Month: April 2016

 

Shalom everyone!

Sorry its been awhile since we’ve posted an update. I know you must have been hanging on to the end of your seats with impatience and anticipation to hear from us ;P  Its been 3 weeks believe it or not! We are all good over here. James decided to take a breath and step back a bit with video making. He realised that he was his own worst enemy in that he was pushing himself too hard, trying to make each video better than the last and putting in some serious hours and a nice wee dose of stress over it. It has been refreshing to slow down and rethink our communication strategy, if you will. We want to focus on getting out short messages regularly so that you can see what we are up to and remember to keep us in your prayers! And keep Jerusalem, and the land of Israel in your prayers.

A big thankyou to the people who have been speaking words of wisdom to us and encouraging us over the past few weeks with support and guidance on not overdoing it and maintaining a healthy balance here in Jerusalem between work and family and everything in between. Toda!

Roughly 3 weeks ago Maddy had a bit of an incident occur as she was entering our apartment building one afternoon after coming home from the park. She had Reuben in the baby carrier on her front, Lucy in the pram and Izzy walking with her and a young man followed her into the entrance to our building. Long story short, he became forcibly and inappropriately close after an initial interaction and Maddy fortunately was able to strongly shove him away whilst pulling the kids close to her and through the inner door, and hold her pepper spray up in his face (without letting it off, just letting him know that it was there and she would use it if he came close again) at which point he decided he was out of there! We had been gifted the pepper spray only the week before, so God is good in His provision and preparation 😀

We are telling this story not to worry anybody, but to bring awareness again that while life here in Jerusalem is awesome and rewarding and rich in so many ways, it’s also hard and challenging and we appreciate your prayers and we need your prayers! We were able to share the story and encourage other young women and families to get pepper spray and be prepared ‘just in case’ something happens. And most of all we were able to learn a lesson of being prepared and of trusting in God for our safety and protection. AND the realization and conviction that we will NOT submit to the fear of man, but will rest in the knowledge of God’s love and protection over us as we serve Him where he has called us to be.

 

A cat and mouse, Elsa (from Frozen), ‘spring flower fairy’ – miss 2 changed her mind about what she wanted to wear only about 100 times that morning and we settled on one of her favourite dresses…..and Fred Dagg! Celebrating Purim with the Bridges for Peace family 🙂

We have had a busy week! The Jewish holiday of Purim was celebrated last weekend and we attended the monthly birthday lunch that Bridges for Peace hosts at their Food Distribution Center in Talpiyot, Jerusalem. To celebrate Purim, everybody dresses up in costumes and gives gifts of food called ‘Mishloach Manot’, amongst other traditions. Seehere and/or here for more info on this awesome holiday. It is a holiday to celebrate the deliverance of the Jewish people from the evil Haman, through Queen Esther, as recorded in the Bible. ” Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, Throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes (in Hebrew, King Ahasuerus, another name for Xerxes) calling on them to celebrate an annual festival on these two days. He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy” – Esther 9:20-22 The story of Esther is especially encouraging for us. It is so easy to meander through life, often side-stepping or jumping over important tasks or callings on our lives that God provides opportunities for. We know that we are here ‘For such a time as this’. We are here to serve, to show practical expressions of love to the Jewish people in the hope of reconciliation and relationship between Christians and Jews. We are here to raise awareness and biblical understanding of our hebraic roots with friends, family (YOU GUYS!) and the church globally. We know that we have taken a step of faith and taken up the challenge and privilege of living out God’s calling on our lives! Exciting! Our family is doing well. Spring is here and daylight savings is making the weather warmer and the days longer. This also makes getting out and about much more pleasant with 3 kids 🙂 Israel is particularly beautiful at this time of the year. There are flowers blooming everywhere and it is green everywhere you look. God nevers ceases to amaze us with the beauty of His creations! Reuben is standing up holding on to things and extremely fast with his crawling now, I have to keep eyes on him at all times (and the toilet door locked……!). Izzy and Lucy are great friends and into the imaginative play right now. James is busy processing 10 young people to join us at Bridges for Peace in June for 12 months on the Zealous Israel Project (click on the blue for more info).  The current team have been here since August 2015 and have had an incredible journey so far- see here for a short clip showcasing the current group and some of their experiences.  Last but not least, Maddy is enjoying fostering new friendships and getting into the groove of living life as stay-at-home mum and all that that entails!