Video Update!

Our day in Bethlehem 

Hello friends! Its been too long... Quick update: Our team moved today! We had been staying in the Muslim Quarter at the Living Bread International Church housing place- which was such a blessing- $18 dollars a day and they fed us 3 meals a day 6 days a week. But, TODAY we moved into the Succat Hallel Prayer House housing apartments- one for the girls and one for the guys. Its $12 a day which is $3 under budget and such a jewel to find in Jerusalem. Its also in the Jewish Quarter which is cleaner and safer for us girls to walk around in by ourselves. So far our main outreach tactics have been relational and intercession- our main concern has been building relationships with people throughout our community as best we can and ministering to the heart of God. Once we have the Fathers heart for the day- it becomes so easy to love the people and hate the sin that holds them captive.

Our team has been so blessed so much by our Father! We grow closer together with every passing day. Believe it or not, there have been ZERO controversies between any of us. Not a single one. Our secret- have an unoffendable spirit and leaving no footstool for the devil to stand on. If one of us does something that the other doesn't like you can either assume they meant no harm and chose to keep a short account or address it one on one in love. It works! We laugh, tell each other secrets, and the best of all- we all have a huge crush on the same guy- Jesus:) I love the brothers and sisters my God gave to me to help me grow during my time in Jerusalem. Most of our conversations lately have been dedicated to finding out how we are going to incorporate ALL of our family rituals into Thanksgiving Day.

Just so you all know- merely being here has changed me forever, but more, God being here with me has made me new. He is showing me that He isn't mad or disappointed with me and that He welcomes me into the secret place as His Holy daughter. He beckons me with sweet secret names and dreams that only Him and I know. He has become my Lover, my Deliverer, my King, My Father, and my Best Friend. I nearly cried today during team time... I am at a loss... thinking back to how faithful He has been to me during this journey- He gave me EVERYTHING I needed, through friends like you, to come here! All I had to do was ask. Thank you for everything you all have done to get me here comfortably, thank you for prayers, thank you for caring, thank you for wanting to keep in touch with me during this journey.


I love and miss you all terribly.... please pray that I become more bold and confident in who I am in Jesus. I want only the fullness of what He has for me... and I cant have it unless I reach out and take it. Thank you!
A Warrior for the King,
Bekah

     Our new hood;)

 OLIVE PICKING!!! 

Looking Through Heaven's Eyes

The other day I got off the train and as I was walking home I saw three little Arab boys sitting against the fence that separates the street from the sidewalk. I heard really loud crying coming from one of them and as I got closer I saw it was coming from the smallest boy. He looked like he was around 6 years old and had snot and drool running down his face onto his school uniform. I wondered what was wrong? The older boys (around 7 and 8) weren't crying so I thought, "Hmmm, maybe their parents are running late picking them up from school and he's just sad that they forgot him." So I carried on, assuming everything was alright.

I presumed to walk up the hill but I felt like something was wrong... So, I craned my neck at them one last time to double check that the little boy was ok... But as I did, I saw the older boy get up, stand over the little boy crying, and pull a thick rubber whip from behind him and started whip-lashing the younger boy underneath his thigh as hard as he could. I was in SHOCK! I stopped, turned around, and assumed the adults walking by would see it and stop him, but they DIDN'T! They just walked on by acting as if they didn't see anything- they didn't CARE! Enraged at what I was seeing I started toward the boy striking the little one- staring straight into his eyes. He stopped when he saw I was approaching. My breath quickened and became heavy. With rage welling in my throat I intended rip the rubber whip from him and scream at him, "How could you do that?! Look at your brother!" ...but instead... The closer I got to him the more I felt Jesus. I was so mad! I asked Him, "Lord! What do I say, what do I do to stop this boy from ever harming another person again?!" He didn't answer. When I was finally close enough to do what I intended to do... I couldn't. All I could do was look into this boy's eyes. I wanted to pick the little boy up, hold him, and tell him that I would never let anyone ever hurt him again. I wanted turn the whip on the one who's eyes I was looking into... I looked up, teary from the amount of anger I had toward the boy and the adults who had walked by ignoring the cries of the one being tormented. My leader, Chris Chun, stood in front of me.. I could tell he had just seen what I had and all I could squeeze out was, "we have to do something." He looked at the boy with the whip and told him not to do that anymore. The boys could only speak Arabic... but I think they got the message. As we reluctantly turned to walk away I noticed people were looking at us as if we were strange for talking to the boy about what he had done... It made me so angry! And as we made our way back up the hill all I could think was... "what if he starts hitting him again after we turn the corner?" The realization hit me that I will never be able to prevent that little boy from ever being abused again for the rest of his life. This thought still torments me.

