missions

Music is the universal language part 2

janclaus Bible Study, music , ,

I told you we had a miracle getting the guitars into Jericho. The next thing we did was go to the home groups and tell them we had guitars and Karen was willing to teach anyone who wanted to learn. We wanted at least one person from each home group. We also told them if they finished then we would give the home group a guitar. They were excited.

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guitar lessons

The next thing that had to be done was scheduling lessons. It seemed the people could not agree on a day that all of them were free. We set up several different lessons to accommodate the people. We had afternoon lessons most days of the week and we had evening lessons. There were some men who had guitars who wanted to come for lessons or just to play with someone else who knew the guitar. Those lessons had to be at night.

I don’t play an instrument so I just stayed in the room and prayed for those who were taking the lessons. There was a young girl who was about eleven or twelve. We had a mother and her two teen age daughters and we had a few older women who had raised their family.

One day toward the end of the lessons our friend Fotma and her sister were there for lessons. Karen had taught a simple song that had one chord change. They decided to play together and sing. The two students started playing and singing but Karen was the only one who changed chords. They just kept playing and singing and the smiles on their faces were amazing. This went on for a time and you could feel the Holy Spirit in our midst. I truly found out what it is to make a joyful noise to the Lord. When they finally quit playing we were all laughing with the joy of the Lord. When they left, Karen and I were still laughing and she told me the music was terrible but the joy of the Lord was amazing.

Fotma receiving a ribbon for completing the lessons
Fotma receiving a ribbon for completing the lessons

When the month was coming to an end we handed out ribbons to those who had completed lessons and gave a guitar to the person from that home group who had finished the lessons. They felt a sense of accomplishment and that was good.

Reham, the youngest student receiving her ribbon and guitar.
Reham, the youngest student receiving her ribbon and guitar.

There is more to this story but I will have to tell it next time.

Continue to Praise our Lord,
Jan

Eating can be different

janclaus eating in different countries, fellowship , , ,

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.

Dinner at the Jesus House
Dinner at the Jesus House

Continue reading →

Enjoying different cultures

janclaus neighbors, Praying for people , , ,
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Our first apartment in Jericho

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.

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doing laundry the old-fashioned way

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

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Momma & Bob

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.

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Momma, son Mohammed, and a neighbor

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

Rejoicing in Baptisms

janclaus Bible Study, Jericho, West Bank , , ,

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)

janclaus healthcare in a third world country, Jericho , ,

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

janclaus Jericho , ,

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 →

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 →