Thanks for praying everyone! Randy's surgery went very well on Monday! In fact we think God was at work on his knee before the surgeon even got a chance to get in there. When the Dr. looked at the MRI before surgery he was pretty convinced that the damage to his MCL was pretty significant, but when he went in and looked at it, it was totally attached to the bone and was "very strong". So, when all was said and done, Randy only needed to have two areas of frayed cartilage shaved as well as the bottom of his knee cap. So, all this means, recovery time will be much shorter and the damage pretty much wasn't there! We truly believe that we experienced a miracle from the hand of God! So, we are going to brag on HIM and give HIM the honor due his name! Thank you for lifting Randy in prayer!

With Love and Appreciation!

The Schmors

Some Prayer Requests.....

We are so thankful for so many of you that faithfully lift our family and ministry up in prayer before God on a regular basis. We know that we could not do the things that God has called us to if we didn't have people like you loving and caring for us! So, thank you! Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus to us and loving us well. Our lives have been greatly touched and influenced by so many of you.

We do have some prayer requests that we would like to share with you....

* On Monday, April 6, Randy will be having knee surgery to repair his MCL. Please pray for the doctors and all involved that things would go smoothly. Pray that Randy would be a good patient and listen to all he needs to without getting frustrated.

* Please also pray for Kameron and Shelly through this time. Kameron is worried about "his daddy's operation" - pray for peace for him - he needs to be able to focus hard on school during this time and this is a HUGE distraction! Shelly is asking that you pray that she will be able to balance and handle all that she usually does as well as taking on more things to take care of Randy and many things that need to get done for Gateway.

* April 17-18 we will be having a Gateway Teams Leader Training Event at Sioux Falls Seminary in Sioux Falls, SD. We are so excited for this time as it has been long in the making and we are excited to continue to grow in our partnership with this fine place of learning. Pray that we will be able to give all that we have and can to this time.

* April is a busy and exciting month with the things listed above. And also, we will be celebrating Kameron's 11th Birthday on April 20 and our 21st Wedding Anniversary on April 30. Please pray for these special days in the life of our family.

Isn't the picture above beautiful.... I love it because in the midst of winter (that seems to go on and on and on..) it reminds me of the hope of spring and the making of all things new. I'm thankful that our God can and does make all things new and He gives us HOPE when we need it most! What a mighty God we serve - thank you for your partnership with us as we seek to see HIS kingdom come!

Love

Shelly (for Randy and Kameron too!)

Hey Everyone - I found this article on a website that I like to read and thought it was good enough to share! Seeing as we are all facing financial hard times - what can we learn through it. Hope this gets you to thinking too!

Shelly

How to Beat the Recession: Go on a mission trip
By Jeff Goins

March 2009

I heard a pastor the other day say that his church’s giving was down by 50 percent. He had to call up all of the missionaries they supported and tell them that the church wouldn’t be able to send them money this year. A friend of mine was such a missionary, getting an email from another church that could no longer send him monthly support (it was a substantial amount of his monthly income). Another friend who works for a large Christian missions organization told me that the number of participants they were sending into the mission field this summer was down by 60 percent, which translates into a few thousand missionaries for them.
Without casting stones at churches that are just trying to see their businesses make it through the recession, I want to point something out here—going on mission trips should not be optional. I know that some might say that short-term mission trips are nothing more than glorified vacations for rich youth groups (and in some cases, they would be right), but I’ve seen short-term missions serve the Church in incredible ways. I’ve seen teenagers come back from a month overseas, and their lives have completely changed. In fact, I recently got an email from a friend whom I helped train for a short-term trip a few summers ago; she was asking for prayer for some friends that she met in downtown Toronto. She’s been meeting with a homeless community each week for several months, all because God first broke her heart for the poor on a trip to Latin America.
My teenage sister has a heart for Africa, but she also has a tendency to desire “needs” that aren’t really needs at all. She recognizes it, but her surrounding culture isn’t offering an alternative other than self-centered materialism. What can she do? “Go on a mission trip,” I suggested. She listed a series of excuses, including finances, and I told her to find a mission trip and that I’d help her get the money.
The most generous and sacrificial people I know have all had some sort of experience in which God birthed compassion in them through exposure to the poor while on a mission trip. I know that there are other ways to get perspective and a healthy worldview, but the best way I know is to pack your bags and go live amongst the less fortunate for awhile.
Why is this relevant? Given all the economic hardships due to the recession, I’m concerned that the American church is facing a temptation to merely survive. For some of us, practices like charitable giving and going on mission trips are becoming increasingly more difficult. Naturally, it makes sense to make wise budget cuts, but I don’t believe that all God is calling us to do is subsist.
I believe that a scandalously gracious God wants to see His Kingdom come through His Bride who spurns the seeming lack of means to accomplish the task at hand.
I believe that Jesus wants His Body to live in such a way that our lifestyles say, “What recession?” (I realize that may be impossible for those who have lost their jobs, but I think you understand what I mean.)
I believe that our cultural addictions to comfort and excess need to be broken, and now is the perfect time to catalyze that paradigm shift. I suggest the way that you do that is by going on some kind of intentional trip to serve people much poorer than you. Read Luke 9 or Matthew 10, and tell me that short-term missions aren’t biblical, that Jesus doesn’t use discomfort and risk to teach His disciples how to rely only on God.
I realize that it seems counter-intuitive to cure a recession by spending potentially thousands of dollars on a short-term mission trip, but consider it an investment that will have long-term returns. Once you see people living happily on much less than you would even consider “fun money,” it changes you. It changes the way you make decisions, the way you spend your money, and the way you relate to the world around you. If you’re having trouble figuring out how to do this, send me an email, and I’ll help you figure out where to go and how to get there.
And then, maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to say, “What recession?”
Thoughts?
Jeff Goins lives in Nashville, Tenn., with his wife, Ashley. He works for the nonprofit organization Adventures in Missions, recruiting people for short-term mission trips, and edits an online magazine for “spiritual misfits.” In his spare time, he likes to write, read several books at once, play guitar and eat sushi. Oh, and he Blogs.

Randy at the Jordan River - 2008.

Matthew 11:16-17 - (The Message) - Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

The unforced rhythms of grace. Unforced - not conjured up, not forced, not pushed, not earned, just given --and received. Why do I try to "get" more grace? All I need is there - available - all the time, every minute of everyday. It's there - but just like I can't do anything to "get" or "earn" or "deserve" more - God won't push it on me or force me to take it. I need to make the choice to receive it - accept it - take it.

