vIsItiNg tHe bEdOuIns...

It’s pronounced “BEHD u ihnz”, they are Arab people who traditionally have been nomadic herders in the deserts of the Middle East. There are still approximately 1 million Bedouins, most of them are Muslims and speak some form of the Arabic language.
Ibrahim asked us if we’d like to go with him to visit the Bedouins, and of course we didn’t miss the opportunity…
First we went shopping…well, Ibrahim did, he just told us to wait in the car…suddenly we just see this guys coming with boxes of different food to put in the van…water melons, carrots, tomatoes, onions, bread, water, etc… the van was getting packet and packet, only place for us to seat ☺…in the back there was maybe 20 boxes of cloths that Ibrahim collected from some organization…
He does this once a week…and every week he goes to a different camp…we went on Friday, the Muslim “sabath”, or rest day, but Ibrahim doesn’t seam to care about that so much… “those are just human rules” he said…he sounded like Jesus to me ☺… He said he saves money as if he would buy a pack of cigarettes a day…and with that he buys food for a family of Bedouins every week☺
Everywhere Ibrahim goes he has to feed people, he loves that… even when he was in hospital doing exams, he manage to leave the hospital and set up a table with all sorts of food for the doctors who were examining him ☺ … believe me, I could share so many stories from Ibrahim ☺ He’s just amazing !!! it's hard not to have a good laugh with him :-)

We drove out of Jerusalem, crossed Bethany, and on the way to Jericho, on both sides of the road, we could see different camps where people seam to live…for me it looked pretty much like the gipsy camps we have in Portugal, but here they were in total dry and barren land…
It’s their lifestyle and the way they like to live, but laws and Governments tend to make this lifestyle more and more difficult, so now, their conditions are not so good…
Ibrahim asked the driver to stop in one of these camps and we unloaded the van…the Bedouin family were just watching and Ibrahim started to speak with them…
They were really thankful and hospitable and soon we were around their campfire having a nice cup of strong coffee and after some tea…Ibrahim would make questions to the guy who seamed to be the head of that family, and he would translate everything to us…

It’s really sad that soon they have to leave that place… even though it's “no man’s land” and doesn't seam to have much interest to anyone else…these Bedouins would be happy if they could only stay there, living in tents, having some water, electricity and being able to take their kids to a school...
the land they are on, they had it for one hundred years, but now they don't have any proof they own the land...Government laws...Israelis try to help them giving them new houses, but that's not really the way they want to live...they are helped in some ways by the Government, but they want them to live the way they want...

Ibrahim is sharing their needs with as many people as possible, and he would like to provide electricity, water and school to these people who just want to live life the way they are used to...Ibrahim's heart crys out for these people...
check Ibrahim's web site on this title to know more about it and how you could get involved...


We couldn't stay much as well, but I wish we could have stayed at least for one night :-) maybe other opportunity !!!

We went then to Jericho, just to get to know, and of course, to get more and more food…
for us and for the house ☺


We had to go through a "check point" because Jericho is not Israel but Palestine...
But I 'll share more about that later...

"PEACE CONVOY" REPORT

I BELIEVE THESE GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE ARE SAYING MORE TO THE WORLD THEN MANY WORDS CAN EXPRESS…
IN THE END, IS NOT ABOUT TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS, IS ABOUT BEING JESUS TO ALL PEOPLES AND SEING JESUS IN ALL PEOPLES ☺
AND THEY ARE DOING THAT BEAUTIFULLY !!!
THE E.MAIL IS LONG BUT TOTALLY WORTH TO READ IT...IT'S A GREAT INSIGHT ABOUT THE WHOLE SITUATION ON THE MIDDLE EAST...

