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Find us Casey's Israel Outreach Journal 2009
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May 19, 2009
What an amazing day of evangelism!!! We had 4 decisions for Jesus today!!! 2 Jewish and 2 Gentile (Muslim!!) I prayed with a very sweet Jewish lady named Pnina at a bus stop at the Golden Kenyon Mall in Rishon to receive the Lord. She had had others planting seeds in her life, but that day, the Lord had her ready for Him! She was so happy afterwards, when she got on her bus, she was blowing kisses to me!
I realize that I’ve probably painted a somewhat grim of a picture of what it’s like to do evangelism in Israel....and I don’t want to do that. But, the truth is, read the Bible and you see what it’s always been like to do evangelism in Israel....from the very beginning. And while we’ve suffered....we’ve also laughed....and loved.....and worshipped and it’s been a grand adventure thus far! I wouldn’t change a thing!! We are all safe and healthy....and people are coming to faith every single day! What could be better?
Just because something is difficult does not mean that it should not be done. Just because sometimes those we are called to preach to do not receive it well, does not negate the fact that God called us to preach. It’s a very freeing thing to remember that we are only responsible to tell....not for their response to the good news.
However, there are those who are hungry to know Jesus. Who are searching to find Him....it’s just that they have to be careful and quiet about it. It’s the loud few that make it hard for the rest to find the truth. And again, when you consider how the loud few that prevent others from finding the truth will have to be accountable to God for it....it makes you shudder for them.
The other day, coming back from sortie....a large herd of sheep was crossing the road....all over the place....unsafe, just running loose. There was no shepherd in sight. I was overcome with this visual of the exact state of things here in Israel. They are sheep running every which way, in the road, in front of cars, into ditches, without a shepherd. And bound and determined that they know exactly what they are doing. They seriously need their Shepherd.
May 20, 2009
It's entirely possible to fall asleep standing up, if you are still for a moment in time.
At least that is what I am finding. It's either exhaustion or narcolepsy.....I prefer to think it's exhaustion!
Good news! Three more decisions for Jesus today!!! Other than that, the usual rounds of teams to the police station.....one banner got confiscated by the police yesterday (the small one described a few days ago, Yeshu=Yeshua=Yeshuah) but there was no legal grounds to keep it, so we got it back today. The stewards had designed hand lettered placards to replace the banner today, and the hasidim ripped them to shreds towards the end of a two hour banner sortie this morning. It got rather heated, and when 3 military police saw what was happening to our team they headed over to help....the hasidim. Sigh. One soldier threatened Sergio that he was going to kill him.
Sometimes I just could weep with frustration at these beautiful, dearly loved by God, lost lambs!!! Oh that their eyes would be opened! Oh that their hearts would soften.
We are taking our Shabbat on Thursday this week, so that we can sortie unhindered amongst the secular community on Friday and Saturday this week. It may be our only chance to get in full sorties with no opposition by the orthodox! And, I hear rumors of a midnight adventure in stickering the town with prophecy stickers (those of you with me for years know how FUN that is!!!) I hope hope hope we get to do that! If so, I will record the adventure in some detail. Otherwise, I will not bore with it now, in case we don't get to do it.
Normally, especially here in Israel, we try to not work on Shabbat, so as not to provide one more thing to set up as a stumbling block and give anyone anything to hold over us.....but, honestly, at this point, it might be our only good opportunities to talk to those who are really seeking who can't be heard over the roar of the opposition.
I've now lost count of tracts, decisions and so forth. It might be a couple days before I have those numbers.....which change quickly.
May 21, 2009
Today was a wonderful day off again, with touring the land of the Bible. First things first though....camel ride!! I know, I can be such a tourist sometimes it's embarrassing! He had little flying bugs all around him, which made me a bit nervous, especially when he rested his chin (do camels have chins?) on top of my head, but ah well.....poor thing looked so hot...I felt bad for him out in the sun. I just fell in love with him though, and honestly, in every picture I have, it looks as though he is smiling at me!!!
We traveled to Bet She'an, which is an archeological dig site, with amazing sites. Then it was on to the Jordan River, the Sea of Galillee (omigosh, how amazing it is....and Tiberias!), Capernum (where Jesus did so much ministry), the location where Jesus multiplied the fish and the bread, Nazareth, Megiddo and the Valley of Jezreel. We drove through the West Bank....and ended in Jerusalem for dinner again, and it was Jerusalem Day there. Because of that, even though it was our day off, we carried a few tracts with us, and Steve was wearing a Jewish evangelism shirt, so it was an unofficial opportunity to be a witness.
