Holy Land

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A widow's Offering

A poor widow gives all she has...though her gift was small, it was the desires of her heart. "But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny."Luke 21:2-4 tell the story of the Widow who gave all she had, two "mites".
This widow was poor and had very little resources...she gave all she had..These mites are small and were worth very little, yet what kind of resources do we have?
I learned so much of how many people gave things to God that were so small, but so significant. Her small gift was a sacrifice. Are we making sacrifices to God? This "mite" was a reminder that I need to be making more sacrifices in my life for God. Maybe not money wise, but my time and energy to God.


A number of tiny copper coins circulated in Judaea during the time of Christ so there is no way to establish any particular design as "the" Widow's Mite. The coins were produced in vast quantities through the first century BC and first century AD. It is rather unusual to find a single coin that shows all of the legends and design on both sides.
(ask me to see a widow's mite, I own one this year!)

This is a video of the church we attended while in Palestine...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBQafLB1Vxo

The Laughable moments

I told you there would be funny stories...I decided to tell instead of you asking for them.

There were these triplets...(picture above)
The girls look so cute right?
But apparently they have a mean streak to them...
We all experienced the hitting, the kicking, and the spitting...Hence their nicknames.
They were a delight...and we all faced challenges of patience.
One day, the ladies got so irritated that they put the two girls under the picnic table and let them have it with throwing rocks at each other...Yes, they were laughing and enjoying themselves.

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Story #2

(Building to the right is where the small gate was)

LOST SHEEP!
No picture I'm sorry...but I can show you a picture of us.

Matthew 7:13-14
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it.. For small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."


On day one of extreme jet lag....Michelle and I were taken over to the pastor's office through this shortcut...It was through this small gate and through the field, and over to the building. A short 2 minute walk. Though on our way home, we could not figure out how to get home. We went right, which took us down a road...Then we went left which took us down another road...turned right... and finally at our home. Yet where was the shortcut?
We told our hosts that we got lost, and couldn't find the shortcut. They were speaking in Arabic, and finally explained that the wife(sonia) said that no the shortcut is harder to walk through, but faster...and the husband said we must take the road, for it was easier...Sonia told us that no,"we Americans like the harder yet faster way." Such a true statement.
So which way was it...It took us around 4 days to get this straight. Take the straight and narrow path....
This verse was a reminder to us as we remembered how to get home...and in our spiritual walk with God, we need to remember that many do not find that narrow gate...
We got lost several times, standing in the road, trying to remember hard which way to go. One day, a man asked us where we were going. (we must have really looked like fools) We were trying to hurry before our leader came out the door to see us still standing lost.
Michelle and I weren't only lost getting home, but there were days where we walked the opposite direction to dinner..We were heading down the hill toward the YMCA, when we realized it was the opposite direction we needed. So back up the hill we walked and yes, our guilty faces said it all when we entered dinner.


This is the road we walked on our way back from the YMCA...in 2009, it is now paved...Yes, we walked all the way down it b/f realizing we were lost. (Story Below)

Later in the week, another girl and I did the such was far more worse than the one we were supposed to take..Only a few know this story.
I believe our leader had great fun, telling us on the last day, if we needed help getting home...He would tell us to walk down the hill and then back up the hill, or to take the second right, which really was the 1st right.
Ahhh... God is faithful to protect us and kept us safe.
I've never laughed so much in my life...I recall standing in the field lost like a sheep trying to find our way. Thank you Lord for your reminder that the straight and narrow path leads to life.

Futball Camp

The kids really enjoy playing futball.

I am uploading a couple videos....One of the boys is a really good futball player. We were blessed to have him playing and helping us referring because of the language barrier. He was a great example to us in 2007, and is a team player.(see above picture)In the video, look for the yellow shoes to see how he plays.
Though at times he'd play volleyball, and use his soccer skills, which was fun.


I also had a blast playing with the girls..check out these videos as well:
I developed some great friendships and praying email works to keep in touch with these sweet girls. I had great one on one time and enjoyed them from 2007. God really used this time in the morning to bond with the kids...Basketball, Volleyball, and Futball, all went on during the 1st session.