PEACE

Baba
HERE GOES THEIR E.MAIL :

Hi Everybody :-)

Two days ago we finally reached Syria. The Convoy is crossing slowly the last distance to the promised land because the heat is too much for our old cars and their engines and cooling systems...
Most of the time we drive in the night...
We are right now in Hama, a town between Aleppo and Damaskus.
We had little problems at the border, but God solved it very elegantly :-))
it took us only about 4 hours to cross the border, our cars inclusive. We saw quite a lot of people who must have stayed at the border since some days... The whole border looked like a huge camping place.
a turkish guy helped us to overcome the turkish border bureaucracy and showed us ways how to surround the difficult border points - he wanted 40 Euro for this job, but finally he was happy about the 10 Dollar (= 8-9 Euro) he received from us.
At the Syrian border we had little difficulties because we had not enough dollars, but some very nice guys helped us to get it done.

Syria is an amazing country. I think I never met people like the Syrian - they are very, very friendly - You know, not because of the money we (don't) have, but because of true love.
They helped us already quite a lot of times - for free...
Always inviting us for tea, quite a lot of contacts...
They have true love, without any prejudices, they 're giving everything they have.
During our trip across turkey, I thought this country must be the country with the most friendly people in the world - but now it seems to me that Syria has even more love.
The Arabic world is quite fantastic, friendly, coloured, miraculous...
...imagine, only one of thousand examples, yesterday our Ford Transit was not able to "climb" a hill, so we started to get off the car - and I couldn't believe what I saw... there were already at least 10 Syrian guys pushing the Ford - they recognized in seconds what happened with the Ford, and the whole community came to help us - faster than the German rescue service...
But...
there is another side, a side I find hard to understand, a dark side...
...deep hatred, deep fear...
Everywhere You see the picture of Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbh-Allah (or Hisbollah, or however you pronounce it... - that means: God's Party). He is the most popular guy in Syria. A lot of people who helped us had the picture of him in their cars and houses and adored him because of his resistance against the "zionist-jewish world conspiracy".
He is more popular in Syria than all pop-stars together in the western countries. He is THE Heroe... Two french women told Anne, Stuffi and Ivonna that the international Jews are the biggest danger in the world and that is why they went with Hisbollah to Lebanon.

I think You know that I condemn all forms of Imperialism - especially western Imperialism - because I was born in the western hemisphere and want to see first of all our cultural sin, not the sins of the other cultures. I studied quite a lot of economics, geopolitics, geo-strategy and the long-term plans that are made in Washington, Berlin, London and Paris to strengthen western influence in the whole world. And the true reasons for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraque. The CIA-made destruction of the democracy in Iran in the early 1950’s and all this stuff.

The reason for Imperialism is fear - fear, that the opponent in the worldwide economic competition gets stronger and destroys my own economic existence - so everyone longs for total control...
So all big leaders in the world, George Bush, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel... are led and driven by this fear - they are not free.
For sure I understand that the Arab people are full of hatred against western governments. We delivered colonialism and dictatorships instead of democracy - that's the truth. That's why the Islamists can increase their influence so very fast.

Western Christianity never brought love to the Muslim world - that is our sin.
I also understand that the fact that 1000 Arab people (most of them civilians) were killed by the Israel Defense Forces increases the hatred.

I want to say "Sorry" to my Arab brothers.

But the anti-semitic propaganda in Syria is incredible.

I know all this types of antisemitic propaganda - for example that the holocaust is a lie, invented by the jewish world conspiracy, that the Jews are the most dangerous imperialists, that they are the puppet-masters of the U.S. and the world policy, of every war in the world...

I know this propaganda because 11 years ago I was strongly influenced by antisemitic Christians.
But I can't hear it anymore!!!!
All this are lies!!!!!!
And the jewish people are NOT guilty for western imperialism!!!! They were also victims!!!! And they didn't invade Palestine more than 100 years ago in order to drive away all Arabs!!! They wanted to live in peace TOGETHER WITH the Arabs!!!
But the prejudices between Jewish and Arabs grew and grew, especially Haj Amin al Husseini supported Hitler and killed all the Arabs who wanted to live in peace with the Jewish and started to spread prejudices against the Jewish in the 1930’s in order to increase his personal influence.
And now EVERYONE hates the other.
The Christian Western World and the Jewish are in fear against the Arabic world. They have strong prejudices against the Arabs. This is why they throw bombs and kill innocent people.
And the Arabs are in fear against the western world, thinking the puppet-masters of the western world are the Jews. For them the war against Israel will never stop, they told us. They will continue. Every Israeli attempt for peace is in their point of view a sign of Israel’s weakness.

BUT ALL OF THEM, ARABS, JEWS AND CHRISTIANS ARE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, created by God's amazing love...
I SWARE, THE ARABS ARE THE MOST FRIENDLY PEOPLE I EVER MET IN MY LIVE!!!!!!!!
SO LET'S OVERCOME OUR WESTERN PREJUDICES AGAINST THE ARABS, AND, OF COURSE, LET'S ALSO FIGHT AGAINST ANTISEMITISM!!!!
But how to fight???

Let's fight with God's amazing love, let's build bridges, let's bring peace,
Let's overcome prejudices and xenophobia!!!
LET US ASK FOR FORGIVENESS. Let's go to our Arab and Jewish sisters and brothers and ask for forgiveness for our western sins!
Maybe then they can believe us, that God is love, that Jesus died for all of us because of love.

The last two days we stayed in Palmyra in the Syrian desert, 130 km away from Iraque. We were invited to a very nice Beduin family, sat together with them and had a good time. Another family joined us and we saw an old grandmother playing the drums very fast, very speedy....very funny :-)))
They asked us to sing some songs.
Ivonna told that we are Christians. we sang our worship songs. I think they didn't understand the content of our songs. May God reveal himself to them.

Today we had a very good worship time, prayed for each other and felt spiritually refreshed. I think we all were totally down the last weeks. We always felt powerless and thought: God, does the convoy have a spiritual sense? We don't know, God... we can't tell people about Jesus - they don't understand us.
But this morning we got refreshed...
Thank You God!!!
And thank You for all support!
God bless You!!!

Jonathan

P.S.:

Our bank account for donations
(We finally have the IBAN and the Swift-Code for international transfers!)
Account-owner / Kontoinhaber: Clemens Rabe
German Account-No. / Konto-Nr.: 145 099 901
International bank account no. (IBAN): DE94240900410145099901
German Institute-Code / BLZ: 240 900 41
International Institute-Code = SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1LUE
Institute: Volksbank Lüneburg

“Father Teresa of the Middle East” ☺

“Blessed are those who work for peace, for they will be called children of God” (Jesus)
That’s what came to my mind as I met Ibrahim… a child of God…an amazing man…an inspiration, challenging and encouraging…
I could seat for hours hearing the countless stories of Ibrahim…stories of people who pass by… stories of his family…stories of his travellings …stories of wisdom…
He’s a small man, but with a huge huge heart ☺ …he’s hard on accepting compliments, but that’s what I see in him…a man after God’s heart… he recognizes that all the time, that it’s by God that he does all he does…
he also makes sure to say that if it wasn’t his wife’s support, he could never do everything he’s doing… he’s a gentleman as well…

It was not hard to find him…I just had the name of the place where he lives and his first name…a friend told me about him and told me he has an open house… so we went to that place to check it out…we were in a small park having a break and some lunch and I just went to a guy and asked if he knew Ibrahim… I didn’t know who was him at that time, so I had no idea if many people would know him or not … but they did, immediately they pointed out directions to his house…and so we went…we end up knowing after that 12000 people who live here are his relatives ☺


I felt welcomed as I came into the house… We met his wife first who told us to meet him on the 1st floor where he was…
He received us with a warm hug and soon we were seating, talking and having tea…
Ibrahim is a Palestinian Arab, a Muslim, whose family live for more then 1400 years in this land, now called “no man’s land” … because of that he has no citizenship, no passport, but still, he has been travelling all over the world speaking in many places about Peace being possible…for that he has to use some papers to replace a passport… in “no man’s land” people have no rights as any other human beings on earth…
he has 2 sons in USA, and because they left for more than one year, they cannot come back anymore to live in their family’s land…they can only come to visit with a 3 month visa like any other tourist… “why?” I asked… he doesn’t know as well… Who can understand ?!!! Ibrahim stands for justice and peace, even when most of people have no hope on justice and peace…
Above all, he Loves people…he loves everyone and helps everyone who needs help, despite their nationality, their belief, their culture… everyone is a “neighbour” for him…
sometimes he even gets in trouble for that, but he doesn’t worry so much with troubles☺ He often uses this expression while sharing his stories : “ Life is beautiful”, “people are beautiful” … and he doesn’t seam to keep any anger or bitterness towards anyone… he just laughs of many situations… coz many are really unbelievable…or just too ridiculous to be true…


In his OPEN HOUSE he hosts all sorts of people, young, old, all sorts of nationalities, all sorts of beliefs… because he believes we can all COEXIST without the need of hurting each other in behalf of our differences… and he makes sure every one feels welcome and at home…
many times his opinion is asked by radios, Tv and newspapers…and his message remains the same : PEACE is possible by Loving one another…
When he was asked who wan in the late war in Lebanon, he simply answered: “No one wins in any war…besides the ones who make business out of it… no one can give back to a mother her child who got killed…no one can give back to a wife her husband who got killed…”… and his speech goes on in a way that makes you wanna cry…he's also really worried and scared about the future in the Middle East, because of all these weapons that are being used.... they are terribly poisoned and soon people will have many sicknesses, like leuchimia and others... the air in the Middle East is being poisoned and no one talks about it !!!
He believes in Peace because Peace happens everyday in his house around his table…but unfortunately we don’t hear about this stories on our Tv’s, radios or newspapers…

he’s a wonderful cook as well…and an amazing host… he delights to see everyone around the table , eating and talking… and on this table are Jewish, Muslims and Christians, Israelis and Palestinians, and they all eat together, they get to know each other and many friendships are built around this table…and that’s the Message : PEACE IS POSSIBLE, when we all give a chance to know each other and realize we are all humans, we are all brothers and sisters in this world…
And on this table there’s LOVE… and that’s beautiful…yes, people are beautiful !!! Life is intended to be beautiful !!!
I could write so much more about this man … I feel so motivated, inspired and encouraged by him, but this is getting too long already so I’ll stop here…

Maybe you’ll meet him somewhere on this earth… maybe here, maybe in your country… he wants to go back in India to ride an Elephant ☺ coz he missed that last time he was there…
And by the way, he likes to spend the night in the Metro station in Manhattan … someone invited him and offered him a room in a 5 start hotel to spend the night, but soon he got bored with the 4 walls around him…he just loves being with people, so he went to the Metro station nearby and spent the night speaking with homeless people, drug addicts and drunk people...
so you might be surprised if you meet him ☺

One thing I know, I will never forget this man…

PEACE
SALAAM
SHALOM
PAZ
(click on the tittle and check his web site and other peacemakers in Jerusalem)

I left this with him... I saw it in U2 last tour...Bono used this on a white cloth in his head...COEXIST !!!

nEtWoRkInG…

I went to pick Emma at the Damascus Gate… I was looking forward to see her and hear about the “Peace convoy” who are about to come as well… she was travelling with the vans from Lueneberg and left them in Istambul… they are now crossing Syria on the way to Jerusalem… Emma said that probably only one of the vans will come all the way to Jerusalem because the others want to stay in Syria… They are really impressed with the Syrian people, “the loveliest ones” they say… I will post a report from them that I got by e.mail… Encouraging to read and mind changing if you are open for that ☺…


So, I chatted a lot with Emma… anyway, she was the one who at first place inspired me for this trip…she was here last year for 4 months and now she came to build up the relationships she made last year… her heart is for Peace and reconciliation, and when I asked her what makes one person a peacemaker she replied straight away “Love”… she definitely has this heart, to love everyone despite their nationality, religion or beliefs… she’s an amazing woman !!! another inspiration for me !!!


She knows a lot of people as well…it was a bit hard to get home, coz every corner she would speak with someone ☺… but it was just amazing to hear her stories and hear those she went to visit or met on the way… First we went to an hostel where she stayed last year… a place of activists, pro-Palestine… really cool environment… we chatted there and had some nice tea…
We left that place and on the way we crossed with 2 nuns from the “Mather Teresa of Calcuta” order…she stopped them and asked for some other nuns she had met in Romania on her overland trip with the convoy… we chatted for a while there and it was nice to meet those nuns…they are Emma’s favourite order of nuns… and I also know about their mercy work, really inspiring too…

So we went to visit sister Brenda in “Ece Homo Convent”, another nun Emma met somewhere last year… she received us with a big smile and hug and we seated outside having some tea and eating some fruits… Brenda was delighted to hear Emma’s report trip … and so was I…
we said good-bye to Brenda and went for a while to the roof of the convent which has a nice view over the city and there we thanked God for that day and that time…it was a nice time with God and each other!!! I’m really thankful for this friendship ☺
After we went to visit Sheikh Abdul, also Emma’s friend, also a peacemaker… he’s a teacher and head of the Uzbek Community in Jerusalem… we sat in a nice room full with nice carpets, ancient pictures and crafts, and we had a nice tea…we met his daughters as well…the little one, Tania, asked a lot of questions about my piercings and then she took me for some walks around the house… it was fun… it was nice to meet the Sheik too, even though Tania took most of my attention…but he seamed to be a nice guy… well, someone who really lives for Peace needs to be a nice person I guess ☺ …
We found out that was “the day of the journey” when Mohamed went from Meca to Jerusalem, then to heaven and back, bringing the written Koran…all this on the same day, they believe…
so they were about to go to the Mosque and we were about to go home…

It was getting dark already and we still needed to go to the Mount of Olives where the others were waiting for us with a nice and big meal… but Emma had another occasional encounter with one of the German guys she met last year in the land of the “Tent of Nations” where they were planting trees and picking olives… that’s where we might go next days, but we’re still arranging it (Emma is )…
Well, we waited and chatted at the Damascus Gate for another friend and finally we went back home ☺ … This was a full day… intensive for me to hear so many things, but really cool day !!!
O.K., too long already for you too…
PEACE

tHeRe r NO wInNeRs iN wAr...

an interesting cartoon I found on the way... it doesn't need more words...

LiTtLe aDvEnTuRe …

Our friend Johnny who we met in the hostel took us for a little adventure in Jerusalem… we went to the Ezequias tunnel that goes to the Siloah pool …
soooooo fun… we walked 500 meters (about half an hour), in this tunnel with water to our knees and we reached the spring (which comes from the Mount Moriah) and then we walked back to where we started…you can see by the pictures how narrow it was…
we walked some time without any kind of light to make it even more fun… only one girl who came with us didn’t find much fun in the beginning…she was freaking out coz it seamed too long for her and she started to imagine silly things (like we could be locked in, or forgotten)… in the end she enjoyed, but it was a bit annoying on the way… poor girl…
But with all the fun I could also learn something for life… it was interesting how we could only trust when we were in total darkness, only touching the rocks on the sides…
we couldn’t see a thing in front of us and it really seamed we were never reaching the spring…
we just needed to trust that we would reach the promised goal ☺…
And that girl who was freaking out also showed me how we can miss a lot of things if we start allowing lies and doubt to get into our minds… we start not enjoying the way and we just complain… we can even lead others to fear or disbelief…
New things always scare me a bit… but I know I’m not alone in this Way ☺ … and I know I will reach something good in the end…
In this pilgrimage of life, what matters is not so much the different places we reach along the Way, but the Way itself is the real purpose…
how I get to a certain place mean more to me then the place itself…
and also the ones I meet along the way…
I’ve been thinking a lot about this here in Jerusalem… for most of people this is “the holy land”… "definitely the place to come", most of people say… a lot of historical and spiritual places to go and see…but I’m not so impressed with the place itself to be honest (sorry if I’m offending anyone), and I’m not so much into visiting places where people are buried, or where something important happen in the past…or where something really cool used to be…but is not anymore, so what’s the point?!! Sorry about my scepticism here… I've been struggling with that here...
Those who made this journey possible , those I’ve been walking along with, those I’ve been meeting along the way are much more meaningful for me then a bunch of stones that are here for many thousands of years…
Like in this adventure…
it was really cool to reach the spring, but what I keep in my mind is the way… the ones who came with me…the guy who kindly opened the door for us to get in and afterwards served us some tea and fresh picked grapes and figs…


Sorry, I divagated a bit here ☺
Anyway, this is a report of my thoughts as well ☺

PEACE

wE sPeNt 4 dAyS iN HeLl…aNd iT wAs nOt bAd ☺!!!

“Gehenna” (or “geHinnom”) is the name you might find in the Scriptures for "Hell" and it’s basically a place in front of the walls of the old city (this days) where they use to offer Human sacrifices to Baal…not so good !!! they called that place “Hell”, and we just found out that’s the place where we slept for 4 nights ☺ Ups !!!
well, we are to redeem all places , right ?!!


But it was not bad at all… well, the first night we had a visit of a donkey, but he did nothing besides eating some grass around us…then we moved to another part of the park the second night, but it was not a good idea to stay in the nice grass coz it got reeeealy humid in the night…we basically woke up with our sleeping bags totally wet on top… the last 2 nights we found a nice place and we also got to know the “guardians” of that park… 3 Arab guys, Taufik, Julian and other (forgot his name)… they are the ones who own the donkey and they said if we get any problems we just need to shout their names ☺… But we were ok, we felt no danger in “Hell” ☺

Actually, besides not having a place to keep our bags during the day, we are even better than in the Hostel (not saying that the Hostel is bad)…we have in the park a spring with nice water (what is not easy to find in taps around here), a nice shade from a fig tree in the soft grass, and ripe figs ☺

The first day we thought we were a bit isolated, but then Pale came with a whole group of our friends from “Petra”…so funny… One of the girls, was baptized on that day (the same day the fire ceased in Lebanon) and they all came to celebrate and have communion… Great !!! We were feeling at home…and we were being church in “hell” ☺ ( sorry for making jokes with the name, but can’t help it ☺ Hope you don’t mind )


Now we are back in “Petra hostel”…it was really nice to have a good and fresh shower ☺… days are hot here !!!
I’m already missing our park …here is also harder to get time alone… there’s always someone coming to chat or we often hear Bible discussions everywhere (it’s kinda hard to avoid and I’m getting a bit tired of it as well )
But yesterday was nice to pray with an Arab guy who has been coming here to hear more about Jesus and get prayer to quit drugs… he used to come here before to sell drugs…so I guess something is changing already ☺

We’re now waiting for Emma who is coming from Amman and the convoy who might be crossing Syria now…
We’re so looking forward to finally get together…
The waiting time is bringing “momentum”…

Hazon Yeshaya

O.K, here I am writing about the “Hazon Yeshaya” (Soup Kitchen) again…you can again click on the tittle to access their web site and get more infos…
As I said I got really impacted by those people who are living their lives in behalf of others, serving and loving those in need…
The one who founded this work, Abraham Israel, was a refugee himself in Paris, and he promised God that if He would help him and his family he would one day help those who have to go through the same as they were then…
And so he did…he started in 1997 feeding 17 Jerusalem residents and now through 38 distribution points across Israel he’s providing around 8000 meals a day…
“Hazon Yeshaya” is not only about feeding the hungry but it’s proving a range of humanitarian support services and vocational training.
Unfortunately, poverty in Israel is increasing. 23,6% of the population were classified as poor. One in 5 families live below the poverty line.
YOU CAN ALSO HELP WITH DONATIONS, VOLUNTEERING, SHARING WITH OTHERS AND PRAYING FOR THEM…

I really enjoyed the atmosphere… we were received by Beyla, an amazing young woman who introduces every volunteer to the work of “Hazon Yeshaya” and also does a bunch of other things…she’s the “welcome card” of that place, she really makes every one feel comfortable and she always makes sure to compliment all the volunteers for their work…
In the Kitchen we have the “chef”, Tamir Israeli, who is also an amazing person…he’s the one who knows what needs to be done in the kitchen, and we often see him helping everywhere and also serving the ones who come to pick their daily food …

There are also other “permanent” volunteers like this guy in the picture
, which name I don’t remember (sorry, too many to my mind), who’s always making sure if the volunteers want some water melon or water ☺ Yes, we are really well treated !!!
They are aware that all this happens because volunteers come and they are really grateful for all who come…

And this other cook was also an amazing guy…
he was showing me his tattoo after seeing mine…people really like tattoos here…it has been a motive for nice conversations everywhere ☺

sOuP kItChEn...

I will post more about this , but HAZON YESHAYA is one of the soup kitchens in Israel that is serving around 8000 mealsa day all over Israel... they have also shoes and cloth shops so people can choose with dignity what they need, and they have also now dental clinics so people can treat their teeth... "Shoes and dentists are not luxuries", that's one of the logos I remember from one of their posters...
I went there yesterday with Judith and Maren and I was impressed with the people there...
we could feel Love everywhere... the chef of the kitchen was not only commanding or asking for things but he was serving and loving ... and it was not a superficial Love... I could see that they really cared for everyone...including the volunteers who they really honour and respect...
click on this title and check their web site... and share it with others...
but I would like to post more about it later when I have more time...

lEt pEaCe cOmE...

we just heard the war is over...
we danced and shout at a garden in front of Jerusalem's walls...
It was just a continuation of a party we were having already...celebrating a girl's baptism :-)

God is Good !!!

SHALOM

iNtErEsTiNg pOsT cArD...

Kerstin Hack just gave me this post card in Berlin...I found it great !!!
I could say many things about it, but I'll just leave it like that !!!

iN jErUsAlEm...

10th August

“I’m on a plain I can’t complain” (Kurt Cobain)…
we just started our trip and we have already a story to tell ☺
I’m with Maren, Judith and Pale, they are all from JF…I met them last year at the rainbow …
Simone (Berlin) took us to the airport and as we came to the check-in desk we face our first incident… we only had a one way ticket so they didn’t want to let us in… Ups !!!

We only had one chance to get on this flight…book our return ticket somehow…so we did it…Pfiu!!! The girl at the air company was a blessing from God (I told her that in German “Du bist ein segen” ☺ ) and she patiently booked our 4 flights back to Germany for 100 Euros each… not bad… but I had to think quickly when should I go back…28 of September sounded cool…so that’s it !!!
Now we don’t know what to do with the tickets… me and Maren wanted to go to Turkey after Israel, but we’ll see what God has in mind… we can also give our tickets to another person and they would only need to pay 30 euros to change the name…We’ll see…
We’ve put all things in God’s hands… even our lives ☺

12th August


Shabbat Shalom – resting day !!!
We’re in a nice hostel (The Petra) close to the Tower of David, in the “Christian quarter” of the old city (inside the Walls)…we’re still resting and trying to discern what should we do… but we’re not stressing about it…
We just got here yesterday around 10am… we arrived around 3.30am in Tel Aviv airport and waited more than one hour for a public bus that would take us to Jerusalem …
it was not hard to find this hostel as I had some tips from Emma… we’re paying 25 shekels (+/-5 Euros) a day to sleep on the roof ☺, which is cheap for Jerusalem … we all preferred that than paying 40 Shekels in a room ☺ … But we’re still looking for a cheaper way to stay here longer due to our low buggets ☺… maybe wild-camping or someone who would host us ☺
We didn’t really sleep much during the day coz we had to move constantly out of the hot sun… but it was good anyway!!! We just needed to lye down and rest…in the night was ok and the breeze felt really nice…


We had already nice introductions to the city from different people who are also in this hostel… Morgen and Ruben, both Canadians … Morgen took us on a walk to the “Wailing Wall” where the Jewish start their “Sabbat Shalom”…I don’t know yet what to say about that… we went for a pizza afterwards (all the Jewish food places were closed because of the Shabbat) and it was nice just to seat, talk and eat after all the travelling☺…we were ready for our sleep under the stars☺
Here we can hear everywhere a lot of different perspectives and opinions about this city, about the temple, about God, etc…There are many people who deeply study the different Scriptures and also simple followers of the different religions…
This is the main worship place for the 3 biggest religions in the world...Each of them trying to prove they are the ones holding the “truth”, or the ones who know the best “way” to worship[ God...
Today I was thinking how revolutionary and provocative Jesus was when He chose exactly this place to declare He is The Truth, The Way and The Life...Ouch!!!
We can follow The Truth, but I think we can never say we hold it...
The church many times falls into this as well…
And my opinion is that that is what leads many to war or divisions... I’ve seen enough of that to even think about pursuing it :-)

I came to this conclusion in my thoughts :
I Love God and I know God Loves me… that makes me Love God’s creation and all peoples, without exceptions (ok, that’s the supernatural part of it ☺ )
But that’s enough for me I guess ☺… I don’t want to lose this childlike simplicity ☺
I wander what would have happen if I would wear here my T-shirt with Brian Houston’s quote “We don’t need religion…just the Love of God” … I would probably get stoned :-/ …
But I’m not here to provoke anyone…specially in a time as this…
What we most need is peace…
SHALOM !!!

sOoN i WiLl bE iN iSrAeL...

Finally I'm heading Israel this evening.. I will go with Maren, Judith and Peter (Pale)...I met them all last year at the Rainbow family and they're also from the JF family here in Germany...
Our first stop will be Jerusalem and there we'll meet the others who are going with vans by road... their journey has been exciting and blessed and after not being sure if they would be able to cross Syria, finally they felt the doors opening and they are now heading Jerusalem...
Be praying for us :-) we are available for whatever God wants to do in us and through us ...

tImE iN bErLin...rEsT...

I've been having great times in Berlin, just being around nice friends and getting to meet new ones...
I'm at the "princess castle", where Simone, Tirza and Maren live...there are 2 more princesses, Steffi and Conny,but I don't really know them so well... they are all part of the Jesus Freaks family here in the city :-)... I love them...like Tirza said, it seams like we know eachother for long time, but actually I just met them last year, first here in Germany and then they went to Portugal to visit...I feel a special connection with the Berlin Freaks... most of those who will go to the land in Portugal to spend the winter are also from here...including Simone :-), I really feel we'll be really good sisters :-) (we are already, eh, eh)
It was wonderful to meet Wolfgang Frenandez as well...
I'm adding his blog in "My relationships" in my blogs right side if you want to have a look:-)... He's from Venezuela, but he's also one of those persons who have a hard time answering the question "Where are you from" :-) Amazing guy, an apostle who goes all over the world encouraging and supporting young people to start christian communities... he's now focused particularly in Asia with underground young people and he lives between Jakarta in Indonesia, Bali and other 2 places around that area which I forgot the names :-)... I learned a lot with him just by hearing his many stories and testimonies of what God is doing in those places and in his life... Definitely a person worth to get to know... I was really blessed and encouraged...
I notice he also likes to take pictures of interesting things from the places he visits...like this picture !!! a bit strong for sensitive people !!!


We had much fun in the house having meals together, sharing around the table, worshiping in many different ways ... Being church :-) !!!