Rhythms - ebbs and flows - patterns - like a river - sometimes flowing strong and hard - like rapids, other times just a soft, quiet flow, and other times a small, almost trickle. Rhythms - sometimes fast, sometimes slow but always complimenting the melodies and harmonies of life that go with it. Always enough. Not too much, not too little. Not overpowering, but not so little that it can't be heard, seen, felt.

Grace - What is it? Do I really understand what it means? Have we ever truly experienced it? Do I live it? Do I give it? The Sunday School answer often given - God's Riches At Christ's Expense. What are God's Riches? Do I think I only experience it when things are "going well" and I am 'materially' blessed? Or, do I understand his Riches even in hard times and dark days? A quote from our good friend Pastor Mike - Never question in the dark what you know was true in the light. If it's true in the light then it's still true in the dark days. It doesn't change even if my circumstances do.

...Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.... Learn them, figure them out, seek understanding and wisdom. Learn - it's a process - it doesn't just happen overnight. How long does it take? A day? A week? A month? A lifetime? Yes! All of the above - because it's given (grace that is) as we need it - in rhythms. ebbs and flows.....

Wow Lord, thanks for speaking. As I live and learn in the unforced rhythms of your grace - help me to then be an extension of that grace. To all those around me and especially to those that I am closest to let grace flow. Help me to love well and not in a controlling or manipulative way but in a way paved by GRACE!

Because of His Grace,

Shelly (for all the Schmors)

Hi! Brazil Gateway Team Leader Randy Schmor here once again. Thanks to Team Secretary Nalanda Barber for her last post of the team's activities through August 12! (and the great pics too!)

Nalanda hard at work painting grates.

Sorry for the lack of pictures in the rest of the postings regarding the August 2008 Brazil Gateway Team as I simply forgot to bring the USB cable for my camera along! :( Oh well....I'm glad Nalanda brought hers and that she uploaded a few pics of our time there.

Wednesday (Aug. 13) continued our time with another full day of work projects, craft and games classes that the team led. We also had the opportunity to have the evening to ourselves as the bulk of the CHAIN of Love kids headed to church events. Wednesday was also the day, I believe, that team member Zach W. had a little run in with a tool he was using to cut some vines with. After a trip to a local clinic and a couple of stitches, he was on his way to recovery! Thanks for prayers that God would keep us safe from serious injuries....

Assistant Team Leader Charissa and 'Tiara' in craft class.

Thursday was our last full day with the morning and afternoon activites and also our evening 2 levels of ESL classes and sports. A small group of us also visited a number of the 9 homes to take some pictures of the parents and kids as well as to deliver some August birthday gifts to 9 children (altogether) who have birthdays in August; 6 of which were during our 16 days in Campo Bom. It was really neat to see the reactions of the kids when we gave them the gifts and to have a chance to connect with the parents and other kids as well.

August birthday gifts to House #4.

Friday. As our time in Brazil was rapidly coming to a close, we took the opportunity in the morning to walk to the city center of the city we had been in for the last 2 weeks, Campo Bom. Everyone had a good time looking for souvenirs and getting some gifts for friends and family back home. A few also enjoyed a Brazilian ice cream buffet where you can basically fill a cup or waffle cone as much as you want and just pay by the weight! "Sorvete", as they call it, is pretty good! That afternoon was also given to a very important 2-3 hour Team Meeting dedicated to 'Debriefing' the entire experience and preparing the team to re-enter life back home. As was discovered during this time, some of the most important things considered were how this experience would be used to effect our world-view and our decisions for the future. It was also a time to remember and reflect on all that God had allowed us to experience, people we had met and just how wide our eyes had been opened to seeing the world a little more as God sees it. We also talked about 'saying goodbye' appropriately to people that have significantly affected your life and how to do that in a meaningful way.

We also headed into the evening for the closing classes of ESL and sports as well as a special treat that all the CHAIN of Love kids were looking forward to; a basketball game with all of the house mothers and adult women of our team! I don't think anyone was prepared for what that would be like, but just to give you an idea; my wife Shelly still has a bruise on her arm and can't fully extend her elbow, AND some women came out of the game with teeth marks!! I'll say no more.... :)

Nelson, Sara (Assistant Team Leader and Gateway Teams' summer intern) and Telmo enjoying the ladie's basketball? (if you want to call it that!) game and some 'chimarrao'. Nelson made over 20 pair of custom tennis shoes for our team members (no kidding!) and Telmo is the volunteer coordinator at CHAIN of Love Homes. 2 awesome men with an incredible hearts for kids.

Saturday was our last day in Brazil and we took the opportunity to have 3 of the kids help us ride the public bus about 10 km into downtown Novo Hamburgo and do some last item shopping. It was a great experience for everyone and some found some pretty good deals too! The women assistant team leaders also suggested that we treat the team to an ice cream before heading out....great stuff! It was also time for us to begin the process of packing and cleaning our 'home' for the last 2 weeks; which was no small task (dirt AND smell wise, hey guys?). :)

Also, Chris and Ingrid Kidd (missionaries working at CHAIN of Love) brought over their 2 day old new baby boy to visit before they even went home from the hospital!

Then...conversation, hugs, laughs, tears...and goodbyes continued well into the night and finished up on Sunday (Aug. 17) morning as our bus came right on time at 8:30am to begin our 40 hour (more or less) trip(s) home.

We met up with our good friends Arthur and his father Filipe (who attend Boas Novas church and works in Gramado at the chocolate factory we visited last week) and their family as they met and helped us at the airport before we headed through security. Then it was 2 hours to Buenos Aires, Argentina, a 7 hour lay-over there, 10 hours to Houston, 2 1/2 hours layover, and 4 hours to Calgary. In Calgary, the 4 of us from Gateway Teams had 2 flights back to Milwaukee via Minneapolis and the bulk of the team waited for another 7 hours before finally arriving back in Regina, SK Monday evening (Aug. 18). Unfortunately, the 4 of us who headed to Milwaukee had to rush to check in for our flight and because we were actually late checking in, had to rush in for our security checks and US immigration before the rest of the team made it upstairs to say good-bye :(. But, we were able to connect by phone a little bit later...........

All in all, lives were changed by this experience....for many on this team, it was a first opportunity to see life outside of North America and as we had the opportunity to interact with the children, house parents and missionaries who make CHAIN of Love Homes the amazing place that it has become; you can only wonder and thank God for how children's lives have been totally transformed because they live there.

It was an incredible opportunity to see the world from a child's point of view and at the same time from the Creator's point of view as well.

