"FAREWELL" PRAYERS

It’s the evening of June 12, the night before my last day with Bridges For Peace--and nearly the end of my sabbatical experience. Today was my “farewell” (the day I have been dreading for over a month!) and it was a very sad, emotional time for me, and for many of my BFP friends and co-workers. The words of thanks, the many kind and supportive remarks about my part in the life and ministry of our BFP team, and the desire of so many for me to “come back soon!” were too much for my aching heart to bear. I have truly found a new home here: the beautiful city of Jerusalem, the meaningful work that I am blessed to do each day, my buddies on the home repair team, the privilege of sharing my faith through my witness to the Jewish people, the opportunities to experience the Holy Land daily--this place and daily routine “suits me,” and so I am already grieving the separation that is coming soon. Please keep me in your prayers; that I can transition back into my other home in Hilmar, and to my life and ministry there.

The good thing is that 44 from my congregation are arriving on Wednesday for a 10 day tour of Israel! So I will have the opportunity to reconnect with everyone from home, enjoy a special experience with them--and still be right here in Israel! I trust that this is God’s way of gently helping me release all of the powerful emotions and feelings that are hurting and stirring inside of me now and to set my sights on the future, and on the new things that lie ahead for me as I return home to Hilmar.

This will probably be my last blog post until the tour is over. We are going to be so busy for the 10 days that we will be traveling here that I don’t think I’ll have the time or energy to put together anything for you to see and read until after I arrive home.

This last post is a compilation of pictures and descriptions of what I’ve done these last two weeks of my time with Bridges since I got back from Egypt. I hope you enjoy them!

And for one last time: SHALOM from Jerusalem!





Just another day in home repair!

Photos: The Herodian, one of Herod the Great’s huge building projects (along with the Temple and Masada) on the outskirts of Bethlehem. It was a summer palace, monument, burial ground, and district capital built into the top of a mountain, making it look the the cone of a volcano. Beneath it is an interesting system of tunnels used by rebels during the bar Kochba revolt in 132 AD. I visited here with two friends, Trystan and Melissa, on the Friday of “Shavuot” (Pentecost)--another national holiday and day off from work!

Photos: 1: Melissa and me on the top of the Herodian 2: Israeli security wall now encircling Bethlehem--very disturbing! 3: outside the Church of the Nativity 4: me at the entrance to the church itself 5: olive wood factory behind the church

Photos: 1: the very place where Jesus was born (supposedly!) 2: the home of my coworker, Yosef Benisho, in the West Bank settlement of Adora (where four people were murdered by terrorists four years ago). This is his son, Jonatan, beneath their address! 3: Yosef, Ayala, and Jonatan in their front yard. They are visiting me in Hilmar next month! 4,5: Jordan River baptismal site where I baptized Kristy Gunn, the South African granddaughter of my dear friends and coworkers, Bob and Cilla. She started as a volunteer at the food bank the same time I began in home repair--and she asked me if I would do this for her! It was a privilege, and a way to keep a special connection with this family.

Photos: cleaning up the apartment of Len, a South African Messianic Jew who is manic depressive, smokes cigarettes and drinks coke, and is constantly medicated! The black floor is coca cola that has been spilled and left there literally for years. Bill and Robbie and I spent a day cleaning the apartment while Len was hospitalized.

Photos: 1,2: June “birthday lunch” for all BFP staff and volunteers. 3,4,5: Netanya! Bridges has an apartment right on the beach for retreats, family vacations, and meetings, and I spent this past weekend there with James and Michelle and their two boys, James Jr. and David. Absolutely beautiful, relaxing, fun--and a special time for me to be with this family who has opened themselves so warmly and generously to me.

Photos: 1,2,3,4: time in Netanya 5: entering Hezekiah’s Tunnel, in the City of David

Photos: 1: ME, in Hezekiah’s Tunnel! When I did this walk in 1992, I got claustrophobia for the first time in my life and had the most frightening experience I’d ever encountered. When I came to Israel this spring, I vowed that I would conquer my fear and walk through the tunnel again. I did, yesterday, Sunday, June 11! And it was a blast! The tunnel is the one you read about in Scripture (II Kings 20:20; II Chron. 32:30) which Hezekiah built to bring water from the Gihon Spring into the city of Jerusalem to the Pool of Siloam in preparation for the Assyrian seige. 2: the midpoint of the tunnel, where the two teams of workers, digging from both directions, finally met--and completed the tunnel! 3: me at the end of the tunnel, near the Pool of Siloam 4: the newly uncovered and much larger Pool of Siloam 5: south tower of the City of David, dating from the Second Temple period, and our tour guide.

Photos: scenes from my “farewell” today. I received a certificate from Bridges for my volunteer work, a book about Israel, and more kind words and thanks than I felt I deserved! Because I have only done what I thought every volunteer does: serve in their area of ministry with joy, eagerness, and a willing spirit--to do anything that is needed or asked of them. James shared how, when he first saw my application, he shook his head and wondered what he would ever do with this “pastor” who was coming to work with the home repair team; how he would have to be careful, watch his behavior, guard his tongue, on top of having to provide jobs for someone with no skills at all for the ministry! But I surprised him! And we are now the best of friends, as well as home repair team buddies, and brothers in Christ. The last picture is of me receiving the Aaronic Blessing from Eli, a Jewish believer and coworker, in Hebrew.

“The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

Peace. SHALOM!

And from the City of Peace, Yerushalayim:

SHALOM!

Photos: 1: me on the plain in front of the Giza pyramid complex--awesome vantage point! 2: close-up of part of the Great Pyramid 3: Sphynix (from the time of Khafre, about 2000 B.C.) 4: me in front of the Sphynix--I could hardly believe I was here! I’ve seen this famous visage since I was very young. 5: the fantastic view I had from the Egyptian restaurant where Achmed and I ate a late lunch

Photos: 1: me in front of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Inside is the incredible “King Tut” exhibit that has traveled the world. I saw it all here--more gold than I’ve ever seen in one place. I had a guide, Achmed, who took me around all day for just $50! 2: me in a papyrus store. I watched this man make papyrus, and I bought a painting of the famous King Tut gold funeral mask on papyrus. It also has my name inscribed in hieroglyphics. 3: pyramid of Khafre, still capped with the limestone casing which was originally over all of the pyramid until the 19th century when they were stripped to build palaces and mosques. It is 136 meters high. 4: the “Great Pyramid” of Cheops, the oldest and largest pyramid in Egypt. It dates from 2570 BC! And it is (now) 146 meters high, built out of 2.3 million limestone blocks. 5: me in front of the Great Pyramid