1 Month update 3/23/2010

3/25/10

1 Month in the Books!

Today's Blog will consist of a couple different sections, so if you don't want to read it all, you can scroll to the parts that sound more interesting to you. I will have a section on the classes I've finished. I'll have a section on tours I've been on. And a special section for funny memories (maybe).

Ezra/Nehemiah (Class #1)

The first class we did was was Ezra/Nehemiah. There was so much to glean from these books, especially being that i have a heart for ministry. The sum up these books in a nutshell, Ezra, with the help of Haggai and Zechariah (prophets) try to stir up the people to help rebuild the (2nd temple). Nehemiah tries to get the people stirred up to rebuild the city walls of Jerusalem who had just returned from exile in Babylon. In both books, the enemies of Israel were constantly trying to discourage the People of God from doing what God had wanted them to do. The applications are SO REAL for those who want to serve in the ministry. This class was taught by Ernest, the campus director here in Jerusalem

Elijah/Elisha (Class #2)

The Second class we did was Elijah/Elisha. There were many great lessons concerning

discipleship, boldness, and faith. We see these men in the books of 1 & 2 Kings. During their

day, the Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes in the North and 2 in the southern Kingdom of

Judah) had been given over to Idolatry really beginning with Solomon's reign, but the nation as

a whole was fully given over under King Ahab's reign. King Ahab was a very wicked King in

Israel's history. In spite of the opposition, Elijah/Elisha were like Old Testament evangelists

pointing the people back to the Lord! Even in our day, many do not acknowledge the Lord as

King over their lives, but God has called us to point people to Jesus Christ who alone can atone

for man's sins! This class was taught by Jason Cunningham from Calvary Chapel Bible College

in Murrieta, CA.

Now we are just beginning our "Archeology and the Bible" Class with Joe Holden which is only

a couple days in, so there is not much too say about that yet, but let's move on to the tours....

Tours

The first week we arrived, Ernest, the campus director took us to both the sites that could be

place where Jesus was crucified, buried, and risen from the grave!!!! I'll try to post a couple

pictures of the places on this blog. The first site is the church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is

one of the oldest churches in the WORLD!!! It doesn't hold services anymore as it has been

given over to tourism. Many of the locals believe this is the site in which Jesus paid for the

sins of the world

The second site is called "the Garden tomb." At this site, there is a hill that does indeed have a

At this site, there is a hill that does indeed have a

huge Skull as the scriptures do declare. And not even a football field away is a tomb, hewn out

of a rock, just as the scriptures declare. Though i know i sound more favored toward 'the

Garden tomb" site, I still haven't been made my decision on which place i feel is the correct

location. I'm open to either place. It really doesn't matter which place it was because

"HE IS RISEN!"

Because the Temple Mt. is such a big site for the books of Ezra/Nehemiah, we went on the

Temple Mount before the riots began (PTL!)! The platform in which the dome of the Rock was

laid on was MUCH BIGGER than i had imagined. It was so sad too see (in my opinion) how in

bondage the Islamic Women were. They didn't appear very happy and when you get outside

American bubble of Freedom, you get a new understanding of how IMPORTANT the Gospel is!

The freedom Christ offers needs to be spread throughout the world because if it appears like it

or not, people are in need of the Truth (John 8:32).

For our Elijah/Elisha class, Jason Cunningham took us to Mount Carmel where Elijah 'did

business with the prophets of "Baal," as seen in 1 Kings 18. Just down the mountain side is

the valley of Megiddo where the Battle of Armageddon will take place as seen in Revelation 19!

Very exciting stuff!

Funny Memories

Well, this trip has been full of memories to say the least. Times of laughter, learning, bonding,

etc. I was in the "shook" as we call it here a few weeks ago. The "shook" is like an open market

where you can buy fruit, vegatables, and meats for cheaper than regular stores, and it has an

open outdoor market feel to it. When i made eye contact with a person working at one of these

'shops,' i waved and said, "Hola!" My buddy looked at me and said to me, "Did you just say

'Hola,' to that lady?" We died laughing! I felt like such an idiot! WRONG COUNTRY! :-)

Whoops! hahahaha! Oh well!