In a world where community has become possible across many barriers and borders, including distant geographical ones, the relationships that have been formed are life-changing much like the God who given the opportunity, changed our lives as well through being of service to 'the least'. How much more could you ask for?

Thanks for your prayers for this team and all the other Gateway Teams that served in 2009. We'll see you in September at our next post! Blessings!

Kameron and his friend Pablo. They became friends on our last trip to Brazil 5 years ago when Kameron was 5 and Pablo 4.

Randy (for the Brazil Gateway Team from Faith Baptist - Regina, SK)

Well, Saturday came and went as a pretty laid back day, especially compared to the rest of the week. Not many people work on the weekends in Brazil, and Chian of Love is no different. We got to sleep in, eat a leisurely breakfast, and hang out in the dorms for the morning. After another delicious lunch, we headed outside to hang with the kids, who were all pretty excited for the upcoming Festa Inverno, which was planned to start around 6:00. All afternoon people had been setting up tables in the gym, and as 6:00 grew closer, these tables started filling up with crafts, games and most importantly, food. We all agreed that the "common" Brazilian food is some of the best food we have ever had. There were pastries with meat in them called pastels (to die for) and the best dessert ever: little balls of goodness with chocolate icing and sprinkles on it. According to Luke F. they are "life changing". The gym was packed with people, all having a great time. Outside of the gym was a mechanical bull, which cost only 1 real (60 Canadian cents) for three tries. Of course, a lot of our team wanted to try. By the time 10:00 rolled around, we were all pretty tired, and headed off to bed.

Sunday gave us a little more of a busy day, as we got up and ate breakfast, had a team meeting and headed off to the hippie market in Porto Alegre. We arrived at 10:30, and the ladies powershopped until 12:00, when we were to meet at the bus. Most of the guys found a lot of the merchandise very feminine (there was a lot of jewlery), but still enjoyed the very unique experience of an open market. At 12:00, we were driven to a genuine Churrascaria, with a gaucho (cowboy) show and everything. A Churrascaria is a restaurant that is similar to the Pizzaria in the way you are served, but differs in one aspect. It's not pizza; it's meat. And it's giant chunks of meat on swords. On the left, you see a picture of one of the waiters, holding a large sword with meat on it, and the very sharp knife used to cut it into serving size pieces. A very unique experience, for sure. After the meal, there was a show, with some traditonal dancing and rope tricks. These ropes were used with cattle, and have weights on each end. The gauchos in the show demonstrated some very intense tricks, including spinning the end of the rope so close to someone's head that their hair moved! Very cool. After the Churrascaria, we all headed back to Chain of Love, very full and very ready for a siesta. We left for church at 6:30, and enjoyed another service of worshiping in two different languages. Because this Sunday was Father's Day in Brazil, they had the little kids come up and sing a song. I think the only word that any of us (except Randy S. and Krista D.) caught was 'pie' - dad! Soon after we got back from church, we quickly headed to bed, as we had a busy day ahead of us.

Monday was pretty normal. We got up, ate breakfast, the got to work. Between craft classes, sport classes and other work projects, we were kept busy. Lunch was delicious, as always, and siesta was delightful. Then it was back to work until around 4:00, when we got to hang out with the kids until supper. Randy, Shelley, and Kameron S. as well as Sarah H. headed off to eat supper at the house of a family from the church. We had ESL and sport classes that night, with Josh D. filling in for Randy S. in ESL. At 10:00, we had a team meeting, then went to bed.

At breakfast on Tuesday, Ken and Jerilyn Bayer and Chris Kidd shared with the team a little bit about Chain of Love's ministry and how it started and then left the floor open for questions from us. Then the rest of the day went fairly normal, with the exception of a little outing for the lady leaders and Ingrid Kidd in the afternoon. They were planning on getting manicures and petticures, and then going grocery shopping, but the nails took a little longer than expected, and the rest of the team picked them up on our way to our second Brazilian Pizzaria, which was absalutely amazing. There were atleast 10 different types of dessert pizzas, all very delicious. On your left is an example of one of the dessert pizzas - white chocolate and strawberry. Delicious! After the Pizzaria, we headed back to Chain of Love, and went to bed.

Nalanda Barber (for the Brazil Gateway Team from Faith Baptist - Regina, SK)

August 8, 2008

Hey there everybody! Sorry it's been a little while since I posted.... :(
But, as many of you can probably imagine, things have gotten quite busy here at CHAIN of Love Homes these past few days.

Tuesday evening we had the chance to go to Porto Alegre and visit with Lyndell Campbell (a NAB missionary that teaches at the Brazilian Baptist Seminary there). She gave us a tour of the school and we had the chance to meet the president and to meet one of the classes being held that evening. Then after that, we had another of our Brazilian restaurant experiences; Dom Vitto's Pizzeria! Pizza in Brazil is nothing like anywhere else as you are served and served and served up to 35 different kinds of pizza without leaving your seat until you say you can't have another bite. Then they start bringing desserts around; all you can eat! These teenage boys (and girls!) were all in heaven! ......and actually, the leaders all enjoyed quite a bit too! :)

Wednesday was another day of work projects, craft/art classes (morning and afternoon led by Nalanda B., Sarah R. and Jaclyn W.) and games (morning and afternoon led by Josh D. and Krista D.). Most of the kids here headed off to church on Wednesday night, so we had time for a great team meeting together. Shelly S. and Sarah H. have been heading up and doing a great job on our breakfasts and suppers. Our noon meals (the big meal of the day here in Brazil) have been cooked by some ladies connected with the CHAIN of Love Homes; great Brazilian fare and always plenty to eat whether being cooked by Americans or Brazilians!

Yesterday (Thursday) we had the same schedule during the day as shown above but also re-added English class (advanced taught by Randy S. and beginners taught by Krista D.) as well as a sports hour (basketball, North American football...) in the evening which is led by Zach W., Rebecca W., Jordan F. and Luke F. After all of that, we still had a team meeting in the evening as well! Busy times. Our work projects have been headed up by Stewart K. (painting metal grates), Shayne R. (staining window shudders), and Shelly S. (greenhouse weeding) and supervised overall by Randy S. There's definitely not a dull moment around here! Everyone enjoys the chance to get a little rest after lunch.......

