Year: 2015

Friendship has no language problem

janclaus Bible Study, Jericho , ,

Don’t Speak The Same Language? No Problem.

What did we do at the Jesus house of Prayer? We held Bible studies, gave food to the poor, told all of them about Jesus and made many friends. One friend was very different. His name was Hussein. He lived in Jericho, but was from Iraq. He spoke absolutely no English.

Hussein really liked Bob. He began coming by two or three times a week. He brought an Arabic newspaper. He never would come inside, but he and Bob sat out on the porch and talked. Keep in mind: Hussein spoke no English — Bob spoke no Arabic. Continue reading →

One of the most basic needs

janclaus feeding the hungry, Jericho , ,

War brings a lot of needs. One of the most basic is food. After the war started in Palestine, a lot of people were out of work. Many Palestinians worked in Jerusalem or other parts of Israel. They were not allowed to go to work. Without money, they could not buy food.

People began coming to the Jesus House asking for help buying food. Honestly, those of us who worked there didn’t have the money to buy food for all the people. Terry McIntosh, who was in charge of the Jesus House, put out word we needed money for food. Soon people began responding. Terry, with the help of a grocer, put together a food package that we gave to people in need. Continue reading →

Excitement!!!

janclaus Jericho, West Bank ,

When you are locked in a small town for weeks on end, things can get pretty boring. You can’t go anywhere unless it is in the town, and after a while you begin to want to go somewhere else or have something exciting happen.

While we were living in Jericho, we were not allowed to leave during the war. No one was allowed in or out. You could feel the people wanting to do something, anything that might be a little exciting or different. Continue reading →

Is it a Garage? Or … ?

janclaus garage, Russia, Zelenograd ,

Here in the United States most of us have a car. In fact most families have two or three cars. We have different ways of protecting our cars. We have a drive way or a garage or a special parking place and we are thrilled to have our space.

While living in Zelenograd I noticed a very strange looking thing. They looked like metal boxes the shape of a car. I don’t know what it was called because it wasn’t a garage especially as we think of a garage. Zelenograd is by Moscow and in the winter it is cold and the snow covers the ground most of the winter. Continue reading →

The Day the Love of God Dawned on Her

janclaus Bible Study, Jericho, West Bank , , ,

There are many joys to being on the mission field. I like teaching people about Jesus. Watching their eyes light up as they come to the realization that God loves them and they don’t have to earn that love is amazing.

While in Jericho, I had the privilege of teaching a group of women every Saturday. Some of them had already accepted Jesus as their Savior, but many were still seeking answers. These were women who were Muslim by birth. By that, I mean they weren’t really religious, but Islam is all they knew. Continue reading →

The Widow’s House

janclaus The Widow's House, Ukraine , , ,

There are several things here in America we take for granted. We have so many appliances that we don’t think about. When we were in Pulin, a small village in Ukraine, we oversaw the Widow’s House. We took in widows who had no one to care for them. Some of these widows came from very small villages and did not have appliances of any kind in their kitchen. Continue reading →

English as a Second Language

janclaus English As A Second Language, Jericho, West Bank , ,

When we first went to Jericho, we went to teach English as a Second Language. We had no idea how many people would be interested in classes, but we were told the class would be full. At first we had to find out what they knew about the West. For instance, we found out they knew Mickey Mouse, but had no idea about Minnie Mouse. They did not know about Romeo and Juliet or Gone With The Wind. I say this because these were in the lesson books we had taken with us from the International Bible Society. From the very beginning we had to come up with our own curriculum. We had not planned on that. Continue reading →

Home Groups in Zelenograd

janclaus manners, Russia, Zelenograd , , ,

Hospitality means “Friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests.” I will admit I am not that kind of person. I’m the kind of person who will pour your first cup of coffee or tea and tell you where you can get your second cup if you want it.

When we went to live in Zelenograd, Russia it was to help people learn how to be small group leaders. We had a small apartment where our living room served as our bedroom and three times a week we had people over to show them how to invite people to their home and be hospitable to them. Needless to say, I felt out of my element. But I made coffee and tea and always had some sort of sweet. Continue reading →

Such a scary word

janclaus Jericho, West Bank , ,

War! That is such a scary word and one most of us do not want to hear. But what happens when you find yourself in the middle of a war? It doesn’t have to be a big war. It could be what some people call a skirmish. There was a time I found myself in the middle of a war.

In 2000 the Israelis and the Palestinians went to war. It was called the Second Intifada. Intifada means throwing off. I won’t bore you with how it started, but I was there living in Jericho.

One morning we woke up and found we could not leave Jericho. If we did we would not be allowed back to the city. The stores were closed and we were told it was war. Continue reading →