Saying Good-bye

SOME OF THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO SERVE AT CFI/JERUSALEM

Gergana from Bulgaria who is in charge of the Distribution Center and my boss



Paula from Finland who works with Holocaust survivors

Donna, Larry, Karen - USA
Donna coordinates the program for Ethiopian Jews and Karen
is coordinator for services to the IDF and is well known in the land for CFI's ministry to the soldiers

Maggie from Taiwan is a translator of the literature into Chinese

Larry & Rabbi Jaacov who assists with all things Jewish

Francette from France and Priscilla from US
Priscilla is the friendly face at the front desk at Headquarters and Francette translates literature into the French language



Saying good-bye to the folks at CFI was more difficult than we had imagined. We will miss the wonderful spirit of the people and the total dedication of the organization in standing with the Jewish nation. It has been a wonderful experience and we have learned so much in this incredible land. As a friend said today, "After being in Jerusalem, Heaven's the only place to go from here."

Linda from the US
Lilia and Yitzhak formerly from Ukraine, now Israeli citizens

Gordon and Jennie from New Zealand

Vern and Carole from USA

Linda is in charge of Human Resources following a 25 year career in that field in the US. Lilia, a former English teacher, works in Doors of Hope and Yitzhak, a medical doctor when living in Russia, prepares some great dishes for us including his famous egg plant.Gordon is the organization's administrator while Jennie works on various projects at Headquarters. Vern is in charge of all maintenance of the two CFI facilities plus working with all coordinators to provide maintenance services to their clients - he was Larry's boss and cohort in craziness.

Ranil and Yulia formerly from Kazakastan, now Israelis

Ranil is coordinator of Open Doors and Yulia, a prize winning photographer, is in Headquarters doing media work

Carol and Anita (Romania)

Anita had worked at an orphanage in Romania before coming to Israel where she met Joseph whom she will marry in October. I want to take her back to MD with me but Joseph objects. Anita has a degree in theology and remarkable knowledge of the Bible. We clicked from the first day -I'm always telling her how much she is like Melanie (really!) and she says I remind her of her mom.

CFI founders, Ray and Sharon Sanders










Ray and Sharon started CFI almost 25 years ago and have such a heart for Israel. Sharon is a teacher/writer while Ray is president of CFI and has the responsibility for the entire ministry.We are so thankful to God for opening all the doors for us to come to His land, to Sharon and Ray for allowing us to be part of CFI, to Bonita and Jay who introduced us to the idea of serving in Israel and for the opportunity of meeting so many believers from all over the world coming together to serve Yeshua and the Jewish people.

Last Week of Work

It is hard to believe that our time in Israel is nearing an end. Thursday we finish up our work with CFI and are taking a few days to travel to the Golan Heights before our kids arrive in 8 days. Friday is the Festival of Shavuot commemorating the giving of the law so everything is closed. It will be hard to say good-bye to our new friends at CFI and especially hard to say good-bye to Israel. We have been invited back by Sharon and Ray so perhaps .... Did you know the Israeli Defense Force has a volunteer program for all ages - I met a woman my age who baked cookies and pastries for the army for three weeks. Said there were a lot of Americans volunteering at her base - only thing, she didn't get to carry one of those M16's in the kitchen. Saint George Monastery located between Jerusalem and Jericho in Wadi Qelt (river bed). Fifth century Greek Orthodox monastery with 2 monks in attendance. The Old Jericho Road runs along side this area.The area of the dry river bed in front of the monasteryInside the monastery with it's old iconsThe supposed cave of Elijah - 1 Kings 17: 1-6 - where he was fed by the ravensStained glass windows of the Great Synagogue in JerusalemThe plaque in front of the Great Synagogue - lots of contributions from Americans for the building of this synagogue.

The best part of our weekend was the wonderful visit we had with Bill and Jeanne Hennessey (from Maryland) who had been traveling all over the land as well as parts of Egypt and Jordan. While in Jerusalem, they stayed only 10 minutes from our apartment and we were able to meet up easily and walk to one of the two restaurants we know is open on Shabbat. We talked and talked and feel we now have the Israeli-Palestinian problem solved!

