The Unforgettable Moments in Israel

They say when you come to Israel, everyone has this “moment” or multiple “moments”. These “moments” tend to happen when the words you’ve resonated with your whole life within your Bible become your reality in those few seconds. A moment like this can’t be described; it’s like when you sit by the Sea of Galilee and see a boat floating on the peaceful water, just as the disciples did after He calmed the storm (Matthew 8:23-27). Another time might be when you’re sitting in an old house from that time and all of a sudden roof is falling on you because these men wanted to bring their paralyzed friend into the same house to be healed by Jesus (Mark 2:1-5). It’s within these beautiful, indescribable moments that the black and white text in my Bible is finally in color. These moments bring an overflow of emotions and feeling of God’s love each time, but they don’t stop there.

Something I’m very thankful for on this trip is getting the opportunity to travel with a multitude of pastors and people in ministry. Not only are us interns learning from the tour guides but we’re learning from the people around us and building relationships we never thought we would.

This Ronen, our amazing tour guide.

For example, little did I know going to breakfast this morning, I would be having a conversation with one of the pastors that I will be holding onto for the rest of my life.

As someone in ministry sometimes you may find yourself asking the question, “Am I qualified?

Today I learned, I should always feel unqualified and continue to pursue things in my ministry that might bring holy discontent. The moment I feel qualified, is when pride and being comfortable set in that leads to a mindset of “I am in control” when really Jesus is the one in control.

I sat in “aw” as he gave examples of Abraham, Moses, and others not being qualified but having to depend on God to do what they did. Abraham couldn’t have had a baby without God’s help. Moses couldn’t have gotten the Israelites out of Egypt without God’s help.  I think God being in control instead of me is something I forget at times, and I don’t think I’m the only one.

Nonetheless, within all these moments big or small, the rest of the interns and I have been like sponges all week trying to retain every little thing we can. Day six, has been nothing but fun getting to learn about Roman cities and seeing the Mediterranean Sea for our first time. We can’t wait for what awaits us tomorrow!