There I was at two in the morning laying on the bathroom floor waiting to get into the bath tub if the shells hit. Yes, this really happened to both of us. Serving in a place that is at war probably isn’t the smartest thing to do but when God says go you go. Continue reading
missions
Teaching the Bible
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. We had to set chairs up so they would have a place to sit. Continue reading
Palestinian Christian TV
We just got back from a trip to the West Bank. I know many people think that is not safe but it really is. There were six of us who went. It is the six who have worked there for some time. About a year ago Terry McIntosh had the opportunity to get a TV station in the West Bank. One of the things we wanted to find out is how the TV station is doing. Continue reading
Sharing a church building
Last time I told you about working with the Bible Society in Amman, Jordan. While there the church we worked with also had a second congregation that met in the building on Sunday afternoon. I love the idea of sharing a building with different congregations. This congregation was from Somalia. They were refugees. Of course they had a different language than the congregation that met in the morning. They also needed the Bible in their language.
The team we were with had purchased Bibles from the Bible Society in the Somali language. We went to the service and put the Bibles on a table and anyone who came to the service could have a Bible if they wanted one. Of course any that were left over we gave to the pastor. Continue reading
Working with different organizations
One of the joys of being a missionary is being able to work with other organizations that also preach the gospel. One of the organizations we have had the privilege of working with is the Jordanian Bible Society. When we were in Jordan they were very helpful. The head of the society in Amman at that time was Jamal Hashweh. He has since left the society and works with a mission that works with refugees.
Jamal was very informative about what the Bible Society in Jordan does. Jordan is an Islamic country but anyone who comes to the Bible Society and asks for information on Christianity they can give it to them including a Bible. They told us many stories about people making inquiries and then coming to Jesus. Continue reading
Jacob’s Well
As one visits Israel and The West Bank you can seem to relive Bible stories. In John chapter four we read about Jacob’s well. Jesus was resting near the town of Sychar when a woman comes to the well and Jesus asks her for a drink. There is quite a discussion between her and Jesus and she ends up believing He is the Messiah and runs to the town to tell everyone about Jesus. Continue reading
Nablus is Sychar
One of the joys of visiting different countries is seeing the old and the new. Cities in the West Bank are a real contrast. When we were in Nablus we saw that contrast. Nablus is the biblical town of Sychar where Jesus talked to the woman at the well in John four. It is a much bigger town than Jericho and the terrain is not flat at all. In fact I got the feeling I was either walking up or down but never on flat surface. Continue reading
Shopping at the meat market 1
Shopping over seas can be a great adventure or maybe not. In this blog and the next one I’m going to introduce you to a meat market in Zhytomer Ukraine. This was a huge place that was a full block square. It had a lot of open doors so you could go in from almost anywhere. I want to tell you that as far as I know I have never eaten any meat from this meat market. I say that because when you are invited somewhere else to eat you can’t be sure where they purchased their product. I don’t know what this is but it was for sale at the meat market. Continue reading
Showing the love of Christ
I have mentioned on more than one occasion that some of the time we lived in Jericho there was a war going on. We could go up on our roof and see fighting between the Israeli’s and the Palestinians. That was a little over a mile from where we lived. This building was going to be a fish market and restaurant. But needless to say it got in the way of the fighting. Bob has just been there and they have rebuilt this building. I am happy for that and can hardly wait to see it. Continue reading
Pro life ministry 2
Last week I introduced you to Hope Ministries. This week I am going to share a lot of what the girls learn while living in the village. One of the first things they learn is how to love and take care of their baby. They are very grateful for this as most of them don’t remember having parents. They learn how to plant and take care of a garden. Everyone in Ukraine has a kitchen garden. If they don’t have any land they plant in pots on their porches. It is very important to them so they can eat what they raise.
In the village there is a lot of land to plant and take care of a big garden. They are taught how to raise and take care of the different vegetables they plant. The ministry bought the original seeds and from that time on it is up to the girls to have enough to plant the next year. The girls can bring their kids outside and watch them play while they plant and weed and take care of the garden. There is also a root cellar to store the vegetables in during the winter.
But of course a garden is not all you need. It helps to have meat to eat. So Svetlana has a farm where they raise pigs and goats. The goats serve two purposes. They milk the goats for milk to drink and then of course slaughter them for eating. Pork is the main meat over in Ukraine so the pigs are also quite important.
The house they live in is so much nicer than what they are used to. It has four bedrooms and when completely full has two girls to a room with their babies. It also has running water but no toilet facilities. They have an outhouse and if they need to shower they can go to Svetlana’s house.
The vision doesn’t end there. Svetlana would like to buy more land or more houses in the village. But the houses that have been abandoned need a lot of work or need to be torn down and a new place built. The vision is for each girl who finishes the program to become the head of another house to train girls with new babies. The girls are excited to be a part of this program. It teaches them so much and they don’t have to go back on the streets.
This ministry is very near and dear to our hearts. We have learned to love Svetlana and Marina but also the girls and their babies. We are thankful for people with a vision and this is truly another God given vision to help his people.
Loving to help people,
Jan
Tales from the Mission Field 