From Honolulu to Jerusalem

Back in Hawaii

2007-08-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, thanks for your prayers and support during out trip to Israel. Pastor Mike and I safely returned back to Hawaii on Saturday, August 4.

Plans are underway to take a group of pilgrims to the Holy Land in May, 2009.

Previous blogs are being updated as I'm now adding video. For example, I added two videos to Day 7 of our trip.

Day 15 of Trip to Israel

2007-08-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

This would be our last day of touring. Here are some t-shirt ideas that have been going around:

"I ran where Jesus walked."
"We did in 7 days what Jesus did in 3 years.

The sunrise coming over the Sea of Galilee

This is the site where it is believed Mary, the mother of Jesus, received the visit from the angel, Gabriel. The Greeks believe this is the site, while the Catholics have another site for it.

Pastor Jack arranged a worship service for us at Mt. Carmel Assembly, the largest Christian congregation in Israel. Here they minister to Jewish people, Arabs, Sudanese refugees, and a host of others.

After the time of worship and testimony, the pastors in our group came to bless the staff of this church.

This is how the overhead appears for a worship song - many languages.

This is a great picture - a Sudanese mom and daughter sitting right by a Jewish girl. This is a partial picture of what it's going to be like in heaven when all nations gather together in Him.

Our tour guide diverted our bus towards this replica of an empty tomb. He wanted us to see what the round stone covering would've looked like in Jesus' day.

Tel Megiddo or better known as Armageddon. Armageddon comes from "Har Meggido" or the hill/mountain of Megiddo as mentioned in Rev. 16:16. "Tel" means a hill that has had civilization after civilization built upon it. Therefore at Megiddo, they have had at least 20 civilizations built there.

A model of the city as it was during the days of King Solomon.

This sacrificial altar was used by pagan societies as a place to sacrifice children.

Here, they have found a stable. It is a horse's troff like this that Jesus may have been born in down in Bethlehem.

The view of the plains of Megiddo. It is here that a cataclysmic battle will take place.

Pastor Jack dedicating the fourth and final altar near the Mediterranean Sea.

The national park at Caesarea. This Caesarea is also known as Caesarea Marina, not to be confused with Caesarea Philippi which we went to the other day. It is here that Romans events happened.

This may be the place mentioned in Acts 25:23 as Paul the Apostle stood before Agrippa.

Pastor Jack addresses the 90 of us during our last night together.

Day 14 of Trip to Israel

2007-08-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Pastor Mike continues to teach these pastors from Louisiana how to journal.

The church that stands over the Mount of Beatitudes.

What it looks like inside.

This is what I saw as I was walking back towards the bus.

Our next stop was Caesarea Philippi, in the northern part of Israel. Here, the waters from Mount Hermon flow down towards the Sea of Galilee.

Somewhere in this area of Caesarea Philippi, Peter made his confession that Jesus was the Christ.

Some areas in the north are still fenced in because of mines that are still out in the open due to the Six-Day War in 1967.

Laying the third altar, this time in the northern area of Israel.

Mike posing in front of a discarded Syrian jeep.

In 1986, while the Sea of Galilee was at a very unusually low tide, fishermen discovered a boat. It was dated to be from the time of Jesus Christ. This is the actual boat that was discovered, and what the boat may have looked like.

Day 13 of Trip to Israel

2007-08-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

We started the day building a second altar to dedicate the Eastern side of Israel to the Lord.

Our next stop was Beth-Shean. This is where King Saul's body was displayed (1Sam. 31:8-10)

During the first century A.D., the Romans built this area up. This is a model of the city.

Up close, this is what the cardo, or main street, looked like.

This is what it looks like today.

This is the Kursi area. It is here that Jesus healed the demoniac in Mark 5.

Boarding the boat to ride across the Sea of Galilee.

Watching the waves of the Sea of Galilee.

St. Peter's Primacy. This is where Peter was restored by Jesus starting at Jn. 21:15.

Anna Hayford, Jack's wife, took a moment to share an encounter she had with the Lord at this site.

In Capernaum, this is where they believe Peter's house was.

Nearby is a synagogue, possibly where Jesus preached and healed.

At the Jordan River. This isn't the place where Jesus was baptized, that area has dried up a bit. But at this area, there is enough water for many to be baptized.

