Politics

So I was digging a grave the other day here in Jerusalem and was talking with Remise the maintenance man and our right hand man on the job site. He was telling us about his work days, "I always try to leave my house a half hour early, you know just in case the roads get closed because of a bomb or in case I get questioned by the police for a while on my bike ride to work." The three of us kinda looked at each other with one of those "is this guy serious?" looks but after a few days in Israel it all seems to make perfect sense. Everywhere in Israel we see signs that say "pray for the peace of Israel" and I have to admit I always think to myself, "fat chance" the turmoil in this country is really surprising and incredibly accurate to the image that the world has on Israel. Politics in Israel is like a continuous passive civil war. Here is a land where 2 very strong and distinct people groups have their claim of history and culture. Two very different cultures trying to co-exist in a country of incredible beauty and history. Well co-exist they do but co-operate they do not. Every day I seem to hear more stories of how oppressed the Arabs are by the Jewish government, how they cannot travel or even take a picture without being harassed by police. And then on the news we hear of another bombing in a Jewish neighborhood somewhere. And so the conflict continues, It really is heartbreaking to see a land so beautiful so torn apart. So though I feel the pain of Israel and fail to see the resolve I say this, "Please pray for the peace of Israel. "

The last few days we have been beyond the great concrete wall into what the locals call Palestine. It is here in this land of 100 percent Muslims we share the good news the best way that we know how, we pick up a paintbrush. Together with Richard we restored and gave life through color to a small kinder garden room in a small village in the middle of Palestine. We had many little visitors with lots to say unfortunately none of it in English but we show them love in a way they have never seen. It is a cultural assumption in these parts that you only help your own people group out, those of your religion and family but we are 4 white guys painting and fixing a classroom asking nothing in return. That my friends is the gospel to a closed nation the true good news of Christ.

Being in Israel is everything I hoped for and more. Having a taste of home working with the Christian Alliance church has been nothing less than exciting. Scot and Carrie Dresler and their 4 awesome kids have been like a family to us. Most evening we sit in their living room holding a child on our lap...OK I'm usually in the toy room playing cars or something rad. But they are great. As we see families like this who leave everything behind I am humbled to think of what I can possibly do to serve my God around this little place we call the world.

Daniel

24 Hours

The past couple of days have been a blur of travelling. Last night I got my first decent sleep in 24 hours. We left New Delhi India three days ago and started our trek into the middle east. We all were very excited for the change in spiritual climate as well as an environment that was quite a bit less noisy and substantially less garbage. We arrived into Amman Jordan thinking that we where about to have a long day of sitting in the airport. Our layover there was ten hours, and the entry visas were a little pricey for a day trip. But to our surprise because of our lengthy layover the airport issued transit visas for the day. This gave us the privilege of going and touring around the country a bit. So we hopped a bus into the city of Amman. The drive was stunning and had all three of us commenting constantly on the sites all around us. Amongst the hills we saw mansionesque estates everywhere. They had wonderfully lush trees and greenery in their yards which was a stark contrast to the desert that lay just outside their walls. The city of Amman was filled with inspiring architecture and busy with construction in every direction. All the buildings blended with the colors of the desert to create a very earthy look to the city. After departing the bus we hired a taxi to take us to the Dead Sea. Like most countries we have experienced the first man we tried to hire was scheming to get as much money as possible from us. Luckily though we escaped the scam without losing our shirts in the deal. After that we found another taxi driver that was a real stand up character and hired him for the day. The drive out to the Dead Sea was an hour long through the country side of Jordan with the windows rolled down and driving on the right side of the road. The best way to describe it was that I felt peaceful as we drove, no cares or worries, just driving! When we arrived to the Sea it was a barrage of tourist traps and fancy resorts, so we asked our driver to take us to a local spot that was free. We ended up at this great little spot with the hills all around us and heaps of locals watching us strip down to our boxers. When we got into the water it was as if we had entered a whole new world. It was like nothing any of us had ever experienced. You could float effortless, hands and feet sticking out of the water and still not sinking. The water burned the mouth, nose and eyes so badly if ever you tried to swim under the water. On the surface of the water it was like a translucent oil film covered the sea. It made ones body feel smooth and silky! We played in the water until we finally had to head back to the airport. The drive back was equally refreshing, looking out over the hills in awe of the landscape that God had created. Then with Jordan behind us we boarded a plane that took us to Tel Aviv. It was there that we caught a bus to the old city in Jerusalem. We arrived late into the night and found a cheap hostel to settle into, getting our first decent sleep in 24 hours. The middle east is a fascinating place and we are so excited to see what God has in store for us here. Lehmann

