A year ago today I was landing in Israel to begin my summer adventure! Today as I reflect on all the emotions I am experiencing an ache in my heart to be back in the Land that I came to love more than I thought possible. I can look back now and giggle at the meltdown I had the night before leaving trying to pack; the awful interrogation I experienced in Toronto before boarding my connecting flight to Tel Aviv (gotta love Israeli security!); the elation of finally landing in Tel Aviv and meeting my gracious hosts for the first part of my trip (Frank and Carol, you two are amazing!). I can now even laugh at the 2 days I spent in the bathroom sick as a dog with some sort of stomach virus from the pit of hell. I met some wonderful people in Haifa and ate some delicious home cooked food for the first 3 weeks. I remember the fear of having to travel to Jerusalem alone on a bus and find my way to the apartment where I would finish my summer. The relief and still some anxiety as I did find the apartment but now I was with all new people whom I had never met. At the same time I was excited! I was excited to see what God would do and what doors He would open!
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| View of the Old City from the Mt of Olives |
What happened next was so unexpected! I was in Jerusalem and kind of knowing that this was the city God would plant me however I was not excited about that. Jerusalem wasn't the place I wanted to be planted. You see, Jerusalem is a bit more tense than other cities in Israel. It is "disputed" territory (the US State Department doesn't list Jerusalem under it's list of cities for the nation of Israel but instead it lists it as a separate entity). There are spiritual dynamics within Jerusalem that make it more tense. It was a cool place to visit but to live would be entirely different. As I settled in to the apartment, one of the girls invited me to go with her to the house of prayer and then into the city. We would become fast friends and that first night in the city would be transforming. My heart would begin on an unexpected journey of love for Jerusalem and a deepening love for His people. That first night God deposited His heart for this city into mine. To get a glimpse of His heart for anything is amazing but to feel His heart for something is even more incredible. At times I could feel a tiny fragment of how Jesus must have felt when he wept over Jerusalem and as tiny as it was I was overwhelmed. I met some incredible believers, practiced my limited Hebrew, danced some Jewish circle dancing, visited the desert in the south of the country, climbed a mountain in the middle of the day in the desert heat, broke bread with people from all different nations and had my life changed in the process. I was able to watch as Palestinian and Jewish believers, young people, worshipped together at an incredible conference. I was able to serve food at a soup kitchen, read the Word to a holocaust survivor, visit a children's home and have my life changed forever in the process of it all.
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| Looking out over the city of Jerusalem |
Leaving was so difficult. I shed tears and tried to soak up every last moment before taking off to come back "home." Transitioning back to the US proved to be harder than I thought and many days since over the last year my thoughts are consumed with thoughts and prayers of getting back to the city where I left my heart. The path I have chosen is not easy and has proved to be difficult as I work to raise the necessary funds to move. Because the next time I go, I go to live. But I am compelled. I am compelled by the love God has put in my heart and by my obedience to do what He has called me to do. Without that I would have given up and yet I cannot. I will go back and I will go back soon. Much like it was climbing the mountain in the middle of the day in the desert heat -- once you got to a certain point in the journey there is no turning back. No matter how worn out you are, you have to keep moving forward. Once at the top and you see the view, the journey was worth it.
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| Finishing the climb up a mountain in Mizpe Ramon |