Today (Friday) we had an outting scheduled into the interior hills/mountains northeast of Campo Bom as we went to Nova Petropolis where we walked through a natural labyrinth and happened upon a German Festival (yes, German, there's many of them here!) where polka dancers were performing and a craft fair was going on. We then headed to Gramado; a touristy city in the mountains famous for their International Film Festival, chocolate and pinheiro trees. We stopped here for lunch at a type of restaurant called a 'Cafe Colonial' where over 85 varieties of meats, cheeses, cakes, and many other dishes were served until we said 'no more'. These people know how to eat here! After this we hiked at an incredible park with a view of a high waterfall, mountains and valleys. We walked all the down to the base of the waterfall and then puffed (at least I did!) all the way back up the 1000 stairs. This being right after lunch was a bit challenging but we did it!

On the past Sunday, a man named Filipe from the church here in Novo Hamburgo (where the CHAIN of Love kids go) had invited us to visit the chocolate factory in Gramado that he manages so we made that stop. He was a great host, as we got a tour of the factory, a little free chocolate and a stop in the company store. Our last stop before heading back to Campo Bom was in the city center of Gramado where there was a lot of opportunity to shop and just generally check out the town. They were setting up for the film festival there and there were many people out on this early Friday evening braving the 10 C / 50 F temperatures that characterize winter here in southern Brazil.

As we returned here to Campo Bom, we were a bit late but went ahead with our 2 English classes and a sports class for girls which was very much appreciated. Rebecca W. and all the rest of our girl team members and leaders participated and had a great time as about 30 of the girls came from the homes. They rarely get the gym to themselves and this basketball clinic was a really a great time for them.

Well, that's probably enough for one blog post! The weekend's ahead and so are a number of new experiences as we hit the mid-point of our Brazil Gateway Team's trip.

Everyone continues to be healthy and as I type late into the night here, they're all sleeping and relishing in the fact that they finally get to sleep in tomorrow (9:00am) as we look forward to a Festa Inverno (Winter Festival) happening here tomorrow evening at the Homes.

Much more to blog about real soon! :)

Thanks for your prayers and for reading. Blessings!

Randy Schmor (for the Brazil Gateway Team from Faith Baptist - Regina, SK)

August 5, 2008

Boa tarde desde Brasil! :) (Good afternoon from Brazil!),

Our Brazil Gateway Team from Faith Baptist, Regina, SK continues to enjoy and get more accustomed to life here at the CHAIN of Love Homes in Campo Bom. We're beginning to settle into a routine here, but definitely an active routine!

Monday the team painted most of the playground equipment various primary colors and Shelly and Sarah Hagan did some weeding in the on campus greenhouse they have here. We also begin to schedule various sports, recreation and arts sessions/classes for the kids here over the next 2 weeks. We're offering craft classes every morning and afternoon and recreation games for younger kids every morning and afternoon as well. Those all begin and are in session as I write (Tuesday afternoon).

We also began 2 levels of ESL (English as a Second Language) classes last night and had a huge response with over 30 kids involved. We'll be doing those ESL classes 2 more nights this week and 4 nights next week. Beginning after the ESL class on Thursday night, we'll begin to have Basketball, Football (Canadian) and Floor Hockey clinics/scrimmages as well. We'll do a total of 2 this week and 4 of those next week.

On top of all of that, those not involved in leading/helping in all of these classes are doing other work projects involving painting, staining, weeding, etc. Justin Jaarsma, from our team, is an electrician by trade and he has been put to work with some new wiring in the activity center.

We also had the opportunity to go to House 9 last night for Marcia's birthday and give her a gift from one of her sponsors (my parents in Milwaukee, Art and Irma Schmor) and a gift from the team. Those who didn't need to head back to start the ESL class were also treated to an exceptional meal by Marcia's house-parents which they're still raving about!

Tonight we have plans to visit NAB missionary Lyndell Campbell in Porto Alegre for a tour of the Baptist Seminary where she teaches and also dinner out.

So, as you can see, we keep quite busy and this place has been able to keep all 20 of us quite active. Shelly Schmor, Sarah Hagan, Josh Docksteader (Faith's Youth Pastor) and Krista Docksteader have also been helping Chris Kidd with some of his office work by filing, taking pictures of the kids, and other general needs.

Thanks for your prayers! Pray for endurance and adequate rest. The team definitely eats enough as we have Worley (a Brazilian lady) cooking for us each noon hour and Shelly overseeing and cooking the rest of our meals.

Blessings,

Randy Schmor

August 3, 2008

Hello everyone again from Campo Bom, Brazil!

Our first Sunday here at CHAIN of Love was a nice day as it hasn't rained here since the evening we arrived on Friday. Although cloudy and cool (15 C/60 F), we enjoyed time hanging out with the kids here, playing indoor soccer and getting to know them better. We also had a team meeting this morning (church would be later in the evening) that a cut a little short because our bus driver arrived to take us to our first Brazilian restaurant experience; the 'Primavera' Galleteria (literally the 'spring chicken'!). The team was more than enthused with the amount of food and the quality of it as well. The Bayers (NAB missionaries who oversee the CHAIN of Love Homes) and the Kidds (other NAB missionaries who work at CoL) along with their family from Canada were also there with us at the Galleteria.

We also had a chance to rest up before heading to the main church service of the day which is in the evening. We rode the CHAIN of Love bus with all the rest of the kids and their house-parents; quite the loaded ride but really fun and a great opportunity to know the kids better. The service of course, was entirely in Portuguese, but the team was happy when the worship team did 3 songs that we all knew in English (one was by the 'Newsboys'). The worship team was quite professional and good! Everyone was really friendly and we greeted and met many different folks; including a school teacher who'd like our team to visit her religion class sometime while we're here.

Well, our work projects begin in the morning (painting, weeding, other) and also classes that we're planning on doing with the kids (English, crafts, basketball, other).

More to come......

Randy Schmor (for the Faith, Regina - Brazil Gateway Team)

August 2, 2008

Greetings from Campo Bom, Brazil!

Our team (from Faith Baptist - Regina, SK) arrived here at the CHAIN of Love Homes yesterday after a 30+ hour trip from Regina to Calgary to Houston to Buenos Aires to Porto Alegre!

We've had a great first day getting to know the kids, volunteers and house-parents here and are excited for the 2 weeks ahead of us. God surely has had His hand on this place and our team as we traveled long and hard to get here.

The kids had a kite competition today that we watched and our team played soccer, basketball and just plain horsed around with them for most of the afternoon. Many of our team members have been experimenting with their Portuguese and having good success at communicating!

