Just walking with Jesus: September 2013

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Jerusalem, home sweet home

       I've somehow been in Israel for two weeks now... and it's been unlike anything I've ever experienced. Truthfully, I have been procrastinating writhing about Israel... I mean how do I express the feelings I had when I went to the Garden Tomb or the thoughts I had while I walked through the Garden of Gethsemane and hiked up the Mt. of Olives to see the sunrise...how do I even begin to describe it all.
         I'll just start at the beginning and hopefully I wont bore you with too many details. Elysse and I found out that every time a plane lands in Israel the whole plane erupts in applause, which if you can imagine would be a pretty awesome first experience in Israel. And we got all our luggage and a shuttle to our hotel fairly easily, (praise who) praise God. On our way to our hotel/apartment Elysse and I just had our eyes glued to the shuttle window trying to take in everything in this new world around us. When we arrived there we found our directors wife, Isha, and she lead us to our room where we unpacked and got settled in. My wall next to my bed is covered with pictures and letters from home that fill me with joy everytime I see them!
       Now Elysse and I were so nervous but excited to meet everyone who we knew would become like family to us in the next three months. But now that I know them all I realize I had no reason to be nervous (except to meet Chris perhaps). God hooked us up with the most amazing group of people! We are all so different and each crazy in in our own way that it somehow works when you put us all together! Now I've only known them for two weeks but I want to give you all a brief humorous/serious description of everyone.
okay here we go ~

P31s aka GIRLS:
Shayla: She reads hearts.. no really, God has given her a gift. She is a true listener and will drop everything in a heart beat for anyone in need. And she makes it known she's Latina because she is always having a good time!
Andrea: She has the best smile in the world. And makes everyone feel so welcomed and loved right from the start. She has a feisty side to her that makes everyone laugh1 And she also is the child whisperer in our group!
Abby: This chic can sing and quote every Disney song imaginable! She has passion and true grit and would back me up in a fight any day. She is a loyal and caring and graciously filled me in on all the Doctor Who series!
Rebecca: This girl cracks me up! She has such a creative and beautiful soul! She's our class TA so on top of all her amazing qualities she's responsible and patient too! I love her genuine smile and being around her will being anyone joy!
Celeste: She is always down to go on a adventure! She's 17 and came here by herself so saying she's brave is a understatement. We are part of the breakfast for dinner cooking team and we have had such good times already in the kitchen!
Brooke: This girl is crazy! haha you are guaranteed to have a great time if you hang out with Brooke! she spreads joy and laughter wherever she goes! she has a beautiful heart for the Lord and will share her humus with everyone! whoever wifes her is one lucky dog!
Debbie: This woman is a rockstar for Jesus! She is overflowing with God's love and grace. She is a beautiful example of someone who is in constant communion with our Savior. You will always find her with an encouraging word or song on her lips!
Jeri: okay this woman is one of the sweetest people I have ever met.. she literally could be a Disney princess. She has such a pure spirit and a loving heart for everyone around her! And because of her caring heart she always tries to include everyone in anything she does!
Hannah: She is first and foremost my favorite and only bunk buddy! She and I have already had many snuggling dates! This beautiful women is full of God's wisdom and grace. She has only ever been kind and patient with me and we have had plenty of tear jerking laughs together already!
Jordan: She is a fighter for justice and truth. She has such a strong soul that is rare to find in this world today. She is one of my three roommates and she blesses me everyday by showing patience and love to us all!
Elysse: yaaaa what can I say, she is and always will be a sister to me. We are extremely different but always can find common ground in the Lord and nutella. She can always make me laugh till I pee my pants and also bring me to the heart of Christ everytime when she leads worship. She has one of the most compassionate hearts I have ever seen and is always quick to remember to look to Jesus.

