Riverside around the World

The (sleepy) HungaryWilsons in Budapest

2006-08-04T17:27:00.000-05:00

Zsofi wrote:

Dear Riverside Community!

We made it safe to Hungary! Thank you all who have remembered us in your prayers. We felt them. On our long flight, though the plane was almost completely full, we hade an entire row of seats just to ourselves! A welcome blessing, especially for a pregnant mommy.

Anyway we just wanted to say good-bye and express some of our thankfulness. We are so grateful that God brought us to your church during our time in Texas, and we have enjoyed all the time we could fellowship with you. Thank you for your love and support! In particular:
Scott, you are a very gifted teacher, leader and both of us have learned a lot from you. Thank you for your love and giving us the opportunity to serve at Riverside! Jenny thank you for serving us free drinks at the Loft and always making us feel absolutely welcomed. John and I have been to many coffee shops but the Loft is clearly the best!!! John R., thank you for helping both of us to share in the amazing experience of the Walk to Emmaus. It has changed our hearts! Cathi, thank you for your gentle love and please tell Emily that she has been a special blessing to Mrs. Zsofi! My dear 4th Day Group, I am privileged to know you and I loved our meetings. Thank you for encouraging me, I have learned a lot from each one of you. Jamie, thank you also for the maternity clothes! I also want to thank all of my counselees. I enjoyed my time with each one of you and I am thankful that we could be together on an exciting journey of discovering more of God’s plan and healing for you. Evans and Esther, thank you for bringing us into your Life Group. What a special group! We love each one of you and will miss you. Phillip, you made John very happy with the golf clubs. He will miss playing. Mel and Wendy, thank you for the books, the inspiring discussions and the tomato soup dinners! :-) John and Linda, we appreciate your support, your gift came at the perfect time! Jenni and Robert, thank you for connecting us with Dr. Cox. He has been so generous to us. Cindy, thank you for the precious goodbye card and everyone who has signed it. We will treasure it. And thank you all for the lovely baby shower. Baby Wilson is blessed by having so many people loving him or her even before the birth.

This list could go on and on, but let me close this post by thanking everyone in the Riverside Community for giving us such a great spiritual home during our time in Spring Branch. You have changed and blessed us more than you probably realize. We will miss you and look forward to seeing you again!

With our love,
John and Zsofi

Ps: I don’t know if there will be a Riverside blog after this summer, but you can check for pictures and updates from us on our blog.

We are in the Netherlands!

2006-07-29T01:03:00.000-05:00

Well, we are having our 3 hour layover here, then we have a 7 hour lay over when we get to New Jersey, then on to Austin, yeah!!

This has been the most incredible journey for all of us! We have laughed, cried, definitely been stretched in every way from some fear to total joy! God has given us the best time and we can't wait to tell you about it all when we get home! I have already typed this once and got kicked off, so this will be shorter but we are all safe and very happy to be coming home!

The finally for us was yesterday with a boat ride to the islands where they have built Bethany Village! We got to see African Renewal Ministries version of their schools and homes for the children! It was like fantasy island for the orphans! I was so thrilled for them all! For me, I love to see God's glory and He knows that I love being on the water and I had asked to hike in Africa and see a monkey! We did it all yesterday! I can't tell you what it did for me! We all have awesome pictures to show you and as we ate at a five star hotel yesterday on an island, we wanted to send you pictures and joke with you that we were really in the Carribean! Thanks for the great trip! It truly has been amazing and we are all grateful that we have seen more people accept Jesus than we could have dreamed! We got to love on thousands of children, watch each other shine using the gifts that God gave us, and meet some wonderful people! There is so much need here that we will have to pray for dissernment on where all to start! But there is definitely a calling here! We have all felt it and obviously God has blessed our efforts!

We have all had so many wonderful memories built with each other! We are all also sick of fish filets, french fries, and french toast! The jokes and laughter will be something that we will cherish forever! The question is "where will we eat out first when we get home?" With options like Ox-liver stew or fish soup how could we not miss mexican food? I got a little whiny the other day as I looked at another menu that made me sick and thought, Lord, I am ready to go home. I have reached my breaking point! I admit that I am a wimp, in case no one else wants to fess up!!!

We are all ready for some awesome Riverside hugs and very thrilled that it will be Sunday when we get home so we can see you all at church! Jack is ready for Jim Jones' hugs! I just want to see you all and just be there! You are all so special! A few days into the trip, someone commented to me (because I was so frustrated with the computers) that it didn't matter if I blogged, we could just communicate with you when we got home. I said "YOU DO NOT KNOW OUR COMMUNITY!" We are like family and we want to know what each other is doing and how we are! They care if we are o.k. and how things are going. We all felt tied to you no matter how far away we were! So just know, as I listened to Jeremy Camp's song "RIGHT HERE", I cried as I thought of you all and felt like - God you are right here with me and all of these beautiful, hungry African people, then I thought of how close I feel with all of you and how much we missed you and it touched my heart like you will never know!

There is so much to tell; none of us will ever forget all of the sweet hands that we have held or the kids that almost knocked us down at they even came up from behind to grab our legs with kids all around us in front! Or watching Rick, Brian and Josh draw them in and then make a loud noise and watch them scream and run off only to come right back for more! Just know that it was amazing and you all should experience this in your life time!

We will see you on Sunday! We love you all and we are all so blessed to have each other and be a part of what God is doing through Riverside! I hear that you have had quite a great time and have been blessed while we were away and that is so great!

If you get this, pray for our remaining travel journey! And thank you all for the blogs back to us! They meant so much!

Love you! Teresa

Hello from Court

2006-07-26T23:51:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. First off, thank you all for the blog responses. We just love reading them. Wes, you are so sweet. Cathi - thanks for your encouragement, it helps! Han - what can I say?? I cannot wait to see you! Jen - thanks for The Loft updates...gives us a little piece of home...love you! All of you, thanks so much!

We had a great, relaxing night last night. Today, we head off to a village called Mawembe. Please pray for us to all hear from God as to where He wants us and Riverside to partner...

I feel compelled to tell you about Iganga...there is SO much though. I dont even know where to begin. First off, one of the days, we went to New Grace orphanage and school. On this one site, they have a seminary for BOTH men and women, an orphanage, a clinic, a school, and a church. THere were over 500 kids in bright purple uniforms that were more ecstatic to see us than any we have seen. I got off the van and began to cry...I know, most of you are thinking, well...it is Courtney - she is a crier. But, I have been surprisingly reserved this whole trip until I got to this place. So many of us just had tears running down our faces. Not because of the desperation, but because of the joy and the hope. Many of these children are orphans from the North (the war). The government picks up truckloads of them and drops them off in town. Our African trip leader (Peter) is the New Grace director. He has a heart and a vision for these children so he started New Grace. THe kids often just get dropped off at New Grace for Peter to "deal with" The faces of these children...I cannot describe with words.

At New Grace, the teachers are ALL volunteers, the Pastr, is a volunteer, the Head Master...a volunteer. Peter...volunteer. None of them get any more money than what it takes t ocover basic needs for life. Thier water well is dirty and shallow. Their pits (toilets) are nothing that any child should have to use. Yet, they are all so happy. They feel called to this place by Gd and therefore, in thier eyes, do not feel like they can walk away. They do not have the money for orphans dorms, so the orphans sleep on the floors of the church, the clinic and classrooms. The female orphans sleep in what was the Pastors sleeping quarters. THey have meta bunk beds stacked so close together. There are 40 of them seeping in a 12 X 20 room (if it is that big). This is their reality...everyday, the number of rphans grow. Peter gives much of his salary to feed them all...I could go on and on.

The thing that broke me, was thier joy and thier resolve. The Pastor was so clear as to what God called him to...to educate men and women, to take care of orphans and widows. He and six of his family members are living in a room. Together. That is all he can afford. He rides his bike 20 miles both ways to his parents house to get food for his family. As he shared all of this, he had the biggest smile on his face...he has the joy and peace of God because he knows he is doing what he has been called to do.

AS I looked throught the "orphan book", I was overwhelemed...page after page of AIDS orphans... Having a parent die of AIDS is like having a cold to us. SO COMMON!

The joy and hope in these kids and adults was overwhelming. They loved learning...felt blessed to be at New Grace... There are so many needs...

I will sign off now, because I cannot put words that are adequate and it is frustrating me... just know our hearts were tugged and God moved while we were there.

Love to you all! Hanna - there are so many 3rd optioners here...I understand it better now...it looks like Jesu :)

Court

The Adonai - Wednesday

2006-07-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

Oh my gosh! We have seen Heaven in Africa! We have just arrived at the Adonai Hotel and we are all rejoicing at the beauty of the hotel. Linda is currently dancing to the Christian music playing and it really is awesome! Brian is taking a HOT shower that is basically the size of our last hotel room; it really is huge! This is the best reward that we could have right now!

What a wonderful adventure this has been and we have mixed emotions about coming home! I think that Marin and Sarah want to move to Africa! Courtney, Brian, Jack and Josh I think would stay a few more weeks! Linda, Jenni, Rick,Sonya, and Teresa are all ready for a pedicure and our own beds!!! Well, maybe Rick won't do the pedicure, but he is ready to see his girls and his dog!