Faces

Standing in a pit of dirty laundry at the Mother Teresa house this morning my mind drifted away to the many faces that I had just walked by in some kind of haste like I was late for some sort of meeting. Truth is I wasn't late at all but there is something deathly terrifying about looking into the face of a people so broken and poor. The Question is, "what is better, to ignore them or to look and in so doing risk the breaking of your heart" Walking to the home there wasn't a direction I could look without seeing heart breaking poverty. Naked children sitting crying on the curbs, blind, lame, dirty and poor, they were all there; In every direction. The slightest glance with gain you a rubbing hand for at least a block and if you give any money at all, you all of a sudden become an ATM. So with arms tied behind my back I walked those streets in complete awe of a world so broken and hurting. Stepping into the Mother Teresa home is not much better; for the place we are serving is labeled "A home for the Dying" Here I can look long and deep and hard into the faces of men from every age with every kind of disease and infection you can think of. Holding their hand or rubbing their frail bodies. Mother Teresa's heart was to show love and give some kind of dignity to the dying and I am so unworthy of carrying on this dream. As I changed soiled pants and fed the lame I couldn't help but pray a selfish prayer "God let me die young before I ever end up this way" In a place where I feel that they have lost all dignity and pride having young white kids change their pants it occurs to me that this is more dignity than most were ever shown in their life time.

I stamp the laundry until I think its clean and then proceed to wring it out to be rinsed and my mind drifts again. Who decided that I be born in Canada and these children to be born on these streets. In India the hindu faith makes a lame attempt to provide this answer by saying it is a punishment from their last life and they deserve to live there. I say Bull! what if it was me or you born in that little frail body, what if I was raised on the streets of Calcutta with only a begging hand to make my living. We live in a world where most things don't seem fair. Some like to blame this on God, I see their point but the fact of the matter is it didn't start with God, it started with man and an evil serpent. Satan came to this world to steal, kill and destroy. Wherever people give him reign he doesn't mess around. Every street corner has a different idol or a different picture of some god or goddess. 30 million gods in total in this country and if that isn't a reign of Satan then you obviously don't believe in Satan. Justice seems far from the people on the streets of Calcutta, but justice isn't what they need. They need freedom, they need grace, they need mercy....They need Jesus!

-Daniel

Living in the Clouds

The last few days have been spent in a village about 35 mins from Darjeerling, in a cloudy place called Rangbull. Each of us wake up to a sunny day in the mountains where the view is enough to keep us quiet. The little community is quick to pick out the visitors, and each person makes an effort to get to know you. The common questions are: Where are you from? What are you doing? Where are you going? In that order. Answering these questions seems to then make you a friend after passing by the next time. The thing they don't understand is that we seem to be working... Why would a foreigner work? It seems that people seem to think that we foreigners don't understand the concept of work. We some how swim past all the bills of life. Each day as we walk to the church in our work clothes often carrying tool or material for our fixing job the people look at us with a puzzled expression. The bottom level of this church building is in serious need of repair, so we have taken it upon ourselves to make an attempt of making some improvements. (We have no idea what we are doing) But as I said before we look like we do. No need to worry once it is painted it should at least look better. The couple we are staying with here has been so generous to us. They have opened their home to us and fed us so well. We are so thankful for their warm welcome and our individual beds. Each day with them has been so much fun. They have introduced us to so many of the people in the village. In the short time we have been here we have been invited to two birthday parties, to many homes for tea, and even a momo cooking party. (which is like the chinese version of perogies) We were also asked to share in church this weekend as well. I shared for the Sunday School, Jordan shared with the youth and Daniel was the pastor for the adults. We have enjoyed our time and our time here, and we are expecting to continue staying with these people until Tuesday, by which time we expect our renovation project to be complete unless there is more momo's on the menu. Kenton