Two pilgrims baptized at the Jordan River.

Day 12 of Trip to Israel

2007-07-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

Pastor Mike starting off the morning mentoring these young pastors on the fine art of journaling.

Pastor Jack leading us in a morning song on the bus.

A menorah that stands over the hills of Jerusalem. This was given to the people of Jerusalem by England as a symbol of peace between the two countries.

A common sight as you go into different touring sights.

A model city of Jerusalem during the days of Jesus.

This area displays some of the pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Due to sensitivity reasons, you are not allowed to take pictures.

Yad Vashem - The Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. This wonderful museum, which is a must see for any visitor to Israel, tells the story of the Jewish people during the time of the Holocaust. You get to actually hear and see the stories of people who went through the ordeal, typically the rememberances of the adults who were children at the time. It would take a good three hours to go through it completely because it is so well done with hundreds of artifacts and stories that are presented. It is a very somber tour. In all, 6 million Jewish people died during this time.

One of the heroes of the Holocaust - Oskar Shindler, a German who hired Jewish people in his factories in order to save them from destruction.

The Hall of Names - where the names of Holocaust victims are permanently preserved. Out of the 6 million people who died, they have the names of 3.5 million.

When you finish the tour, you step outside to this beautiful view of Jerusalem which gives you time to reflect about what you've just experienced and pray that it never happens again.

This statue is dedicated to a Jewish/Polish educator, Janus Korczak, who took Jewish children under his wings to protect them in his orphanage. When the Germans came to take the children away, Korczek went with them and died beside them. Out of the 6 million who died, 1.5 million were children.

We had the opportunity to walk on the walls of Jerusalem, the walls that surround the Old City.

Pastor Jack, in the orange shirt, leads a time of prayer over the city.

The Zion Gate. See all the bullet holes in the wall? That happened during the Six Day War in 1967.

Day 11 of Trip to Israel

2007-07-30T04:41:00.000-07:00

The moon overlooking Jerusalem in the morning.

The Western Wall

As the Jewish people come to the Western Wall, fountains are available to ceremonially clean their hands.

Under the Western Wall, tunnels are still being excavated and they are always finding new things.

This section of the wall is 35' long and weighs 15 tons...and it's one, uncut piece of rock!

Some women come down here and pray at this section of the wall which they believe is one of the closest points to the Holy of Holies.

What the tunnels under the Western Wall looks like.

A Jewish soldier with an automatic rifle in his lap, while reading the Torah.

A common site at the Western Wall, men with phalacteries on their foreheads and leather straps on their arms, literally binding the commandments to their forehead and arms.

On the Southern Steps of the Temple. It was here that 3,000 received the Lord on Pentecost.

From the Southern Steps looking towards the Mount of Olives.

The southwest corner of the Temple Walls.

A common sight...soldiers with guns guarding the area.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Inside the church, some believe this is the area where Christ was crucified. The other place people believe Christ was crucified was at Golgotha shown in an earlier post.

Some believe that this is where Christ was resurrected. Others believe it was at the Garden Tomb.

Two pilgrims in the Holy Land.

Day 10 of Trip to Israel

2007-07-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today, we headed southeast-ward, towards the desert.

As we were driving in the desert, these luscious fig trees just pop right out of nowhere. Bags are tied to the trees in preparation for the harvest.

At Qumran (koom-rahn). This is the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, dating back to 100 B.C.

Looking towards the Dead Sea. Notice how desert looking the area is.

Pastor Jack had the tour bus pull over to an obscure desert area. There we built an altar, and poured oil over it, just like the days of the Old Testament, as a boundary marker, praying for the peace of Jerusalem. This is the first of four boundary markers we will build.

Masada. In 73 A.D. when the Romans invaded Jerusalem, a small group of 967 Jewish people took refuge on this solitary mountain. Because the Romans did not want ANY Jewish in the area, it was their mission to eradicate all Jewish people. It took the Romans 6 months to build a ramp leading to this mountain. But the group would not allow themselves to be captured and killed themselves before falling to the hands of the Romans.

A five minute cable car ride to the top.

Storehouses.

Below the black line is the original stone. Above the black line is a recreation of the wall.

A model of what the city looked like on top. It was originally built by Herod in the first century.

The flag of Israel proudly waves over Masada.

Pastor Mike floating on the Dead Sea.

Our evening session with Pastor Jack as he helps us process the day's events.

Day 9 of Trip to Israel

2007-07-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

These tour buses are excellent. The air conditioning relieves the heatness of the land - which got up to 97 degrees at some areas.

If you click on the picture, you will see an ant in the middle. Pastor Jack joked that on his first trip to Israel he took a picture of an ant, which looks like any other ant, but it was an Israeli ant!

Pastor Jack teaching up on the Mount of Olives.

Many people want to be buried near the Mount of Olives because of the belief that when Jesus comes back the dead in Christ will rise.

This is the type of tree that was used to make Jesus' crown of thorns.

The Palm Sunday Road which Jesus descended on top of a donkey.

The Garden of Gethsemane. The roots of the tree in the picture dates back to the time of Christ.

As Jesus was praying, he would be able to see the Eastern gate of the city. Although it is now closed, prophecy says that it will be through these gates that Jesus will enter.

The house of the High Priest Caiaphas.

The actual stairs Jesus walked after being judged at the house of the high priest.

This room is symbolic of the Upper Room where Jesus met with his disciples on his last night and would later be the place where Pentecost started. They are unsure of the exact location of the Upper Room but it would be near here.

Golgatha - the place of the skull where Jesus was possibly crucified. You can see the two eyes that are hollowed out areas in the mountain.

The Garden Tomb area. This is one of two sites where Jesus could have been buried.

Entering through the Damascus Gate.

It was in this area, or very close to it, at the Antonia Fortress, that Jesus was whipped with the cat of nine tails and his blood splattered the pavement and walls.

The Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the man who could not get to the pool in time in John 5.

Pastor Jack Mount of Olives Discourse - 1

Pastor Jack Mount of Olives Discourse - 2

Pastor Jack Mount of Olives Discourse - 3

Pastor Jack Mount of Olives Discourse - 4

Pastor Jack Mount of Olives Discourse - 5

Day 8 of Trip to Israel

2007-07-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

Used some of my free time to do some shopping. A lot of stores are located in the Old City. We are used to seeing a map of the Old City in the back of our Bibles. It looks something like this:

There are so many stores competing for your business that it gives you a chance to bargain with the store owners. One of the things you don't see in the stores are price tags.

A leg of roasted lamb.

A butcher skinning birds right in front of you.

A store with a lot of spices and scents.

When a person turns 18, they are required to be in the Israeli army. Men serve for four years, women for two. Here you see them carrying automatic weapons out in the open.

At dinner, Pastor Jack welcomes everyone to the School of Pastoral Nurture, the title Pastor Jack's investment into pastors. This special module focuses on Israel. There are 90 pastors and wives taking part.

Pastor Jack challenged us to do four things as we tour Israel:
1) Get it all - take it everything you can
2) See the small - sometimes you will some some detail that is significant only to you
3) Hear the call - sense the power of God in the sites
4) Have a ball - have fun

Day 7 of Trip to Israel

2007-07-26T02:07:00.000-07:00

Our sisters from Nairobi stand out in the crowd with their colorful pieces.

Pastor Jack leads the convention in prayer as 2,600 delegates kneel down and pray against the spiritual strongholds in Israel.

Tommy Walker again leads us in worship for the morning session.

Ken Medema composed this song right on the spot as he sings about the days ahead for the Foursquare Church. This man has the gift of prophetic worship.

Glenn Burris, Foursquare General Supervisor, gave a great message on God's promise, presence, and power.

Mike Larkin, Director of Foursquare Missions International, ties together Israel and the need for missions.

Full-time Foursquare missionaries are honored and prayed over.

Although much of the Foursquare administrative activity is done in Los Angeles, there are Foursquare leaders all over the world. Here, we honor some of them...they are from Turkey, Africa, Singapore...and the list goes on and on.

We end the convention with a time of communion.

We were all given a token of our time of communion - olive cups.

Tommy Walker closes our time together with what has become the convention's theme song, "Do It Lord," which isn't even available on his CDs yet.

The moon coming out as twilight descends on Jerusalem.

Day 6 of Trip to Israel

2007-07-25T05:21:00.000-07:00

The convention has been run really well. With 2,600 delegates, things need to run smoothly on a massive scale. This is the name tag that tells us what bus to board, which hotel to go to, and which tour we're on, along with the larger pass that allows us into the convention.

