Its the Little Things that Count

Right now I'm sitting in the San Diego Airport about an hour from boarding to head back to New Jersey. It was a good week. Yesterday we finished the house and gave the keys over to an obviously grateful husband and wife. I think what made it so special was the fact that we were doing this for people who weren't even a part of the local church. They were simply a family in need in the community that needed to be cared for. There was no agenda of doing anything more than providing them with an earthly need that we definitely were able to supply. I like something one person said during our final debrief last night. We so often look at the very big picture and see the issues that are affecting the whole community, nation, or globe and often forget that it is all about reaching with real relationships one person at a time and being intentional about the little things that actually count. For the family that we helped we did so much, we built a house and through that house Jesus Christ reached to the depths of their hearts and, I believe, planted seeds in their lives.

With this trip out of the way, now what? How will this change my life? It really is true that short term missions trips can be of benefit to those helped but really it is those that go that benefit the most. So what was it that God truly laid on my life this week? To be honest, I don't know yet. I think he will unravel some of that in the days and weeks to come, but for now, I think I am still just chewing on what has actually happened and how God spoke as a result. Perhaps I will think and write on these things during the flight and hopefully start to have an answer to that. Famous last words I know, I'm still not sure I have totally done that from my trip to Israel. I will see what I can do though.

In His Perfect Peace,

-AM

God just does incredible stuff...wow!

Its 10:26 PM and after stuffing down tons of Tacos for dinner, finding a random Dairy Queen (and drinking a milkshake) and finally getting back to take a shower, play some guitar and check a few emails...I'm quite pooped.

Having made that clear, I did just want to share an amazing story of the power of the Blood of Jesus Christ. Stephen, our Morristown Satellite Campus Pastor, who is on the trip with us as well had a filling done before we came down to Ensenada. While we were down here he began to have problems with it Tuesday and they worsened into Wednesday. His cheek literally swelled to make him look like a chipmunk. As funny as it was however, he was in a lot of pain and wasn't able to even work on the job site yesterday. He made it a point to go to a Mexican dentist today but after breakfast we all gathered around to pray for him and for his healing. The theme of prayer was truly something brought forth by the Holy Spirit. It was Jesus' Blood that was pleaded for. I was just totally pumped as we all called for the healing blood of Jesus to work in Stephen's mouth and shrink back the swelling. We all clearly felt like God was working.

We all left for the job site and re-gathered at lunch to learn that Stephen had gone to the dentist and was going to have the swelling drained. But when the dentist went in to take a look at it he said there was nothing he could do because the swelling had already started to go down and he could just deaden some of the pain that was left but that Stephen would be more than fine very soon. When we saw Stephen at lunch his swelling even looked to be far less. It was an incredible testimony to the power of God that truly is alive and working in our lives.

It is something that is changing my mindset more and more in life. As Christians we are not called to live these normal lives at home and special "super charged spiritual ones" when we are away on missions trips. Quite the contrary, this seemingly overly spiritual life is what we are called to live like all of the time. To pray for our brothers and sisters in need, to heal the sick, to feed the poor and reach out to those in need. It's part of a missional lifestyle. Again to be "missional" is to be living with the mindset of a missionary in a local context. To be reaching out to your own neighborhood. It doesn't matter whether that neighborhood is in the slums of Ensenada, Mexico or the suburbs of New Jersey. Christians aren't called to anything less than radical living and missionary work in every place they ever go.

Granted it's hard and I'm not anywhere near being good at doing this. But I think this is the direction that we are called to be striving towards. After we've experienced the deep deep love of our Father in Heaven, how can we do anything less than love how we have first been loved?

Go for it,

-AM

Not Quite Ready for This

So, I don't really know how to say this but...I don't want to go back to the States.  At least not yet.  This trip has been absolutely amazing and I've had so much revealed to me that I don't want it to end I guess.  Even the fact that I missed the first two days of touring didn't change the outcome of things for me.  In fact, I really believe it made it better for me.  I gained a much deeper appreciation for being here in Israel and a much deeper understanding of what the scriptures actually would have been saying since they are written within the Jewish mindset.  Today I had completely free and was able to visit the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem which by far the best museum in remembrance of that terrible tragedy.  It was an extremely moving experience to see how much pain and suffering was endured by these people and helped shed some light into the feelings of Jews in todays world.  I cannot imagine how to deal with something like this, and from my perspective I wonder how they could be restored.

