snow pics

tim and i took pictures on the way to school yesterday, which are the first couple. as for the last bit of pictures... tim took an awfully long time buying bread this morning and i was starting to worry, well come to find out he had taken the camera and was busy getting more snow shots on his pita run. enjoy. :)

I think snow on palm trees is slightly funny.

burrrrrr... walking home from school.

just inside jaffa gate

the above picture begins tim's picture taking adventure. this shot is just outside our house. if you see the little white sign on the building in the middle right of the picture - that sign marks the place where we turn right to go home.

on the way to school today.

JUC's campus

our $5 purchase to keep our feet warm at home. my choices were orange and purple. the orange made me laugh.

SNOW?!

It is crazy snowy outside. and so cold. tim and i marched through the slush to get to school today. i am thankful that the campus is warm. we took pictures of the journey but i forgot my camera cord to download them... so sad. so be looking for those tomorrow. as well (as requested) more pics of tim and i :)

heart warming story: i am not feeling well, with a cough - yuck. anyways as we were walking home i mentioned to tim i did not feel up to making dinner. he said he would be more than happy to cook. well we arrive home to aunt elesa looking slightly worried and telling me to go see francswa because she bought something for me. glad to know she was ok, but not understanding what was purchased i went upstairs. well come to find out she had bought us two buckets (i had asked jamil for one), as well as a large rug for our apartment. she said it would help with the cold. she then asked if it would be ok if tim and i came over. i said no problem. (i imagine aunt elesa concern was that we were home later than they thought and she knew francswa was hoping to host us). needless to say we were talking and then francswa asked if she may bring us some dinner. she made us a wonderful meal! rice, soup, spinach and beets (didn't try the beets...). she gave us cups of coke and tea with cookies to finish. it was delightful to sit with her (and later her husband) and talk and laugh. her english is very good and she also taught us some arabic. she knows 4 languages. she is from france and is jewish, which is odd finding her married to a Christian man - living in the muslim quarter of the city. we hope to hear more of her story. we feel well taken care of and so thankful for her friendship.

reflections

after every field study in physical settings of the bible we are to write an impression of the day - even those auditing the class :)

here is a bit from the reflection i wrote after our first trip, which was a half day around the Old City of Jerusalem. (it is a bit long...)

Being back in Jerusalem in many ways feels like coming home. The smell of incense, busy small streets, walls of stone, a beautiful mix of different cultures and peoples; it all reminds me of the semester I spent here 7 years ago. Difficult as it is to believe 7 years has passed and much in my life has changed, yet upon returning to Jerusalem the city feels much the same.

Spending an afternoon being reminded of things once learned filled with me with anticipation for a semester of revisiting and more fully understanding the most complex place I have ever lived. I am finding I now have a context to hang information that the first time around felt overwhelming and completely foreign. I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to return and to further grasp and enjoy the land of the Bible.

Central to history and the Biblical narrative is Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre now remembers the specific site of those transforming events. Yesterday I was re-captivated by the beauty of the church. I love the multi-sensory experience of entering into the church; as my eyes adjust to the dark lighting my nose is overpowered with incense. Candles, ornate decor, gold highlights, musty smell, tall ceilings, endless passageways, stone in every direction and the face of Christ all around. We had the particular privilege of coming in as a service was beginning and so we heard beautiful singing which echoed throughout the building during our stay. No major indication would link the church to western culture in any way. In 2001 I was shocked and slightly uncomfortable with the eastern feel, whereas yesterday I found it more natural to connect with the sanctity of the place. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is central to the Christian Quarter of the Old City, and as such walking by it each day on the way to school has been a good reminder of the special opportunity it is to live in such close proximity to locations of events that have radically changed my life.

in other aspects of life - we "met" in person ben and staci post, who were extremely helpful prior to our arrival here. ben and staci worked with ken in young life in michigan prior to moving here. small world. we are excited to get to know them better.

also we continue to recieve food from francswa and aunt elesa - more soup, rice, cookies. to thank them we made chocolate covered strawberries - it is amazing how something so simple in america can be so complicated here. it probably took 4 hours to complete the whole process. oh well. we hope they liked them. last night tim and i had a blast sitting with aunt elesa and watching tv. she is so funny - we laughed hard as we talked and she commented on things on the tv, as well as taking it upon herself to teach tim a bit of arabic.