We are all blown away at God's movement here! We fed the homeless this morning and actually took in some orphans off the street and put them into Peter's school and orphanage in Iganga! Tomorrow we are going to the islands to another orphanage. Wes, I can't promise any life vest, but you have to know that God has been so amazing at going before us every where we have been and totally provided! Now that we are totally safe, I have to say that at the hotel that scared the pants off of us, (like to the point that Jenni was in tears) she actually left her key outside her door to her hotel room all night and nothing went wrong! They do a walk through the hotel every night and lock whoever is in - in and whoever is out - out! We have been very safe everywhere we go.

We have laughed so much and literally been in the bush everywhere we go. The roads sometimes are truly 2-3 feet wide with potholes that are hilarious. Well, they are to me because I laugh when I get nervous! Let's just say that I have laughed alot! The roads are really just bike trails and I thank God that Peter knows his way around!

We have seen thousands of children follow Jesus as their Savior and we don't even count any more. (We were only counting because the other team required it, but it was neat for a while) Now we just stand in awe at the scene before our eyes as God has prepared the harvest and all we did was present the truth!

We have been teaching the women and the men, also! To teach in a culture that you may be the 4th wife or been kicked out of your home because of their new faith, I have to tell you that we have been stretched, challenged, and stumped. But no matter how hard the circumstances, we have to teach them to be faithful to the God that loves them and wants the best for them!

We have so much to tell you and I have to say that the internet has frustrated me to the point of wanting to pull the cords out of the wall! I finally realized that I was spending money on this instead of feeding children with it! Where we are at is so nice and this actually works, so it is a pleasure to communicate with you!

Know that we are all very happy, healthy and missing you all very much! Continue to pray for our journey here and we will all be home very soon! Be bless and bold! God is mighty! We love you! The African Salvation Team!

Riverside around the World

2006-07-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

Riverside around the World

June 24
Greetings from Iganga! Today we saw many of the invisible children in the streets of Iganga. The invisible children are orphan refugees from Sudan and northern Uganda who flee south to escape the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) terrorist group. The govt. dumps many of them here in Iganga, because the road from Sudan ends at the outskirts of town. The kids scavenge through the city dump in the morning in search of food. Today we will feed many of these kids at the orphanage that Servants of the King operates. Thanks Cathy...for trying to raise awareness back home about the plight of these children.
The crisis is real. Please continue to spread the word. Gotta go...it's Worship time...
Love and miss you all,
Sonia

Riverside around the World

2006-07-24T09:37:00.000-05:00

Riverside around the World

Monday June 24th

Greetings from Iganga! Today we saw many of the invisible children in the streets of Iganga. The invisible children are orphan refugees from Sudan and northern Uganda who flee south to escape the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) terrorist group. The govt. dumps many of them here in Iganga, because the road from Sudan ends at the outskirts of town. The kids scavenge through the city dump in the morning in search of food. Today we will feed many of these kids at the orphanage that Servants of the King operates. Thanks Cathy...for trying to raise awareness back home about the plight of these children.
The crisis is real. Please continue to spread the word. Gotta go...it's Worship time...
Love and miss you all,
Sonia

Iganga - from Court

2006-07-23T01:02:00.000-05:00

Hello! we are here...in Iganga. safe and sound! the internet service here is spotty at best. i pray this will work. the adventure to get us here was hilarious and memorable. rain, muddy roads, traffic like i have never seen before. all 11 of us were in a van together. it was such a ride. we got to see the source of the nile river and the falls at the nile. it was beautiful...we were all looking at each other in unbelief that we were even here.

i will tell you there were some teary eyes when we got to the hotel. it is stretching all of us. it is good though. we are actually at a "nicer" place than we had planned on staying. praise god!

if someone sees teresa's boys, please tell them she will call them soon. she tried and then got cut off. make sure they know she is fine as wes is out of town.

Courtney and Brian

2006-07-20T20:55:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! I have not written since the Amsterdam airport...Teresa has
been on top of it so I know you all are up to date. First of all, I am
feeling better - whoo hoo! Thanks for your thoughts and
prayers...especially from my sister! Love you!

Today was an awesome day! The best yet - for me. The school we went to had
such an awesome spirit! We had 130 kids stand up today and accept Christ. It
was awesome. They had such amazing questions too. One kid asked, "Do you
have any books that I can read to help me follow Christ?" (He was 12) We are
buying bibles in their language and are leaving them with most of the
teachers at the schools. So, I encouraged him to talk to his teacher. This
school seemed to me like one of the more poor schools...that is SO relative
let me assure you! We are in the middle of the bush of Africa so you can
imagine what "more poor" looks like in those terms. But, the feel of the
school - the spirit of the place was like a breath of fresh air. The
teachers were all so happy to be there and to be with the kids. They were
overwhelmed with the fact that we brought them bibles. I wish I could
explain how their faces lit up when we gave them to them. God's Word is such
a precious gift to these people. They were elated! There were so many kids
here that were visibally hungry - starving! They had huge bellies and thin
little faces! Yet, they sat so attentive as we told them that God - who
made them, loves them and died for them. Looking in those hungry eyes is
something that will never leave me. It a strange mix of despair and hope.
They are desperate for so much, but are so thankful when they meet Jesus and
even meet us...they teach me more than I ever could them.

Some of the kids sang for us as well. They were like little shining lights!
There was one little girl that just sat next to me, and Sarah had one that
clung to her as well. They just touched us and put their arms around us.
They could not get close enough to us! That is fairly rare for this culture.
They are usually pretty timid, however, these kids just wanted to be touched
and loved on so badly!

I asked the Head Master if there were any orphans, and he said yes, walked
out of the room and then summoned me out. When I walked out, 100 or so kids
were walking towards me. He said, here are the orphans. I was overwhelmed.
They sat in front of me and I just told them how loved they were. I cried
and told them that I was not crying because I was sad, but because I was
overwhelmed with how much Jesus loves them. It is a sight to be looking in
to the eyes of children who have felt very little love and feel very alone
in the world, and try to give them something that will bring hope! I am
thankful and humbled for the opportunity for these conversations. It is
something that I will have to let roll around in my heart for a while...

Brian was surrounded today. He sat on a bench that was about 4 or 5 feet
long with 3 kids in each arm. Again, they just could not get close enough to
him. It was like one little girl was just hiding in his chest. They are so
sweet!

Thanks to those of you that have written! We love staying in contact.

Yesterday when we all got up and danced with the kids who put on a
traditional African dance for us (yes, in the middle of the African bush -
what an experience), Brian was taking video...we have proof. We all kept
saying we were in the middle of National Geographic.

You should see Rick Hollands moves. Who knew that that guy had such moves.
He was so great. Everything he has been doing has been just awesome. He is
so open and excited about everything. The kids love him in his camo hat and
pants. They just giggle when he comes to them or introduces himself. I
cannot wait for everyone to see Teresa on the video dancing with the African
Pastor - it is awesome

Josh and Brian had us all rolling last night with their stories and wierd
faces they make. Josh has been so fun with all the kids. Every time we
stop somewhere, he gets out and blows bubbles...the kids go nuts!

Elizabeth, I am thinking of you a lot. Not sure why, I just can only
imagine you meeting these people. Wow!

There is so much more I could write, but my mind is a blur. I love this
place, these people. Hope to write more later. We have only one more day
of ministry here and then we go on to Iganga - it is about 7 hours from
here. We are told this is "nothing" compared to what we will see there. I
cannot fathom that - we will see. Call us anytime on our phone. Several
people have the number! We love hearing from home :) We are 8 hours ahead
of you....No wake up calls please:)

Hello from Masaka

2006-07-20T20:45:00.000-05:00

Sonia and I are reporting from the "other" team. The children are beautiful
and the pastors and Headmasters of the schools are radiant for Jesus. Today
I felt they were doing such a good job teaching the children that we were
the confirmation that , yes, what they had been taught was in fact the
Truth. They knew all the commandments, the Lord's prayer; they understood
sin and heaven. I sensed that they were amazed most with the cross.
Courtney and I realized that they needed to understand their need to actually choose
Him. I felt that God wanted me to emphasize the Kingdom of
Heaven..."mugulu" and tell the children that Jesus said the Kingdom has come.
"obwakabaka mugulu bunze" (The Kingdom of Heaven has come) I want them to
know that when Jesus is in them, the Kingdom is there, wherever they go...He
never leaves them. So many raise their hands to choose
Jesus. Prossy, one of our interpreters, taught me to say "Jesus loves you"
and "Follow Jesus"..."jesu okwagala" and "Goberere jesu" They hear the
Message and are saved, but they can they follow Jesus.
They are more receptive than I've seen in America.

The school today was without a roof and the English alphabet was written in
chalk on a piece of wood. Sonia and I met with the kids "under the mango
tree", as directed by the pastor. (sounds like a song title!) Our
translator for the Primary 3 group was great. Juliet listened to us say a
sentence, then would rattle on for a full minute preaching to the kids.
Sonia and I were almost out of a job! We worshiped in the van with two
tachers and Kenneth, a teacher at the second school. We
have so much to learn from them about joy and worship.

They loved the mirror and their photos on the camera. When we left, I said
"mugulu" and pointed to them and to me.. I said we would wave and say
"I met you in Uganda!!

Love ya'll Jenni

Greetings from Africa

2006-07-20T20:43:00.000-05:00

Today we visited a very rural school. We traveled up a bike path to get there! The kids treat us like rock stars! They are so precious, but there are so many needs. Many of the kids are orphans, many have malaria - but they are encouraged by our message of hope. Yesterday, after Jack and I taught a salvation message, a little boy followed us out to the van to ask us more about Jesus. I was overwhelmed by the look of hope he had in his eyes. I wished that we could take him home with us! Thanks for your prayer John! I love you. Please continue to pray for our health.
Love Sonia

Africa Phone Number

2006-07-20T15:46:00.000-05:00

If you are interested in contacting the Africa Missionary Team they do have a cell phone. They would love to hear from you. Next week, they will most likely not be able to blog, so the phone will probably be our only means of communication. You can purchase an international phone card online at www.speedypin.com (from USA to Uganda).

