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.
7/25/2010
The realities of life
Well, we apologize for taking so long to write but we have been getting settled and adjusting.
When we first started planning to move here we were told repeatedly that it was very difficult. Nothing is easy! It must be in the DNA of the culture, how else would they have made it here for so long? Remember God brought them to the land of milk and honey but they still had to move the rocks out of the fields to plant crops.
Please know that this is not a complaint session but we feel it necessary to paint an accurate picture of everyday life:
On day one we were handed a bunch of keys to our apartment but not told what they were for, we find out three weeks later that one of the keys unlocks the bomb shelter under the building (good info to have). There is a string across our bed, it is attached from the top of the window along the ceiling to the closet. Kind of strange. Could it be a place to hang your clothes in the winter? Noooo! It is for a mosquito net. Yeah, they had a huge problem with mosquitos in May/June. Why would this be a problem in your house? Because we have no ac and not all of the windows have screens on them. The next day we awoke to cockroaches, as Matt would say, the size of hamsters. Yes, folks you could strap a saddle on these bad boys, no joke!! Oh, and where are they coming from? The giant holes in the various places of each room. Our first weekend was spent delivering ourselves from the cockroaches and the black mold that we had discovered.
We have come to determine that these are minor inconveniences which are a part of our realiziation of how used to we can become to the conveniences and comforts of life. This is nothing compared to what other Christians go through around the world everyday. It is teaching us a valuable lesson on humility and thankfulness for what we do have. But those aren't the big issues, let us tell you what those are. We were told to come and that our visas would be here when we got here. Our visas ended up in Ca. and now we are not sure if we can get through the red tape to obtain them. Visa restriction has gotten greater on the issuance of them as it relates to volunteers in Israel. We also discovered that I (Robyn) can't work without a work visa which is not part of what will be issued (we just found this out). The door was also closed for the online teaching job due to structural changes going on, not to say it will never happen but not now. Now we are unsure of what I (Robyn) will do since I will not be allowed to work which eliminates our only anticipated source of income. All of our belongings are still on the dock waiting for approval. The paperwork we sent was first approved and then disapproved due to the incorrect visa type and now they want full taxes for all of our belongings, in other words repurchase our belongings. If they aren't released by August 8th we must start paying rent for storage.
So, with all of this said, we have to remember "For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Cor. 5:7
Our prayer now is
As stated in Psalm 121:1-3
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
We covet your prayers for the big things but also the little things.
When we first started planning to move here we were told repeatedly that it was very difficult. Nothing is easy! It must be in the DNA of the culture, how else would they have made it here for so long? Remember God brought them to the land of milk and honey but they still had to move the rocks out of the fields to plant crops.
Please know that this is not a complaint session but we feel it necessary to paint an accurate picture of everyday life:
On day one we were handed a bunch of keys to our apartment but not told what they were for, we find out three weeks later that one of the keys unlocks the bomb shelter under the building (good info to have). There is a string across our bed, it is attached from the top of the window along the ceiling to the closet. Kind of strange. Could it be a place to hang your clothes in the winter? Noooo! It is for a mosquito net. Yeah, they had a huge problem with mosquitos in May/June. Why would this be a problem in your house? Because we have no ac and not all of the windows have screens on them. The next day we awoke to cockroaches, as Matt would say, the size of hamsters. Yes, folks you could strap a saddle on these bad boys, no joke!! Oh, and where are they coming from? The giant holes in the various places of each room. Our first weekend was spent delivering ourselves from the cockroaches and the black mold that we had discovered.
We have come to determine that these are minor inconveniences which are a part of our realiziation of how used to we can become to the conveniences and comforts of life. This is nothing compared to what other Christians go through around the world everyday. It is teaching us a valuable lesson on humility and thankfulness for what we do have. But those aren't the big issues, let us tell you what those are. We were told to come and that our visas would be here when we got here. Our visas ended up in Ca. and now we are not sure if we can get through the red tape to obtain them. Visa restriction has gotten greater on the issuance of them as it relates to volunteers in Israel. We also discovered that I (Robyn) can't work without a work visa which is not part of what will be issued (we just found this out). The door was also closed for the online teaching job due to structural changes going on, not to say it will never happen but not now. Now we are unsure of what I (Robyn) will do since I will not be allowed to work which eliminates our only anticipated source of income. All of our belongings are still on the dock waiting for approval. The paperwork we sent was first approved and then disapproved due to the incorrect visa type and now they want full taxes for all of our belongings, in other words repurchase our belongings. If they aren't released by August 8th we must start paying rent for storage.