I got amazing pictures and was really so so thrilled to visit Capernum....it just was the Bible come alive to me. I actually needed some time alone after going through there....just to try to absorb all I had seen.....to absorb walking right where He walked and taught and ministered and healed. It was overwhelming. I was undone.
Just a tourist type tip here, if like me, one is an archeology fanatic, Qumron, Bet She'an, and Capernum have to be my favorite sites that I have seen in the land.
May 22, 2009
Ok, today was AWESOME so far! I had a double sortie at the Kanyon (Mall) in Rishon LeZiyyon today, and it is the first time in days that I have actually been able to finish a planned sortie all the way to the end! We truly didn't have opposition, at least on our team, and we got 5-6 open contacts! Hurray. My roomie, Maiann, just got back from hers, and they were in Rehovet, and yes....they had many troubles. So, not an awesome sortie for all....but for us, yes.
And now, we are resting all afternoon because, YES YES YES!! Tonight in the dead of night, on Shabbat, we are going out like mission impossible teams all in black from head to toe, and stickering (with bumper type stickers) a message of prophecy all over the Shfelah!!! The reason we do it in the night, is to get them done without opposition, as much as possible....and because, in the morning, it will still be Shabbat, and the orthodox can't tear the stickers down because it would be considered work!!! Now, they might still do it, but, in theory, they are not supposed to. Besides, if the entire region is plastered with prophecies about Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, even if they spend hours tearing them down, the stickers will still be read by many many souls before it's all said and done!! It's always the most fun EVER! It is a little dangerous, because we are out in the night, and usually individually on our own streets, so as not to be noticed....it's much walking to cover an entire region like this, but it will be awesome good fun, and Wow, in the morning, the cities will be greeted with the story of Jesus!!!!
Anyways, I am tired and sore and sweaty. I'm sunburned and hot. But, I'm joyful in the Lord and ready to get out there again with the message of Jesus!!!!
We prepared ourselves for our stickering outing tonight with an hour or so of prayer. We also found out today that we received 55 open contacts in just our morning sorties! This is nearly double any other day of sorties so far in this campaign. This represents 55 Israeli Jewish men and or women who are interested in receiving the New Testament and visiting or having further dialogue about the Messiahship of Jesus!!! How can one not rejoice in this kind of effect, despite the persecution??? Sure today teams were threatened and followed and harassed, but even so.....we still were able to somehow speak to 55 people who wanted to know about Jesus enough to ask for further information and contact with us.
I do not have figures yet on decisions....we've been so so busy, that we do not know the stats for the last couple of days. I do know of at least one more decision that came from a follow up contact meeting.
May 23, 2009 (I think)
Last night was so amazingly fun!!! We sent two teams to do the pub crawl sorties, to evangelize the Israeli young adults who like to party, and we sent 5 teams out to sticker into the wee hours of the morning! We had those stickers about Jesus in Hebrew made into rolls of tape (kind of like a packing tape roll) and we had two stickerers (we invent new words all the time for campaign), we had one smoother and one cutter, per team...as well as a driver. We would roll, roll, roll all over the billboards with the gospel message in Hebrew. The smoother would follow along to make sure they adhered well, then the cutter would cut each message, from the others, so when they get ripped off....they only come off one at a time, instead of in strips or sheets! Sheer genius!!! Time consuming to tear down, and provides much opportunity for the gospel message to be read over and over and over again!!!! You can tell I get too much enjoyment out of this event!!! My children roll their eyes over some of the stuff Mom gets into, in the wee hours of the morning in foreign countries, yes??? Great news is, as of this afternoon, most of the stickers were still up. Only outside a couple synagogues, were they torn down! It’s lawful for them to break Shabbat if they think it is to save a soul, normally ripping (even for toilet paper) is forbidden on Shabbat.
Today and yesterday, because the Orthodox were celebrating Shabbat, we indeed did have a break from the opposition. We had double beach sorties in Rishon LeZiyyon for our team, and we had a beach decision for Jesus!!! Hurray, plus many were just stopping us and walking up and asking us about our shirts....about Jesus!!
The banner teams actually were able to complete full banner sorties!! It’s almost enough to make a person weep with joy! Everyone seemed to be interested! In fact, over 60 Israelis called in for more information today, just from the banner sorties alone! AND, Tzaki led a Jewish man to the Lord who stopped to ask about the banner! They even got other contacts....on a banner sortie!! It’s unheard of!! But God.
Let me give you some of our incredible stats. I have to be up and out on the streets with a banner for the early sortie tomorrow. This doesn’t include today’s numbers.
584 unsaved Jewish contacts desiring NT and visits
27,540 gospel tracts out
13 Jewish decisions for Jesus
5 Gentile, Israeli (mostly Muslim) decisions for Jesus
1801 Door to doors with literature left/632 face to face gospel presentations during that time
7654 attempted phone calls/2721 completed phone calls with offer of NT and gospel presentation.