AFRICA CELL PHONE NUMBER: 011-256-774-208664

"GO" Team: We love you guys and are constantly praying for you!! You are all amazing people. It is so cool to see how God is moving through you all!! Stay strong and know that you are well loved! - BB

Mattresses and bibles

2006-07-20T10:20:00.000-05:00

We bought a case of bibles today and passed them out...everyone wants one! We have to fill that need! They are 7.00 each. I love their hunger for the word!

There are 70 mattresses that we need to buy for orphans that sleep on the dirt that we will be visiting next week . That is literally life to them to get them out of the parasites in the dirt. be praying.

Pray for these needs to be met! Love, T

Life in Africa on Thursday - from Teresa

2006-07-20T10:08:00.000-05:00

Bathroom stories...Well, we (I am leaving off names for protection of myself, they might kill me and leave me here!) we have had people pee on their feet, people cut their butts on reeds in the bush, someone peed on their skirt, Linda and I do have our own room, but our toilet doesn't flush and hasn't since we arrived! You have to just laugh at the situation because it really is funny! We literally like going in the bushes because it is cleaner! We are hearing that the situation at the orphanage next week is going to worse than anthing we have ever seen and we may want to put in bathrooms for the children! Be praying about that!

We were all laughing last night because we feel like we have been here for a month! There are many reasons, some being very good! We have seen more people come to Jesus than I have in my entire life!

I can tell you that God is very sad that we took him out of the schools in America and we are missing many blessings of eternal value! We need to pray about getting that changed, seriously!!!

Before I get kicked off, I love you Colton, Carson, Cameron and Wes! I miss you very much! I have been showing your pictures around Africa and they love them! Pretend that I am hugging you right now and Wes.. please be holding them and praying with them for me every night! Be sweet, know that I miss you and I really can't wait to come home!

Angie, thank you for all of the free music that you downloaded and Stacy thank you (and Kyle) for the speakers, they love the music ministry that you helped me bring here! I can't wait to tell you all about it!

I am sending this one...I haven't had much luck today. Love ya! T

Our journey continues...Wednesday

2006-07-19T09:39:00.000-05:00

We started today like every day, with an awesome worship time! Oh my! God’s presence was so powerful! Thank you Lord! We all knew it was going to be a great day! Were we ever right!!!

It started out by giving another Frisbee out and there was an armed guard with a big gun checking Brian and Courtney out! They do not know to trust us yet! When they were done playing, the guy made the sign of the cross on his chest to Brian! It is so awesome! Brian and Courtney are great wherever they go! They are naturals! Josh and Jack are the class clowns and God is using them in such a neat way! They are such a delight to be around!

O.k., I just heard that our numbers of salvation for today was 238! We have seen 777 come to Jesus since we have been here! Is that mind blowing? In case you wondered “Why Africa, maybe you have your answer now!” Cool!

Then Courtney started asking Pastor Peter about the orphanage that we are going to visit next week and since he is the Pastor over the place and they have the papers on each child proving that they have no parents, it would be easy to adopt a child! Guess who was freaking out! Linda and I said that they should take two and …I can’t tell you all that Brian said to me, but it was funny! He really appreciated our enthusiasm for a growing family!

People here really take pride in their homes! I saw a young girl sweeping the dirt in front of here home. That’s all there is …dirt! Boys, start sweeping at home, o.k.? Just kidding! They mop the floors here by hand with a rag seven times a day! Wow! I don’t think that I will ever gripe about doing laundry again, either!

There was a lady that got saved at breakfast, she just walked up to Linda and asked if she could sit down and the next thing you know…you guessed it!

There was even someone riding on a bicycle today that accepted Jesus. I don’t know all of the details, but who cares!

I scared a group of kids when I blew a bubble with my gum! I’m sorry but it was so funny!

A man from Kenya wants Linda and I to come teach their women. The Servants of the king want us to come back in February to do the same thing here! I have to get through this trip first! Sometimes I feel like I have been here forever!

The children are so sweet, to approach us, they kneel before us. We are not worthy of that, it is really a weird feeling!

We gave away a lot of bibles today and there is such a huge need for that. They are 7 dollars each, does anyone want to buy a bunch for us to give away?

I had my first day of sharing the gospel by myself today to two classes! It was awesome; thank you Lord for the opportunity to share your love. One of my interpreters was Muslim! Cool! We went up and talked to him afterwards and he said he loved Jesus, who knows, that was neat to me though!

Last year the school that we taught at today had voodoo heads hanging in all of the school windows! No children accepted Jesus last year because they were scared of the white people. They were literally still sacrificing children there last year and Phil had to ask them last year to stop their tribal dance because they were celebrating the death of children! This year, the heads are all gone! Servants of the King is going to build a new church on the property. It costs around 2,000 to build a church here!

We were asked yesterday if Jesus was African or European? Isn’t that cute?

We ended the day at the other teams school. We pulled up just in time to see the tribal dance that they were putting on for their group. Before we knew it, several of us were dancing with them in the center of the area! I danced with the Pastor! Courtney, Rick, Jenni, Sarah, Josh, myself and several others were out there! Jack decided that we were hurting relations with the country of Africa by dancing with them! It was a scary sight! We had so much fun! My oh my!!! I felt like we were all in the middle of National Geographic! Fun! Fun! Fun!

Well, I know that this is a lot of thoughts all at once, but I don’t want to get kicked off! There are no lights in here and this computer is ran totally by a generator! Life is good at home, eh?

We love you all! Thank you for your comments and remember that if you call us, it doesn’t use any of our phone minutes, so we would love to hear from you!

Be blessed and know that we are all healthy and happy; we are being used up! Stay sweet and know that there is no place like home!

The African Go Team!

words we have learned

2006-07-18T11:32:00.000-05:00

Here in Africa, as we drive down the road they yell "Masungu!" That means rich, white persons! They love seeing us and many of them have never seen a white person! They are even scared to let us touch them at first. One little girl started crying while Linda came up to her; sorry Linda, but it was funny!

Speaking of Linda and all of us that are praying and laying hands on the sick, God is healing people! They came with fever the other day and were fine the next day! It is so awesome! You have NEVER seen so many people line up for prayer!

Hello is Cali or Jumbo. Sin sounds like HEB (like the store) Linda, Teresa and Sarah were putting puppets out the windows and yelling Jesu Okwagala (Jesus loves you and Okwagala Nyu - which means and I do too!) Linda would laugh so hard every time she said Jumbo, she felt funny saying hi in another language, but Randy you would be so proud.

Be praying about how to invest in them with gifts. Matresses would be life to them due to germs. Bibles are always needed. There are so many needs. Pray for wisdom!

Gotta go! Love you! Teresa

From Josh and Teresa...

2006-07-18T11:15:00.000-05:00

My group or what I like to call the Cool Group went to a high school today there were 560 students. Hundreds of children were in pink dresses and shirts. He children were very well educated. He group spent more time teaching the children how to spread the word of Jesus because many were Christians. And when I say many I mean almost all. The game of enkoko enkoko embawa is very popular it was designed by Josh and our bus driver Kemba. It is really duck duck goose! The funnies thing today was when Rick taught a school girl how to chase her classmates with the puppets. I have never heard so much laughter. Jack and Sonya have become the 10 commandment masters And Jenni is the little engine over the salvation mission!

This is Teresa again,

Today Brian also cracked the kids up with his funny faces and sounds! The best was when he made the fart sound! It really blew them away!

Just know that we are having a great time! We are appreciating our toilets at the hotel because when we are traveling, it is better to use the bushes! So we really are in The Bush! Ha ha

Next week, there will not be toilets (there is actually one in the entire hotel) and they are usually just a hole in the ground. We also will not have hot water next week. God is breaking our pride and today, just to have my eggs, I started crying as I prayed thanks over my food. I really understand that everyone else around is thankful if they have one meal a day. My heart is broken over the hunger!

Today, I tried to share a little packet of nuts with some children and before I knew it I had hundreds of kids running over each other to get one. I felt like “Where is my dumb cap?” I felt horrible! You cannot imagine it until you are here!

Be thankful today. You are so blessed! Is what you are worrying about today really worth worrying about? Think about it. Malaria is all around us. Children are starving and sick and have nothing but their faith to bring them hope. We in America take so much for granted.

We miss you all and I can’t wait to hug you all!

With lots of love…keep praying for their souls!

Shema,

Teresa and the rest of the Go Team

Continue to pray for Courtney, she is not agreeing with the malaria medicine and hasn’t kept in any food since we began the trip! God Bless you all! We love you very much; Riverside is the best! T

More from Africa!

2006-07-18T11:08:00.000-05:00

Courtney and I finished the message yesterday, after all but 2 kids came forward, and we played the music on the speakers for the kids! They were gathered around us so tightly that we couldn’t move! It was so awesome and I looked up to see kids in the trees trying to see us and what we were doing! Does it remind you of anyone else in the bible climbing a tree? So cool!

They have really loved Sarah and Marin singing and dancing! It is so beautiful!