we also have a phone that can recieve phone calls at home - so email us if you would like the number. if you have skype it is only 2 cents a min to call.

thanks for listening. more to come.

pictures!

here are some pics from our first week (crazy to believe we have only been here a week)

below is tim and i on our first day from the roof of our hostel - citadel youth hostel.


the view from the roof of the hostel-
we went to Church of the Redeemer for service on Sunday - here is the bell tower of the church:
the mount of olives taken on our first field trip around the Old City of Jerusalem
the western wall and the dome of the rock:

we continue to feel extremely blessed to be here!

delight

delight would be the best word to capture my mood. this morning i was overwhelmed with the provision of the Lord and His grace & faithfulness as we have begun this journey. we feel so well taken care of - surrounded by love and filled with peace. here are some highlights of the past few days:

my two favorite women in jerusalem: francswa (not sure how to spell... jamille's mom who lives in our complex) and aunt elesa. they both have apartments in our house complex and have been home whenever we have so far... i don't think they leave much :) yesturday they helped us solve the mystery of our washer/dryer, our heater, and a few other things that we hadn't yet figured out. they also were determined to help us find an electric hot water heater they knew was in the apartment. when we only found the pot itself and not the cord, francswa told us she would ask jamille and if he didn't have it she would buy us a new one. she then said, "he is my son. and you live here, so you are my son and daughter."

this morning as we were running too much at once our electricity went out (typical americans running too much...). as we left we asked aunt elesa about it and she was very excited to help us solve our problem. there was some struggle in the translation, but as soon as she realized what we were asking she said, "oh yes, come this way. the swich is down. i will put it up!" francswa soon joined us and we easily solved the problem. then they began to banter back and forth in arabic (as is typical for two older sisters) and eventually francswa turned to me and said, "i will make you soup tonight. when will you be home?" i imagine they were discussing what to make for us. these beautiful women warm my heart. they take such good care of us. i imagine we will develop dear friendships with them.

shabat dinner - last night we were invited over to a new friend's home for dinner. every friday night the off-campus graduate students have dinner together. it was great to meet many different people and get a sense of the close community that is here and that we were so warmly welcomed into. i hope to someday soon host the shabat dinner in our apartment.

crazy market - new friends - tim and abby (a married couple who are both studying at JUC) took us to a crazy outdoor market yesturday. because it was friday (and Jewish individuals rest beginnig friday night) the place was packed. most things were on sale. it was like pikes place in seattle to the max! people yelling, tight fitted spaces, people buying things right and left. we had to keep a close eye on each other, not to get lost in the sea of people. we bought many grocerys and i feel like we actually have some choice of food in our home.

so our days feel full, but not too full. today i am at school with tim. right now he is getting a tour of the campus (probably slightly bored being his second time around).

i will close with more thoughts from Henri Nouwen:

It (Prayer) is the unceasing recognition that God is wherever we are, always inviting us to come closer and to celebrate the divine gift of being alive.

I have come, that you may have life and life to the full - Jesus.

our abode

check out our new place!

by the front door of the apartment is the el kitcheno (the kitchen)

the other half of the room is the el diningo roomo (where we eat our food)

now we will leave the kitchen and head up these stairs towards the bedroom.

where we sleep (aka la bedrooma)

in the back left of the bedroom picture you can see the door to the bathroom. pretty normal, thats also where the washer and dyer are.

now if you would follow me, we will turn around and head back down through the kitchen towards my favorite room.

this room they call the salon. why? i don't know. I call it the amazing ancient jerusalem castle room! its other name is guest bedroom. not as exciting. but we're excited to have people over and hang out in here.

this is from the other end of the room back towards the door.

thanks for taking the apartment tour with us. but i have to tell you, its better in person (hint, hint). visitors are welcome! and i hear there's a great chef who lives here. anyways, thats where we live. miss you all!

prayer and suffering

i am reading a book of thoughts by Henri Nouwen and below is something i read this morning that struck me.

here the deeper meaning of prayer becomes manifest. to pray is to unite ourselves with Jesus and lift up the whole world through Him to God in a cry for forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and mercy. to pray, therefore, is to connect whatever human struggle or pain we encounter with the gentle and humble heart of Jesus...

