In the last blog we promised update pictures of our apartment, so here are a few before and after pics. We are very happy to have made it through to the other side of this, and to get our locks changed! The contractor (and a few of the workers) had our keys for over a month, so we wanted to get them changed ASAP. With A LOT of cleaning away of construction dust, grout mud, and unpacking our stuff (after a few months of being here) it is finally beginning to feel like home. We do sense that this apartment and neighborhood has a more "homey" feel for us.
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| Bath before with tub |
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| Bath after with glass shower wall |
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| Bedroom window before |
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| Bedroom window after |
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| Living room windows before |
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| Living room windows after (during Chanukkah) |
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| Kitchen before |
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| Kitchen after |
Once we began to clean and decorate, the first picture we wanted on the wall was this canvas original. It was recently given to us, and was painted by a holocaust survivor. He said it was one of his memories from where he used to live. It is an honor to have this in our home.
Our new neighborhood is different in a lot of ways than the last one. Before, we were on the far west side of Jerusalem. Now, we are on the far east side (and south of the Old City). The other neighborhood was definitely Jewish - every Friday evening at sundown we could hear the siren announcing the beginning of Shabbat. Although we do miss that, it's a joy to hear the little children playing here, and it's a wonderful family type neighborhood - we feel very welcome here. But, instead of hearing the siren for Shabbat, we can hear the call to prayer(s) from the adjacent Arab village (which is 5 times a day). The mosques have a minaret with loud speakers on them, and can be heard all the way to our neighborhood. Some of the volunteers at different apartments have had much difficulty sleeping, with the first "wake-up" call being around 5 am. We took this into consideration when choosing which bedroom we wanted. The one by the road would have us woken by the Muslim call to prayer, the one by the walkway would have us woken on Shabbat morning as people were on their way to Synogogue. We chose the bedroom by the walkway, and sleep very well :) Until now the windows have been shut, so we're not sure how it will be with them open.
Looking out the living room windows we get 2 views.
To the left is an Arab village just on the other side of the valley.
The minaret is on the left.
To the right is a Jewish neighborhood near ours.
The walk to the bus stop is only 5 minutes for us - very convenient. We just go out our door and walk on the garden pathway. There is even a view of Herodion along the way. Herodion is volcano-shaped and near Bethlehem. It was built by Herod "the Great" around 40 BC with a fortress and a palace on the top. We're hoping to visit there soon, it's a national park.
Also, our new neighborhood is near the United Nations headquarters. By some, this area where the UN is located (the neighborhood of Abu Tor) is known as the "Hill of Evil Council". From Wikipedia: "The hill on which Abu Tor stands was called "Jebel Deir Abu Tor" (mountain of the monastery of Abu Tor), or the "Hill of Evil Council", referring to a legend that it was the site of the house of Caiaphas, where Judas plotted to betray Jesus." Not far from the UN is a fairly new place called "Tolerance Park and Monument". This past September a conference was held there by religious leaders of all faiths to promote global tolerance. Another sign of the last days...
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| See the "golden seed of tolerance" growing amongst the branches? |
Not far from the UN headquarters and Tolerance Park is the Haas Promenade, about a 15 minute walk for us. Many who have been to Jerusalem have been to this overlook. It's a great place to pray as you get an amazing panoramic view of both the new and old parts of Jerusalem along with the Mount of Olives.
Hebrew class has been moving along slow but sure. We have been very blessed having a "private" class at our organization. That is not the norm for sure. Usually you go to a class with a bunch of strangers, and what you grasp you learn and what you don't, well, you don't... We were approached by an Israeli believer who is a Hebrew teacher who wanted to know if our staff would like to learn Hebrew, so a dozen of us said YES!!! She is an excellent teacher who is getting to know us all individually very well. She knows when we understand, and when she needs to slow down or find a different way to explain. She knows who needs more help, and is very, very patient. We are a very blessed group to have someone like her to teach us the "mother tongue" of all mother tongues. Well, being the honest and upright class that we are :) we talked her into letting us take our "end of the first 8 weeks" test at home!! And trusting us as she does, she said yes. Instead, we spent the class studying things we really needed more practice on. This week we will begin the next 8 week session.
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| Our tests - the test is in print, and we have to write in cursive Hebrew. |
This past Thursday evening began Purim in Jerusalem. It is a day later here because Jerusalem is a walled city. Although it was really celebrated for most of the week...But in the synagogue, the Megillat (scroll) of Esther was read on Thursday evening. Along with our Hebrew teacher, none of us wanted to be in class, so we all played "hookie" - including the teacher, and went out to celebrate. Several of us went to The Great Synagogue to hear the Scroll read, and enjoy the music and dancing afterward.
Purim may be considered a "minor" festival, but as it is written in the Bible to celebrate it, the Jewish people still do! It is very important never to forget when God delivers you from your enemies - and to rejoice in His goodness. "So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them, the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants." Esther 9:26-28
Video - Rejoicing at the synagogue after the reading of Esther.
Although we worked on Friday until 2 pm, this is what greeted us on Ben Yehuda Street on our way home. It was a carnival atmosphere for sure! Although Shabbat would begin in a few hours at sunset, the Purim celebration would continue to the very last minutes of the day.
Here's a little "Esther"
As Iran continues to threaten the existence of Israel, we wonder how many people consider the Biblical story of Esther? It was only in 1935 that the Biblical Persia of the book of Esther began using the name Iran (which interestingly means "Land of the Aryans"). Because the Jews are different and won't bow down to other's demands, some over the millennia believe they have no right to even exist. Because there is nothing new under the sun, in each generation, there is always someone who would want to destroy God's chosen people.
As Esther 3:8-9 says: "Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.”
As our Prime Minister met with President Obama last week to discuss Iran, Benyamin Netanyahu presented him with a Megillat (Scroll) of Esther - just days before Purim would be celebrated by Jews worldwide. We see this as a declaration:
"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish." Esther 4:14a
President Obama says that his commitment to Israel's security is unshakable - now it's time for him to prove it. Either way, deliverance will come for God's people - by God alone. We each have a choice what part we want to play in these last days.
Please keep Southern Israel in prayer as it is being barraged with rocket attacks in the past 24 hours: "Palestinians have fired 100 rockets into Israel after an IAF strike on Friday killed the secretary general of the Popular Resistance Committees, Zuhair Qaisi."
We choose to be on God's side, and align ourselves with His plan for Israel, the Jewish people, and those who have chosen to be grafted in to His olive tree.
Romans 11
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| ~ another beautiful ending to another beautiful day ~ |
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