IsraelKiwi

 

We have just had to move apartments due to the landlord selling our apartment. Have a look around our neighborhood in Jerusalem.

 

It is busy as usual here and very HOT! God has been faithful and this past week there was one event in particular that involved a bomb scare in downtown Jerusalem at a very busy train stop down one of the main streets (Jaffa st).

We are feeling very thankful for the amazing security here as our little family was riding the light rail that morning on our way to THAT very street when it stopped at one of the earlier stops and was ‘delayed until further notice due to emergency procedures’. We waited on the train for close to 1/2 an hr before deciding to get off and walk the rest of the way into town. When we got to Jaffa st it was closed off with lots of police and onlookers.

All thanks to a vigilant security guard at the train stop noticing ‘suspicious behaviour’ from this man and reporting it. He was found to be carrying 3 pipe bombs and several knives in his bag and was apparently planning to carry out a combined bombing and stabbing attack on board the light rail. Click here  andhere for the story.

Both James and I have witnessed at least one bomb scare each just in the last week alone. James on his way to work one morning where there was a bag left on a seat on the sidewalk and me (with 3 kids in tow) at a different light rail stop where someone had left a bag on a bus parked next to the train stop. Both were false alarms but it they can never be too careful checking these things out so the areas are evacuated till special forces have  checked over the bag for any potential danger.

We are constantly reminding ourselves and each other to not be fearful, but to hand our worries over to God and rest in His protection. Reading the bible helps a lot and prayer is so powerful in thwarting these attacks. Thank you all for your prayers for the safety of our family and for the peace of Jerusalem. IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE!!!!  😀 God is working for the security of Israel, we really see this here as many many terrorists are detained and caught before they were able to carry out what they intended. Read one awesome example of this here. Sometimes multiple times a day in various locations around Israel knives and weapons are found in bags and confiscated before anybody can be hurt. SO, keep praying, keep up the prayers of protection and safety and peace for Israel.

 

Family life updates:

* Lucy’s cast is OFF and she is walking around and slowly getting used to using that leg again. She is a much happier little chicken now that she is cast-free and able to get around by herself once more.

* Thankful for amazing friends here and the kids being able to enjoying birthday celebrations and fun play dates with special friends.

* We start packing and move into our new apartment at the end of next week! Yipee!!

* We are coming to NZ mid-September till the end of October and are looking forward to catching up with people whilst we are there! We then head back to Israel for another 2 year commitment period, exciting stuff!

Have a wonderful week everybody 🙂
Maddy, James, Izzy, Lucy and Reuben

 

We have been busy here as usual.

Poor Lucy fractured her tibia. That is the weight bearing bone in her leg, OUCH!

Reuben has started walking. And he is getting into everything!

A couple of weeks ago now due to situations outside our control, we were given notice and have been forced to leave our apartment, with 5 weeks notice and not knowing where to go…

Maddy felt that God wanted us to simply pray for the first 7 days after finding out. Anytime we would have spent online searching or ringing real estate agents we were to pray and commit it to God.

The short story is, God had a place for us. Everything aligned and slotted into place perfectly in only the way it can when you give it over to God and He is orchestrating things.

We are moving into our new place in the last week of July and are feeling incredibly blessed and cared for by the Almighty.

The other exciting news we have is that our calling here has been extended! We are coming home in September / October for a home tour for 7 weeks before heading back to Israel for another 2 year long commitment. This too, has taken a lot of prayer and consideration and we are both united in the strong feeling that we are to come back and serve here awhile longer.

While we are home we are wanting to have as many small group meetings as possible. Would you consider holding an evening of questions & answers with an Israel focus? If so, please get in contact with us as we will only have a relatively small amount of time before we head back over here to continue our service.

 

 

This is for those of you on our mailing list who either weren’t at the RBC Missions Expo, or on Facebook, or of course those of you who wanted to see this video again ;p  A wee re-cap on who we are, why we are here and what we have been doing the past 6 months!

Oh and another kiwi has joined the volunteer ranks at Bridges For Peace this last month! Exciting! Go New Zealand! Also on the happy news front, Reuben turned 1 last week and has just this week started toddling around, walking 5-6 steps at a time at the moment, but i’m sure that will turn into running fairly soon! eeek! :S

We had a great week recently where we met up with a fellow Kiwi and took time to visit a lovely little oasis in the desert.