The weather has been cool but comfortable; around 14-15 C (60 F) with rain and thunderstorms last night but partly cloudy skies today. We're looking forward to going to church tomorrow night and our first Brazilian restaurant tomorrow. Everyone's trying to get used to the Latin eating schedule which features the biggest meal of the day around 1 or 2 pm, but hey, it's not wrong, just different, right guys?!

More tomorrow! Thanks for reading!

For the Brazil Gateway Team from Regina,

Randy Schmor

Sometime ago, we mentioned some friends of ours who were struggling with health issues, so here's an update and a few other requests for you to keep in mind and prayer if you would....

John Roberts (Menomonee Falls, WI) - John is doing amazing in his recovery from a stroke in February and continues to improve. This last Thursday there was a benefit concert for John where he played keyboard (John's a great musician) along with his band on a number of songs! It was quite moving to see John playing, with one hand of course, but still! What an answer to prayer. We even heard that he's hoping to be back to work in a few months!

Craig Kelly (Tacoma, WA) - Last we heard, Craig made it through brain surgery and continues to do amazingly well!

Kathy Kroll (Cameroon) - Kathy is recovering from meningitis in her city of origin, Spokane, WA where she has family. Last we heard, she's made progress but it's been quite slow and she's still hoping to recovery her full speech and motor skills. Continue to pray for her....

Mr. Santos (Portland, OR) - He also had a stroke while visiting relatives in Brazil and has since made it back to Portland where he is being cared for by his family. Although he recovered somewhat from the stroke, definite changes in life-style had to be made.

Other requests from the Schmors...
- Nashville Youth Gathering '08 - please pray for this event that we're a part of the leadership of. 600+ youth will be attending and working in various ministry/mission opportunities each day in this city. MAJOR REQUEST - Please pray for our numbers as this event needs 800 attendees to break even. If you know of someone or you yourself may be interested in coming to Nashville to serve July 20-25, 2008, PLEASE let me know ASAP. All are welcome to come and serve; youth, college age, older....consider it!

- Brazil Gateway Team - we'll be leading this team in August from Saskatchewan to Brazil to serve. Please pray for our air travel. With all of the fuel charges and cutbacks on flights, it has been very difficult to secure seating space for our team...space that we need NOW!

- Sarah, our intern - she has been a major blessing! Sarah is working with us for 3 months this summer and has one down and 2 to go! Pray that God would continue to lead her in the future as she begins seminary in the fall.

- Our family - balancing our office work with Kameron's summer activity schedules and the travel mentioned above is a major task. Please pray for Shelly as she especially shoulders much of that balancing...

- And speaking of Shelly! - we had a great time, celebrating Shelly's latest (number not to be disclosed) birthday with many family members and friends. Yes, it was a major surprise party especially when a powerful flooding storm hit right at the time of the surprise forcing all 70 attendees inside our little house! But it was awesome! We love you Shelly!

Just outside of Nazareth, the Valley of Megiddo.

GYI Israel continued...


March 16, 2008 (journal)

Last day in Israel! So much has happened over these past 12 days, it really is hard to begin to process it all. But, we weren’t finished yet either!

We began by heading up to the highest peak surrounding the Sea of Galilee, Mt. Arbel. You could see so incredibly far from this height; the entire area north of the Sea, the town of Magdala and the route where the ancient road came between dominant high cliffs from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee. Many battles were fought on these heights because of the caves there and the attack positions that were there.

The incredible view of the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee from atop Mt. Arbel. Along the lake in the foreground is the site of the ancient village of 'Magdala' (think Mary) and in the distance, also along the lake, is Capernaum.

We then headed towards Nazareth itself, passing through Cana, site of Jesus’ first miracle and on to Mt. Precipice on the outskirts of the city. This is the site where Jesus was likely forced by his own home townspeople to the edge of a cliff to be pushed off, but he wasn’t. What I didn’t realize was that this cliff also overlooks the Jezreel Valley, also know as the Valley of Armageddon, the site of the last battle described in Revelation. Across the valley was also Mt. Tabor, one of the sites thought to be where the Transfiguration took place; and also the site where Gideon took on the much larger Midianite army; and where Deborah inspired (on Mt. Tabor) the Israelite army to defeat the Philistines and their iron chariots. It was incredibly inspiring to look out over all of these sites from this one location and know that we serve the same God.

From this mount, we headed down and crossed the Jezreel Valley to pass the ancient and present city of Megiddo (form which Armageddon gets its name) and head up to the top of Mt. Carmel. We recounted the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal that took place up here and also looked down on the Kishon river where all of those same priests were slain by Elijah after the confrontation. It was cool to see where this place was in relation to Mt. Carmel, a very rocky place where Elijah made this stand.

We then headed to the Mediterranean coast and the ancient city of Caesarea; where Peter realized the worth of Gentiles in God’s plan, where Paul spoke before Felix, Festus and King Agrippa; and to see what an incredible capital city Herod built for Israel. It was inspiring in itself just to be on the shores of the ‘Great Sea’, but Dann Spader also spoke to us in our final assembly in the Caesarea theatre. He spoke about the fact that this was where the Gospel was sent out into the world and here we were from 53 different countries, evidence of the fact that the Gospel had gone into the entire world! This was a great place to spend a few minutes (which I did) of reflecting on God’s plan, looking out at the water and seeing the remains of this once very large and influential city.

Herod the Great's proposed capital sea-coast city for Israel, Caesarea; much of it is still intact including an artificial harbor (constructed over 2000+ years ago, imagine it!).


At Caesarea with my good friend Paul Ewing who came to GYI Israel from Osaka, Japan where he and his family are planting a church.

From Caesarea it was back to our final stop of the trip, our hotel in Tel Aviv where I write from now, anticipating my early morning start to go back to Milwaukee tomorrow! I can’t wait to share all of this with my wife, Shelly…it would have been so much better to have her here…but I hope all of you can catch a little of what God did in my heart over these past days.



It’s hard to put it all into words, what an experience it was to be with all of these other youth leaders, to share in a great conference and to experience Jerusalem and Israel. But I think our guide for these past 5 days, Hannah, said it best. “Before, you had a 2-dimensional idea of where the events of the Bible took place; now you have a 3-dimensional idea. Tell your friends and families not to wait until they’re old to take the opportunity to visit Israel; as Joshua and Caleb came back with the favorable report, as opposed to the rest of the spies, go home and do the same!” Well put Hannah.

At the 'Gates of Hades' in Caesarea Philippi; location of the Temple of Pan in the first century AD.

GYI Israel continued...

March 15, 2008 (journal)

This day is hard to describe and even harder to take in because we essentially covered the entire area north of the Sea of Galilee where 80% of Jesus’ recorded ministry took place.