May 24 or something
Big fun this morning on banner sorties! We had such a great morning. Many positive thumbs up, many horn honks in cheerful ways. Even with a lack of Hebrew one can detect the positive horns from the negative ones!
Cars were actually pulling over to the turn lane and stopping to get out and talk to us! I took pictures, it was amazing! We got contacts even this morning, on banners.
Then it was on to a visibility sortie (I'm not so keen on these because we are inside malls just wandering around and shopping in our shirts... I am a girl, this should be fun but after a while it gets old). Not today however. Yad L'Achim was there, and followed us everywhere. We were just walking around and not bothering anyone....save our shirts speaking for us. Of course people would approach us and ask about Jews and Jesus.....this infuriates the guys who follow us, and so they then make bolygon with those talking to us, and scare them away. They were taking our pictures so much that finally, I asked the one we see all the time who is always making crazy, if we could all pose together with him and have someone make a picture of all of us! He actually did it!
Morgan was inside a store just looking around, when a clerk approached her and asked if he could help her.....she said she was just looking, and he then said, "I was wondering then if maybe you could help me? I want to know more about this Jesus." He gave her all his information and then his boss got really angry. But, it was so sweet to hear someone so achingly searching for the Lord.
A lady running a hair straightening kiosk stopped Peter and myself. She was curious, not really searching, but she listened intently. Our "friend" was being obnoxious taking pictures, and after the gospel was thoroughly proclaimed, we sort of warned her that the guy would probably come over and try to convince her we were bad or crazy. We left her to her work. As we were leaving the mall later, she called us back over and she was furious with the orthodox, because he brought 4 people and yelled and harassed her so much! His bad behavior so contradicted ours that she was won over to the cause of Jesus, just because he behaved just as we had warned her he would.
The music team in the park was playing praise and worship music and sharing with the crowd. Most were enjoying, but an angry few began harassing them so much the police were called to intervene. However, instead of siding with those who hate us, they told the angry few that Israel was a democracy and we had every right to be there and if they wanted to enjoy the music they could, or they could leave but they were not to harass the music team any longer!!!
The banner team that replaced us had a carload of orthodox show up and begin to make bolygon.....3 police cars showed up (even one military police) and they (shock) told the orthodox to back off.....Israel was a democracy....we had every right to be there and if they didn't want to hear what we had to say or read our banner they didn't have to stay....but they were not to touch us!! (this was two separate incidents in two separate places!!)
Odd that they used similar language though. It sounds as though perhaps something has come down from on high??? Physically and spiritually!!
Then the phone number that is printed on all the tracts and banners and stickers etc, received a warning phone call this morning, that the Orthodox in Rehovet had met with some sort of criminal element and had organized an attack against us.....the person calling didn't like us, but was so afraid they wanted to warn us because they didn't like what they heard from the Orthodox!
We avoided Rehovet today because of that threat, but I imagine we won't stay out forever. I don't know. But the interesting thing is, our behavior never changes. We are all about one message.....Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and He's for everyone......our demeanor never changes.....we don't fight back.....we don't yell.....we forgive.....we are loving.
It's an interesting phenomenon that I've seen played out from New York to Israel. And from the time when Jesus and His disciples walked amongst us to today.......the evil one wants to stamp out the name and message of Jesus and salvation....and out of the persecution, comes faith.
May 25, 2009
Today has been tough. There has been a lot of opposition and I am tired.
Last for today.....during stories and debrief tonight, we got the news of 5 new believers today, despite the sufferings of many of the teams!!!! Praise God!!! It is so worth it!!!!!
May 27th, 2009
Great news.....2 more new decisions for Jesus yesterday!! We planned a bit later schedule yesterday because we were doing stickers and mailboxes/tracts from midnight to 4 am.....more on that later.
My sortie in the afternoon was a double music sortie and before anyone begins to cover their ears in fear over my singing.....it was strictly a lovely violin concert in the park. My mind was taken to the scriptures (because Karol’s mind was taken there first!!) about a little child leading them....because all the little children came first....dragging their mothers, nannies and grandmothers over. We had a huge group of Russians, with the little ones, and it erupted into joyous dancing with the little children. So cute....so sweet. Yuri, our violinist then translated our greetings and gospel message that Karol spoke....then more playing, more dancing, and contacts obtained for New Testaments.
Gentle. Sweet.
We went stickering again today too. Many were taken down but we put them back up. So, when we left, only 1 bulletin board was undone.....and 11 others were still up. All the people in that area will wake up to the gospel in their mailbox.....and once again....the gospel will not be stopped by the enemy. Granted, I doubt our stickers will last the night.....but, maybe God will pierce the hearts of those who attacked and tore them down.
