The Lord is doing amazing things here in Israel!

It has been two weeks and I am so incredibly blessed by His presence with me and His gentle care of me. As the girls’ dorm steward I have additional responsibilities like resolving conflicts, making sure the rules are being upheld, and serving the others students in general. The past weeks have been extremely stretching because I struggled the first week with fatigue and I had to daily crucify my flesh just to stay awake, let alone serve others. Through it God reminded me that I do not have the luxury of walking in my flesh, whether everything is going well or everything is going wrong. As a servant of the gospel, I am called to die daily for His name’s sake and this was a wonderful opportunity to grow in that daily crucifixion when I most certainly did not feel like it.

God used my exhaustion to show me how unloving my heart was and how often I lean upon my own strength to be Christ-like when really that is just a cheap facade. It is only by His grace and through His power that I am able to love those around me and the second week has been one of resting in and practicing that. I still fail daily, but He is patient and gentle with me and I see the way He is working through these circumstances to prepare me for whatever lies ahead.

This week my first two classes end and my next two classes begin on Monday. I was able to get all of my final papers and projects done with very little difficulty and by the grace of God the wi-fi has been strong so I haven’t had any difficulty in turning my assignments in. In my Fundamentals of Faith class, the final discussion prompt was on what ministry opportunity we feel the Lord calling us to that will require great faith and as I read the responses from my classmates I was challenged and encouraged. One brother is in Uganda this week helping with a conference, one brother feels called to move to California, a sister is a missionary in Brazil and helps equip believers there to carry on the work. There were so many testimonies of God’s grace and power and I was deeply challenged to take greater risks for God and trust that He will never allow me to stumble as I walk in His truth in accordance with His will. As I thought about the ministry opportunity that God is calling me to that requires faith, the here-and-now answer is simply to share Jesus among the people here in Jerusalem. There is somewhat of reluctance in me to talk about Jesus because I don’t want to offend the Jews or start an argument, but God showed me how silly that fear is and He is calling me to be more intentional in the ministry opportunities here in Israel. Short-term ministry opportunities actually arose from the discussion as well, as the missionary in Brazil posted a video about an Apologetics conference coming up in Brazil this June. I was stirred to ask about joining them and she is going to send me some details, so I could potentially be on my way to Brazil in the first week of June for about 2 or 3 weeks to help with the conference and aid in the missionary work there. Prayers for God’s will and provision would be so appreciated.

The long-term ministry calling I mentioned in the discussion is one that is so dear to my heart, yet so seemingly impossible that I almost didn’t say anything about it. For over a year, my absolute dream has been to stay with different missionaries around the world for a period of 1 to 3 months and write about the work that God is doing in their midst. My heart for this kind of trip is to bless the missionaries and inform the saints about the needs of the ministries and ministers as well as the victories that God is working through them. It would require great faith because I don’t know how I would pay for everything, and I certainly do not want to be a burden to the missionaries while I stay with them. Ideally I would live in an apartment or rented bedroom outside of their home so as not to be  burdensome to them and I would buy my own food as I write their stories and share them with all of you that you might see that our God is a great God who works mighty miracles, and that you might know how to pray for our brothers and sisters in the field, but also that you might see that wherever you are is your mission field and God can work the same miracles through you if you simply walk by faith. It seems like a grand venture and I would love to begin this journey in 2019. Please pray with me for direction, vision, and guidance in these possibilities and join me in praising God for the work He has yet to do through these dreams. The most encouraging aspect of sharing this in the discussion is that one of my classmates commented on my post and said that he and his wife would like to donate to my trip if it should become a reality. When I read that, I was blown away because it was a hint that maybe it isn’t just a fairy tale dream of mine, but an actual calling that God has upon my life. I don’t quite know what to do with it except to walk by faith and not by sight and to pray that God would have His way in it.

In other news, this upcoming week we have our first official tour(!!) and will be walking around Jerusalem for 3 days. Please keep all of the students in your prayers for strength, energy, and spiritual acuteness that we may take in all that the Lord has for us as we visit the Garden Tomb, Golgotha, the Temple Mount, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, and so many other sites of biblical significance.  

Personal prayer requests are that I would be molded more into Christ’s image through the position I have been given, that I would be a blessing and friend to all of the students here, that I would continue to rely upon God for my every need, and for direction in the ministry opportunities after this semester.

With that, I wish you Shabbat Shalom on this beautiful Sabbath in Israel! May God bless and keep you, cause His face to shine upon you and give you rest.