The morning session featured Samuel Smadja. He owns Sar El Tours (sar-el stands for minister of God) - a picture of his buses is below. He is a Messianic Jew and gave four reasons why Jewish people have a difficult time with Jesus as the Messiah:
1) The Jewish people have suffered tremendously under those who said they were "Christians."
2) The concept of a suffering Messiah is difficult for them to accept.
3) The concept that the Messiah is a man is too foreign to them.
4) The concept of grace (vs. works) makes no sense to them.

Praise continues as Tommy Walk leads us.

Wayne Hilsden is a Canadian who felt a call from God to move to Israel and plant a church. He just completed a 14 story prayer tower.

Pastor Jack led a time of prayer for the leaders who are at the forefront of helping the Jewish people see that Jesus is the Messiah.

During the evening session, Pastor Jack acknowledged the volunteers who came from the States to help with the convention.

Pastor Jack gave us a very special treat for the evening session. Rather than someone telling us about the plight of the Jewish people, he showed us. He brought in a performing group presenting The Covenant. They showed the stories we read about in the Bible all the way to the formation of the Jewish people as a nation. This is the only group that is approved by both a Christian coalition and the Israeli government.

Here are the slaves in Egypt from Exodus.

Moses is being readied to be put in a basket.

Pharoah's daughter finds Moses.

Caleb and Joshua try to convince the people that the land can be taken.

Ruth does not want to leave Naomi.

Celebration in Boaz' fields.

Boaz and Ruth declare their love for each other.

The prophet Samuel anoints David.

The Ark of the Covenant is brought before David.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are saved from the furnace. See the figure on the screen?

Esther pleads God for her people.

Jesus forgives the adultress woman.

The Jewish people in England, 1290.

The Jewish people, Spain, 1492.

The Jewish people, Poland, 1942.

The Holocaust.

The Nation of Israel, 1948. That's a picture of David Ben-Gurion on the screen. Ben-Gurion was the Prime Minister of Israel when it became a nation.

Israel children with today's Israeli's army.

Remembering how far the Jewish people have come. That's Moses and Abraham.

The well-deserved standing ovation. Afterwards, this perfoming group sang a prayer of blessing over us.

This was the line for DVDs and CDs after the performance was over.

Day 5 of Trip to Israel - 07/23/07

2007-07-24T02:51:00.000-07:00

One of the main reasons Pastor Mike and I are here is to represent New Hope Mililani at the annual Foursquare denomination convention. It has been a wonderful experience as God is granting us a greater love, understanding, and vision for this city called Jerusalem, this land called Israel, and the people who are Jewish both here and across the world.

This is the Israel Convention Center where our convention is being held.

Ken Medema led us in morning worship. This man continues to amaze me with his anointing. Here he uses his chest as a drum.

Throughout the day, we are continually praying and rejoicing in unison.

I appreciate how Pastor Jack blends in with the culture.

This is Ari Sorko-Ram, a pastor to the Messianic Jewish people. He gave a strong biblical message on how the Christian faith started with the Jewish people, was extended to the Gentiles, and now needs to be renewed with the Jewish people.

Tommy Walker led us in worship for the second morning session.

You may have read back in April when three Christians were murdered by young Muslims in Turkey. Because of that one act, this pastor, Ihsan Ozbek, was interviewed on international TV and radio and was able to spread the gospel. It is a reminder that the Christian life is not just a life of love and joy, but one of suffering and death.

Pastor David Davis leads a church that ministers to Jewish, Arab and Ethiopian Christians. Here, his wife, Karen Davis, representing the Jewish people, and Anna Hayford, the wife of Jack Hayford, representing the nations, light the menorah, as a symbol of the Jewish people and the other nations being united as one.

The evening session again started with prayer and praise.

This is Pedro Eustache, an accomplished musician, who has handcrafted 500 instruments, many of them wind instruments. He has performed on the soundtracks of the Passion of the Christ and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Pastor Jack gave the evening message...

...and concluded it by handing out to everyone anointing oil where we all laid hands on one another and prayed.

Pastor Jack there are six reasons why Jerusalem is special:
1) This is the only city where the Lord has put His name here.
2) Salvation came from this place.
3) Jesus was crucified here.
4) Jesus resurrected here.
5) Jesus ascended from here.
6) Jesus will return to here.

