The holidays and what's happening with the Conners

Well some holidays have come and gone and some are on their way. Holidays here are so unlike the holidays in the States where it is all about the money. Here it is all about the food.

The first holiday we experienced was Rosh Hashana (New Year). Honey is the big thing. The tradition is to eat either bread dipped in honey to say the blessing over the challah and then to dip apples in the honey saying a prayer and asking God for a sweet year. A lot of the foods are based on symbolism. Pomegranites are eaten as it is the new fruit of the season.

Next is Yom Kippur. This is a day of fasting and mourning. It was crazy because up until this day it was sunny and then Yom Kippur comes and the day was cold, dark and cloudy. The tradition is to eat a meal before you start the fast usually consisting of not much salt (so you won't be thirsty) and chicken. Then you fast for 25 hours. Some of the Orthodox practice Kapparot which is symbollically transferring thier sins to a chicken. They do this by swinging it over their heads and then they give the chickens to the poor to eat. Unfortunately we saw the chickens in the cage but missed the swinging session.

Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles). This takes place the 5th day after Yom Kippur. The word "Sukkot" means "booths" and these are popping up everywhere you go (I will post pictures). The tradition is to spend as much time in the sukkah as possible. Most will only eat in it but some do sleep inside of it as well. This holiday lasts for 7 days (see Leviticus 23:42).

So there is your lesson on the holidays of this month.

Now for what is happening with the Conners. There is so much to say, where do we begin. Ok, our visas came in but they gave Matt a B4 which is a volunteer visa and Robyn recieved a B2 long term visitor visa. The problem with this is that Robyn can not work on a B2 visa. To get a working visa here is next to impossible. Robyn went for an interview in Tel Aviv to work for the American School they liked her and want her to work for them but they won't get her a working visa. So where do we go from here? It seems from our research, Israel is the only country in the world that won't allow me (Robyn) to teach because of visa issues. And we know, I am called to be a teacher.

We have prayed and prayed about what to do. During this time we also realized that we had to make a decision about Matt's contract at the ICEJ. You have a choice to work either 3 months or 2 years. If you agree to the 2 years you must complete it and if we committed to the 2 years what would Robyn do. So we prayed, A LOT! One Friday Matt gave his testimony at work, and afterwards one of the women came up to him and told him that we needed to leave and go start our own ministry. She commented that we wouldn't be able to do that as long as we were where we were at. That spoke volumes to us considering we hadn't talked to anyone about our thoughts. The following Friday a woman spoke about her mission trip to Papau New Guinea. She talked about how excited the people there were to have someone who came from Israel to visit them. New Guinea, a country with many Christians that hasn't been tainted by incorrect teaching such as replacement theology. How refreshing to hear about an isolated people that just believes the Bible for what it says, and loves Israel. Wow! This spoke to us as well.

After hearing all of this and continuing to pray, we have decided to come back to the States. We don't have the "plan" yet, where we are going, what we are doing, etc. but we know we have a message. Our short term plan is to come back to California and then drive throughout the States visiting our families and praying to see where the Lord leads. We know that God brought us here to Israel for a reason and we wouldn't change any part of it. This has been the best experience ever especially to know and really understand God's chosen people and to see how He has called them back to this land. It's truely incredible! And it's all according to His word.

We want to thank all those who have been praying for us. And please know, your prayers have been felt and very appreciated. We believe it has allowed us to be able to press further into what the Lord would have us to do.

We just want to say that it's all about Jesus. And we thank the Lord every day for His wonderful grace and mercy.
Shalom, Shalom.