Let me know how life is back home! Miss you guys, but enjoying Israel, nevertheless!

Shalom!

Temple Mt. Riots 3/6/10

Hello friends & family in the land of the free,

As many of you have heard rumors and stories of the violence at the temple Mount which is the Holiest site in Judiasm and the 3rd Holiest site in Islam, I'm writing this blog to insure everyone of our safety! I don't want anyone to be scared for us here in the Old City of Jerusalem. We are a good 15 minute walk from the main violence on the temple Mt. Other violence did break out in East Jerusalem, but we are all okay. For those who call on the name of the Lord, I ask now more than ever, that you would fulfill the call of Psalm 122:6 which says, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they propser who love you [Jerusalem]." Here is a link to the website if you are unaware of what is going on...

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=170331

In the Joy of the Lord,

Mike D

Cultural Adjustments 3/4/10

Hello friends and family! 3/4/10

Today's blog will not cover as much what I've done but things I've learned about the amazing culture of Israel. The Jews are unlike any other people when you consider their history. They have been taken captive by the Babylonians, Persians, Assyrians, Egyptians and the worst and most recent was Nazi Germany. Yet the Jews today survive as a thriving nation in spite of its many enemies all around!

Religion: Separation from church and state? HAH! Good one! Really funny! Welcome to the Middle East. Much of the Government's influence comes from the Ortodox Jews. They try as hard as possible to kick Christians and specifically missionaries out of the country. Pray that God might soften the heart of Government officials to let us continue coming to Israel.

Shabbat: HUH? Shabbat is the Hebrew word for Sabbath, or God's instituted day for rest. Shabbat begins Friday afternoon when the sun drops (and yes, that alters with the seasons) and ends Saturday evening. All the shops (in the Jewish quarters) close during this time including all transportation. It has been very nice because even though it is inconvenient to have everything closed, it makes you rest! I really think it would do the American culture a lot of good to institute something like this. Less stress, more rest, less money spent on pills :-)

Driving: HOLY SMOKES! Drivers here are NUTZ. Southern California drivers don't even come close to Israeli drivers! I wasn't really afraid of suicide bombers and shootings when i came, however, my new fear is being hit by a car! I was walking across the street with my fellow classmates, and instead of the car slowing down to let me FINISH getting across the street, the driver laid on his horn and made me run! I've had a couple experiences like that!

Bus Transportation: That was just as exciting as the Driving paragraph. When getting on the bus, you pay the driver just under 7 shekels (just over 2 U.S dollars) and he begins to drive while taking the money. The buses are just as crazy as the rest of the civilians. He'll drive in the wrong lane to pass cars waiting for a parking spot (for a 70 ft bus, that's scary) and continue to lay on his horn for cars or pedestrians until they move! Very aggressive!

Finances: If you ever come to Israel, be ready to give up your first born child because everything here is WICKED expensive! I did my laundry this week. It costed 40 shekels to wash and dry my clothes which is 10.57 U.S Dollars!!! I was looking for a beard trimmer at a drug store, and it was 500 shekels which is 132.14 U.S Dollars!!! It was a nice beard trimmer, but not THAT NICE! I've mailed a letter from America to Iraq which costed the regular 43 cents. When i mailed a post card to a friend FROM Israel to America, that costed 6.40 shekels which is 1.69 U.S Dollars.

Food: I've never seen so much bread in my entire life! Carb galore! Walking through the old city is awesome when you look in a little shop and see guys making fresh warm Pita bread! This is the cheapest way to go (as many of us students do). It only costs about half a shekel for a nice size Pita bread which is about 17 cents (give or take some). The other "Big Israeli Food Item" is a "Filophal." A Filophal is Pita bread with the inside stuffed with meatballs, spreads (of your choice) and other little things like onions, lettuce, tomato, whatever you want on there!