prayer is leading every sorrow to the source of all healing; it is letting the warmth of Jesus' love melt the cold anger of resentment; it is opening a space where joy replaces sadness, mercy supplants bitterness, love displaces fear, gentleness and care overcome hatred and indifference. but most of all, prayer is the way to become and remain part of Jesus' mission to draw all people to the intimacy of God's love.

come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and i will refresh you. take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for i am gentle and humble in heart. your soul will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:29-30

JUC

Tim and i walked over to JUC this afternoon. i am actually writing this from the computer lab (which has changed locations since we were here last and thankfully the speed of the comptures is much better!). it feels weird and good to be in such a familiar place, filled with so many memories. saturday begins school stuff. it looks like we may be busy all day, but it will be nice to be with other students and get a feel for what the semester will be like.

tomorrow we move. we are meeting jamille at 9:30. so we will have a few days to get settled before JUC life begins. after talking with some people at school we continue to feel affirmed in our decision and of the Lord's hand in the process. it sounds like finding such a wonderful place in the old city is rare, as well as the price we will pay.

ken is doing well. he is regaining strength after his chemo treatment on friday. he went to work on tuesday and is reporting feeling much more like himself. he had an appointment with the doctor on monday, and the doctor was able to tell by a physical exam that the chemo is working and the tumor is shrinking. it looks like they will even lower the pain medicine he is on next week. we are so thankful for the healing that is taking place! the Lord certainly is good and His faithfulness is overwhelming.

APARTMENT, done!

thank you for your prayers regarding an apartment. the first apartment we saw today we took. as out of character it sounds we didn't even look at any others.

the owner and his wife are Christians. he is a wonderful, nice man in his 30s. the apartment is in the old city, maybe a 5 min walk to school. the apartment is in a safe complex, with the landlord's (jamille) extended family. he wanted to make sure we wouldn't make trouble, smoke or drink. he said he and his wife have been praying for nice Christian people to live in the place, and just this morning felt he would find someone today. it is clean and well stocked with all the supplies of life we will need. it also has a huge, super cool salon (living room), perfect for guests and hanging out with people. it even has 2 tvs. hot water, washer/dryer, nice bed. we couldn't have asked for more. and the price is below what we budgeted for. praise the Lord.

it has been a great day. we have enjoyed hanging out with each other, talking with old friends (two shop keepers - zac and shabon), found a wonderful place to live, had a great cup of coffee, and read and relaxed. we are so thankful as we feel the Lord's presence with us and His perfect provision. thank you again for your prayers.

funniest moment of the day

as tim and i were on the hunt for fresh pita we spotted a boy with a large tray. immediately we turned around and followed. when he stopped at the shop to deliver his tray - the tray tipped and a dozen pitas fell on the wet and dirty ground. (immediately tim later reported that he kept his eye on safe pita). sure enough as the large tray was stabilized the dirty pita was placed directly on the top center of the pile. yuck. i guess we better closely inspect all future pita buying :) needless to say we have laughed about it throughout the day.

two favorite things

i am in love with my 15 dollar neck pillow. it helped me sleep almost the entire way here :)

i also had a hot shower this morning and have never enjoyed a shower so much.

well better get on to apartment hunting. k

we're here

we have arrived! we landed in tel aviv at 3:15pm local time and took a taxi to where we are staying in the old city. long and tiring flight but we survived. the next couple of days will be filled with apartment hunting. we'll get some pictures up soon!

big things

i spoke with my mom this morning and she and dad have found a doctor they feel really good about. they met with this oncologist yesterday, and he has set up my dad's chemo to begin tomorrow (friday). i guess its an all day affair, 5-7 hours of putting the chemicals into his body. apparently it works amazingly fast, with much of the tumor being destroyed tomorrow. who knew?

we would covet your prayers for my family tomorrow as dad heads into chemo. kristi and i would also appreciate prayer as we prepare to head to jerusalem this sunday. we are so, so grateful for the good prognosis for my dad, but its still hard leaving the country as he heads into chemo. thanks.

thankful

thank you all for your prayers. i am thankful to report good news on ken. they met with the doctor yesterday and found out there is no other cancer in ken's body. he has stage 1 cancer (which is the best possible out of 4 stages) and the cancer is very treatable with a very high cure rate. we are incredibly thankful for the words of encouragement and truth you all have spoken over us. there is much ahead, but we are overwhelmed with the profound truth that the Lord is here with us, making Himself known and filling us with His love, comfort and peace.

