We've had lots of them. I don't want to taint the awesome parts about this trip with downer news, but the fact is that it has been a very trying month for all of us. We came as a team of 11 to Nazareth with 4 leaders and since then have experienced more trials than I knew It would be possible to have. On our second day here, one of our teammates had to go to the hospital and stayed there 3 nights before he got the OK to come home. Since then, we have been having one misunderstanding and confrontation after another. It has been riddled with tension and interpersonal problems that pushed all of us to our limits. Seriously. Ok, enough gloom. Yes, it sucked. A lot! But God is faithful and more redemptive than any of us could ever imagine. Sadly, that redemption did not come by way of restoration within the team. In week 4 of being in Israel, 9 of us moved from Nazareth to Tiberias and 2 of our students chose to go home instead.We are so sad to be without them, and it was not easy to say goodbye, but we are praying for them and hope they have a much better time going back home and being with their family (they were a married couple) than they would have had staying with us.It's been hard to adjust to life without them, but that is not the only change that was made. Our school leader visited us for his regular check up and found us in our interesting situation. Just in time. He took time to talk to each of us individually and put a lot of prayer and effort into our team. His final verdict as our leader: four leaders was just not working. We knew it was an unusual situation from the very beginning, and putting it into practice only accentuated the inherent issues. Therefore, we sorrowfully parted ways with another 2 team members. The remaining married couple with us left the day after our school leader did and now our team has found ourselves significantly smaller. Those who remain are a team of 7: 4 girls and 3 guys with my friend Alexandra and myself as the remaining leaders. There are big shoes to fill and a lot of stepping up to do, but with God's grace we will be able to do it well. It is a little intimidating considering our young age and that this is the first time for either of us to be in Israel, but God is good and we know that He is not done with our team yet. We are continuing to go forward leaning on Him and trusting Him to help us as we readjust and find out what our new team dynamic is. The tension has finally dissipated and we find ourselves hopeful and expectant for the next half of our time here. We will be traveling a lot and doing a lot of different types of things, so we will need an extra extra ammount of grace and favor. Not to mention protection and humility. So please please please be praying for us!!! For our team and all of our hearts and that the remaining month here would be marked by enough fruit and unity for 2 months put together. =)
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Let's be honest here, we are in Israel...We are going to go see everything we can! So every place we have gone, we have made sure to take a day out of our schedule to just be tourists. So far, that has been in the cities of Nazareth and now Tiberias. =) So what is there to see in Nazareth? Well, everywhere that has anything to do with anything has a cathedral on it. Mary's well, the Nazareth synagog, Cana, the Mount of Transfiguration...you get the picture. They all got covered up by really big orthodox cathedrals. Not my favorite, but the architecture is impressive. What I did really like in Nazareth was the reenactment village! A whole town set up like it would have been in the first centurywith actors and food and everything. It was so hot out, but so worth it! Next, Tiberias. A tourist's dream land. =) The Sea of Galilee is absolutely beautiful and all around it are places written about in the Bible going all the way back not just to Jesus but to Abraham and Joshua. By the Sea of Galilee was where Jesus lived and did 70%-80% of his recorded ministry, so we got to spend a full day going and seeing those places. After long last, we finally made it! Last week, our team flew into Tel Aviv and from there drove 2 hours to Nazareth. We are staying in a wonderful house here in the heart of the Arab neighborhood - OK, it's more like a bunker - and it has proven to be quite the experience! All last week we got to go to the elementary school and help repaint it during the school break. It looks so nice now!! And it was super fun working as a team and getting to know the people here...They fed us SO well!!! ^_^ Unfortunately, it was not all easy. Our second day here, Jerry had to go to the hospital due to health problems. The doctors couldn't really give us an answer, but after spending 2 nights in the hospital and having lots of tests done, they realized him to come back home. It was pretty scary and we were all praying a ton for him, so it is a major blessing that he is now back with us safe and sound. His body is still recovering, though, so please join us in praying for complete healing! It is incredible to be in the Holy land! We have gotten to see Mary's well, a super old Cathedral, and even Mt. Carmel. Please keep our team in your prayers!!! Being here is beyond a gift and a blessing, but it is also a very heightened spiritual atmosphere and we need the covering of the Holy Spirit to be so present in everything we do if we are to be a blessing and not a burden to this place and these fantastic people. |
ErikaJeremiah 29:11 Archives
March 2023
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