pray for God's hand to be at work in this event!
Today is Christmas for our Orthodox family, so I feel like I should say Merry Christmas to all you, even though the season is passed in all your minds. It is amazing to be in places like Manger Square and the Shepherds Fields during this holiday... reminders of fun blessings that God has given us as a team.
Thank you all for your prayers!
Shalom! Saalam!
Adrianna
Monday, 6 January 2014
What a day!
I don't even know where to begin. My day started very early. Jet lag is still affecting me a bit I guess because I woke up at 3 am. Just before 5 am Adrianna and I stood outside to hear the Muslim call to prayer. It's quite something to get used to hearing all the time. We watched the beautiful sunrise too, which is one of the good things about jet lag!
Today we met the people at Musalaha and I feel so at home there. We fit right in already and feel so comfortable with them, just laughing and joking around with each other. Our main contact, John, met us out in front of Bethlehem Bible College and took us through the Wall to get back into Israel. I have never had an experience like that. Nothing even close to compare it to. It is like a maze in there. You are constantly winding back and forth, and it feels like you are cattle being herded or something. It is so hard to explain. As white people, we got VIP treatment and got to skip the lines as the Palestinian people were rushing, probably trying to make it to work on time. It was so hard to see how scary it is that the Israeli soldiers have so much control. The graffiti on the wall is also incredible. I think we can learn so much from reading and looking at the art that covers it. I want to spend a few more hours at least just looking at all the painting on the wall. After making it through the wall, we arrived at Musalaha. It is in an office building in Jerusalem. We have a separate area where we will be working, near the main office. We're going to be doing lots of different tasks for them, helping them wherever they need help. We also will be all together as a team there this week which is really nice. After this first week, the boys will be at Bethlehem Bible College while Adrianna and I stay at Musalaha.
For lunch today, John showed us the three best places to eat: one for Hummus, one for sandwiches, and one for Schwarma (sort of like a donair) which we ended up eating. The food here is the best!
Today is Christmas Eve here, so there were lots of celebrations in Manger Square in Bethlehem. We walked through it on the way home.
I have definitely struggled getting used to the culture. Like crossing the road and hoping the cars will stop. And always being told to eat more. There is nothing quite like Arab hospitality!
That basically sums up our day, it was so full of new and exciting experiences!
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!
Mia
Today we met the people at Musalaha and I feel so at home there. We fit right in already and feel so comfortable with them, just laughing and joking around with each other. Our main contact, John, met us out in front of Bethlehem Bible College and took us through the Wall to get back into Israel. I have never had an experience like that. Nothing even close to compare it to. It is like a maze in there. You are constantly winding back and forth, and it feels like you are cattle being herded or something. It is so hard to explain. As white people, we got VIP treatment and got to skip the lines as the Palestinian people were rushing, probably trying to make it to work on time. It was so hard to see how scary it is that the Israeli soldiers have so much control. The graffiti on the wall is also incredible. I think we can learn so much from reading and looking at the art that covers it. I want to spend a few more hours at least just looking at all the painting on the wall. After making it through the wall, we arrived at Musalaha. It is in an office building in Jerusalem. We have a separate area where we will be working, near the main office. We're going to be doing lots of different tasks for them, helping them wherever they need help. We also will be all together as a team there this week which is really nice. After this first week, the boys will be at Bethlehem Bible College while Adrianna and I stay at Musalaha.
For lunch today, John showed us the three best places to eat: one for Hummus, one for sandwiches, and one for Schwarma (sort of like a donair) which we ended up eating. The food here is the best!
Today is Christmas Eve here, so there were lots of celebrations in Manger Square in Bethlehem. We walked through it on the way home.
I have definitely struggled getting used to the culture. Like crossing the road and hoping the cars will stop. And always being told to eat more. There is nothing quite like Arab hospitality!
That basically sums up our day, it was so full of new and exciting experiences!
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!
Mia
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Biet Sahour
Day 3 = Crushed
Hello!!! First full day in this place of utter beauty. It is so crazy to think that we are in the very place where the bible was lived! This morning Mia and Adrianna went to the shepherds fields where the shepherd heard the good news that Jesus was born. Someone pinch me this, this is actually real. We went to church with our host family this morning which was so cool. It was a contemporary worship time, it was cool to see the similarities between worship here in Israel and worship back home. The pastor did a shout out to us in the back row. It was very funny. After church myself and Tim got to meet this man John who was hilarious! After church was finished we went back to our host families house for a nice hot lunch. We are now all together sharing lots of laughs and sassy moments.
So long fare well from team Israel/Palestine
Stay sassy!
Luke Timms :)
So long fare well from team Israel/Palestine
Stay sassy!
Saturday, 4 January 2014
Well... we are here safe and sound! We had a good, safe trip, and are looking forward to exploring! It is still so so surreal that we are even in Palestine, or that we are staying just a short walk away from the fields where the shepherds heard of Jesus birth.
Our host family is very nice and super hospitable... I know that we are going to feel like we are a part of their family while we are here. They have been letting us have some time to relax and settle in, but I'm sure we'll soon have some plans with them underway.
As everything unfolds, we will be sure to keep you up to date.
God bless you all!
Adrianna
Our host family is very nice and super hospitable... I know that we are going to feel like we are a part of their family while we are here. They have been letting us have some time to relax and settle in, but I'm sure we'll soon have some plans with them underway.
As everything unfolds, we will be sure to keep you up to date.
God bless you all!
Adrianna
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