This place... all I know to do is be. Breathe. Take in as much Jesus as I can. Learn. Discover. Love- even when people don't deserve it. When I try to describe what Israel is like to people back home- I'm afraid people wont understand what I see. The loud, rude, and religious people... The dirty streets and dust clouds consuming the air... All I can see is family and community. All I can see is the Holy City of my King! Yes, that boy was doing a sick thing to his brother... but he is still SO LOVED by my God and still so pursued by the Lover of my soul. 

How am I doing? I feel like one of the most blessed people on the face of the earth. This group of people around me, this family, they make all the grey days worth while. They encourage me to chase after Jesus with all I have. They challenge me. They speak life into me. They tell me who I am in the Lord. I never knew prayer was such an amazing weapon! Intercession for this land is what empowers us to fight agains principalities and not flesh and blood. 

I am learning so much. Patience and peace holds me. I have never gone this long without any anxiety or frustration consuming me. The lies that I have believed over myself for years are all melting away... I don't even recognize who I was 4 months ago. I am so thankful for GOD! I am so thankful for all the people who have believed in me and have invested in me this past year. I love you all so so so much. Thank you for keep up with me and caring about me. God is SO GOOD! 

A Warrior for the King,

Bekah

No Turning Back

Being in YWAM has opened up a new thought process for me. I cant and wont go back to a normal teenage life. Traveling, trusting in the Lord for the financial support to accomplish His will, and making deep friendships and family with the community around me is so satisfying. Not to say that this life is everyone's calling or that it will be mine forever- but this is the path God has me on right now... and it is for this is reason that it is so satisfying- I am obeying Him. Im running after Him with all I've got and not turning back.

Israel... Sometimes I forget I'm here! That I'm doing this! The community that I have set up around me is just what I need. They love me and they know me. They speak life into me and encourage me to step out of my comfort zone. Even when I think I did a bad job they congratulate me and celebrate my stepping out! Its so the Love of Jesus that is knitting this group together. The Devil has no footstool. We address our problems and clear up confusion the second we recognize it. God holds us and it is so evident.

The house we are staying in is the sleeping quarters for an IHOP in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem in the New City. I am surprised that we haven't had a brick thrown through our window yet. The lady who leads the IHOP has had her house burned to the ground 3 times in the past 4 years. The Muslims don't like us converting their people.

I have an AMAZING testimony from the other day! Our group is in charge of praying for people who walk in off the streets or directing them to a chair and asking them about their day. This little boy, about 15, walks into the church about an hour after the call to prayer. He sat down and I felt the Lord lead me to pray for Him. So I walked over to him and asked him his name and asked if I could pray for him, but he didn't speak english. So, I hand motioned "prayer?" and he nodded yes. I prayed the Love of God over him and thanked Jesus for directing the boy into the House of Prayer. My leader, Chris Chun, walks over and we begin to hand signal questions like, "what made you come in here?" and he said it was the music. Later, I felt like God told me to feed him something, so I gave him a banana. He smiled, ate it, and just sat there for a good hour listening to the music. I was asked to come pray for someone up front and when I came back he was gone. I look over at my friend Kaylan who had been sitting with him and asked her where he went. She said he had left... I look at her hands and she was folding what looked like a rug... I hadn't noticed her having one before and asked her where she had gotten it. She unfolded it she said that the little boy had given it to her before he left. As I look at it, something clicks- it was his call to prayer rug! He had knelt on that thing, praying to Allah 3 times a day, ever since he was a little boy! And just one night spent listening to music he didn't understand and talking sign language with a couple of people had made him give that up?! I was so shocked! God works in the Spirit of man. Our God is not limited on how he works! AMEN?!?!

I am starting to wonder about my future... What will happen after I go home in December? What is God calling me to afterwards? I feel it has a lot to do with missions and travel. For right now, all I can do is trust in the Lord. Fast when He tells me to fast, pray when He tells me to pray, talk with Him like I do a friend, and Love Him with all that I've got in me.

Be encouraged friends, you are so Loved!
A Warrior for the King,
Bekah

Day Two in Jerusalem:

Today was a tour day for our group. 11 of us (one of our leaders, Chantal, is sick- please pray for her) walked down to the Wailing Wall, which is only a 10-minute walk from our hostel. The air shifts as you walk down to the square. Outside the gate there is chanting, dancing, and celebration… but as you walk through to the square there is a sense of expectancy and yearning. Women on the right and men on the left, the Wall is covered in tiny rolled pieces of paper and is wet with tears from faces pressed up against the stone. All I knew to do, in order to relieve the spirit attacking my thoughts and emotions, was to pray in the opposite spirit. I touched the wall, thanking God for sending Jesus- the Messiah- to the world and rescuing us from all evil- my heart felt relieved. I began to tremble and felt the Spirit had more for me to pray for. We gathered the girls from our team in the woman’s section and began to worship Jesus- telling Him who He is, thanking Him for all He has done, and loving Him with our mouths.