ALL in ONE Post

This could be one of the longest posts ever...but I feel the need to not leave you hanging any longer, and my memories and thoughts are becoming far from my head even after 5 days.
So I'll take what I can from my journals and summarize this amazing trip to the Holy Land.


The day started with a 4 am wake up call, but unfortunately, never got up. And my in -considerate Dad never woke me either. He was ready to go at 4:30 am., and I was just waking. A quick 2 min. shower and race to the door was amazing to be ready in less than 10 minutes. We were only 5 minutes late getting out the door.And with my Dad driving the bus, we made it to the airport in record time.Flights were great, and we were ready for this hot, hard week.
My heart sank as I saw our tour guide once again. Andre is amazing, and we grew immensely from his knowledge. I was just thankful to see him at 9:30 am. After not sleeping for a day though, I was tired. We stopped in Jerusalem at the ridge of the Mt. Olives. We were given a quick history lesson of Jesus and his life and it was a great start to the trip. Extremely tired and not functioning well, we met our hosts and they were wonderful. Our family had 3 kids...yet they looked a little familiar but not quite. Later that evening we realized they attended cam p in 2007.
Sunday morning would be different, as the pastor joined another evangelical church in Bethlehem, so those of us who took the trip in 2007, were not in the loop this time. Headphones were given to us for translation...This was a great thing to have. We had a meeting later on in the evening with our translators. Now we are ready for the week.
Monday started off a little rough with some administration problems at the YMCA. But that's a usual for a 1st day. It was extremely hot(104) and most kids didn't have water. We solved that problem after day one. Our translators have been awesome. And the kids have been great, with some discipline issues. Everyday, one of the ladies asked if thier name was in God's Book. The gospel was clearly presented this year.
I spent most of my time with the girls, playing beach volleyball, jump rope,basketball, volleyball, talking, taking pictures. Only a few times did I play futball, but it was fun to be flexible throughout the morning.
We have enjoyed getting to know our host family. I brought the game Uno, and taught the kids a new game..They know own a set of the cards. Many of our talks were about the Bible. We started the 1st night talking about Evangelism Explosion. They are well trained and we had some great talks...We shared verses with each other, and learned much from this family. One afternoon, that was all we did, was look up verses and talk about what they meant. I was blessed to be with such a great family who loved reading the word. Our home visits were a blessing and some challenging. We sent 6 teams out a night, and we all came back feeling blessed that God allowed great opportunities to share the gospel. Many were saved, and many seeds planted, and we pray that those families that struggled in some hard sin issues, that the word will continue to be spread as our translators continue to make home visits.

This trip allowed our team to make some travels that were new to us from the 2007 trip. We however took the trip to the Dead Sea of course...And then took a long, horrendous hike at En Ghedi. We were lied to for the 1st time by Andre that this was a 20 minute walk..But no it really was a 40 min. hike with lots of steps, and extremely hot...but we were walking to a spring of water. OK- it was worth is after all. The hike back was easier after being wet. Though i think most of us were dry by the time we came back, and Magnum Ice cream awaited us too :)
One of the highlights of our travels for most of us was staying off the Sea of Gailee and being able to take a boat ride. We learned how the fishermen caught fish, and had a great time of prayer and reflection of God's amazing life.
I have a stronger love and passion for the people in Palestine. God graciously allowed me to take a 2nd trip to the holy land. I am blessed beyond what I can see. My family was an encouragement to me. I am praying He allowed a 3rd trip in the future, but if not, I pray God will continue to work in this land. May every tribe and nation hear the gospel. The seeds were planted, and many recieved, and our team is blessed beyond measure by your prayers and your faithful support.

p.s. We were extremley safe, and God took Care of us during all the checkpoints and in traveling.
There are funny stories of my roomie and I getting lost around town, and trying new foods, and naming half our team the King, Prince, Princess, She-wa, Troublette 1 & 2, oh and Hit, Kick and Spit(our triplets at camp)---Just ask!!!!

Holy Land Blessings

I am home...but trying to recover from a 15 hr. sleep deprived... I slept the night, so that's good.

I will be updating soon...stay tuned for some great pictures and great stories... I'm about 5 days behind in my journal, but the stories of God's faithfulness are just around the corner.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers!