Shalom Everyone!
I am so excited to be reporting live
again from Israel! Words cannot
express the sheer joy I am
experiencing and the wonderful
reception I had from the staff and
patients here at Maon HaRofe in
Jerusalem. As I walked off of the
plane I was struck by the fact that
I was here only weeks ago and yet so
much has happened that my return
here feels more urgent. There is a
sense of urgency in the air and what
I was seeing confirmed that I was
not alone in this thought. There
are so many UN cars patrolling
Israel, Police are absolutely
everywhere and Soldiers are seen at
all times. The Disengagement
(withdrawal of Jewish settlers from
Gaza) is planned for August 15th
so security is tighter and not a
single person here in Jerusalem is
without either a blue (in support of
the disengagement) or orange
(opposing the disengagement) ribbon
hanging from their clothing or
backpacks. (Orange is winning by the
way!) Jerusalem is a boiling pot of
water right now and I have never
seen so many people, storefronts and
vehicles with colors proudly
displayed! I walked around for a
few hours downtown today and was in
awe… I adore such dramatic events
and I love all the excitement. (No,
I never thought twice about taking
the bus!) This is the place for me!
Rewinding a little, my flights went
smoothly in spite of my initial
anxiety. I always experience a bit
of fear before I depart and though
this time it was much more mild, it
was still there. Mom and I prayed,
listened to Praise music and told
Satan that he would have no
influence, no power over this
assignment or over me! I happened
to sit on my first flight to Newark
next to an African American Pastor
named Joseph and a lady to my right
named Sandy who was a Believer.
Well the three of us had our own
service in row 17! We started
talking and sharing about how
important it is to serve God…and
Pastor Joseph prayed over me and
spoke so many verses about how we
are never alone when we are serving
God. Each one ministered to my
heart and I was so on fire for this
path set before me that I could
barely sit still!
My next flight from Newark to Tel
Aviv went well and I even had an
empty seat next to me (let’s just
say not many people travel to Israel
these days!) I arrived and within
fifteen minutes I cleared customs,
got my luggage and… met Tal in the
lobby with such a huge hug I thought
we were going to fall over! She and
I started crying and we were both so
happy! Home. Finally home… it was
a long road to travel to get here,
but I’m home.
Tal and I took a taxi and went
straight to Jerusalem to the
hospital. I had the most wonderful
surprise waiting for me. A
twenty-six year old born again
believer named Mandy who also wants
to serve Israel and pursue
missions! Mandy was born in South
Africa and she has the most kind
heart and sweet personality. We get
along very well and it is so nice
not to have to be alone. Mandy will
be here for three weeks before
returning home. She is not as
“daring” (in her words) as I am and
stays very local in the evenings.
She thinks I am crazy and just
shakes her head while staring at me
in disbelief and laughing at my lack
of fear using the buses and going
into Jerusalem by myself. She
appreciates my ability to adapt here
with no second thoughts… though she
still won’t accompany me!
And now for the best moment: Saying
hello to all of my friends, both
staff and patients! I ran
downstairs to “ground zero” (the
floor I work on) and jumped up and
gave Raul (floor manager) a hug,
Luze (Philippino friend and fellow
Believer), Julie (the physical
therapist) Abdul (my Arab “brother”
and fellow Believer who said he
prayed for me everyday while I was
gone), Yosef, Badir, Rosette, Monir,
Sarah, Wisam,… Everyone! They were
all there waiting for me! I was so
blessed to here Raul say, “Eyriene,
you really are a crazy girl! You
came back for us and you are really
here! We thought of you every
minute and we missed you so much…
Now get to work!” and we all started
laughing. On top of this, several
patients openly called out to me and
recognized me! I was surprised that
so many of these precious elderly
people remembered my time with
them. What a blessing.
Yes, yes, this “crazy” girl came
back to a country of very hurt, very
alone people right now… people
feeling pulled in two directions and
without much assurance of either
side.
A dear friend of mine stopped by to
say hello (with ten minutes notice)
and said, “Eyriene, you are the only
one that does not hate us, of this I
am sure.” My heart almost broke and
when I started to say that no, there
are many others who love Israel too,
his hand went up to stop me and he
said, “I no longer believe that
anyone else supports us or loves
us. Those that love us, like
yourself are here helping us get
through this.” I was silent. What
could I say to this hurting
Israeli? Sometimes listening is the
only thing. These precious people
are going through something no one
else can understand and they need
our support and love. They need us
to be there for them and that is
what I will do, even if the cost is
my very life. And after this
conversation I realized that my
assignment here just got deeper. I
am also to help be there for the
people as they watch the world side
with their greatest enemy.
I started working this morning and
it was wonderful, it was “right” to
be here again helping and serving.
The routine has already been
established from before so now I
could jump right in. Sully, the
patient who saw Jesus appear to him,
has been moved to another facility
because his health is so bad. He
has very little time left.
Dror, the security guard and I
already started picking up where we
left off with our Sunday night Bible
Studies! And wow, has he been
preparing! I went upstairs, gave
him a hug, said hello and he pulled
up a chair and said, “Now you must
sit down, I have a lot to ask you
about!” Amen! So we talked for a
good hour and when the jet-lag I had
been avoiding set in, I told him
we’d have to continue the next
evening he had a night shift. So
please pray for me as I help him dig
deeper into the Bible.
I could go on and on and I have not
yet finished my second full day
here. As you can see, God has
helped me pick up where I left off.
And what a God we serve, Amen? Some
people may say, how in the world can
you pick Israel of all places… and
to that I say, there is no other
place in the world for me! Here is
where my heart resides and here is
where I will serve until I die. The
following verse comes to mind: Luke
5:11 “So when they had brought their
boats to land, they forsook all and
followed Him.”
Yeah, that about says it all.
This is Erin reporting LIVE from
Jerusalem…