One of the things they did at the convention was to honor those who has served in the Foursquare denomination for 25, 50, and 60 years. Here Ken Medema composes a song on the spot while the slides (which he can't see) scrolls. It's pretty amazing how he can end right when the show ends.

Tommy Walker was asked to compose a song to help the American people fall in love with Israel. I believe the title of this is "Celebrate the Land of Israel."

Day 4 of Trip to Israel

2007-07-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

The sun getting ready to break over Jerusalem.

Breakfast buffet serving fruits...

...olives and pimentos...

...a salad bar...

...baked goods...

and fish.

A picture of the hotel we are staying at...The Regency Jerusalem.

A map of the shuttle route - we had a free day so we decided to hop on the shuttle and head to Old Jerusalem. If you click on the picture you will see where our hotel is in relation to the Old City.

The Jaffa Gate

The Tower of David

Some alleyway (we didn't know where we were going).

Pastor Mike and me with the Dome of the Rock in the back.

Looking towards the Mount of Olives.

The Western Wall.

Yarmulkes - all people need to wear some sort of head covering.

What Pastor Mike looks like with a yarmulke.

Prayers on paper fill the walls.

To the left of the Western Wall is an alcove where more prayers are conducted along with a training area for young Jewish men.

This was a coned off area where you can see how deep the temple area went down to.

Click on the picture to read the significance of the Western Wall.

Overlooking the city outside the city walls.

The first golden menorah constructed since the destruction of the holy temple.

Inside the Israel Convention Center where our Annual Foursquare Convention is being held. Over 2,600 delegates are attending.

Tommy Walker led our worship.

Ken Medema is a strong worship leader. Two things stand out: 1) he is a prophetic worshipper - he is able to compose worship music right on the spot, sometimes based on the message that was just given, and 2) he has been blind from birth.

Our speaker, Asher Intrater, was prayed over by his youngest son prior to giving the opening message.

Pastor Mike meeting some Filipinos who are caretakers for people living in Tel Aviv.

Day 3 of Trip to Israel

2007-07-21T20:11:00.001-07:00

One of the first sights you see as you come off the plane...Ben Gurion Airport.

As you are making your way to baggage claim via the upper concourse, the lower concourse has a pond where a circular shower of water comes falling from above.

Pastor Mike showing his passport. The clerk later told me that I wasn't supposed to take pictures in this area. Ooops.

Pastor Mike getting NIS - New Israeli Shekels. The currency is 1 to 4 - 1 US dollar for every 4 NIS.

The airport is huge. These columns are right outside the baggage claim.

The arrival area where you pick up passengers was empty because it was the Sabbath.

As you go from Tel Aviv, where the airport is, to Jerusalem, the main city about 30 minutes east, you mostly see dry, desert-type of land.

An Israeli gas station.

We were welcomed by Foursquare Banners as we came to our hotel.

Right outside our room...a roadway that has Tel Aviv in big letters.

This is a Sabbath elevator. Because Jewish people do no work on the Sabbath, this elevator will take you to every floor so that you don't have to push a button.

The salad table at the dinner buffet.

More vegetables.

Looking towards Old Jerusalem from our hotel at night.

Day 2 of Trip to Israel - Newark

2007-07-21T04:57:00.000-07:00

A view of the Empire State Building from our hotel room.

Checking in at the international area of Continental Airlines.

This was pretty funny. At the gate, they called for rows 1-10 and a swarm of people headed towards the gate, many of them not in rows 1-10. The Continental staff had to do crowd control...first time I've ever seen that happen.

Not much to blog about since Day 2 was a travel day for us.

We have landed safely in Israel and will be using the rest of the day to rest for the convention which starts on Sunday. We are 13 hours ahead of Hawaii. Tomorrow there will be pictures of Israel!

Day 1 of Trip to Israel - Newark

2007-07-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

Pastor Mike and I left Honolulu Wednesday night, had a stopover in Salt Lake City and arrived in Newark Thursday afternoon. Here's a view of the Newark airport from our hotel room.

We leave tomorrow afternoon for an 11-hour non-stop flight to Israel. Thanks for your continued prayers! (Correction 07/21/07: it was a 9.5 hour flight. I think it's 11 hours going back to Newark from Israel.)