I taught many Bible Studies in different homes while in Jericho. However the biggest one was at the Jesus House on Saturday morning at ten o’clock. We would have ladies that showed up at eight in the morning for the study at ten. We kept the door locked until we had everything set up for the study. Continue reading
Author: janclaus
Eating can be different
When you are serving overseas, you sometimes wish you had more alone time. When we were at the Jesus House, we always had people at the house. I never cooked a meal just for Bob and me. There would be someone else to feed, but I rarely knew who that would be. So I want to share with you some of the meals we had in Jericho.
Syria, before the civil war
My visit to Syria was quite enlightening. A group we sometimes travel with was going and we signed up to go with them. A dear Syrian brother had come to the states to minister and he stayed with us. So we were excited to go to Syria. Continue reading
Enjoying different cultures
Our first apartment in Jericho was about 2 miles from the Jesus House. As the crow flies it probably wasn’t even a mile but we had to walk on the roads to the house. Our apartment was on the second floor of the building and it was quite nice.
It didn’t have a washing machine and there were no laundromats so I did laundry the old fashioned way, by hand. The Jesus House had a washing machine, so when I had a load of towels or jeans we called a taxi and took the clothes there to wash them.
One of the fun things about living at this apartment was the neighbors. The woman who lived downstairs with her son was really nice. We called her momma and her son’s name was Mohammed. Every evening they would sit outside and, since it was winter, they had a fire. Many of the neighbors came out to chat and the children would play in the street. Of course we didn’t know the language, but they always made us feel welcome when we joined them
Evening wasn’t the only time they sat outside. They sat out during the day too. Mohammed was crippled and couldn’t talk plain so he didn’t work. Many days he and momma would sit outside and neighbors would come and talk with them for awhile. There were opportunities for prayer for people and they let us pray with no problem. We prayed in the name of Jesus, but they didn’t care. We saw several healings.
After awhile the neighbors started bringing us food they cooked. Most of it was absolutely delicious. We figured some neighbors weren’t such great cooks because other neighbors brought us the same dish that was excellent.
While we lived there I so enjoyed the times together even if we didn’t understand each other. I also remembered when I was little and people sat outside and talked in the evening. I loved those times when all the kids played together and their parents talked.
Feeling nostalgic,
Jan
Everyone loves a parade
Jericho was and still is an unusual place. The first time I went to Jericho it was to hold a public outreach. Terry McIntosh had established the Jesus House of Prayer and had permission to have a parade and to have worship in the city square. This is a Muslim city but the officials gave us permission to do this. Continue reading
Rejoicing in Baptisms
One of the greatest joys of being a Christian is watching new believers being baptized. And we were blessed to rejoice in baptisms often.
Jericho has several springs so finding a place to baptize new believers is not a problem. After people accepted Jesus we began to explain to them about being baptized.
Some of them took quite awhile to decide to be baptized, and others said yes right away. When a person said he wanted to be baptized, we immediately made plans to go to a stream! We would tell the believers who was being baptized and where it would take place and invited anyone who wanted to come witness the event. Continue reading
Sight is important (part 2)
We were told it would be expensive. When we asked how much, we were told $700. I then asked how much the hospital would be.To make a long story short that was the total for the hospital, doctor, and a new pair of glasses.
We called our friend Kahlil to take us to the hospital since we didn’t know where it was in Ramallah. We made arrangements to take Bobby with us and Tim and Louise followed us in the car. Louise said she would spend the night with me.
The hospital was nothing like our hospitals. You got no amenities. You had to ask for a wash cloth and water. You bring your own tooth brush and paste and comb. I was fed, but not much. Continue reading
Sight is important
I woke up and immediately knew something was wrong. I could not see out of my left eye. It was like someone had pulled a shade three quarters of the way down over my eyeball. I mentioned it to Bob and told him I didn’t think it was serious. That day we were moving to the Jesus House from the place we were staying. There was a lot happening at the house. Terry and Susan were packing to leave and we were unpacking. People were coming to the house to say good bye to Terry and Susan. I mentioned I could not see out of my eye and they prayed for me, but it wasn’t on the priority list.
That evening I mentioned to Bob it had not improved at all. He called a friend who is a general practitioner in Jericho. He said I should go to St. John’s eye clinic in Jerusalem. It was a first-come first-served clinic. We made arrangements for Tim and Louise, another American couple working with us, to come to the house early and keep it open while we went to Jerusalem the next day. Continue reading
Who are they?
On my way down from Jerusalem to Jericho I saw a lot of tents out in the desert. When I say tents, I mean quite a few in an area together. I learned the people around these tents were Bedouins. The Bedouins have been in the area from the time of Abraham and they have stayed there. They have always lived in tents. They are sophisticated now as they have water brought in and they use generators for their villages. They are nomads and when the weather gets cold in the north, they move south. Yes, they pack up their donkeys and camels with their tents and belongings, and set up camp elsewhere. Usually, it is the same place they camped the year before. Continue reading
Friendship has no language problem
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
Tales from the Mission Field 