As we get to all of the churches or schools, they are so excited to see us that they sing and dance for us! It will make us all cry every time! They think that they are honored and it is really us! We are telling them that we are not special, but it is Jesus within us that is special. That when we leave, if they ask Jesus in their hearts, they don’t need us to lay hands on them, they have the power to heal and pray for their own sick in the name and power of Jesus! They are so excited and Scott, you will love hearing them yell the Shema! They even put up their pinkies! Courtney had them do it after every salvation talk yesterday! You will be so proud!

More to come!

It's the Bush team!

2006-07-18T10:40:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone! We have missed you all so much! As you might have noticed, we are struggling with the internet here! Last night we paid for 45 minutes and it got lost at the last sentence! For many of you that know me, it took me a while to get over it! I wanted to communicate with you all so much!

First of all, you are welcome to call our cell phone. You do not use any of our minutes if you call us. Contact Jamie King, Wes Moore, John Roper or Evans George for the number! You can buy an international card and it is not expensive! We would love to hear from you. And next week, I think that it will be impossible for us to do this at all! So hopefully we will atleast have phone service!

So, you have to know that Africa is really beautiful and so are the people! It is so sad that the poverty is so severe! This week we are in the most beautiful hotel, for Africa, and we have hot water and toilets! There is never airconditioning and we are all great with that! The weather is great and I even brought a jacket with me today!

Please read Isaiah 61, it is what God is speaking to us about Africa! God is rebuilding this land and calling so many missionary teams here to encourage them and support them! It is really an honor to be a part of history in speaking to this generation! We all are so moved by what God is doing through our efforts!

Yesterday, there were over 328 people saved and today there were 211!!!!! Can you believe it? I feel like I am back in time watching people walk miles and miles to come hear the word! We are driving in a van, and with the bad roads, some of the children beat us to our next destination! You can never imagine how awesome it is to see their faces next to us running or bicycling with all of their might! They are so beautiful!

Yesterday, we had so much fun! We threw out Frisbees that we wrote Jesu Akwagala (Jesus loves you!) and yelled that at them as they received them! We then made paper airplanes of the “Fathers Love Letter” and threw that out. When we ran out of things, we found beanie babies, wrote on them and threw them out. You have to be careful and make sure that you have enough for the children that are standing around or someone may get hurt!

As far as inside the van, the conversations are hilarious! Pastor Peter is dodging holes in the road and we are worried that he is going to hit all of the pedestrians! Or he look like he is going to put us in a head on collision and we say “Are we going to die today? He says “Not today!!!” Then we all laugh! He is really awesome and we are laughing a lot! God is good!

We have been in Misaka, where Aids began! Twenty years ago, this town was wiped clean, no buildings or anything due to government war stuff. Any of you know that I am not good with details on that stuff, but it is amazing that the city has over 1,200,000,000 people in it and we have one stop sign in the entire town! So you may picture the traffic, etc. and why God is rebuilding it for his kingdom now and calling us here! (Isaiah 61, remember?) The people are here so hungry in every way!

Forgive me as I try to remember different memories, I am tired, but the other day, we had lunch at a really nice restaurant and we were guarded by people carrying AK47’s! That was new for me! Wow!

Tuesday, God gave us Isaiah 52:7. Read that!

Cool story – Brian took a Frisbee and started throwing it with Rick and one of the other guys, in front of a village of people and then gave it to the children watching. Then they started throwing it back and forth over the fence to they guys! It was so sweet!

Josh taught kid to play duck duck goose but they couldn’t figure out the animals that he was saying, so it is now chicken chicken dog! Enkoko, Enkoko, Embawa. Funny, huh?

Sarah, Marin, Rick and Josh are putting on puppet shows and singing. Brian, Phillip, Sonia and Jack are teaching the 10 Commandments. Courtney, Teresa, Mayune and Jenni are teaching on Salvation. Linda, Sandy and Angela are walking the property praying as we teach! Not surprising huh?

Something else that is not surprising is that Linda and I have our own room now! I think Sonia and Jenni have to be excited!

I am posting this one before I get kicked off! More in a minute!

This is Incredible! - From Teresa

2006-07-15T04:18:00.000-05:00

This has been quite the journey so far and we are all doing great! We had no problems in our travel except Courtney had a stomach ache, probably from the malarone malaria medicine. It was so great, we were laying hands on her and praying for her on the plane and the airline steward walked up and was like - is everything o.k., well it was after we got through praying! She was fine after that! Thank you LORD!

We were all thrilled to land! I can also thank Jack, because as soon as we got off the plane (we were outside) and he slapped at my shoulder and said it was just a mosquito! Thanks Jack for your quick wit!

We were greeted by Peter and his team as the lights of the airport were turning off that night. He was as glad to see us as we were him! Then began the journey to our hotel. If any of you know me very well, I tend to giggle when I get nervous! Let's just say that there was a lot of that going on. Our first impression was pretty interesting as we drove through the guard gate that they have to lock at night and it looked like the hotel was deserted because what we were seeing was the new construction frontage! It is about a Motel 2 like we were told but we all were made to feel right at home! We had prayer and worship time in the girls room! Courtney and Brian got the honeymooners sweet! The other guys are in a room next door to us girls with Peter, our guide. We feel safe.

Are you ready for something funny? I couldn't sleep all night and got up at 4:oo a.m. to take a shower. The electricity goes out at night and it was hot in the room sleeping under my mosquito net, (there is one over every bed - I may make that addition at my house, pretty sweet!) Anyway, as I found my way in the moonlight, there was a big something crawling on the floor! By the time I got a light on it, I was out of range, but it was a HUGE roach! OOO! Then I got ready for my hot shower and - NOT! It was very cold - I told you, Courtney got the Suite- they are the only ones who got hot water!

Well then I was crawling back in bed, as Linda and I laughed because neither of us can ever sleep! All of the sudden she said "What is that? and before I knew it, she was in bed with me! You have never seen Linda move so fast! Well, it was only her tag on her mosquito net and we couldn't hardly stand it, we were laughing so hard!

What is it like here? The people are so sweet! The weather is wonderful, really! There is a great breeze and it doesn't even feel very hot! We have decided to go to Gaba today since we were on our own one day before the others got here. For those of you who don't know, this is the village that we sponsored kids out of and we want to duplicate many things here for other communities in Uganda! We have been welcomed by a lot (and I mean a lot) of beautiful children and adults that are so excited to see us! We have been to the school and been sung to, hugged, and loved on! We have visited the medical center; it is very impressive! The last thing is the new youth center that will have over 3,000 youth there this Saturday hearing the gospel! We have done all of this and haven't even had lunch yet! (Breakfast was 2 pieces of toast and coffee or juice). It was great!

I passed out about 15 of the frisbees this morning and you wouldn't believe the excitement from the kids! We had fun playing frisbee with them in the streets! Shannon, I made 3 of those little pieces of peanut butter candies that you gave us feed 21 with them! They each got a little taste and it was neat to see the sea of hands all around me! They are so awesome!

We showed them pictures of the Mwangaza kids, they are from this village, and they were crowded around us like crazy! Wes...I got to meet Michael's mother and his siblings! I gave her the note and gifts from him and went into her home! It is the size of my closet! I felt so honored to get to go in there! His mom was SO EXCITED! You cannot fathom how wonderful it is that we are getting to be here!

We all have a ton of pictures, but we are having trouble finding internet and the phone hasn't been figured out yet! We will get there. Just know that they are taking great care of us all and there is nothing to worry about!

We have to go! Thank you for all of the prayers and we will be in touch! We love you all!

Salvation Safari - The Go Team!

Prayers behind you

2006-07-14T17:03:00.000-05:00

The HungaryWilsons write:

Dear Africa Team,

May this picture encourage you. May you know every minute of your journey that there are many people who love you, think of you and surround you with prayer.

Africa - 1/2 way

2006-07-14T01:24:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. We are in Amsterdam!! We leave in a few hours for Entebbe. All has gone well...apart from the fact that Josh and Brian had to hop on a later flight to Houston after Josh was basically strip searched at the San Antonio Airport!:) Jack got searched as well and he said the "pat search was fun" ....mmmmmm....this should be an interesting trip. It is 8:20 am here. Some of us took Tylenol PM and slept great, and some of us look dazed and confused. Overall, we are all doing great! Looking forward to getting there. Love you all.

The "GO" Team!

AFRICA

2006-07-12T21:57:00.000-05:00

We (The Africa Mission Team) leave tomm. morning for Africa! Keep up with us here and we will keep you updated on our adventure! Please pray for us! We love you and are so excited!

Love,

Brian,Courtney, Jack, Josh, Rick, Teresa, Sonia, Linda, Marin, Sarah, Jenni

Welcome Home

2006-07-06T21:24:00.000-05:00

Brooke Writes:

Hello All!! We made it home safely. It is good to be back in our community. It was a bittersweet ending for most of us. We were sad to be leaving one of the greatest experiences of our lives, but happy to return home to our loving community. Thanks to everyone who came to the airport to welcome us home. I told Cathi that it felt like we were astronauts returning from space flight. It was so cool to see all of you. Thanks also to all of you who prayed for us while we were gone. Your support was truly a blessing to all of us. I would love to share the experience with anyone who wants to know. I am sure that this invitation goes for the other four as well. So feel free to ask questions. I thought these last few pictures would capture how supportive our community really is.

It looks like Ben got his camels after all. These are my favorite kind. They are the low maintenance, slow growing kind. Thanks Scott and friends.