Rob MacIntyre joined Bridges for Peace as a young volunteer over 8 years ago. It so happens that he met the love of his life Aliesha here, they got married and during the course of his time here they had a son, Joshua. They just recently now reside in Denmark as the Lord leads them in a new season of life. We the Worthington Family have taken on the task of keeping the “kiwi fire burning” at Bridges for Peace Headquarters here in Jerusalem. The work ethic and can-do attitude of New Zealanders is strong and well appreciated, thanks for leaving such a faithful legacy Rob! We will do our best to keep it up.

 

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!

Shalom from Jerusalem,

Wow, we were lucky enough celebrate Easter this year in the City that those events took place! Pretty special, a once in a lifetime experience for some! We decided to do something adventurous seeing as we were in such a special place….so we got the kids up at 5 am and took the train then a bus to get to the Haas Promenade in Talpiot, Jerusalem, before dawn.

There we met up with a group of people who also volunteer with Bridges For Peace to watch the sunrise and worship Yeshua (Jesus) for what he did at the cross, to praise Him for conquering death and proclaiming that he rose again and is ALIVE! Afterwards we shared a pot-luck breakfast overlooking the City with a view towards the Old City and the Mt of Olives.

How privileged and humbled we felt, being here on Resurrection Sunday. Meditating on what Jesus did for us, and just looking out over the land where he walked and also where He will return (hopefully one day soon!).

We picked out a few bible passages that we find appropriate for a time such as this;

Psalm 22:16-18. This was written approximately 1000 years before Jesus was born. This is an awesome example of prophecy that came to pass as Jesus hung on the cross, before the people.

Isaiah 53:3-6. This was written approximately 700 years before Jesus was born. Prophetic writings that describe the life, persecution & torture of Jesus and also the reason for his death, was that we may be healed from our own straying and iniquities.

Psalm 16:9-10. Written approximately 1000 years BC. A prophecy that Jesus, the faithful one, his body will not see decay as he rises, conquering death and living secure at the throne of God.

Matthew 28:1-10. Written around the year 80 AD, by Matthew, one of Jesus friends and disciples. Matthew spent years with Jesus, following and learning from his teaching. Following his death and resurrection, Matthew, along with the other disciples spent decades telling again and again the stories and teachings of Jesus, then at the end of his life he made sure to carefully scribe this account, so his testimony would live long beyond his time here on earth.  One of the many historical accounts that Jesus is resurrected.

 

 

Shalom from Jerusalem,

We had the honour last weekend to attend a special tour of the City of David.
For no cost, we were able to share the experience that is usually set for important dignitaries. What a great testament to the relationship Bridges for Peace has with the local bodies and Jewish community.

History came alive for us as we were ushered around ancient ruins and guides connected the places we were standing with stories from old testament bible scriptures.

Archaeological evidence continues to be found here, with only a THIRD of the ancient city uncovered so far. Every new dig reveals evidence that validates the accuracy of the biblical text that both Jews and Christians study and uphold as the written word of God.

Visit the City of David Website for more information and educational resources…

http://www.cityofdavid.org.il/en

 

Shalom from Jerusalem,

We are finding life very busy here at present.

Thank you for the positive feedback and comments on our videos. There is a lot of work go into these, at least 10 hours each, up to 20hrs, depending on detail. We are sure hoping to refine this, the balance of time between work, family and videos is a challenge.

Please also if there is something you want to see here or you are reading a bible story you think we could bring to life, please share with us! The trouble I am facing at the moment is knowing where to start when there is sooo much we would like to share.

This week James is doing a block course at the Israel Academy of Ministry, leaving the apartment at about 7:30am and getting home after 9pm, Last day tomorrow (Thursday) thankfully.

 

 

Prayer requests this week;

Health, I got a good dose of Hayfever and that has dropped my system to let a bit of a cold in.
Which Maddy then picked up and possibly Reuben too.

Safety, for our family as we travel around on buses and trains, there has been a few terror incidents here in the last 48hrs which is causing some unrest.

Finnally, pray for patience, long suffering, being full time hands and feet for the body of Christ is not easy, as I’m sure many of you know. We are enjoying it, but its hard work to endure.