I know, the year is almost over but I really had to write one last post.
I could not skip writing a summary about my impressions and experiences in Israel.
My mom and I began our journey to Israel with the mindset to not plan a lot ahead but to be guided by God and to see and wait for what he has in store for us in the land with whose people he wrote and still writes history.
Spoiler: It was the best thing we could've done, of course, because as it is well-known, God wants the best for us und loves to give us the best, if we want it.
Therefore I will start with naming two things, I remember most about Israel as a country:
Because of God, our journey was filled with inspiring, interpersonal encounters.
The people being very kind.
In Jerusalem, the city we visited first, my mom and I sat down at the roadside after walking around in Jerusalem's Old City for the whole day, and a women came by and offered us cookies. As if it would be a normal thing to do - to share your cookies with strangers on the street. Right now, it seems to me, as if Jesus showed his encouraging, strengthening, kind nature through this women in that moment. As if God would use people and their actions to spread the essence of his character.
Another experience that fascinated me in Jerusalem, was that I felt an enormous peace in this city. As if God would be filling out every corner there is with his presence.
When Google taught me, that Jerusalem means "City of Peace", it was totally clear to me why.
There was peace bursting out of every little corner of this city.
The second inspiring interpersonal encounter I will tell you about was in Jaffa. The city Jaffa is known for its harbour because its known as the oldest harbour there is in the world and from this harbour the Bible says, Jona started his journey to Tarsis.
Back to the encounter: This one is a very good example for a situation God just initiated and guided.
We were going through the Old City of Jaffa (There several little fashion shops can be found, where you could see how the clothes were made in a separate room. I really liked that, it was pretty cool.) on our way to the toilet near by the tourist information.
While waiting for my mom, I met a woman and we talked. She told me about a guesthouse called "Beit Immanuel" next to a church in the center of the Old City of Jaffa. She told me that it is an amazing possibility to stay while being in Jaffa, not very expensive with nice and friendly people and beautiful services. Besides that she told me about the possibility to volunteer at that guesthouse.
Because the guesthouse was very near by the tourist information and my mom and I already planned coming back for a second time, and also because the AirBnB we were living in that time, wasn't as near to the Old City as we thought, we decided to go and visit the church as well as the guesthouse.
On our way to the church, we met the woman again, we talked a bit longer, she told us more and where exactly we could find the church and the guesthouse.
So we went there and looked at the church, which was very beautiful. After that, my mom asked me if we still want to go to the guesthouse or not and I said that we could but that I don't have to. And then my mom said, okay let's just go there
- thank God I listened to her.
Because we happened to have a very beautiful encounter with two women from Brasil and the USA, volunteering there. We had such a wonderful conversation that it ended with a house tour and praying for each other in the end. I think, I haven't had a conversation that had such an empowering and encouraging impact on my life for a long time.
This day simply was like a "Hey, I love you and I'd like to do something good for you" from God without me even asking for it.
God just simply enjoys doing something good for us even if it happens crabwise and through little things.
He really loves us und you don't just see that in tremendous miracles happening but especially in the little, beautiful things which are often presenting the loving and comforting nature of God much better to us.
The second inspiring interpersonal encounter I will tell you about was in Jaffa. The city Jaffa is known for its harbour because its known as the oldest harbour there is in the world and from this harbour the Bible says, Jona started his journey to Tarsis.
Back to the encounter: This one is a very good example for a situation God just initiated and guided.
We were going through the Old City of Jaffa (There several little fashion shops can be found, where you could see how the clothes were made in a separate room. I really liked that, it was pretty cool.) on our way to the toilet near by the tourist information.
While waiting for my mom, I met a woman and we talked. She told me about a guesthouse called "Beit Immanuel" next to a church in the center of the Old City of Jaffa. She told me that it is an amazing possibility to stay while being in Jaffa, not very expensive with nice and friendly people and beautiful services. Besides that she told me about the possibility to volunteer at that guesthouse.
Because the guesthouse was very near by the tourist information and my mom and I already planned coming back for a second time, and also because the AirBnB we were living in that time, wasn't as near to the Old City as we thought, we decided to go and visit the church as well as the guesthouse.
On our way to the church, we met the woman again, we talked a bit longer, she told us more and where exactly we could find the church and the guesthouse.
So we went there and looked at the church, which was very beautiful. After that, my mom asked me if we still want to go to the guesthouse or not and I said that we could but that I don't have to. And then my mom said, okay let's just go there
- thank God I listened to her.
Because we happened to have a very beautiful encounter with two women from Brasil and the USA, volunteering there. We had such a wonderful conversation that it ended with a house tour and praying for each other in the end. I think, I haven't had a conversation that had such an empowering and encouraging impact on my life for a long time.
This day simply was like a "Hey, I love you and I'd like to do something good for you" from God without me even asking for it.
God just simply enjoys doing something good for us even if it happens crabwise and through little things.
He really loves us und you don't just see that in tremendous miracles happening but especially in the little, beautiful things which are often presenting the loving and comforting nature of God much better to us.
