Israel - Update #5

Here is an update from Alison, one of the Israel team members:

Picture 1 - We were able to enjoy a meal at a beduin restaurant at the base of Mt Tabor on Sunday evening.  We opted to sit at the tables for the meal section and then resort to the floor for the dessert and coffee.  There are the traditional beduin tables and cushions that we reclined on.  The owner and those working at the restaurant were extremely hospitable and friendly.  We enjoyed some of the fiercly strong "coffee in a thimble", as I like to call it, complete with grounds in the bottom and hint of cardemon.  

Picture 2 - After the meal, we then went to the top of Mt Tabor (one of the spots where the transfiguration of Christ may have happened).  As we all exited our three vehicles and went to avidly snap our touristy photographs, the call to prayer started in a 100 different directions and eerily rang out over the valley we looked down on.  All of the group fell silent, several of us switched on our videos as we panned across the expanse of the valley.  In the picture, you can see pockets of dark, which is still just hill country, and shining patches of light which indicate the cities.  Within those patches of light reside an almost 100% Muslim population.  This is especially sad considering this is the land that Jesus lived and walked and taught and healed in.  As one of our local believing friends had pointed out, they've forgotten the teachings that he had brought to them not that long ago.

Picture 3 - This is the hospital in Nazareth that we're working at.  Its the most frequented hospital in Nazareth and it has the only emergency room that is open 24/7.  They're just completing work on 4 new operating rooms and they have many babies born.  There have been almost 15 born between the time we arrived Wednesday.  In specific, the second evening, we had been informed by the midwife at the hospital that there was a woman who was having contractions, but the baby was way too early to arrive so they were trying to do what they could.  The ladies in the group who had spoken to the midwife told her to inform the pregnant woman that we would pray for her - and not 20 minutes later, a group of 5 of us did pray for her.  The next day, we met up with the midwife in a meeting and she told us how she had told the pregnant woman we had prayed for her and that she was overjoyed and her mother, who was with her, was so happy that she literally jumped up and down.  We pray that these M women would come to know Christ through the love that we can share with them and that God would keep this baby safe and would in fact raise him or her up to serve him in a great way in this land.


Over and out for Wednesday, May 20th!

Alison