We began by driving along the eastern and northern shores of the lake eventually making our way up to the northern-most reaches of present day Israel; a finger of territory that goes up between Lebanon and Syria. Along the way we saw the Golan Heights to the east and understood first-hand how that disputed territory creates a difficult situation for Israel if it would be given back to Syria; particularly for the farmers along the eastern shore of the Sea who had one time drove armoured tractors to guard against attack. We also passed the Genesseret region where the demon possessed man was freed and the spirits were sent into the pigs nearby. On the northern shore we went past Bethsaida, over the Jordan river on the north side of the lake, and up to the ancient area of Dan. The Dan river source is right in the area where Jeroboam erected a golden calf for the northern kingdom of Israel, but it’s also the site where Canaanite idols were worshiped (near the Dan source) and a tell is which was a series of Canaanite and Israelite cities, one on top of the other. We saw a gate here from King Ahab’s time into the city of Dan and a courtyard/market area as well. Interestingly, in one of the walls in that courtyard, one of the stones found there had markings on it that was an inscription by King Ben-hadad of Assyria who won a victory over the Israelites at this site. The inscription mentions the “House of David” as being defeated here; the first mention ever found of King David outside of the Bible.

We were also shown and told about contemporary conflicts right in this same area; where Lebanon (Hezbollah) forces had attacked and burned relatively newly planted Israeli forests; where Syrian forces have a well fortified fence and signs warning of land mines (from the 6-day war in 1967) still are posted.

We then went to a place I had been anticipating the entire time we’ve been in Israel; Caesarea Philippi. This being at one of the other 2 sources of the Jordan River besides the Dan river, it became a site of worship to the god Pan and had a history of incredibly defiled pagan worship and was known as the “gates of Hades” in Jesus’ day by the large cave in the same location where this pagan worship temple was. Because I had a heard a Ray Van der Laan teaching from this sight a while ago regarding us as the church being on the ‘offensive’ against even the ‘gates of Hades’; I was hoping that someone would be sharing this truth. Sure enough, Josh Patty who works with Josiah Venture in Slovenia was asked to and did share on that very subject as we stood on the site of that ancient pagan temple! Peter’s confession of truth about who Jesus really was/is takes on an awesome relevancy when you consider the context of this place where it was said. For me (and I think a number of others), this was the most exciting and relevant on site teaching we had; particularly because Josh shared how dark his ministry context really is and how the Baptist church in that country had done very little in over 80 years of existence. A very exciting piece of Scripture when you understand the context!

One of the carved out niches in the side of the mountain of the Temple of Pan where idols were placed over 2000 years ago. If you look closer, there's an inscription you can read underneath the niche (that is, if you can read Latin!).

This site is also known as the Banias spring and a little ways away from the original temple site, we walked to a large waterfall and along the continuation of the swift river that eventually becomes part of the Jordan. From there, we made our way back to the Sea of Galilee and were treated to a fish dinner at a restaurant right on the northern shore of the lake. It was great Tilapia; tropical fish which is actually native to the area…the Sea of Galilee creates a tropical, humid climate around its shores allowing for the growth of many plants, crops and fish!

At the shores of the Sea of Galilee after a great fish dinner; seems appropriate!

We then headed over to the site of the Sermon on the Mount and had an opportunity to sit alone on the hillside for a short time as well and see the church erected on the same hillside. The next stop was where Jesus spent a lot of time and where Peter lived with his mother-in-law, Capernaum. It’s a small coastline town where we heard a reading from one of the many scriptures that take place here. We then headed onto boats for a cruise on the Sea itself! While on the boat, Israeli music played, people danced and Denis from Romania shared an inspiring message regarding Jesus walk on the water (this water!) and calming of the storm. We landed at the dock at Tiberius and got onto our buses to head back to our ‘villas’ and dinner, but the day wasn’t quite over yet. Those that were interested were invited to back to Tiberius for a multi-media presentation called “The Galilee Experience” that chronicled 4000 years of history in this region, from Abraham until the present.

The synagogue at Capernaum that Jesus often attended.


Dancing aboard the "Jesus Boat"!

An incredibly inspiring (and tiring!) day where I felt like we truly walked in the footsteps of Jesus and heard his message anew on the Galilee shores and at Caesarea Philippi.

In Scythopolis; a tiled inscription in Greek along the main street ('Cardo') from the 7th century Byzantine period amazingly preserved.

GYI Israel continued...

March 14, 2008 (journal)

Unfortunately it was time to leave on this morning and begin to head north along the Dead Sea and the Jordan River. Our stops began first with Qumran, the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls. We walked around the excavations of the Essene community that lived at this site and were responsible for creating and hiding the scrolls in the first century BC. It is amazing to understand that previous to the discovery of these scrolls, the earliest Biblical manuscripts were 1000 years newer and that the scrolls showed that current editions of the Old Testament were entirely accurate with them! Amazing stuff!

A view of what has become known as 'Cave #1' where the first of the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947.

We then began a 2 hour drive along the Jordan Valley passing by Jericho; which has the distinction of being the oldest and lowest city on earth. Unfortunately for us, it lies in West Bank territory and it’s not possible for an Israeli tour bus to go there. We then made it to the region south of the Sea of Galilee and the ancient (and current) city of Beth Shean and the Roman and Byzantine city known as Scythopolis. A tell at this site contains 20 layers of ancient cities and is where Saul and his 3 sons committed suicide and David wrote his lament. But, the most impressive thing to see here is the ruins of the city the Romans constructed, Scythopolis, which was part of the Decapolis referenced in the Gospels. Because of where it is, Jesus would almost assuredly been here. What’s amazing is that this has only been uncovered in the last 20 years and the immensity of what was uncovered and how well so much of it has been preserved. A theatre, streets, baths and meticulously placed tile, everywhere, and all still in tact. We even had an assembly of our entire 5 bus group in the theatre and we didn’t even come close to filling a 10th of it! David from Zambia gave us all a short devotional. This was an amazing and huge uncovering of this ancient city. In fact, it had been entirely covered over by earth to a depth of over 15 feet; all of which was excavated. The life of this city ended abruptly in the 8th century with an earthquake and one of the former inhabitants was even found under a fallen pillar with a bag of coins in his skeleton hand!

Using the toilet "Roman-style"; apparently privacy wasn't much of a concern!
A view over the entire excavated city of Scythopolis; all uncovered in the last 20 years. The theatre is at the other end of the city, the 'Cardo' (main drag) to my left lined with pillars.

