I’ve been given the job of writing about our unexpected trip to Israel. Firstly, praise God for the amazing opportunity! A group called Global Youth Initiative is a partnership of Christian youth organizations from around the world who share similar priorities such as basing your life and ministry on that of Jesus, the priority of the local church, etc… Anyway, they put on this conference in Israel. There were something like 50 countries represented out of a group of about 280 people. J-Life Africa made up the entire African delegation of 28 from South Africa, Swaziland, Malawi, Zambia, Congo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cameroon, and I think I might have missed one or two. Unfortunately, our guys from Zimbabwe and Kenya had their visas denied (single, African males without bank accounts from troubled countries don’t make great travel candidates).
The rest of us got to Israel safely as we started our 10 day harmony of Jesus’ life touring around Israel. The African group went out on the first afternoon to get our first taste of the Old City. Within 2 weeks of knowing that I was going on this trip I was in Jerusalem, walking through the famous city walls, watching Jews pray at the Western Wall, gazing at the Dome of the Rock and wandering through the city markets. It was unbelievable.
We spent our second night in a Bedouin tent in the Judean Wilderness which has to be one of the most quiet and surreal places on earth. Its just rocks and more rocks, as far as the eye can see. From there we were back in Jerusalem for about a week, then on to the dead sea, along the Jordan River to the Sea of Galilee with a bunch of sites in between, around Galilee, back to Jerusalem and on to Tel Aviv. It was an exhausting trip, having to fit touring, the conference, and extra J-Life Africa visioning meetings nearly every day. But instead of me trying to give you a minute-by-minute reply of our travels I will just note a few things that stuck out to me the most.
Of course it was amazing being with a group of people from all over the world with the same desire and passion as we have. Every now and then, its great to be reminded that this is so much bigger than me or J-Life. I think about our new friends Czech Republic, Costa Rica and Great Britain often.
The day that had the most impact on me was going into Bethlehem where a huge wall is being build to separate the people from the rest of Israel. The graffiti inside depicts the peoples’ frustration. They lack economic freedom and most storefronts are boarded up because of the economic stranglehold that is on them. They also require a special visa just to leave their own city to find work during the day. In Bethlehem we were spoken to by an Arab believer who told us his story of forgiveness and reconciliation and his hope for peace. It was a reminder to pray not for a political agenda but for Christ to be known amongst both Palestinians and Israelis.
Although I won’t go into any detail, the Holocaust Museum. If you’re in Israel, go there.
The Dead Sea was great fun. I also recommend you go there soon as it is shrinking quite rapidly. We also got to see a group of nuns swimming fully clothed in their robes and everything. It was awesome!
The whole area around the Temple Mount is spectacular. While I was there I really wasn’t thinking that the experience was going to change the way I read the Bible like so many people talk about. I always thought that was a little over-dramatic. But at the risk of cliché, seeing the places, the stones, walls, valleys, olive trees and ruins of the places in Scripture really does change something in you.
We walked through Hezekiah’s tunnel which was built 2,700 years as a secret water source into Jerusalem with the threat that the Amelekites would cut off the main water source. Its an incredible piece of architecture.
Israel has military conscription for men and women from the age of 18. Imagine seeing a group of 30 normal teenage girls walking around with machine guns. And there are security entrances everywhere. It’s like being in a big airport.
I recommend flying Egypt Airlines. The plane rides themselves are terrible but they provide you with a free tour of Cairo if you have a long layover. We took full advantage of this on our way back home. Cairo is like no other place I’ve ever been to. There are 27 million people in the city and no such thing as a one story building. There are 6 million cars but I didn’t see one stop sign or street light. Having said that the Nile is magnificent and the Pyramids didn’t disappoint (but that might have been because it was a free trip). I would have loved to have seen more of the Mosques and museums but we’ll have to save that for another time.
Michelle and I benefited from sharing time with the J-Life Africa delegation and getting a real sense of people’s hopes and goals for a future where the Church of Jesus Christ in Africa is passionate about discipling young people. We came back feeling really energized about our ministry as well and better informed about the movement. This little journal seems such an inadequate description of our journeys. I hope you enjoy our few pictures and that they capture a little more colorfully the beauty of those places.
Posted by miah at 01:41 PM. Filed under:
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