“This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
This was said to Joshua just before he crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, and it was as applicable for us as it was for him. With a truly intense border security (not joking) I found myself praying similar prayers to the first two Israelites who entered the country: Lord, please make me invisible and give me favour with the people. And He, being the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, guided and protected His children just like he did so many years ago… At some point I was convinced that no one could see me. Where others were stopped because of luggage regulations or being asked questions about their father’s name and surname, I just slipped past. Never stopped, no questions, just walking through. God is good!
Soon we were out on the other side, on a bus and heading towards En Gedi, the Dead Sea (near to where Sodom and Gomorra once stood). Not quite sure what to look for once we arrived, we ended up getting off the bus at the wrong stop and had to travel 5km back. This being our first actual travel with bags, we excitedly geared up and as we finished taking photos of us ‘walking’ we looked over and found a bus that would take us all the way for free. God is good. Soon our scouts found a nice camping place next to the sea and we settled in for the night. Our team had decided to have a relay fasting for the 14days we would be in Israel, with a team member each taking a day from midnight to midnight (starting and ending the fast with communion with the next team member). That night at 24h, Calvin, who’s fast just ended, and I stood ready with the bread and juice as we prayed and watched the moon hit the water perfectly over the see. What a blessed time.
The next day we broke into our small groups and hitch-hiked through the wilderness to the next town. Our team decided to approach it as a Luke 10 and started just praying about everything. After some time chatting to God this was the message: “I can provide, but I’m not going to. Trust that I will give you what you need at the right time. For now just walk with me and look at what I am showing you.“
So we walked, and conversations started flowing about a small fishing boat on the see and how it must have been to be with Jesus on just such a boat. Eventually we got a lift, reached the town, swam in the sea (sort of, more floating) and headed to McDonalds to scavenge some food. Of course that is where we met the rest of our team, all looking for something to munch on for lunch. Soon we all started heading back, packed up and caught a bus to Jerusalem.
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’ And now here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem” - Ps 122:1-2.
And so we arrived late the evening in Jerusalem, the Holy city, and were picked up by our very gracious, Afrikaans speaking host who had prepared hot soup and bread for us waiting at home. Wow, what a blessing. I kept a sharp eye out to make sure that there would be an extra bowl of soup, kept in the fridge until midnight, when my feast would begin…
That evening I had communion with Danielle, who would take the next fasting shift. Due to lack of resources our communion consisted of bread and water. As I prayed and thanked God for all He has given us, I looked at the water that was supposed to be wine or juice and Jesus said ‘my first miracle was turning water in to wine. If it was so important that you take wine I could do the same miracle now, but the importance is not in the substance, rather the heart.’ And with that the communion continued and was a great blessing to us both.
The next few days we spent serving our host and her neighbour by helping in the garden, pulling out weeds and clearing unwanted plant materials. This work, as tedious as it was, was a perfect metaphor for what God was doing in my life: pulling out weeds. So while my hands were digging for stubborn roots, God was busy showing me the spiritual roots that have been growing in my life. What a crazy journey. Between the physical and spiritual gardening we also had some time for sight-seeing and experiencing where Jesus walked in Jerusalem. Amazing to see how the Bible comes to life!!!
On our off day, our host created a typical Global ‘challenge’ for us where we had to find locations and complete tasks within the old city which included things like visiting the upper room (WOW), seeing the bullet holes at the Zion gate, praying at the wailing wall and having a conversation with a specific Jewish shop owner. What an amazing experience!!! With each prayer and each encounter the spirit was tangibly experienced by the whole team. It is like there is a spiritual opening above the city, making prayer easy. Even the conversation with the Jewish gentleman was life changing.
On our last day in Jerusalem we had the chance to visit the garden tomb which is right next to Golgotha, or at least where they assume it to be. We each had some quiet time there and I spent mine walking and looking around, imagining how it would have been to see it all, while reading through the last bits of each gospel book. I think the thing that I experienced most there was His absence, but that all made sense when I saw the sign against the wall: ‘He is not here for He is risen’.
And so we left our wonderful host and headed towards Bethlehem, having no idea what would be waiting for us on the other side of the wall….