Reflections on Missions Trip to Egypt & Israel

EGYPT What an honor it was to encounter Jack in the flesh. The joy of the Lord just shone from his face. His devotion and commitment to Christ is total. He simply lives to see folks won for the Lord. Despite the fact that he has been urged several times to upgrade his car, he still drives a beat up LADA. It’s the Rolls Canardly model. It rolls down one side of a hill, but can hardly get up the other side. His reasoning? “Pastor John, I don’t want to live above the standard of the people I’m ministering to.” What a spirit!! He is constantly setting up small house churches throughout the country where groups of believers meet to worship and pray with great passion. I was privileged to accompany Jack on one of these home visits. The lady of the house was confined to bed with a degenerative spinal condition. Her one desire was to get well enough, not so much to improve her own quality of life, but so that she could set up a house church for God’s people in her home. Wah! Jack’s wife, Rose, and his three lovely children are a tremendous support to him. Having got to know Rose well enough, I asked the question, “Rose, how do you cope with this crazy husband of yours?” Her reply, “Pastor John, I just as crazy for Jesus as he is!” Please keep remembering Jack, Rose, and family in your prayers.

Another lasting memory from Cairo was the mid-week student service in Pastor Noor’s church in downtown Cairo where 1200 - 1500 university students gave up their studies for an evening to prioritize worshipping God. And could they worship! It was so astonishing. Their devotion, and intentionality, and faith In the heartland of a MUSLIM country was deeply humbling and challenging to all on our team. JESUS DIED FOR EGYPTIANS, TOO! And praise God, significant numbers of them are accepting this fact and turning over their lives to Him to become devoted Christ followers.

GAZA We were informed that we were the first tourists in Gaza for over 9 months, but what a significant visit it was. We were privileged to carry in around 2000 Bibles and books to the Bible Society office in the center of Gaza town. They had been waiting for this consignment for over a year. You can imagine their joy. We were assured that each Bible and book would be shared among at least 10 people. In effect we were ministering to 20,000 hungry seekers in the Gaza strip. What an honor!!

I was humbled by the sacrifice of Pastor Hanna of Gaza Baptist Church . He had been married for just a year, but had only seen his new bride for half that time. She is Jordanian and the Jewish authorities would not grant her a visa to transfer into the Gaza strip. So he serves God faithfully but without the support and companionship of his dear wife. Yet in the midst of hardship, persecution, and injustice these dear believers simply exude the joy of the Lord. It’s so challenging. Without question “the joy of the Lord is their strength.” And in that strength they are reaching significant numbers in their community for Christ. Palestinians who are weary of the deadness and harshness of Islam are finding new life and purpose in Christ. Praise God!!

BETHLEHEM In the wasteland of the West Bank , Bethlehem Bible College is truly a spiritual oasis. Streams of living water are flowing from this God honoring complex to feed the parched souls in the neighborhood around them. Ably led by Dr. Bashira and a team of dedicated leaders, the college not only prepares 200 students throughout West Bank towns for Christian service, but provides for the spiritual needs of the Bethlehem community through an amazing array of vibrant ministries, which includes feeding the poor and the families of the unemployed, providing a public library for all to enjoy which includes a large percentage of Christian literature, and providing counseling for families who have been traumatized by the ongoing violence.

Then there was Rachael, a godly sister who works in Jerusalem , and who has a really hard time getting through the Israeli check point each day. Recognizing her as a frequent visitor to the check point one Israeli captain asked her, “Lady, why are you so patient and gracious with us? After all, we are your enemy, and we give you such a hard time.” To this Rachael replied, “Captain, you are not my enemy! I have only one enemy and that is Satan himself who sadly continues his mission of corrupting the human heart.” She has two lovely sons who everyone thinks are just great. When asked about her aspirations for her boys, she said, “My only concern is that they are 100% committed to Christ!” I wonder what our top desire is for our kids?

Please remember friends, that the extremists represented by the suicide bombers speak for only 3% of the Palestinian population. The vast majority of them are warm, welcoming, hospitable people FOR WHOM CHRIST DIED and increasing numbers are realizing and responding to this life changing, destiny changing fact, and are becoming passionate and devoted disciples of Jesus. My over riding impression from our trip was the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit that’s taking place among the peoples of Gaza and the West Bank. The Lord of the Church is building his church, and that includes the Palestinian people. PRAISE HIS NAME!!

Pastor John             

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