People: People here are (in my opinion much nicer than your average American). I get in conversations with random people all the time! I love it. My friend went into the post office to send some mail, and when she got out, i was talking to three random strangers telling them about the park i play basketball at. When i bought a (girls) basketball at the Nike store, i asked the guy behind the counter if he wanted to play ball with us sometime, and he was super excited. People here just love to talk. The big social thing here to do is smoke and drink coffee. Lot of places like bar restaurants will have hookah. Hookah is big here! When in starbucks in America, many times you see one guy on his laptop, another lady reading the newspaper, and another a couple on a date. At the coffee shop next to my hotel, there are NO outlets to plug in your laptop because people come simply to enjoy each others company and talk. I haven't seen anyone sit at a table alone.

Now you do have some of the Orthodox Jews who are a little extreme in my opinion. They do walk around with (Ya-mi-chas) and the long hair twirled down on the side of their heads! Its funny to see the little orthodox Jewish Children whose heads are shaved except for the long section of hair that drops from the temple of their head below their chin! I'm not sure I've seen any hair dew like it before! They also have 4 stands of hemp rope hanging from their waists. I asked a Jewish man what that was for, and he said from the 4 strands, there are 613 knots which represent the 613 Levitical Mosaic laws!

Now we do live in the Christian section of Jerusalem which makes things nicer and safer. Don't tell my sister, but i accidentally caught myself walking into the Muslim section of the city! I rounded a corner and when i noticed NO JEWS and Arabs only, i got a little concerned! When i saw two armed guards with M16's and the Muslim moon on their hats, i decided to cross the street and head back the Jewish part of Jerusalem. Live and learn, Die and your done! :-) I lived, so i learned not to do that again!

Sharing your faith: When sharing your faith, you never use the Words (around Jews) "Christian, Jesus, or Christ." To the Jews, that is western influence. You use the words "believer, Yeshua (Jesus in Hebrew) and Meshiach (which is Messiah). Sharing Yeshua (Jesus) can be very offensive to people here. Many people will tell you to shut up or be in disgust that you would mention "that name." It's so sad knowing that no much has changed from Jesus' day until now. They rejected Jesus then, and they reject Him today. Know that the Jews did not "kill Jesus." Jesus said, "It's not they who kill me, but I who lay down my life.....!"

Please pray for the Jewish people! God is not mad with them, but LONG SUFFERING, not willing that any should perish, but that all might come to repentance.

Conclusion

If you have any questions that i may not have answered, please feel free to email me at "FreedByTruth832@gmail.com." In the next few days, I should be posting another blog about some of my tours (which have been A-MA-ZING). I love and miss you guys so much, and please email me and let me know how life has been for you. I'm having the time of my life here, but it is nice every once in a blue moon to hear from friends in the states.

Intro to Israel

Hello friends and family, 2/19/10

Arriving in Tel Aviv at 5:25am made for an interesting first day! My cousin Roni Hendren picked me up at the airport and took me back to the families house in Kfar Yona. I had great breakfast with them and took a 2 hr nap which was amazing!! When my uncle woke me up, i felt like a train hit me, but my uncle drove me back to the airport to meet the students, i was wide awake and happy to see my brothers and sisters in Christ! We drove back to the Hotel in Jerusalem and made ourselves at home. This Hotel is a little ancient, but God is teaching us to be content with little, because we are pilgrims in this life awaiting our true home with the Lord. A quote concerning the hotel from the campus leader Ernest: "I think Nehemiah did the electrical work here." When flip the switch to turn on the lights, you have to pray that the lights actually come on cause you never know if it'll work or not. As everyone was going to bed, me and a few guys decided to walk around at night because we can! As we were cruzing these ancient streets that are barely wide enough for cars to drive down, we found a sign that lead us to the "wailing wall." This is a VERY HOLY SITE for Jews, PLUS it was the Sabbath which makes it EXTRA HOLY for the Jews. So, being the dumb tourists that we are, we decided to roll down the wall and check out the scene. When we got there, you had to go through security just as you would see it in the airport. There were guys standing there with big guns! That was pretty cool! :) What's funny is that I feel super safe here in Jerusalem. Don't listen to the news and be deceived. Yes you'll see regular lookin citizens with AK47 and M16's but that's what actually makes it feel safe. No one would pull anything stupid here because 90 people would put bullets into there faces! I know that sounds really extreme, but it is sort of true. It's now my bed time, so i better hit the hay.

In the Joy of the Lord,

Mike D- Nehemiah 8:10