Hannah's Garden

This morning, Vern and I cleaned out the garden (small yard) of 80 year old Hannah who, as a young girl, was successful in living under the threat of death by the Germans.
Hannah was an only child born and living in Holland with her Jewish parents. When the Germans where actively killing Jews and taking their homes and properties in Holland, Hannah and her parents were forced to vacate their home and move in with non-Jewish neighbors. The neighbors had prepared two hiding places in their home for Hannah and her parents, 1) a small room in a corner of their attic behind a false wall and 2) a 2 foot deep hiding place in the dirt under a wooden trap door in the kitchen floor. The trap door was covered by a rug. Hannah and her parents lived there for two and one-half years. They were constantly looking out for the Germans, day and night. During the day, they tried to maintain a low profile by not speaking to nor making eye contact with anyone outside the neighbor's home. Hannah remembers playing with a Jewish friend one day and never saw her again. She and her parents believed her whole family was captured by the Germans. During the night, while her father slept, Hannah and her mother took 4 hour shifts watching our their small bedroom window for German suprise inspections. During the two and one-half years, Hannah and her parents had to hide under the floor two times. She recalled the trauma of those experiences even as she told me the story today. Hannah and her parents were able to escape to Israel after the formation of the Israel in 1948. She remembers how wonderful it was to be free and safe in their own country especially when considering only 15% of the Holland Jews made it out of Holland alive.

Larry with Hannah

Vern and Hannah

Hannah married a Rabbi in Jerusalem who has deceased. They have 11 children, 113 grand children and 20 great grand children. Each of her 6 sons is a Rabbi. 10 of her children live in Israel and one son lives in Toronto. Hannah swims twice a week at a local Jewish center and reads alot. She considers herself truly blessed.

Update on Sderot

This morning the Jerusalem Post reported a kassam missile had hit Sderot yesterday and that the IAF had retaliated with bombings. Apparently this incident happened after we left as we did not hear a siren while we were there. I've enclosed the article in the event you are interested in what is going on in Gaza. I wonder if the Worthless Wonders of Washington will send another 20 million to help Hamas rebuild?

IAF bombs Gaza after Kassam attack
May. 19, 2009JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST

Several hours after Palestinians fired a Kassam rocket into a Sderot residential area for the first time in over two months, the IAF responded by bombing targets in the Gaza Strip. The army said it attacked two weapons production sites in Gaza City and four smuggling tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border. Four people were reportedly wounded in the strikes.
The Kassam launched earlier by terrorists in the Strip slammed into a storeroom in the backyard of a home. A woman was lightly wounded and evacuated to Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital. Several other people were treated for shock, while both the storeroom and the house sustained damage. The rocket was a 115-millimeter projectile, a police source told the Jerusalem Post. A police bomb disposal team retrieved the rocket's remains for analysis shortly after the attack.
"These are the types of rockets we have grown accustomed to seeing since 2008," the source added. The attack came as Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno was touring the town with Noam Schalit, father of captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit. The two visited the home where the rocket landed, and Schalit told residents of the town he identified with their plight.
"We went through a war like this in the North and heard plenty of booms," he said. "Straight after arriving in Sderot, the Color Red warning siren was sounded and we heard the loud boom. Unfortunately we are all-too familiar with this."
Schalit added that he "doesn't envy Sderot residents" and that he wished the town quiet. When asked about efforts to free his son, he said, "We are waiting patiently and hope to hear good news." The Sderot residents told Schalit to intensify his fight. "Your problem is that you're too gentle and polite, you need to shout," one of them said. "I am also a father and I know what it's like when they take a child from you. You shouldn't carry on like that." Alemanno said he hoped the attack was an isolated incident and that it wouldn't lead to another war and more rocket-fire. He said the fundamentalists were a problem for the entire Western world, not just for Israelis, and vowed that the City of Rome would help Sderot residents repair the damage caused by the Gazan rockets. He also said the city had decided to grant Gilad Schalit honorary citizenship and that Noam would be invited to the city to accept it on his behalf. Tuesday's attack also came a day after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met US President Barack Obama in Washington in which the latter said the situation in Sderot was unacceptable, adding that he'd seen the situation there himself. Earlier Tuesday, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Yuval Diskin told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that there was "no chance for an effective peace process so long as Hamas rules the Gaza Strip."

Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.

Over the Hill to Gaza

Today I traveled with the maintenance team - Larry and Vern - to the town of Sderot next to Gaza. They went to finish work in a kitchen of a CFI client and I went to visit with the women of the family all of whom speak Russian as a first language. Although conversation was impossible, we were able to communicate through signs and gestures but mostly we just watched soaps on Russian television. When something exciting would happen on the show, they would try to explain what was happening to the characters. It was fun. Katia gave me a fancy purple scarf and a fan as a thank you for all the work Larry and Vern had done (nice for me.) For refreshments she prepared a plate of Romaine lettuce leaves to nibble on, some unusual fruit, and a piece of corn on the cob for each of us. It was impossible to say no to her hospitality as she had such a desire to show her appreciation for their help.

On our way out of town, we stopped at a pull-off overlooking Gaza City only about 2 miles away. We couldn't see any damage from the latest conflict and the taller buildings are all still standing. IDF soldiers are still in the vicinity but we saw none today as Larry had in the past; the last time they were detonating a unexploded kassam missile in the field. I don't remember the media showing how carefully Israel targeted their strikes but just reported what they saw as the injustice of defending themselves.

