Shalom Brothers and Sisters,
I really must apologize! I have recently received many kind and wonderful emails from you all and I have been so overwhelmingly busy with work and assignments that I have not been able to reply. Please forgive me and know that your emails mean so much to me. I read them all even if I am unable to respond at the moment. Please do not think I am not appreciative. My lack of time is truly evidence of the work God is doing during these times in the land of Israel.
The past two weeks have been so "crazy-busy" (as I call it) that I have barely had time to get enough sleep and even eat properly! Several days have gone by throughout these weeks where I realized after I fell into bed that I had barely eaten one full meal the entire day. While this is not ideal, I am also amazed at the strength God is giving me. It certainly is not of my own!
One of the major projects I have been placed in charge of is to remodel, redecorate, refurnish and practically overhaul our entire CFI Distribution Center where new immigrants and the poorest and neediest of Israel come to receive help in the form of clothing and financial assistance. This is a massive undertaking and the challenges never end. Planning something like this would be huge in the States so imagine how difficult it is in a foreign country without 75% of the resources available in the USA. I was honored when I was presented this project by some of our executive staff members. They fully blessed me with whatever resources needed and gave me the entire responsibility of planning for a team of 12 volunteers from the States to do the tasks, gave me full support in picking the color schemes and decorative themes, and simply gave me the budget and said go for it! I was blessed that the entire staff of CFI entrusted me to organize this. Our CFI Distribution Center is over 20 years old and in desperate need of remodeling. Tens of thousands of people have walked through the doors to receive assistance and be blessed by CFI. Now it is time to update the center and prepare for the next wave of Aliyah (as is biblically prophesied). As I have spent countless days traveling throughout Israel for the items needed and have come home many a late night exhausted, I can't help but be joyful that I have the chance to bless the people of Israel by making the DC a welcoming, warm place where the people of Israel are received with open arms. It is an honor!
With this honor comes many a challenge. The culture if Israel is drastically different from that of the States and therefore, everything requires numerous steps and constant negotiation. My professional skills from past jobs are useful, but beyond anything experience can provide, I have had to be skilled spiritually too! I have had to show extreme patience, understanding and most of all endurance. For instance, on Wednesday, I traveled to Netanya with our DC Coordinator and another volunteer from CFI Headquarters to a furniture store. We left at 9AM after a half hour of prayer and didn't get home until 8PM that night. The attacks we experienced came from all fronts and to make a long story short, we had God's favor and were finally able to purchase what we needed. The next day, I had to go to yet another store and the same situation occurred and took another full day to purchase simple items.
I cannot explain the intensity of the spiritual warfare within this country. It differs from anyplace I have ever been and if one is not careful, they can become completely overwhelmed by it. I did not give in on either of these occasions and I remembered the verse in Zechariah that we had read in the morning "... not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord." As I was sitting with my head on the table waiting for a response after a four hour negotiation, the verse came to mind Isaiah 40:31 "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint." That verse gave me the courage to hang in there and not allow myself to grow weary.
There are days like those where we go home exhausted and fall asleep without even remembering to eat dinner. There are days like those when we collapse under the stress and have to cancel other obligations. But each of those days contain miracles that most never get to experience: the miracle of being a servant and knowing that you truly sold out for God.
For all the stress of this season I am in, there are times like this morning when I grabbed a bagel from my favorite bagel place and as I was paying the man, he said in his thick Israeli accent, "I like you, you know why?" I looked up curiously and said, "Why?" He replied, "Because you smile everytime I see you and you stand out from the rest of us." I smiled back to him and said, "I love it here! There's no reason not to smile."
And truly, there is no reason not to smile. God has given me the life I have wanted, and all I ever really wanted was to serve Him completely.
As two of my favorite missionaries said, "Don't pity missionaries, envy them."
This is Erin reporting LIVE from Israel...