Today.....one last big hurrah......double sortie.....as an entire campaign....every single one on the team.....in every area.....one city after another...in a silent visibility sortie....10 minutes max in each area as it is doubtful we would survive much longer than that....no tracts.....no stickers.....no words. Just a silent reminder that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, and they didn’t stop us.....and they can’t stop us. And to those who might be seeking....a glance at how they wouldn't be alone..... And lastly....safety in numbers.
May 28, 2009
It's done. Campaign is over. I say it with a mixture of sadness, joy and exhaustion! But it was amazing.Stretching.... thrilling..... awesome..... so many things, all rolled into one.
Our visibility sorties yesterday ended relatively peacefully with the exception of poor Vova's team. Ah....Rehovet.....I'm sure there must be a scripture somewhere talking about it would have been better in Sodom and Gomorrah.... but I'm too tired to look. I probably haven't got the analogy correct.....
On our team, we were in Rishon, having a time of rest in an outdoor cafe (suffering for the Lord!) but it was on our schedule to eat!!! Our waitress had seen us in the area every day, and could not resist asking any longer.....she wanted to know about Jesus. David L. was able to get a New Testament into her hands, even though a less than friendly Pacok (the one who lied about Tracey and Bimini and Tzachi the other day and got them banned from Rishon for 7 days) was nearby. She eventually even gave her contact information so that she could have a visit from staff. She wanted to know what she needed to do with this information.....David explained the gospel....but she was afraid at this point to commit her heart.
However, because of her interest, a waiter who had waited on my team the day before, after our music sortie, also wanted a NT, and contact! So.....this is a sweet ending for us.
We got back in time for a final chapel with Avi which was such an encouragement to the team, and there were few who weren't crying a little at the end. Then it was time to pack, and dress for a nice end of campaign celebration.
It was a lovely dinner and a nice ending.....however, I still don't have any final numbers, and there wasn't any time for stories from the day, because of so many announcements and gifts and so forth.....
I'm sure we will have those numbers shortly and will continue to get updates as follow-up continues.
This has been such an amazing journey for me....every time I am here, it's hard to calculate how the Lord grows and changes me.....and of course, it may not be until heaven until we know how the people were affected spiritually, that we ministered to. Every tract....every Bible.....every contact....every song....every banner.....every smile and conversation sharing the gospel.....those seeds need watering and watering.....and oh, how we want a harvest 20, 60 even 100 fold.
I go home soon. I have about 48 hours to decompress and get a little rest. I tend to come down hard from mountaintops like this.....it's time to spend some one on one with Jesus....and, of course, my beautiful family who have held down the home front......cannot wait!
May 29, 2009
Yesterday, I began to feel those familiar post campaign blues that I get every time a mission trip is over. Today, however, I decided to not sit and be blue, but to go attend the Messianic Shavuot (Pentacoste) celebration at a kibbutz just outside Jerusalem. It was supposedly the largest ingathering of Jewish believers from all over Israel. When I arrived, I was overwhelmed to see so many.....just so so many. It nearly brought me to my knees. As I sat there on the crowded hillside, under tents, listening to Messianic praise and worship music, and just watching all the Jewish believers singing with hands raised....some swinging flags in time to the music....some dancing for joy.....gosh. I'm crying now about it. Because each one there....they had to have been reached by someone, and heard the gospel at some point in their life.....and so maybe just maybe, next year, the crowd will be even larger, because of the ministry done here in these past few weeks. Maybe next year will be an increase.....oh, my heart prays so!
There were families....and young people....and older people....and small children....babies even. All together celebrating Shavuot...the time that commemorates when Moses received the Torah.....you know, 3,000 died that day......and it also commemorates to us, the time when the Holy Spirit fell on Pentacoste.....and 3,000 were added to their number that day.
Oh for times like that again in this land.....times when the gospel will be heard and embraced and numbers of believers growing each day.
We ran into so many people we knew....from our time here. Team mates, chaplains for our campaign, friends from other campaigns. I never expected there to be a time where I would be in Jerusalem, and run into friends I know. We all decided to have dinner together in the Old City. We went through the Jaffa Gate and had dinner at a lovely Armenian restaurant. It was a great time of celebration. Then we went back through the city.....through the markets.....we went back to Golgotha.....and finally, had to return to Ne've Shalom. As I was riding up the hill, I got to see the Bedouin camel again.....like he was saying good bye to me. It will be my last time this journey to go up the hill.....to our little oasis of peace. The one place we were safe, during this whole time.
All I can say is "L' Shana Ha'Ba B'Yerushalyim ...next year in Jerusalem. May it be so.....amen and amen.
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