Gaza City from a distance

Larry installing new kitchen cabinets

Katia, her mom, and Juliette her sister

Sunday around Jerusalem

Our trek on Sunday started at Ein Kerem, the birthplace of John the Baptist, a 15 minute bus ride from Jerusalem. It is a pretty little village that is very quite and peaceful with lots of Lebanese cedar trees all around. The town has two major churches the first being Church of St. John which is the site of John's birth (Luke 1:5-25, 57-80) and the second the Church of the Visitation built over the traditional site of Elizabeth and Zacharias' home where Mary came to visit Elizabeth. (Luke 1:39-49.) Church of St. John built in 1674 by Spain

Blue and white interior of the church

Marks the spot of John's birth

Church of the Visitation

Mary & Elizabeth in front of the church wall with the "Magnificat" behind them printed in 41 languages (Luke 1:46-56)

From Ein Kerem we walked (of course we walked) to Hadassah Hospital to see the stained glass windows in their synagogue. The incredible windows were done by Jewish artist Marc Chagall and each panel depicts one of the tribes of Israel.

Representing the tribes of Dan, Gad, and Asher

A blow-up of Asher's window, my favorite. There was an presentation done in English which explained the meaning of the symbolism he used for each tribe. In this case, his name signifies happiness and the window is about peace and happiness. The color is olive green because his tribe cultivated olive trees which provided oil for all the country, especially to the Temple in Jerusalem which is represented by the menorah in the lower part of the window. I don't know if you can see a crowned eagle with a golden fish, but that represents fertility and there is a dove of peace carrying an olive branch. They are too beautiful to try to explain.

The last visit of the day was to Ammunition Hill a memorial site high above the city that commemorates the para-troopers battle for Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967. It tells the story of the battle to capture East Jerusalem from Jordan and to reunify the city. During this week of war, Israel also captured the West Bank from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the Sinai and Gaza from Egypt, devastating the armed forces of these counties.

This is a very famous picture of the first Israeli Defense Forces that were able to break through to the Western Wall, the most important religious site for the Jewish people that had been held by the Jordanians since the 1948 War of Independence.

A picture of the actual Star of David that was hung on the Western Wall in June of 1967 when the IDF secured East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount area.

A LITTLE HUMOR, IT'S FUNNY BUT TRUE:

You know you are in Israel when:

Conversing with a local, they tell you where to get the best hummus.

Joggers end their workout with a smoke (the country is hazy due to smokers)

Martyr's pictures are posters in the Palestinian territories (this is for real)

Door guards ask you if you have a gun (there are actually storage rooms for weapons brought into museums, etc.)

You sit next to a soldier on a bus and you are nudged by his/her M16 rifle (are we getting used to it?)

Fur hats and black wool coats don't seem strange even on a hot 100 degree day in May (Sunday and today)

We are in love with Israel!

A Day in Jericho

Early this morning we headed to the Damascus Gate to find the Arab bus to take us to the West Bank town of Jericho. We ended up going to Bethany where we then found an Arab sherut (shared taxi for 8) to take us on to Jericho. Once in Jericho we met up with a friend of a friend who had a car and had agreed to drive us to some spots we wanted to see. Steve, originally from Texas, is a missionary to the Muslims and has been living in Jericho for the past two years. He certainly had stories of miracles in his ministry to relate and we enjoyed being with him as much as being in the world's oldest city. Although we had had a quick trip to Jericho 10 years ago, seeing it with Steve opened up new visions as we had lots of time to sight see as well as enjoy a walk through town and lunch at his favorite swarma joint. The sun was blazing and the temperature was around 100 - something we haven't experienced in Jerusalem. Thank Heavens there was a cable car that we could take to the Mount of Temptation.
This excavation represents 10,000 years of continuous settlements. Of course there is nothing left of the walls of Jericho that we know from the book of Joshua. Now that would have been exciting!

The Lion of Judah looking out over Jericho.

The Mount of Temptation from a distance - Matthew 4: 1-11

Mount of Temptation with Qurantul Monastery (Greek Orthodox) built on the side.

Caves on the Mount of Temptation.

The rock that Jesus supposedly stood on while being tempted by Satan.

Icons that are inside the monastery.

Children of Jericho.

Children of Jericho - I was sitting on a rock resting when the children came up and were ready subjects for the camera.

Zacchaeus Tree - Luke 19: 1-10

Jericho was our fourth city to visit in the West Bank and we have found travel in and out of there to be quite easy. We did have to show passports today when we went through a check point getting back into Jerusalem but there is so much to see in the Palestinian territories that it has been worth any challenges of actually getting there.

Forsake Them Not

Today was a very special day for me as I traveled to the small village of Mavki'im, near Gaza, with a CFI team to visit Holocaust survivors. I was so excited to be going and as with so many things in Israel, it is something I won't forget.

