Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Preparing for Israel!

Hi friends!  As I prepare for our trip to Israel, I want to say thank you for your encouragement and prayer!  I know for some, your initial instinct still brings fear and worry.  By God's grace, I am not worried whatsoever.  I have complete and total trust in the Lord for this trip.  Each time a fear crosses your mind, please turn this into a prayer... let God transform you from a worrier to warrior!  As Paul tells us in Phillipians, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

While I am traveling, I will have access to email, but it is monitored by the Palestinian Authority.  Please do not mention the words missionary, missions, Muslim Outreach, conversion, etc.  Please also be mindful of anything you post on facebook as well.  Our trip is purely relational - we are going to continue to plant and nourish seeds of hope in the hearts of our Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine.  It is not our mission to try to convert the people of Jericho.  Our only mission is to love extragantly and without boundaries.  "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them." - 1 Cor 9:19.  and 2 Cor 12:15 have been guiding scripture, "I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?"  God's word assures me no!  "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another... God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit." 1 John 4:11-13. I will write more when I return, but for all intents and purposes now, I am a disciple of Christ traveling to tour the Holy sites Israel. 

Please cover us in prayer as we leave on Friday, Oct. 19th and return on Sunday, Oct. 28th.  Appropriate Gator-related emails are encouraged.  :) 

Be blessed, bold, and covered in truth and grace!