We then arrived at our hotel; beautiful ‘villa’-style individual rooms looking out over the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee. An incredible ending to a great day.

On top of the fortress 'Masada'.

GYI Israel continued...


March 13, 2008 (journal)

This was the day that we would go to Masada, the fortress that Herod the Great constructed on sharp cliffs overlooking the Dead Sea. But, what Masada is most known for is the last stand of 200 Jewish zealots and their families when Rome was trying to root out all opposition after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD. These 200 holed up in Masada with the Romans closing in all around them. Over the course of 3 years the Romans camped out around Masada and began a task of building a ramp to lay siege on the fortress and overtake them. It not only took 3 years for them to make the ramp (with much assistance from other Jews that they had captured previously), but it took 3 months for them to break through once having started the assault on the fortress. An amazing account (with thanks to Josephus Flavius). It was very cool to see all that had been constructed at this place; palaces, huge cisterns, even a synagogue. It was a huge fortress! It was also neat to get there via a cable car!

The view from atop 'Masada'.

The Romans' ramp that was constructed over 3 years to assault the Zealot group holed up in Masada in AD 73.

From Masada some of the group went to Ein Gedi for the hike that those of us who were a part of the pre-conference had done the previous week; the rest of us headed back for rest and relaxation at the hotel! Finally. We had been keeping quite the pace for over a week at that point and an afternoon of relaxing was appreciated by just about everyone.
A view of sunset over the Dead Sea with the Mountains of Edom in the background in the east.

GYI Israel continued...

March 12, 2008 (journal)

With the GYI Summit ending the evening before, it was now time to begin the 5-day Post-Conference Study Tour of Israel. It turned out that my roommate Nicky would also be on the same bus (#4 of 5 altogether) and that we also would be roommates in our hotel at the Dead Sea!
As we left the Regency hotel in Jerusalem, we didn’t leave Jerusalem itself just yet as our first stop was at ‘Yad Vashem’, the Holocaust Museum. The Holocaust left such an indelible mark on the Jewish people that the nation of Israel even created a law that such a museum would have to be constructed in remembrance of this incredibly great tragedy. Yad Vashem actually has a few different elements to it.

The first thing that was pointed out to us was a number of trees on the site with plaques next to them honoring 22,111 Gentiles (Oskar Schindler is one) who had something to do with helping Jews escape the Holocaust. We then headed into a hall of remembrance for the 1,100,000 children ages 1 hour to 18 years that died. We walked through a room of darkness, candles and mirrors and as we walked through, names, ages and countries of these young victims were read, echoing through the room. Just as I was about to exit the room, I heard the name of a child who was 9 years old and immediately my thoughts went to Kameron as tears came to my eyes. The horrors of the Holocaust being inflicted on innocent children is too much to take….

At the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, our guide shares about this sculpture depicting Janusz Korczak, who tried unsuccessfully to save the children of his Warsaw orphanage.

After this we spent 1 ½ hours in the museum itself. It is not only an incredibly well done factual experience explaining all of the factors over many years that led to the Holocaust but there are also repeated video testimonies scattered throughout the museum experience where now older Jewish men and women tell their stories of horror and escape; most of them recalling for the first time these horrific experiences from their childhood. It’s hard to explain the impact this all has on you because it doesn’t seem that it could possibly be real somehow and that it could have happened within the past 70 years. It also forces me to come face to face with my own German heritage and the fact that this happened at the hands of German people; a few people in the group asked me how it all made me feel in light of that….sobering to say the least.

At Yad Vashem, a remembrance room that has the names of each of the death camps tiled into the floor.

From Yad Vashem we headed to a shopping mall with a food court (we had stopped there in the previous week as well) and went to a Falafel stand; it’s pretty good stuff! After lunch, we stopped at an incredible community that basically lived underground and we walked through the tunnels/caves which had been below their homes. The rock in that area is so soft that it is quite easy to scrape away and these people carved out an immense existence underground.

An ancient underground community in the south of Israel; birds were kept in these holes and their waste used for fertilizer.

We then started to head south to the Dead Sea passing through the Valley of Elah where the confrontation of David and Goliath took place; we even had a couple people on the bus act it out as it was read! Shortly after this, we began our descent of over 500 meters to our hotel on the shores of the Dead Sea; a really nice place with a spa, Jacuzzis and even a Dead Sea water pool.

The steps Jesus was led up heading to Caiaphus' house.

GYI Israel continued...


March 11, 2008 (journal)

Our morning session was one of worship and a message by Australian Campus Crusade National Director Bill Hodgson. Bill spoke on the Good Soil that Jesus spoke about where the seed bore fruit and how that Good Soil would be where movements of multiplication would begin. I also went to the elective session on Josiah Venture’s work in Eastern Europe which was definitely inspiring to hear of their work in 11 different countries.

We began our time in Jerusalem on this day with a stop at the location of the house of Caiaphus where there is a church commemorating the place where Peter denied Christ 3 times. Prisoners’ quarters are there including a deep pit of which Christ would have been kept in below the present church building. Also of significance is a staircase up the adjoining hill where there is almost full certainty that Christ would have been brought up these stairs to be questioned by Caiaphus and then taken away to see Pilate. We spent some time alone on these stairs reflecting on what Jesus endured in this place and how he was deserted by even those closest to Him. It was quite a meaningful time.

From there we went to the Garden of Gethsemane and had the opportunity to sit among the olive trees and pray in those groves across from the east wall of Jerusalem and the Kidron Valley where Jesus prayed for us before He died. There is also a church next to the Garden that has beautiful pictures depicting Jesus’ arrest where we had time to pray and think about Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane some of which are estimated to be close to 2000 years old.

We then headed to the ‘Garden Tomb’ site which is located right next to a rock formation that bears a significant resemblance to a “Skull”. The tomb is in a Garden and according to our guide this site has a number of resemblances to the descriptions in Scripture of the place where Jesus was laid after His crucifixion. The most significant thing about the tomb however, is that it’s empty! And of course, it doesn’t matter where Jesus’ tomb is because it is empty! This is all of course the cause of much speculation as the “Church of the Holy Sepulcher” is traditionally known as the site of Golgotha…but…

The "Garden Tomb". I'm smiling because it's empty!

