As I drifted off to sleep last night listening to the mild midnight traffic on Emek Refaim Street and quietly pondered how far I have come this past year, it finally struck me.   I am home.  This busy street in Jerusalem, this tiny apartment, this little room that reflects my personality and surrounds me with everything I love and adore, is now my home.   It is a home for my soul.  For the first time in an entire year, I feel settled, I feel at peace…  What a long journey it took (15 moves total) to get to this point!   What an emotional journey!  I have to say, I am thankful at how much God has changed my heart and my mind in the past year.   I have certainly learned patience and have adjusted to a much less extravagant way of living.  Ok, it's not extravagant at all!  But I love it.   I never would have guessed that I would be living in an apartment 10 minutes away for the Old City and in the heart of Jerusalem.  I never would have guessed that my lifestyle would change so dramatically.

 

If I had the chance explain to you one thing, it would be the prophetic events that are unfolding here almost daily.   From political upheaval due to Sharon's declining health, approaching Palestinian elections where Hamas is predicted to win, Iran's threats and many other events, Israel is guaranteed a year of majestic proportions.   At CFI, we have the privilege of having a guest speaker every Wednesday for two hours.  This past week we had Aviel Schneider, Editor or Israel Today come to speak about current events pertaining to Israel and he said that we should expect that Hamas will win the Palestinian elections held within two weeks.  He also said that this year will be a politically crazy year for Israel and it just so happened that very night, Arial Sharon suffered a major stroke which has resulted in turmoil for the entire State of Israel.  All I could think was, "Strap in your seatbelt Erin, it's going to be quite a ride!"

 

Tension has been rising among the religious Jews and the Messianic community.  Messianics are undergoing persecution in different parts of Israel and it has even filtered into Jerusalem.  Many times the Orthodox will curse our CFI Distribution Center and try to stop people from going in.  But we remember the verses that say to bless those who persecute us so we speak blessings over them.

 

Almost daily I start to cry over someone I see.  God has magnified my burden for His people in ways I never thought possible.   Whether it's someone on the bus or in a restaurant or a visitor at CFI who needs assistance, I am struck with compassion.  Conversations develop instantaneously and I know that this is a sign of the times we are living in.   The Jewish people are hungry for truth.  In fact, I was invited along with a few other guests from CFI to go to Synagogue with one of our IT network guys who happens to be a religious Jew who made Aliyah years ago (after graduating from USF in Tampa… Small world!)   So I went to the service which was so amazing.  I truly feel the power of God in such assemblies.  Afterwards we walked as a group to his house for Shabbat dinner where we ended up sharing for four hours about God, Yeshua, the Tenakh, and all sorts of topics like creation.   It was an amazing thing to see a religious Jew that is so loving toward Believers and even interested in our beliefs.  If that's not a sure sign of the ripe harvest, I don't know what is!

 

I recently received a promotion of sorts at work and am in the process of relocating to another office.  I am working on higher level administrative duties and I think it's so exciting to wake up earlier than I need to, enjoy my morning bus ride and get to work in the center of Jerusalem to volunteer in a position that I adore.   I feel like I am truly serving Messiah by working as a volunteer at CFI and I have made lifetime friends with the Israelis I work with from an administrative perspective.   We have a mutual respect that is growing into trust and leads to personal discussions of God.  I am in my element (in case you haven't heard me say that a million times before!)

 

My friends have entered a new level of communication.  Trust has been established and I am regularly asked questions of a spiritual nature pertaining to the things of God on a daily basis.   My police friends are still studying the Psalms and I had the chance to meet with some of the crew this past weekend to discuss a few Psalms they had questions on.   Believe it or not, I sat in an Israeli Special Ops Police vehicle with a few police discussing the Psalms!  How totally cool is it to serve God!   Sometimes these experiences feel so surreal I have to pinch myself!  I am living a life that is so exciting!  I don't mean to sound pushy, but I want so badly for you all to have the very same adventures, regardless of the setting.   I want you also to live your lives with daily purpose and excitement at what lies ahead each day!  Basically, I want you to live your lives 100% sold out for Yeshua and feel the joy I feel.

 

Which leads me to my next thought:  I have been experiencing so many adventures, breakthroughs and amazing divine appointments that I almost have a form of writer's block.   Sometimes the things I see and experience are so overwhelming that I cannot put them into words.  If I were to write my daily experiences for you, it would take hours to read.   So I try to focus on the main points and even then I feel I am coming up short.  I hope you all can share with me as much as possible from where God currently has you.   I pray that you feel connected to my calling and feel the power of what God is doing in His Land.  I pray that even just one of you would take the plunge and step out in these last days to serve God unabashedly.   If I exhaust you now with my passion and zeal, you ain't seen nothing yet… because the most amazing events in history are about to unfold and I have front row seats!   It's my honor to be able to report to you firsthand from Israel, where any day now Yeshua will be returning through the Eastern Gates that are precisely ten minutes from my apartment.

 

This is Erin reporting LIVE from Israel and getting ready for a year of majestic proportions…