So, with all of this said, we have to remember "For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Cor. 5:7
Our prayer now is
As stated in Psalm 121:1-3
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
We covet your prayers for the big things but also the little things.
7/04/2010
1st day and why we are here
Well we arrived on Tuesday at 5pm, VERY tired but you know they always tell you to stay up as late as possible so Matt and I decided to go exploring our new surroundings.
This is how amazing God is. In 2005 we came on the tour with MVCF and decided to stay after the group left. We stayed in a pastor's home who lived in the German Colony off of Emek Rafim (street name). We loved this area and got to know it very well!
On Tuesday as we started exploring we realized that we are living right around the corner from there AND our favorite kebob place is only two blocks away! We just think that is so cool that God had already had us here and put us in a place that we already knew.
After we explored our neighborhood we decided that we wanted to go to the Wall (kotel). We go to the mini mart near our apt. and ask the guy in broken Hebrew if he will change our dollars. No, but he gave us 5 shekels out of his pocket, we gave him a dollar :) Ok, so now we are up 10 shekels. We get on the bus and ask how much to go to the Wall and he starts driving but wants 12.40 shekels. I show him what we have, he pulls to the next stop, takes what I have, gives me change, kicks us off the bus, and calls me mushooga (crazy) haha! We laughed so hard. So then we got on the next bus and he took us to where we wanted to go and didn't charge us anything. We finally made it to the Wall. Moral of the story: Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." Even when we don't know exactly how to get where we are going, God always does and He is always faithful to come through!
We are meeting many people and can't wait to write the stories about the people of Israel.
Please pray that we can be used to help them discover their Messiah.
Why we are here ~ part 1:
In 2000 (our 1 yr anniversay) we took our first mission trip to Russia...Part 2 to come
Prayer request:
Peace for Jerusalem
I (Robyn) have a job interview on Monday at 10am
Open doors
This is how amazing God is. In 2005 we came on the tour with MVCF and decided to stay after the group left. We stayed in a pastor's home who lived in the German Colony off of Emek Rafim (street name). We loved this area and got to know it very well!
On Tuesday as we started exploring we realized that we are living right around the corner from there AND our favorite kebob place is only two blocks away! We just think that is so cool that God had already had us here and put us in a place that we already knew.
After we explored our neighborhood we decided that we wanted to go to the Wall (kotel). We go to the mini mart near our apt. and ask the guy in broken Hebrew if he will change our dollars. No, but he gave us 5 shekels out of his pocket, we gave him a dollar :) Ok, so now we are up 10 shekels. We get on the bus and ask how much to go to the Wall and he starts driving but wants 12.40 shekels. I show him what we have, he pulls to the next stop, takes what I have, gives me change, kicks us off the bus, and calls me mushooga (crazy) haha! We laughed so hard. So then we got on the next bus and he took us to where we wanted to go and didn't charge us anything. We finally made it to the Wall. Moral of the story: Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." Even when we don't know exactly how to get where we are going, God always does and He is always faithful to come through!
We are meeting many people and can't wait to write the stories about the people of Israel.
Please pray that we can be used to help them discover their Messiah.
Why we are here ~ part 1:
In 2000 (our 1 yr anniversay) we took our first mission trip to Russia...Part 2 to come
Prayer request:
Peace for Jerusalem
I (Robyn) have a job interview on Monday at 10am
Open doors
7/01/2010
We made it!
Well we are finally here! Jerusalem. It is a long time in coming but it shows that God is faithful to give you the desires of your heart.
Matt and I just want to say thank you to all of those who have been praying for us all of these years.
We will be giving you the beginning of our story and then how we got here and all of our adventures along the way as we make our life here in God's country.
After only being here 2 days we have already experienced some amazing and exciting things.
I hope you will enjoy our journey!
Love you all,
Matt and Robyn
Psalm 122:6
Matt and I just want to say thank you to all of those who have been praying for us all of these years.
We will be giving you the beginning of our story and then how we got here and all of our adventures along the way as we make our life here in God's country.
After only being here 2 days we have already experienced some amazing and exciting things.
I hope you will enjoy our journey!
Love you all,
Matt and Robyn
Psalm 122:6
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