First let me tell you that Mavki'im was founded in 1949 as a kibbutz by former Israeli soldiers who had immigrated from Hungary. Five years later it changed to what is called a moshav which is a type of kibbutz but each individual owns property instead of communal ownership by the kibbutz. When Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005, 25 Jewish families were re-settled in Mavki'im (with cash from the government.) I did not remember that so many settlers had been forcibly removed from Gaza but the account reads that 5,000 out of almost 10,000 were forced out by the Israeli Defense Forces. Apparently when the new families came, there was a lot of suspicion among the older people as to what would happen but over the past four years, the younger, wealthier newcomers have added greatly to the community and take a special interest in the older founders and their needs. One family who had owned a very successful business in Gaza before the disengagement gave money to build a synagogue. Whereas the older folks were non-religious Jews, the re-settlers were very religious and in spite of all the personal distress at leaving homes and businesses in Gaza, God used that situation to bring about a revival of the Jewish faith to the community. The original kibbutz homes are modest but very nice while the settlers homes are large and built along side Mavki'im proper.

A and R are from Romania and came to Mavki'im in 1949. As a teenager, A spent the war working at a teen camp making nails. He lost his parents and a brother but he survived because he was big and strong - he was actually 12 years but looked much older. Both speak some English and have a daughter and her family living in Myrtle Beach, SC. When I told her I had a son and his family living in South Carolina as well, she got very excited and wanted me to write down his name and where he lived. They have visited the US five times so she wanted to talk about those trips with me. Being younger than A, R spent years with her brother in a home for Jewish and Christian children. I was told when there was a possibility that the Jewish children could pass for being a non-Jew, parents would send them away in order to protect them and hopefully save their lives. The Nazis would come to the children's home, offer candy to only the young Jewish children who of course would be excited for the sweets and step out and identify themselves then be taken away never to be heard of again. When she returned to her home, R helped her mother by oil lamp at night to sew scarves for the gypsies. There are pieces of needlepoint that she has done all over their home. CFI provided a Tanak, the Hebrew Bible, as well as a monetary gift to this couple. D, Paula (staff member of CFI from Finland) and Carol

D is from Poland and a survivor of Auschwitz where she was sent at the age of 19. She explained that is was very hard for anyone to make friends with the other prisoners because it took too much effort when you had to be constantly thinking about your own survival. However, she met a woman her age who was nearly blind that asked for her help as she didn't want the guards to know she couldn't see. They agreed to help each other and could encourage each other to keep going. One day D left to get them food and when she returned, her friend was gone. She never knew what happened to her and that is one of the memories that is hard for her to forget. If anyone has read about the ship "The Exodus" or seen the movie with Paul Newman (around 1963), D was one of the people onboard.

M is from Hungary. She came from a town with a population of 4,000 Jews and when the Holocaust was over, only 50 returned. M is age 89 but still tends her home and has beautiful gardens including a rose garden which is a real joy to her. The first part of her life, she was non-religious but now she believes in God and talked about how He has gotten her through many horrific situations that we cannot even imagine. She has such a lovely, sweet spirit about her - only God could have given it to her considering all she endured. She was also at Auschwitz and relayed how they had to be in their "house" by 6 p.m. and the next morning if they weren't able to move, they were sent to the gas chamber. They ate grass and other greens that were cooked with vegetable peelings - that is all there was. She made aliyah, married, had a family and proudly displays pictures all over her walls. She insisted we take the roses back to Jerusalem.

Living in Israel are 80,000 Holocaust survivors and 300,000 who were evacuated into ghettos or forcibly removed from their communities. The purpose of the CFI team ministering to these survivors is to fulfil Isaiah 40:1 which says "Comfort, comfort my people..." and they are doing that with great compassion and the love of Christ.

Visit to Bethany

John 11: 1-44

Bethany is a small village on the east slope of the Mount of Olives, only about two miles from Jerusalem. Jesus' good friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived there and he spent time with them when he was in Jerusalem. Today the town is called al-Azariyya to keep the connection to Lazarus. It is an Arab town on the West Bank surrounded by huge Israeli settlements.

The church of Lazarus at al-Azariyya

Inside the church - John 11:43 - "Lazarus, come out."
Beautiful gardens surrounding the church and tomb
Entrance to the tomb
The tomb of Lazarus
I mentioned that Bethany is only 2 miles from Jerusalem but you cannot get there from the Mt. of Olives (a five minute trip) because of "The Wall" that serves as a barrier to the West Bank. We had to take a taxi that went around the northern part of Jerusalem to pass through a check point and enter from the opposite side - a 25 minute trip. As you can see, the wall has become a focus for graffiti.

Another view of the wall
This part of the barrier is quite tall while other areas are barbed wire fences with razor wire on top.

On our walk home tonight, we noticed this sad commentary painted on the side of a building close to our neighborhood.