Here you see us feeding our new pets. I know you are thinking these camels look familiar. That's right, they are local celebrities. You might have seen them in a little scene called the Nativity (even though there probably weren't camels present at Jesus' birth).

Oh Ben, you are so daring! Ben tries to go for a ride, but the camels are still a little jet lagged from the trip. Maybe tomorrow, honey.

Goodbye and Hello

2006-07-02T13:43:00.000-05:00

Karl wrote:

Well, we are once again in Ben Gurion airport, saying goodbye to Israel and hello to our community again. Another tough day - not physically, but mentally challenging. We will see you soon.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. For once, RVL agrees with part of the tradition - this is the spot where Jesus was crucified. He does not agree that this was where Jesus was entombed following his crucifixion. We were fortunate to see an Orthodox procession, accompanied by very loud bells.

Pictures don't do justice to this Byzantine example of the Christian church's desire to glorify G-d's majesty.

The Dome of the Rock. In the foreground would have been the courts of Herod's temple. Of course, the Dome was built by Muslims. Jews have a problem entering this area - since they are prohibited from entering the Holy of Holies, and since that location is not known, they do not come into this area.

This is Hezekiah's tunnel - about 30 minutes deep underground, ankle to knee deep in water, walls toucing your shoulders, ceiling at your head, and only the light you brought with you. This was a water supply for the city long before there was David and Jerusalem. Did I mention I was claustrophobic?

We ended the tour at the Temple built by Herod. The Romans destroyed it in 70 AD, and tossed the upper stones down until they filled about halfway up the wall shown at the top. The lower photo shows what those stones did when they hit the street. These pictures don't really show the massive sizes involved.

Us at the hotel. Goodbye Israel. Hello, Spring Branch!

Gotta run - boarding!

Jerusalem

2006-07-01T14:24:00.000-05:00

Karl wrote:

I can't believe we are here. Not just that we are in Jerusalem, but that we are here, on the last night of our trip. Tomorrow we end the day with a drive to the airport and a midnight flight back home. What a long, strange trip it's been. I, for one, miss all of you terribly, especially Justin and Paul.

It's going to be a short blog - we had a late night function and have to be ready to roll early. Here are a few snapshots:

Jerusalem - no single photo can do this city justice. RVL took us down the Via Dolorosa, the traditional but historically incorrect route Jesus took carrying the cross. The sights and smells and sounds were overwhelming - carpet shops next to antiquities next to fruit stands next to junk next to the butcher.

The Church of the Upper Room. For my Emmaus brothers and sisters. Robert, you were right, this trip has been like Emmaus, only magnified.

OK, camels just don't belong in Jerusalem. But Ben was happy.

This is the remains of the pool from Herod's palace near Bethlehem. This mountain was created artificially by Herod bringing in fill from the surrounding countryside. Was this the mountain that Jesus was saying a mustard seed of faith could throw into the sea? Check out the previous page on Caesarea to see what happened to Herod's kingdom.

Yeah, we climbed to the top of this mountain, too.

Well, I think tomorrow we will see more of the traditional Jerusalem sights. Good night, God bless, and we will see you soon.

Arbel, Caesarea and Jerusalem

2006-06-30T13:32:00.000-05:00

Scott wrote:

Shalom! Wow. There are few words that get close to describing this amazing place or the adventure we are having in it. Ben, Brooke, Cathi, and Karl have been incredible. Our little Riverside crew has been intense and hilarious. Day 10 ended with the power of Mt. Carmel, and Day 11 began with the steep climb up Mt. Arbel!

Mt. Arbel is on the sea of Galilee. It is just down the shore from Capernaum, and is a possible place where Jesus would have gone to pray for his disciples. So, we climbed Mt. Arbel to do the same thing. When we arrived at the top we found out RVL had already been to the top the previous evening to pray for each of us. Amazing.

Mt. Arbel is one of the steepest and most difficult climbs on the trip. As you can see, some of the time you are using hand and foot holds drilled into the side of the mountain. This experience really drew us together as we helped each other all the way up and back down. As we gathered together at the top we prayed out loud together. Talking later I think we covered just about everybody back home.

Our next stop was Ceasarea. Herod the Great who was on the world's stage at the birth of Jesus built a palace here. The palace included a fresh water pool built out into the sea, and was the jewel set into the world's largest manmade harbor at that moment in history. Much of it waas made of beautiful marble that glimmered "like fire" as you approached from the Mediterranean. Now it washes up on the shore. Ceasarea was also famous for the largest Arena in the world. This Arena makes even the largest stadiums today seem tiny. It is estimated to have seated up to 300,000 people. It was the venue for the normal activities such as chariot races and gladiator fighting, but also has a water system that allowed it to be filled for re-enacting sea battles. Guess what.....washed out to sea. Here is the crew on the shore of the Mediterranean. We are standing at the anchor point where Herod's palace connected to the shore. Ask any of us and we will show you the little pieces of Herod's palace we found on the beach.
These are ancient fields. In different places with the bible ancient boundary lines are mentioned. These are some of them. Each family has one section on the fields. They are divided by the stone walls. The stone walls for the family above are maintained by the family below. Community caring for each. Our evening has ended in the finale of the trip. Jerusalem. This was overwhelming! We walked in, through security, and around the corner to the Western Wall. Here there is too much to say. We all prayed hard alongside these folks right up on the wall. I wonder what tomorrow will hold? We will never be the same.

Yeshua and Elijah

2006-06-29T14:09:00.000-05:00

Karl wrote:
OK, I thought I was supposed to get used to this. Seriously, another late night, but well worth it. The pictures don't do justice to the experience.

RVL used this field below Nazareth to teach about the parables of the sower and the weeds. His bodyguard behind him scans the crowd, ready to tackle anyone who rushes the stage.

This is a quarry within sight of Nazareth. When Herod built a palace in the area, all the stonecutters in the area were employed here. RVL believes, and I agree with him, that Jesus probably spent some time here learning the stonecutting trade from his father. We had vivid images of the little boy following his father around, patiently being taught and patiently learning. I know it made me miss Justin and Paul, and I suspect RVL was missing his father, who recently passed on.

A quarry mark used to line up the stones being cut. A single workman would be in charge of the team that cut and transported each stone, and stayed with the stone until it was laid in the building. It would take weeks to cut a single stone, using chisels and an ingenious method of expanding wood to literally crack the stone off. This lesson reminded us that Jesus is working on each of us for his father's house, and that he will stay with us until we are laid to rest.

The view from Mt. Carmel. Yes, we climbed up from the street level. On the way up we met a group of orthodox Jewish boys - the oldest could'nt have been 14 - and their teachers. The had prayer shawls and yarmulkes and some had long temple hair. Another glimpse of Jesus as a boy.

Another day's end. Know that we think and pray for all of you often. We are quite safe and comfortable and are really learing a lot about ourselves and our Lord.

The Jordan and Beth She'ean

2006-06-28T14:51:00.000-05:00

I know you have all been waiting for my fantastic sentence structures and spectacular grammer, really my mastery of the english language. well folks you don't have to wait any longer, live from Ginosar its ben for your viewing pleasure. i will be you guide through day number nine of our trip so if you could please return you tray tables and seats to there full upright postion and keep your hands inside the keyboard we will let the tour begin.

Our day started off in the Jordan river, it was an incredible morning learning about community. Many of you were prayed for while we stood in the river and on the banks. like my sister, who i love very much, i have a stone for you from the Jordan, you will get it when i get home. we also had a lot of rededications and one of our guys who became a Christian in the last 8 months was baptized into the Kingdom. it was an incredible moment. the water is very swift and there are huge rocks that make footing shakey. but it is the chaos that we must enter to bring people out, bless G-d that he is willing to enter the chaos with us. you were all here with us today.

This was a small teaching of our morning at the Jordan, these little dots are mustard seeds, they do grow to be a decent sized tree, but more over they can take over an area in a small time. think cedar tree and you will know how they feel about mustard trees here.

This is Beth She'ean it is one of the ten original cities of the Decapolis and the 3rd largest. it covers 400 scres but only like 27 have been uncovered. it is a spectacular sight to see what has survived the years, but the big question that RVL keeps asking is where is the empire that built it? originally built by Alexander the Great it has been in many hands and along with the other 17 cities of the Decapolis was wiped out in a matter of seconds, all 18 at the same moment. Can you say 10.4 Mr. Richter? you can see the appeal of this but as RVL says the idea of Helenism is completely opposite of the idea of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Does this look familiar, think Jesus Christ Superstar. it stands above the ruins of Beth She'ean it is an interesting picture after seeing the last picture.

This is looking from the ruin of Susita to the Sea of Galilee, all day the sun seems to be this high in the sky. it is straight above us 15 hours a day, its gets up there within 30mins in the morning and sets in 30mins in the evening. its crazy you can't tell direction because its always straight up, but it's beautiful.

Here we have probably the best possibility for where the pigs that Jesus allowed the leion of demons to go into would have gone off the cliff into the sea. it is not as close to the water as it would have been in Jesus day but it is the only cliif that would have led into the water at that time. we got to see this story come to life and see what our testimonies could do if we would only tell what G-d has done in our lives. we were sitting on a tel called Susita which was one of the ten original cities of the Decapolis, it is the 2nd smallest of them, but has incredible granit pillars 1&1/2 ft wide and 10ft long brought from the south end of egypt 1200 miles away and then lugged up this hill. it is unbelieveable to think of what they accomplished, and sad to think why.

