In the Promised Land

Well, after the adventure of getting to Israel, the 3 weeks there were really amazing. We stayed most of our time at Living Bread Ministry house in east Jerusalem, which is run by a lady called Karen Dunham. She took us to lots of places around Jerusalem and other cities in Israel.


On our second day there, we went to the Jordan River. We didn't go to the tourist place though - we went to the place that both Jordan and Israel believe is where Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land. This involved being escorted by the Israeli Army through minefields to the river. Once there, we had a time of praise and worship right next to the river. We were there with arabs from Jericho who had become Christians, and it was amazing to see them get baptised in the Jordan River. We also got baptised in the river, which was great.


The next few days we had morning worship and teaching on healing, which was great. During the afternoons we visited the room of the last supper, the pool of Bethesda, and other places in the old city of Jerusalem.
On the Sunday we went to Abraham's well in Beersheba and to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob's tombs in Hebron.
The next week we again had worship and teaching each morning, and then visited places in the afternoons. We went to Jericho to meet with Palestinian Christians there, and to the prayer tower at King of Kings Church in Jerusalem. Wednesday we spent all day visiting places - En Gedi (waterfalls in the wilderness), the Dead Sea (where we floated for a while) and the Mount of Temptations.


On Thursday, we visited what is believed to be the Garden Tomb, and I'm pretty convinced that's where Jesus was crucified and buried. God's peace was definitely in that place.
On Friday night we went to Jerusalem House of Prayer For All Nations on the Mount of Olives, run by Tom Hess. Us twelve interns and leaders took the slots for 24 hours, eaching leading for 2 hours. It was awesome to worship God there, and so amazing to cry out for Jesus' return on the Mount He's returning to.


The next week was more prayer and worship each morning, and in the afternoons visiting more places. We went to Solomon's quarry under the old city of Jerusalem, which is where it's believed Solomon got the stone to build the Temple. It was really great to pray underneath the old city and to cry out to God for Israel.
We also visited Succat Hallal house of prayer, and also a house of prayer right by where they're excavating David's palace and tabernacle.


On the Thursday we went up to Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee. It was awesome to see these places where Jesus spent a lot of His ministry. We then went to Nazareth, and then up to Mount Carmel.
We spend a few days on Mount Carmel, staying at the Carmel Assembly, where David and Karen Davis minister. We were part of a night of prayer and worship there, which started in Hebrew, then Arabic, then Russian, and then we led in English. It was amazing to hear and see what is happening in Israel, and I learned more of Israel's importance to us and in the end times.

After that we had a few days in Jerusalem before we left. In that time we went to the Garden of Gethsemane, under the Temple Mount, and then actually on the Temple Mount, where the dome of the rock is.

Overall, we spent a lot of time worshiping and praying. This was really good, and it was amazing to intercede for Israel in Jerusalem. It felt intense at times, especially the spiritual atmosphere. But we were there to give of ourselves, and God taught us all a lot through the trip. It definitely taught me to press in to God more.

Oh, and leaving was loads easier than getting there, praise the Lord.

Getting to Israel

I got back from Israel a few days ago - it was amazing!

The adventure started in Roanoke, Virginia. I flew from there, but the rest of the group was flying from Washington, D.C. because i had to fly back to England after Israel. So, i had to move my suitcase from our trailer to someone's car. Unfortunately, it got put in the wrong car, which belonged to some random person. We then went to eat breakfast, and when we left, the car with my stuff in was gone. So my suitcase is somewhere in Virginia i guess, with none of my contact details on it. So it's pretty much gone. This was a couple of hours before I was gonna fly.

I was pretty down about that - I was very attached to my clothes, especially my cardigans. I had to spend some time with God processing it, but I remembered this from Matthew 6,
"Do not worry, saying ... 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

So yeah, i had to borrow clothes the whole trip, and i don't really have many clothes. But i know God is lifting my eyes from the things of this world to the things of His kingdom.


So i got on my flight from Roanoke to D.C. with just hand luggage (my wallet, passport, Bible, books, mp3 player, scarf, sunglasses, mittens and not much else). And then flew from D.C. to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Tel Aviv. All three flights were fine, didn't get much sleep on the overnight from D.C. to Frankfurt.

So, I arrived in Tel Aviv, a guy on my own without a suitcase. The security people obviously didn't like this, so I spent 5 hours in security in the airport. I was pretty worried that I might get sent back to England. So I put some worship music on my mp3 player, and cried out to God (silently). I was desperate to get into Israel, but i knew it was in God's hands. And, after waiting for ages, they let me out of the airport. By this time the rest of the group had left the airport, after waiting for me for 2 hours, as i had no way of contacting them.

I tried to call the contact number i had for Karen Dunham's ministry house (where my group were going to stay), but i couldn't get through. So i got a minibus from the airport to Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, which was near where we were going to stay. When i got there, i tried to find the address i'd been given, but no-one around had ever heard of the street (It turned out to be a small side street). So, after two hours of wandering (including asking at the police station, which didn't help at all) i asked in a hotel if I could sleep in the lobby area. They told me I'd have to get a room, which would cost 100 dollars.
Having tried to call the ministry house several times, i gave up looking. So, at 2am, i found a bench outside Damascus Gate, and lay there for a few hours. I was pretty cold, so i couldn't sleep, but i was so excited to finally be in Jerusalem. I prayed for quite a while, which was gd. Then at about 5 i got up and wandered around the old city.

Once it got to 7am i went back to the hotel and used their phone. This time i got through to the ministry house, and they gave me directions. So after two nights of little/no sleep and the biggest emotional rollercoaster i've ever been on, I arrived at the place where we were staying. It was so good to see all the other interns, especially Rachel. They'd also been worried, as they didn't know where i was, and had no way of contacting me.

So, all in all, it was a pretty crazy experience. God gave me peace and grace for all that, and my trust in Him is a lot stronger now.