This is not the answer they want to hear but I just see such a need for Jesus among this broken people.  It hurts me to think about how Jesus' own people don't share in His healing.  They have been through so much and I think what is needed is much more sympathy and love towards them.  I know we have our stereotypes of Jewish people being no more than rich mongers who want to rip you off and keep everything for themselves.  That is not the heart of the Jewish people though.  I've seen a people who is deeply devoted to God which is the same God that we serve!  They refer to them in such glowing terms as their "Beloved."  One Orthodox Jew who I have been able to speak with on a couple of occasions told me about how Christians always think Jews are legalistic and are so caught up in the Law when in reality they love keep the Law that was given to them by their Beloved.  It invokes images of Psalm 1 where it says:  "For his delight is in the Law of the Lord and on His Law he meditates day and night."  I nearly started crying writing that just now.  It is so moving to me to have seen the true heart of a people who loves their God passionately.  But it hurts and breaks my heart to see them still waiting for the Messiah to come and save them when He has already come.

However, God loves His people, it is so apparent to me here in this place.  And so I would encourage everyone, whether you know a practicing Jew or not, to take special care to reach out to them with the love of God.  As Christ came and loved us so we should love others, especially His own people.

And so with my heart broken for a people and not really wanting to go home I must say I am not ready for this.  I'm not quite ready to leave because I still think God has more to teach me here.  So I know I will return because there are many things that are yet to be done.  

So thanks everyone for following this blog on my tour of Israel.  Be assured it will not be my last time here.  We leave 1am local time from the hotel to head towards Tel Aviv and be on our way to Istanbul at 6 am.  After a 2 hour flight and a short lay over we will be headed back on the 10 hour flight to JFK and New York City.  Be at peace, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Shalom,

-AM

Last tour day

Today was the final tour day here in Israel.  I wish it would never end.  We visited Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran and finished the day floating in the Dead Sea.  Masada was the last stronghold of the Zealot Jews in about 70 AD when the Romans crushed the Jewish revolt in Israel.  At Masada every man, woman, and child were put to death because they realized they were defeated.  It is a sad story but it helped to shed some light on the mindset of the Israeli people in this current crisis in Gaza.  In Masada the Jews were surrounded on all sides with absolutely no other options.  Many feel the same oppression on all sides now:  Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.  Not to mention the threats to them as a nation that exist from Hezbollah, Hamas, and other terror groups.  They have always it seems had this sense of fear about them and the fact that if they did not fight for themselves, in fact, no one would.

I'm not condoning the hundreds of people dead in Gaza right now, but I think things are a lot more complex than many of us in the United States would like to admit.  On one side we only see Israel not being wanted to exist and that they need to fight for everything.  On the other side is the fact that the Israeli army is reportedly responsible for almost 1,000 deaths in the Gaza strip right now.  As I said before our primary concern should be to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem and not taking sides and viewing one side as better and more moral than the other.  Because the fact is that neither side has been completely in the right and you can't give one the moral high position over the other.

Just thought that would be something to think about as you process the plethora of news headlines that are thrown out there today from every single direction.

Peace to You,

-AM

And here we go!

Writing this quick note from a friends house where I stayed last night in Nyack.  I will be meeting up with everyone in about two hours over at the college and we will be headed to JFK to catch our 6:00 pm flight.  We received an email from our professor this morning who is already over in Israel taking care of some business.  He said all is quiet and our anxieties should be put to rest.  

I am very excited about what this trip will bring.  I was talking with a friend last night who is also a worship leader and we were discussing songs coming out of our experience over there that have a deep connection to the Promised Land.  Especially with Jerusalem and all that is said in the Psalms about Jerusalem and its prominence and importance in a spiritual sense.  As we tour and as we meet people of this region I fully anticipate God to begin doing something miraculous.  I really don't know what it is, but whether it is some songs are written, or its just a fresh perspective I'm resting assured that God has great plans for our travels in the middle-east and He will show Himself brilliantly!

Next blog from Israel!

Stay Classy,

-AM