After the Wailing Wall we walked down to City of David. It was trashed and smelled like sewage. We turned out and walked over to the tomb of Zechariahs. The air felt old, cool, and pure. The Mt. of Olives was closed today so we walked down to Mary’s tomb. It was decorated in a manifest of Catholicism. It felt dark, empty, and sickly religious- it made me feel humorously nauseous. I thought it was funny that everything they called Holy looked like garage sale junk and people were worshiping it and giving money to it?! Poor Mary, I don’t think she ever intended to be worshiped before her son, GOD. Jesus is God! Not Mary. Without Jesus, Mary wouldn’t be saved. It made me ill.

We continued our journey down the Via Delarosa and back up through the Market.  There is a definite shift in the Spirit every single time you go from the Jewish quarter to the Arab quarter. The Jewish side is clean and sweet, while in the Arab quarter you are always on guard. It felt like Heaven as we walked back up to our Hostel. Jesus is so sweet. All He wants is for His people to notice it.

Pray that our hearts will stay open and sensitive to the Spirit and that we will stay strong and bold. The Lord is with us and He is risen!

A Warrior for the King,

Bekah 

Day Two in Israel

We arrived in Tel Aviv yesterday at around 4 in the afternoon. Two people from each team were pulled into a room and thoroughly questioned as to why they were here and what they plan to do. Our leader, Chris Chun, has a stamp in his passport from Oman, which landed him in the questioning room for over an hour. Finally we met up with our contacts and slept in a B&B our first night. The next morning we worshiped the Lord and prayed about what to do… We still don’t have housing. Due to the Holy Holidays everyone is flying into Jerusalem to be a part of the 3-week celebrations. Hostels are keeping us dry and warm until something opens up. 

Jerusalem is everything you could ever imagine about Israel. It is made up of stone, markets, and religious culture. I can safely say that I have never seen so many side burn ringlets in my life. Going out by myself for a night or morning stroll is not even considered an option here. The men either won’t talk to you (none the less look at you) or they will hit on you and ask you to come home with them as their wife. So far, it’s primarily the men in the market to watch out for. There are two girls for every guy on our team so they are trying their best to stick close to us girls and guard us. After a man in the market reached out at me saying he would give me 50% off on anything I wanted the leaders cracked down pretty hard on us girls never being alone. 

It is pretty sporadic right now as we try to decide where the best places to stay are as well as staying focused on our mission and trying to talk to people in a way that they will listen. However it’s all been pretty interesting! The vibe is very different compared to the US and everything is either in Hebrew or Arabic. The jet lag is wearing us down pretty hard right now, but it should be cleared up in a day or two. 

I extremely miss you all and cannot wait to post more about what God is doing! Be at peace! 

A Warrior for the King,

Bekah

Conversations with God.

I can see His beauty and perfection everywhere. Even now, sitting in the airport with my team in the midst of a 6 hour layover… we love one another. Its written on our faces. We don’t want harm on each other, we support, we provide, and comfort one another. We are just doing life, doing church, doing family…. As Chris Chun says, “this is doing family.” I feel so blessed and so renewed. When I am not in the midst of it all, I love to just watch them play with each other and watch their smiles. These people are so beautiful. I am so blessed to be on a team with them. They are goofy and always have something uplifting or interesting to say.

We just finished meeting up with Chris, Drew, and Isaac’s family. They all brought food for each of us… needless to say, we have a lot of extra food to take with us one the plane. Sitting here in the LA airport feels like such a tease. I am in the mainland, yet my family and friends are still on the other side of the country. Though, I think our layover in Newark will feel like an even greater tease. Anyone feel like driving up to meet us?! Haha:) 

I feel like I also need to say this: Be at peace- all concerned about the troubles in Israel. There has and always will be tension between the decendants of the sons of Abraham. This is why this team must walk in peace, boldness, and a love for both people groups. Be praying for us, there is power in words, not in fear or anxiety. Abba God has called us here for such a time as this, so He will not let us fall into harms way, and if we do then He has a greater plan than we could ever comprehend. We will be wise with our actions and our leaders always seem to have one ear in Heaven waiting for God to speak, so we should be safe. Also, please pray for housing. Hostels are available but not what we are looking for…

A Warrior for the King,

Bekah