friends in seattle!

drew made it to town and we had a great time together. below are pics from our night in seattle visiting andy, lisa and cherie. we ate at Rays - it was so good.


andy, tim and drew

lisa and i. lisa and andy are engaged!! it was so funny - while we were at dinner andy told us (as lisa was away from the table) that the next time we saw him he would be engaged. how fun?! we got a late night call on sunday from a super excited andy reporting the romantic moment. we are thrilled for these two and what the Lord has done and is doing in their lives.

also thanks to kristi (andy's mom) for the compliment on my hair :)

cherie (a friend we studied in israel with in college), me and lisa at the non-profit coffee shop lisa and her friend started - the green bean.

update on ken

thank you to all of you who have inquired about ken. we are still waiting on the results of many different tests. today he had a test of his heart, to make sure it would do well with the chemo. he also had a bone biopsy. at this point we don't imagine we will hear anything new until he has his next doctors appointment on monday.

in other news we are super excited to welcome our friend drew to the northwest tomorrow. drew is coming to check out vancouver with us. his beautiful wife is too prego to come. we will miss her (love you bek).

new do

i decided to cut off a lot of my hair. let me know what you think. also what do you all think about dying my hair a darker brown? (in an effort to not stand out so much in a middle-eastern country)? :)

encouraging words

encouraging words from beth moore (son thanks for the little book) - as i was reading this morning these words stood out:

There is nothing we can't face when we know the One in whom we believe. Because let me tell you something, there will always be a whole lot of things we don't know, a whole lot of things we don't understand. His ways are higher than our ways. But we can know Him. We can know who He is when we don't have a clue what He's doing... God is not going to forget your concerns. God knows what worries you. God knows what scares you nearly to death. God knows what's on your mind - let it be His.

As i reflected on these words this morning i was reminded that i am not alone. His peace covers me. He is in control. He knows what the future holds because our future is in His hands.

(no new updates but tim is scheduled to talk to his dad tonight).

love to you all, kristi

dinner with noelle

here are some pics of my dinner date with noelle, a therapist (and dear friend) i worked with at New Beginnings. it was good to sit and share my heart!

biopsy

Yesterday we spent the majority of the day at the hospital waiting as Ken had a biopsy done of the tumor. The surgeon came out to report halfway through that the tumor was definitely lymphoma and so he would be putting in a port for chemotherapy. We were able to see Ken after he spent 45 min in recovery. He was tired and in pain but thankful to have more information. He was making lots of jokes, although we didn't know if they were intentional or not. People coming out of anesthesia are hilarious!

Now the waiting continues as we anticipate the more complete results of the biopsy. There are many kinds of lymphoma, each I assume is treated slightly differently. The surgeon was optimistic, believing lymphoma to be the best possible outcome for its high level of treat ability.

A HUGE praise we found out yesterday is that there are no other tumors. The CT scans Ken had last Friday came out clear!!!! We are incredibly thankful for this answer to prayer.

Tomorrow we travel to Bellingham to spend some time with my family. Our plans to go to Jerusalem are still in limbo, as we still do not have all the information regarding the tumor.

Thank you for your prayers.

Here we are. Here we are. Bandaged and bruised. Awaiting a cure. Here we are.

Here You are. Here You are Our beautiful King. Bringing relief. Here You are with us.

So we lift up our voices. And open our hands. Let go of the things. That have kept us from Him.He is the one. Who has saved us. He is the one Who forgave us. He is the one who has come. And is coming again. He's the remedy.

Oh, I can't comprehend. I can't take it all in. Never understand Such perfect love come. For the broken and beat. For the wounded and weak. Oh, come fall at His feet He's the remedy. He's the remedy.

So sing, sing You are the one Who has saved us. You are the one Who forgave us. You are the one who has come. And is coming again. To make it alright Oh, to make it alright. You're the remedy. Oh, in us You're the remedy.

Remedy by David Crowder Band

dinner with son, kendal, the boys and maci

we met the hommes family in castle rock for dinner a few nights ago. we love spending time with them. they have been treasured friends in denver!! tim and kendal did ministry together with high school kids and son has been my mentor and dear confidant in so many ways. we love you guys!!!


tim and i with connor and dylan.


son and i, with a surprise friend :)

love her - Beth Moore buds for life. glory to God!

ps - beth moore has a blog of her own: check it out: http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/