This is as close as i have gotten to a camel in three days although we were in Gamla which means camel, but its not the same. this one is not coming home with me, but i am still working on a plan.

p.s. Caleb i would likefor you to be studing the parables of the kingdom of heaven now and while you are in Russia, know that i am praying for you and am looking forward to telling you all about the trip. Havurah, guys this is incredible and i wish that you were all here, i would like for you to read exodus at least once before i get back and twice if you can. i am praying for you and i have some incredible stories of G-ds greatness.

Zealots

2006-06-27T14:20:00.000-05:00

Karl wrote:

Today we spent another day in the region of the Galilee. A day for learning about how to be on fire for God, where that will take you when you are on the paths of righteousness, and what it will lead you to if you forget the two greatest commandments. Lots of pictures today.

This is Gamla. When I say Gamla, you say Zealots. OK, we don't have any pictures of camels today, but the word "Gamla" is related to the word "camel." During the time right after Jesus lived, and as Vespasian became emperor of Rome, this was the headquarters of the Zealot revolutionaries.

Surrounded by 30,000 Roman troops, many saw no way out. Imagine being in the middle of a packed football stadium, with every fan an armed Roman soldier. This was the beginning of something that ended in Masada and, religious Jews believed, banished the Jews from their land for hundreds of years. This helped me understand why, 1900 years later, Jews were suspicious of armed rebellion.

You can see where the original breach occurred. Some 9000 Jewish men, women and children died on this mountaintop. Without condoning what was done, the lesson on this mountaintop went a long way to explaining why Jesus got the reception he did at the beginning and the end of his last visit to Jerusalem.

If we are sitting on the floor we must be in a synagogue. Gamla's was probably active in Jesus' time. RVL walked us through a worship service that would have been very familiar to our Riverside brothers and sisters.

RVL made a pretty decent Hazzan, but I'd like to see him do it in dress pants, dress shoes and a tie.

Well, I guess Ben has moved onto something a little more exciting than camels. Don't worry kids, no mines, just a sign the archeologists put up to keep out trespassers. Like that's gonna stop RVL.

This ancient temple had huge columns that fell, likely in an earthquake. You can see where the top, or capitol, fell, and where the body of the column smashed into the pavement. It left that dent that runs from upper left to lower right.

This is probably the area (within a few miles) of the Road to Damascus where G-d tweaked Paul back onto the path of righteousness.

A Crusader castle. On the way to learning how to be a disciple of Jesus, we barely have enough time to learn how to do things right, so we didn't stop there.

Here we are, by the Gates of Hades. How is it that at the end of the day the women look nice and fresh and the boys look like they spent the night in a cave?

13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
18And I tell you that you are Peter,and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Where has Christ sent you to build your corner of His kingdom?

Shalom

The Galilee

2006-06-26T15:06:00.000-05:00

Cathi writes:

Hey Riverside, family and friends!!! We've got sore feet, tired legs and exploding hearts. Just when you think you can't take more physically,mentally or emotionally, whammo, let's go on one more hike, see one more ancient ruin and get excited about how very much God loves us all and how He wants us, even needs us, to fulfill our part of His plan. (Sorry all you grammar majors, it's late!)

We started out our morning on a mountain top near the Sea of Galilee - an eramos topos - Greek for solitary place. Jesus frequently went to a solitary place before and after teaching the multitudes. I always imagined His solitary place as somewhere soft, with green grass, maybe a few rocks. From what we have seen so far around Galilee, it is very much like home for us Hill Country Texans - sharp contrast from the days we've spent so far in the desert.

Jordan River or the Guadalupe? Sometimes it's hard to tell we're actually in Israel - home away from home! This is just north of the sea of Galilee.

So we left the leg portion of Scott's zipper pants at home! No problem, with a borrowed pair of pants and a little stitching, Scott was ready to go. (Our mothers will be so proud!) There is an old Jewish synagogue in Capernaum where Jesus taught, healed and worshiped. It falls under the Vatican's authority and they have a more conservative dress code for all their visitors.

Our Riverside family will appreciate this! The best preserved Moses Seat Ray has ever found. This is a place of honor in a synagogue where whoever was going to read from the ancient scrolls - the Torah - would sit before approaching the bema.

Capernaum used to produce tons of olive oil and the equipment to press the olives. Ray taught us about rabbinacal dialogue - a rabbi, like Jesus was, would ask a question in order to help you arrive at the answer - all based on scripture. It helps make sense of the gospels for me - ask me more later - bedtime is approaching! : )

The Riverside Gang - sorry Ben, no camels today! This picture was taken at our final stop, Davidic ruins beneath the Bethsaida tell. I could write a book here, but we'll have to make more time later.

To everyone at home, we're safe, tired, but having a great time! We miss you all and look forward to being home soon. (Love to our family and our little ones!!! xoxoxo- mom!)

Qumran and Jericho

2006-06-25T15:15:00.000-05:00

Karl writes:

Man, just when I thought I was tired, RVL pulls a get-to-the-hotel-at-9:00pm'er. And then dinner and room issues and it makes for a pretty smelly blogger. Good thing you can't upload odors to the internet.

Gonna be short and sweet tonight. I am really happy that our community gets to travel along with us, albeit with a sliver of a peek. Thanks for all the encouragement. If things go as planned, Scott and Cathi will be blogging tomorrow night. We are spending the next 5 days in Galilee, at Nof Ginnosar.

Qumran - the Essene school dedicated to, among other things, the preservation of the Word of G-d. In the hills above Qumran were found the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls, confirming the miraculous way G-d has handed down the Scriptures virtually unchanged. This picture is from the summit above the caves where the scrolls were found. I hope one day soon to return there with Justin and Paul.

Your intrepid crew from half-way up the mountain, on our way to being Essenes, G-d willing.

Daily camel fix. Ben was happy.

The tower in the center and on the left are the first glimpse of Jerusalem on the road from Jericho. Jesus would have seen this several times a year.

These wheat fields have been here thousands of years, with stones marking the boundaries for different families. Compared to the desert, this was (literally) the promised land.

Jericho. The hat and glasses belong to our Israeli security. We feel very safe - we went through the West Bank and no worries.

Ben in the land of Benjamin

We are all doing ok, pretty tired but really getting a fire-hose full of learning and worship every day.

Shabbat

2006-06-24T14:20:00.000-05:00

Brooke Writes:

Hello from the Dead Sea. It is my understanding that this blog thing is being closely monitored. That is fantastic. Kudos to Karl for doing a tremendous job maintaining the site. I hope that my entry tonight does not take away from the readership built under Karl's direction. I will try to do justice to our experience here is Israel. All I can say is that I cannot wait for our community to travel together to experience this. Israel is amazing! So far we have traveled from the Shephalah to the Desert. Tomorrow we will finish up our desert days and move into Galilee.

Our first stop today came quickly. We were driving along toward our destination, when all of a sudden the bus stopped. We hopped out and headed down the path (this is, of course, very natural to us at this point). What we didn't know is that we would be standing face to face with a Shepherd and his flock. At first we watched the young boy tending his flock from a distance, walking back and forth monitoring their movements, calling to them when they got too far, and keeping them safe. And then...yes!! This young man starts playing the shepherd's flute. I mean we are talking straight out of the bible flute. A flute playing shepherd, sound familiar? It was like we were watching David's experience writing the Psalms unfold before our eyes. And then...yes, better yet!! He begins approaching our group. We head down the hill to speak with him, or at least attempt to speak with him. RVL knows a little Arabic. I saw him and my heart immediately changed. He was so young, so innocent, so beautiful, so peaceful. The whole experience was extremely overwhelming for me. He then went back to his flock to bring down a sheep for us to see. And that's when the picture hit me. We recite Psalm 23 all the time, but do we get it? Do we know what it is like to lie down in green pastures, to be lead beside still waters, to walk on paths of righteousness? Maybe you do, but I don't. I had never fully understood the biblical picture of the shepherd until I saw this young boy taking such care of his sheep. These sheep are his livelihood, his only reality, and he desperately wants to keep them from getting lost or hurt. He is the only protector these sheep know and they will follow his voice wherever he calls. WOW!! I want to be a sheep. I want trust in G-d alone, knowing that he is my protection and my guidance. I want to move when I hear my shepherd call. I want to walk on the paths of righteousness and lie down in green pastures.

I have learned so much in 5 days. RVL says that you must learn with your feet. And we have certainly done a lot of learning with our feet. We have walked miles upon miles, but we have learned so much more than I could have ever imagined. Who knew that the text was so alive? Each day I am learning more about the creativity and beautiful timing of our G-d. I have a zeal for the text now that I never dreamed of. I pray that this would continue when I return home.
There is so much more to share, but the bed is beckoning for me to come rest. We had an amazing hike to Masada today, but an exhausting one. We hiked up about 850 feet, and down about 1700 feet. I know that sounds like poor math, but it is true. And to all of you who are encouraging Ben's love of camels, we will have a talk when I return home. Just kidding, the camels are pretty neat. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. You guys are amazing. It is so cool to know that we are developing this whole community thing we are constantly talking about on our trip. Now I know why Scott is so passionate about the whole idea. Community is the only way we can change the world and bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth. I am proud to say that I am part of a community who is doing just that.

Look, the whole herd's for sale!

If Ben believed in Nirvana, this would be it. Just one camel won't do. Ben needs some help figuring out how to pack a camel into his carry-on.