GUYS:
Travis: Mr. Adventure to the max! He cant sit still and I totally believe God is going to use that and his amazing heart for people for His glory! He has a contagious smile and is a very hard worker and will always be the first to help out when needed!
Sean: Anything he says penetrates your heart because of his genuineness and tone of voice. this guy is a saint and all the glory goes to Jesus! He has a huge gage in his left ear to represent him being a bondservant of Christ and that truly is his heart every day! He is a man of integrity that we all respect.
Jesse: This man is one that no matter what trial or problem arises you will never hear him complain. He is a trooper through it all and with his kind heart and sense of humor he always can make us smile! His heart for Jesus and Israel is amazing and its awesome to see him be used to bless others.
Zach: Now Zac is quite the character.. the faces he makes and the sarcastic things he says will always make us laugh! He has a kind heart and a true gentleman, always opening the doors and caring our heavy loads for us. And he has a hunger to study the Word.
Fausto: (aka Sam) my long lost brother from another mother. He has a compassionate heart for people and can make a best friend with anyone in seconds. He gives generously to everyone and will always put others before himself. He is also a talented photographer and artist and I'm stoked to see what good works the Lord has planned for him!
Chris: my adopted son... totally kidding but seriously I feel like I've known him for years! He is a natural born leader but unlike most leaders, Chris leads people in love and always to Christ. His dance moves are horrendous but he has wisdom beyond his years due to his love for the Word. He is someone we all can count on and look up to.
Seth: He is a man that is easily satisfied . All he needs is coffee and his Birkenstocks. But truly, God has given Seth a powerful love for the Muslim people. He is willing to go anywhere and do anything for the glory of Christ. I don't think he is capable of getting angry or upset, he's always super chill and kind to everyone.
Logan: Our Irish man. He is a talented musician and you can tell right away that he has a humble and pure heart for the Lord. He always has a kind look on his face and everyone knows that Logan is a man with a heart full of love (for Meagan) for the people around him!

STAFF:
Anna: okkkayy the best dean of woman ever!! No really she's awesome. She is a true leader in her walk with the Lord and has the gift of encouragement! She is such a hard worker and has a servants heart and goes out of her way to make our time here one to remember. She is already a big sister to me and is a perfect example of a P31!
The Stark Family: Bobby and Isha stark and their two kids, Charity and Daniel have been a huge blessing to all of us. Its not easy to move your whole family across the world and live in really tight courters with a bunch of crazy college kids! But they all love the Lord and have a passion for Israel and the Jewish people that's contagious. Please pray for wisdom for Bobby as he leads us this semester and for Gods love and blessings to overflow on their family!

         So that's it! I know it sounds to good to be true! But seriously...I didn't even have to exaggerate at all for anyone! Jesus just shines through this group and I consider myself so blessed to be apart of this family! If you can please keep us all in your prayers, God is doing some amazing things in and through us and prayer would be so appreciated!

SHOUT OUT TO ALL SINGLE GODLY YOUNG MEN: pretty much all the women are single and ready to mingle so if you want any of their numbers just let me know!

The whole group (wow we're a good looking bunch)!

Almost everyone at the Garden Tomb!

Monday, September 23, 2013

#1 Bloopers

       I'm going to start to do blooper posts at sporadic times during my journey and it will consist of random/amazing God moments or wacky/hysterical/dramatic stories that occurred on my travels thus far. I want to do it separate from my main posts just in case you have no desire to take time out of your busy schedule to laugh with me or more than likely at me. So we begin...

WARNING: I will be making fun of random people ( they will remain nameless) so I ask that people who are without a sense of humor not to read this because you will think I am a jerk.

Zombie with dreads:
       So on my plane ride from Medford to San fran I met a very interesting human being. Now this man was the real deal. He had HUGE dreads that went to his waist and the baggy clothes and the fake gold chain around his neck ( I knew it was plastic because I asked him if I could touch it). Now don't get me wrong...he was really nice! I was excited to sit by him because I thought about what an interesting convo we could have butttt I very soon found out he was not feeling it...let me just give you the short version of our convo.. we will call this guy Bob.
Me: Hi there! where you headed?
Bob: Oh uh I'm going to a big party in Reno
Me: Oh wow your going a long way for a party...
Bob: Its a big deal, its at a huge house with a bunch of ____ and ____ (he said words that I had no idea what they ment)
Me: oh ya that sounds like a big deal for sure...(awkwarddddd)
Bob: ya so do you watch scary movies? (as he pulls out his laptop)
Me: oh no! I cant even watch Jurassic Park with out getting nightmares.
Bob: oh..well..im going to watch the new demonic zombie movie (no.joke.) and it gets pretty intense sooo ya.
Me: oh really?... wowww... (what do you say to that?!)
Bob: puts in his head phones
annnddd...that was the end of the convo.
so for the rest of the two hour flight he blocked my view from his ipad (praise god) and his dreads kept grazing my arm...gross.

Two words: Nude Beaches
        Can you say SHOCKER!!! wowzers! Totalllly took me by surprise.. you would think there would be a sign.. maybe something like " NUDE BEACH. RUN AWAY!!!" or " IF YOU WANT TO THROUGH UP YOUR LUNCH, COME TO THIS BEACH"...oh no. I had to find out the hard way...I was just looking around the beach, taking in the beautiful PURE scenery when all of a sudden BAM! I see a elderly woman (mid 60's) completely topless and shameless! And she wasn't the only one! I definitely learned to keep my eyes on the ground if I didn't want to gag every time I went to the beach.Yikes!Praise the Lord the men were more descent then the women and all I saw were an abundance of speedos (#disturbing). I just kept telling Elysse.."I just don't get it, I just don't get it".
So consider yourself warned, if you ever go to the beaches in Spain to shield your eyes lest you be scarred for life.