Psalm 23

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul, he guides me on paths of righteousness. There are green pastures here...do you see them? Doesn't look like the lush pastures we think of does it? The Hebrew word for Green Pastures is Midbar Hader. It is a small little straw like substance that grows under rocks. This is what the sheep survive on. This reminds us that God doesn't always give us the soft, green stuff we might want, but he does give us enough to flourish.

Israelite Temple

This is one of the first temples dedicated to G-d. It was absolutely phenomenal. It is very similar to the temple in Jerusalem.

Hospitality

We went to visit a Bedouin community today. As we began approaching this community the children came out to greet us. They welcomed us to their community and then the matriarch of the family invited us into her home. As soon as we sat down she served all 55 of us hot tea. Then they proceeded to make fresh bread and serve it to us. And we worry about our houses being clean before we invite people over!! These people had no warning we were coming and yet served us with such humbleness. They gave us the finest of everything they had and were so grateful that they were able to host us.

Long Hike
This is Masada. This was one of Herod's great palaces. He built a system of cisterns in this place that could hold enough water to last 10,000 people for more than ten years. Talk about some amazing construction. This place is huge, and really high up. We climbed a lot of stairs up and even more coming down. Herod was one powerful dude...to bad he wasn't the real "King of the Jews."

Chief Seats

Look familiar Riverside? That's right Chief seats, the place where only the wisest people would have sat in the synagogue. Do you see all the people sitting? Do you see us? That's right, we aren't there, because we know better. Check out our seats below.

Karl...although sweaty, he has chosen the perfect seat.

Ben...I think you are starting to look like a camel.

Brooke...always following the rules (at least when the pastor is around)!!

Scott & Cathi...good choice of location guys!

The Wilderness

2006-06-23T14:57:00.000-05:00

Karl wrote:

Well, we all had a plan this morning that we would start rotating blogging, but the best laid plans of mice and men . . . we decided to go swimming in the Dead Sea instead. So you get to hear more from me. It is tough to get together with the others - we are pretty much wiped from the day, and I relax by thinking of all of you and the things we can't wait to share when we get home.

Today was a really tough day. RVL wanted to show us about what our Jewish spiritual fathers went through when they wandered in the Wilderness. We couldn't go to the Sinai, but we went to a park in very south Israel called Timna. Ray assures us that the terrain there is very much like what the Israelis wandered through for 40 years. I hope this gives a taste:

Israel or Mars? You decide. I half expected to see the Mars Rovers.

Ben and Scott looking cooler than we felt. It was really hot, and we now have in our bones some small sense of what the Israelis endured.

The black rock piles in this picture are slag heaps from copper mining operations, high on this butte, owned by the Egyptians but driven by Israeli slave labor. Imagine this valley filled with misery and brutality, and the sky filled with choking, toxic, billowing black smoke. It must have been a nightmare existence. Click on the picture for a bigger image.

At Timna we also encountered this, a museum/ interactive exhibit run by Israeli Baptists. RVL gave an incredible lecture/ sermon about the tabernacle. We felt right at home.

The park had camels for rides. Ben got all excited, then I heard him shouting into a phone, really slowly, something about "Scott Wilkerson," "FedEx," and "Deep Water." Don't know what that's about.

At the end of the day. We are smiling because we survived.

The Desert

2006-06-22T13:24:00.000-05:00

En Gedi. Where David fled from Saul. Where we learned to love the desert.

Scott and Cathi at the waterfall in En Gedi. Here RVL taught us about Sukkoth, and the real meaning of Hosannah, Palm Sunday, Living Water, and Life in the Desert.

If you want to drink from the Living Water, you have to be committed - all of you - heart, soul, and might, and from head to toe. Just getting your feet wet is not an option. Make sure you have an extra pair of dry socks.

RVL teaching us about justice in the area where Sodom and Gomorrah were located. Archaeologists found evidence of an ancient temple that was suddenly abandoned. Coincidence? I think not. Yes, we did hike up and down from the same level as the trees in the background.

In the wadi you learn that inviting the presence of the Living Water will build community among Abraham's children.

Please pray for Ben - he has a strange fascination with camels.

RVL likes to talk not about sacred places but sacred moments. This is a praetorum in Avdat much like where Jesus would have been tried. We had an incredibly vivid lesson here about the real story behind Mark's account of his crucifixion.

David and Goliath

2006-06-21T14:19:00.000-05:00

Karl wrote:

Thanks for all the great comments. Here is day 2:

The valley where David fought Goliath and the Philistines. The Israelis were probably camped out on the hill in the forground, and drove the Philistines through this valley to Gath from right to left.

The other side of the hill in the previous picture. At our feet in the dry creek where David would have picked up his five stones. RVL thinks it would have been dry like this at the time of the battle. Goliath would have been looking up this hill while he taunted the Hebrews.

An ancient Torah closet, lying on the ground. This one wasn't too different from the cupola that many homes use to display the Virgin.

Just lying on the ground we found a tile mosaic, a remnant of a Byzantine Christian Church floor. Since there is not enough money to excavate and preserve, it is left alone to the elements. But this is better than excavating without preserving. RVL says a dig takes a minimum of $500K a year, and no one will even try for less than 10 years.

Cheese! The triangles were cut out of this cave to give pigeons a roost - makes them easier to catch for dinner!

Gath, home of Goliath. This is where the Hebrews chased the Philistines after David killed Goliath. Hazzak!

Ben found this piece of Philistine pottery at Gath - RVL was dancing around and very excited.

We are spending the night at the Dead Sea. This picture really doesn't do it justice - the far shore was lit up by the sunset, and it looked surreally beautiful.

Sorry about the long post. And one of these days I'll let the others do some writing.

Tel Aviv

2006-06-20T13:26:00.000-05:00

Karl wrote:

Sorry about the delay on the update. It is evening here in Israel, and we are just now getting to bed. Don't worry if you don't get constant updates - between Ray blowing our minds and being exhausted in the evenings and the spotty internet access, we can't guarantee we will be regular.

But we will be faithful.

What a motley crew - it's amazing they let us take our bags out of the airport. This is Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv - we are ready to board the bus and begin to follow RVL. I don't know about the rest of them, but I was nervous as all get-out.

Following the Rabbi - well, RVL doesn't want to be called a rabbi, but he is teaching us how to follow the one true Rabbi - Jesus! It is amazing how much dust a day of this will deposit in the most unlikely places.

The standing stones of Gezer - one of the three great cities from the time of Joshua and Solomon. Placed near the Via Maris, where the whole world would pass by, they were meant to prompt questions about the god they honored. RVL challenged us to have a faith that is like a stone placed where all who encounter us will know which G-d we honor.

The view of the Shephelah, the foothills of the mountains of Judea, adjacent to Israel's coastal plains. Here G-d threw down the challenge to the tribe of Dan and to Samson to rise up against the Philistines. We walked where Samson himself would have walked.

Beth Shemesh, the place where the ark of the covenant came to when it was returned by the Philistines. This picture is at ground level in the background of the previous picture. You can see how RVL teaches in a hands-on, in-your-face, down-and-dusty style.

Decisions, decisions. Actually, we are spending the night in a very nice hotel in Neve Ilan, near Tel Aviv. Night all!

El Al

2006-06-19T14:22:00.000-05:00

Karl, from the plane:

Good morning, Chicago. Here we are, crammed like sardines in the shuttle from the hotel to the international terminal. At 7:00 am, no less! This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Did we mention that there were a few other people flying with us? They are serious about security at El-Al, and combined with the passenger capacity of the 747 that we are flying, it makes for a slow-moving teeming mass-o'-pilgrims. The guy in the orange is Tod Lanting, one of Ray's Tamlid who has been on about 15 trips and has been kind of organizing us.

OK, this is what it is all about. This picture is all you need to know - a Jewish family, just trying to travel home, and in the background, the machine that sniffs out bombs. You can see the tassels and the yarmulkes and it is this people's faithfulness that drive madmen to plant bombs on airplanes. It makes me think - do I have enough faith to drive anyone mad?

The guy in the middle is a Calfornia cattle rancher, but this picture is not about him. In the background you see Scott and Cathi on the left, and Ben and Brooke on the right. They are going through the personal interview that every passenger goes through - it is a hallmark of El Al security.

Love by the Bomb Sniffer.

They had to run my Arid Extra Dry deodorant can through twice, and pulled my laptop and made me use the power supply. I feel extremely safe.

Yeah, Baby! We've got our boarding passes and we are out of here!

OK, so we were last on the plane 'cause Brooke had to score her Mickey D's fix. 'Course, wasn't 'til she had daintily polished off half her sausage McBiscuit that she snapped to the fact that it probably ain't kosher to eat pig on an El Al plane. And we were so gracious to her when we discovered her transgression. If looks could kill . . . .

More later. Running out of battery. . . .

The Event Horizon

2006-06-18T23:41:00.000-05:00

Karl says:

I guess the guys and gals at JPL know what they are talking about when it comes to black holes.

This is what they call an event horizon:

"Since a black hole has no surface, astronomers define its 'edge' as the point-of-no-return, where all paths through space are bent back into the black hole. "

I feel like I am at my spritual event horizon. I feel different. It's funny, I can't think of a more apt description of the way that I feel. Israel is a black hole, and I am in my little ship, drawing inexorably closer.

I imagine that traveling toward a black hole would be, at first, a rather benign exercise - you see what it is doing to the stars and space around it, but you don't really bother about it much because it really doesn't affect you. That's kind of the way Israel has been for me. I see what that land has been doing for decades, and I have read about its effect on the people and the cultures around it for millenia, but it really doesn't concern me.