My traveling Buddy
      We were on our red eye flight from New York to Germany and I could not go to sleep for the life of me. I already saw two movies so I was over that and Elysse was asleep besides me. I stood up for a bit to stretch my legs and as I looked around almost everyone on the plane was asleep except for this one man siting in the row behind me but a few seats over. He was a tall elderly man, probably in his early 70's . Now I might sound crazy but he truly had one of the most comforting faces..somehow he was always smiling. Not a creepy smile or showing all of or the lack of his teeth, just a simple caring smile. I made eye contact with him and we smiled at each other then I walked up and down the aisle then we make eye contact again and smiled and then again and then again and it got to a point where I just felt like I should go over and introduce myself to him because he was practically my traveling Grandpa by then. So I went over and tapped on his shoulder and said " are you trying to fall asleep sir or would you like to talk for a bit?" and he said "I don't speak English...German, I speak German, so sorry" and then I laughed and he laughed and I went back and sat down. But I couldn't stop thinking about him...wondering what his story was or if he was a Christian or not. Later on in the flight I offered him a granola bar and he took it with a smile but then he gave it back like 20 min later with a smile (I still don't know what that was about, he could have been allergic to peanuts) but I felt like I still needed to talk to him. So I wrote him a letter about my trip and why we are studying about Jesus. I told him I hope to see Him in heaven one day and then we can talk for hours because we will all speak the same language! I gave it to him at when we landed and he told us in broken English that he went to San Fran to visit his son and that he wished us the best. I hope he read the letter somehow...but more so I hope to see Him in heaven one day smiling away!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Indiana and Mallorca Spain

Elysse and I at Turkey Run

IT'S.SO.FLAT.

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of adventure from one country to the next! Jesus first brought me to Crawfordsville Indiana to reunite me with one of my best friends Elysse Keesee! I had a wonderful time with her family and friends. Elysse took me to the famous Turkey Run which turned out to have nothing to do with the name but was a beautiful hike! Which was a nice contrast to the million and one corn fields I got to see, but they also had a unique beauty to them. Its amazing how many different landscapes God had created in America alone. It shows a characteristic about Him...He's never boring. He never creates the same sunset or two people who are exactly the same. He's creative...He created creativity for heaven sakes. Anyway as you read this blog I might go on random tangents like that, just a heads up. But one of the many things Indiana has going for them is delicious food! Man oh man! Cracker Barrel has stolen my heart, biscuits and butter for daysss! And don't even get me started on Angie's homemade beef and egg noodles or her salmon patties! All in all I had a wonderful week getting spoiled by Angie and Dave ( Elysse's parents) and also God knew I needed that week to start to process all that was about to happen before I left the country!

they look like robots

Elysse and I ready for our red eye flight to Spain!

Then on September 7th Elysse and I boarded a plane to Mallorca, Spain, where we were going to spend the next four days soaking up the sun (or so we thought) and checking out the Bible college campus there. We got there the next day in the afternoon so we were zombies due to the jet lag but the excitement of the unknown was a huge energy boost! I knew a guy named Alex (shout out) from the Murrieta campus that lives in Spain with his family and he and the Bible college staff were gracious enough to hook Elysse and I up with our own amazing flat the had a view from our balcony of the beach that was only a five minute walk away! We got there on the perfect day because that night was the last night of this mid-evil festival the city was putting on that has a bunch of amazing booths full of delicious food and jewelry! And to finish off the festival they had a firework show on the beach! I was in awe the whole night as God continually blew my mind with His love and grace! We got to meet all the students and teachers at the Mallorca campus and got to tag along with them which was a huge blessing! They were a rad group of people and they are going to come to Israel for the last two weeks of their semester so we will get to see them again! The weather was kinda scetch some of the days but because of the clouds those were the nights that we had the most breathtaking sunsets! And the Mediterranean water did not disappoint, it was as clear and refreshing as I imagined it to be! Elysse and I just couldn't get over how good God has been to us, we would just stare at each other in and ask if we were dreaming. It was a trip I will never forget and God's beautiful creation once again took my breath away! As our relaxing trip came to a end we started getting super anxious and excited for what the Lord had in store for us in Israel! And on September 12th we once again boarded another plane to what would be our new home for the next three months...Jerusalem, Israel.