And then you get closer. And you start to feel its pull. First in tangible ways, like the expense and the excitement and the planning and the studying and the bragging to your friends and the witnessing to strangers. You speed up.

And then something else starts happening. You start to change. The cosmic forces, the unseen power that is generated by the very thing that is the Holy Land starts pulling you apart. You wonder if you will be the same after, if you will even leave that place. You start to feel attached to the billions who have lived, loved, laughed, and killed in that place. You curse the presence of the Infidels. You weep for the sins of the Crusaders. And you pray that you are worthy to go and come back.

Shema, Israel! Adonai Elohaynu. Adonai Echod.

Chicago

2006-06-18T23:36:00.000-05:00

We got here. Spending the night at the Hilton at the airport. We aren't excited or anything like that:

OK, well, I guess when you are in Chicago, you've got to go have deep dish pizza. And Gino's is the place. Well, here we are - Cathi, Scott, me, Ben and Brooke:

Gotta be up and ready to roll at 6:45 am, then on to El Al, then twelve hours, and then Tel Aviv. We are so excited we can hardly stand it.

Here We Go

2006-06-18T12:47:00.000-05:00

well we are leaving in about two hours to fly to Chicago but it still hasn't sunk in. i just got back from young life camp and am still walking in that. we had 8 kids give their lives to christ while we were there and a ton of recommitments, it was just incredible to see G-d work and move and plan in their lives. one of our kids best friends dad passed away while we were there his name was Paul Harper. He was a friend of mine and loved many of the kids that i know with all his heart. he was always just looking for ways to love on them and help them to have the best they could. Please be praying for his family and especially his son kyle who i love very much thank you for your prayers and support i look forward to writing more in the days to come.

Tben

I Can't Believe We Leave Tomorrow.

2006-06-17T12:48:00.000-05:00

Hello All! My name is Brooke Blevins and this is my first time to write in a blog. Well, I suppose there is a first time for everything! Like heading to Israel to study the Jewish roots of Christianity with your pastor and his wife, a lawyer, and my zealous husband. Talk about a unique group of people. But what an experience it is going to be.

When I tell people I am going to Israel, I get one of two reactions..."That is so cool. What are you going to do there?" or the more popular choice "WHY? Don't you know that it is dangerous over there?!" Well shouldn't following God be a little dangerous, shouldn't we have to risk a little to grow closer to Him, shouldn't following God be the greatest adventure of our lives. I am ashamed to say that my quest to understand the heart of God and to grow closer to Him has not always been the greatest adventure in my life. I have often traded the potential of knowing Him better for the safety of residing in my comfortable little world.

So when Scott asked me to go to Israel with Him, my initial reaction was, "WHAT?!, That's something Ben would do, but not me. We can't afford this. What about our dogs, church, and everything else that needs me to survive?" See there I was choosing the safety of my comfortable world over the possibility of growing closer to my savior. Well folks, God had different intentions for me. Through much thought and prayer, God revealed that this trip was to be the beginning of a new chapter in my life. And it has! God has already been working miracles in my heart, I can only imagine what more he has in store.

So here we are the day before the trip and I am hurriedly trying to get us ready to leave. Ben is on his way back from YoungLife camp in Colorado. He is scheduled to arrive about 8:30pm tonight. We leave at 3:33pm tomorrow. God sure has a sense of humor doesn't he. Just when you think you are maxed out, he gives you the energy to keep going.

Preparing for the trip has been intense. We have walked miles, climbed numerous stairs, purchased the right shoes and clothes,worked extra hours to pay for the trip, and all that comes with leaving the country for two weeks. But, most importantly, we have been preparing our hearts for this journey. I have read more scripture in the two months than I think I have my whole life. Who knew that scripture could be so interesting, so truthful, and so beautifully timed. Isn't funny how God gets you to do what he wants in such subtle ways.

I am excited, I am energized, and I am humbled by what God is doing through this trip. I am ready and finally willing to take a chance, give up the comfortableness of my life to pursue the greatest adventure there is. I can't wait to share the stories of this journey with all of you.

Shema,
Brooke

Scott Watching Cathi Pack

2006-06-17T11:46:00.000-05:00

My name is Scott and I am married to Cathi. I also get to be the pastor of The Riverside Community and I am a talmid (student) of Ray Vanderlaan who is our trip leader, and the founder of That the World May Know Ministries. This organization is overseeing our "pilgramage" as Karl so beautifully penned. If you would like to know more about That the World May Know, go to "followtherabbi.com".

Being a student of Ray Vanderlaan's (RVL) is a new part of his ministry and has unfolded into mine with speed and intensity. I have studied and traveled with RVL two of the last three years. I am going with this amazing group this summer, and will be joining him in Egypt and climbing Mt. Sinai next April. I am wonderfully intimidated. In fact, it is becoming increasingly common for me to feel both completely incapable and completely called.

This time I get to travel with my beautiful and feircely faithfilled wife. It has at times been difficult for us over the last three years because of the depth of change I experienced on my first trip. I was so prideful and difficult even though I didn't know much more than that everything I had been taught in seminary or in church had been turned on its ear. Cathi was frustrated and then patient and then open. How many spouses are strong enough to make that turn? I hope I will be when its my turn.

Now together we go and I feel overjoyed to share this with her. I also feel a bit selfish taking her away from our babies. I know they will be hopped up on sugar and Shamu, but they will still miss their mom.

This trip is also different that the ones I have previously experienced. This time we are going to Jerusalem. So, among all the things I have seen and want to share with her, perhaps we will experience the jewel together.

Baruch Hashem (Blessed be the name)

SHEMA!

Cathi Packing

2006-06-17T11:35:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Cathi. I’m a 34 year old wife and mother of two - and I’m going to Israel! We start our journey tomorrow, so I am feeling a bit panicked at the moment - lots of details to finish up before we go while also trying to have quality, relaxed family time. The epitome of motherhood X 10!!!

My husband Scott first went about 2 1/2 years ago. He came back a changed person. His zeal for Jesus - learning more of Him and becoming more like Him, was palatable. Everyone could sense the change. I had just had our second child and there were many mornings I woke up wondering, “who is this Ray guy, and what has he done with my husband?” Time passed, conversations were had and a very long story made short, I felt God calling me as a wife to be on the same page as my husband - for our marriage, our family and our church.

So I prayed that if this was truly what God wanted that He would make a way, and He has. Almost immediately, there was an unexpected space on a trip Scott was scheduled on, some loving friends assisted with the cost, and our wonderful family offered to help with the kids!

So, on Monday morning I’ll board El Al airlines and off to Israel I go. The airline brochure put into words what I am already experiencing in my heart. It says, “Everywhere you go in Israel, you’ll find connections to the Bible. For in Israel, the Bible isn’t just religion. It’s the chief history book of our country.”

In my life, I don’t want God to be just my religion. I want God to be my chief relationship and for His words to be my history. I am anticipating God and His word’s becoming alive as I see in person where He chose to send His son to be our example.

2006-06-13T22:40:00.000-05:00

k said...
Funny. When I took my Walk to Emmaus last year, that is what we were called. Pilgrims. Like the guys that came on the Mayflower. Doesn't really fit a fat, balding, recently/in-the-process-of-getting divorced 45 year-old mexican immigrant.

Pilgrims. When I really want to be an intellectual snob, I recite some of the Prologue I learned from Tom Hanks (thanks, Dr. Tom) at Baylor.

And so, in April, on a Thursday, Scott, almost as an aside, says "We have an open slot. Think and pray about going to Israel, with Ray, and me and Cathy and Ben and Brooke. And I need to know by next Wednesday. And it will cost you a few thousand bucks." Just like that. Sort of.

I don't have the money. I don't have the time. I didn't have a life-long desire. But what an adventure! And the honor (God forgive the pride) of being asked. And the wonder at His grace. And the question, "Is it I, Lord?"

So with the excuse that I need them to pray for my decision, I tell my friends all about it. Half expecting them to say, "Uh, whoa there, big fella." But no. Even Pat, my therapist, the voice of reason, says, "What an amazing opportunity for self-discovery." Thanks Pat, not much help there.

And then Robert. Who has been. And he gets me at hello: "Well, Karl, it's about 20 times the experience of Emmaus." And as if that weren't enough: "It is really a humbling experience," not knowing that, at Emmaus, I asked God to humble me. And then, as if reading my mail, he said, "You know, for me, it was kind of like when Jesus told the apostles, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,'" not knowing that for me, it was exactly like when Jesus told the rich man to sell all he had and follow him.

And Scott looking at me with a look that said "I could tell you things that would make you say yes." And Ben, excited, like Puss-In-Boots, puhleese.

So I resolved to not let fear drive my decision. Fear of those who destroy the body. Fear of what God wants of me. Fear of the money. But . . . God promises eternal life. God has plans for me. God gives the grass the lillies. I stand on his promises.

So I am off to Israel. To the Holy Land.

Getting Started

2006-06-12T09:34:00.000-05:00

This summer at Riverside is busy and exciting.

We have folks traveling around the world studying the Bible in Israel, and on mission to bring God's love to a corner of Africa. To keep up with everything I thought it might be fun to create a blog. I am a first timer so I will depend on all of you veterans out there to know how this thing works.

My plan is to give all the needed information to the different groups that are traveling, so that they can check in as often as is sensible. My hope is that in this way we can share the story God is continuing to tell through Riverside in a fun and challenging way that will connect us around the world.

Let the adventure begin......