All 250 of us then headed up to the top of the Mount of Olives, of which Gethsemane is located at the bottom. And as we gathered at the top of Mount to commemorate where Jesus ascended to heaven, Dann Spader excitedly and quickly (because there was a freezing wind blowing!) shared about Jesus ascension from this place but also that He promised to return as well to this very same spot! Wow! All praise be to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ forever and ever!
But we weren’t quite finished yet! One final session still awaited us back at the hotel as Dave Patty shared on the 3 final conversations of Jesus at breakfast, in Galilee and in Jerusalem…and….the long-awaited GYI Summit at Jerusalem was over! But not really… as a majority of the conference participants would begin a 5-day study tour in Israel.

Dann Spader speaking to our entire group on the Mt. of Olives. To the west, a beautiful sunset over the old city of Jerusalem with the Temple Mount and the Kidron Valley in the foreground.

Also of note, are the many conversations and networking opportunities that were afforded during our days together here; divine appointments from which only God knows what will happen down the road. Over 50 countries are represented here at the GYI Summit and it’s going to be exciting to see how God uses all of these new friendships that have developed!

On the Temple Mount in Jerusalem; the Muslim shrine 'The Dome of the Rock' that commemorates where Mohammed ascended to heaven.

GYI Israel continued...

March 10, 2008 (journal)

This morning’s session with Mark Edwards had to do with ‘being’ a follower of Jesus and ‘doing’ the work of discipleship. We also had an elective session where we could go and hear about what God is doing in various parts of the world. I went to the Latin America session with an emphasis on Costa Rica which is cool because there are about 5 youth leaders/pastors here from there who only speak Spanish and it’s clear that being here in Israel is a once in a lifetime experience for them!

Our Jerusalem tour on this day began with getting 250 people on 5 buses to the entrance of the Temple Mount by a certain time because visitors are only allowed there when the Muslim authorities decide that it’s ok. Well, we got our entire group there on time and we were let in! It was a surreal experience to say the least to be able to walk on the Temple Mount. THE Temple Mount where each of the Temples were constructed and God inhabited the Holy of Holies. Today neither of the 2 main structures there are the Temple, but the mosque El Aksa and the Muslim shrine The Dome of the Rock. Our guide Shai told us that every Friday you can find 15,000 men praying towards Mecca on the Temple Mount. As we walked across these grounds, we heard how the King of Jordan in the first half of the 20th century donated the pure gold that is on top of the Dome at a price of 18 billion dollars, we saw the ancient gates of the eastern side of the city wall and Temple Mount, and we marveled at being on the sight containing 3000 years of the history of God’s people.

As we exited on the north east end of the Temple Mount, we soon found ourselves at the Pool of Bethsaida where the sacrificial animals were cleaned and approved by the Temple priests. A church was there next to that place where Jesus healed the paralytic man and we had the opportunity to sing as a group inside. We soon found ourselves walking down what is known as the ‘Via Dolorosa’ where there are countless shops and of course the 14 stations of the cross representing Jesus walk to Calvary from Pilate’s court. We walked through this Muslim quarter of Old Jerusalem where there were countless shops and had some time to shop as well before continuing on into the Jewish quarter.

Along the 'Via Dolorosa', the 5th station of the cross where Simon of Cyrene was forced by the Romans to carry Jesus' cross.

Before we left the Old City, we went past the church of the ‘Domitian of Mary’ where Catholic’s commemorate Mary’s ascension to heaven, to the Upper Room where the Last Supper was, and to the traditional site of David’s tomb.

That evening we had our worship and debriefing session but a few of us also had another rare opportunity; we would go back to the Western (Wailing) Wall and see what is known as the Rabinnical Tunnels. These tunnels were dug along the lower portions of the Western Wall in some cases right under homes in the Muslim quarter. This was a most amazing thing to see as there were perfectly preserved stones of the wall Herod constructed in the first century BC; 2 of these stones are the largest stones used in any construction in the world. The tunnels follow along the Western Wall all the way to the north-western corner of the temple walls and, of great interest and reverence to the Jews, the tunnel goes in close proximity to the site of the Holy of Holies in the original Temple. Reservations for this tunnel experience along the lower regions of the Western Wall had to be made 4 months before we came, so it was quite a unique experience that we were able to have. The only difficult part of seeing these tunnels was that we weren’t able to go until 10:30pm! But it was worth it!

Inside the Rabbinical tunnels along the Western Wall of the Temple, our guide Koren speaks to us in front of the largest stone in the world ever used in construction. It weighs 570 tons and is 44 feet long, 10 feet high and 12-16 feet deep. The next largest stone in the wall is a mere 40 feet long. The largest stone in the Great Pyramid weighs 11 tons. The wall was built by Herod the Great in the first century BC.

"Herodian" - the great man-made fortress constructed by Herod the Great in the first century BC just south of Bethlehem.

GYI Israel continued...


March 9, 2008 (journal)

Each of the next 3 full days of the GYI conference would be literally packed with morning and evening sessions as well as full afternoons in Jerusalem. Sunday March 9th started with a great session (the worship team, a multi-national group of conference participants, was great at each session) where Mark Tittley from J-Life based in South Africa shared what was for me the message with the most impact during the entire conference. Mark shared about ‘My Religion Meets the Master’ emphasizing how Jesus confronts us with the Kingdom of God and how it seems to be glaringly lacking in our Gospel presentations and at odds with religious culture and the culture at large. Profound insights regarding ‘religion’ were presented as well regarding the fact that Jesus observed religious practices, James described acceptable religion and Christianity being a religion is not a call to legalism but a call for people to enter the Kingdom of God!

Mark really struck a chord with me. And it was great because that afternoon while we were in Bethlehem (go figure!) having lunch, Mark asked sat across from me and we were discussing his message and really resonating on many topics as well as current Christian authors/leaders that were inspiring us and Mark’s message that morning (can you say ‘The Secret Message of Jesus’)!

But let me back up, before we would go to Bethlehem, it was necessary for us to cross into the West Bank territory which is occupied by the Palestinians. The difference between this area and Israel is quite graphic, namely because of the huge wall separating the West Bank and Bethlehem from Israel. Old images of Berlin and new images suggesting a wall between the US and Mexico were mentioned by many….
Part of the West Bank wall at Bethlehem seperating the Palestinian occupied territory from Israel.

But, we continued through Bethlehem (for now) and on to the Herodian; a massive man-made hill south of Bethlehem constructed by Herod the Great (Rome’s appointed ‘King of the Jews’ when Jesus was born in the first century BC). It is an incredible fortress that Herod constructed largely to protect himself from his enemies which he amassed in quite a large number by his policies as well as his paranoia (he killed many members of his own family out of suspicion). There were many tunnels, sisterns and much of the palace ruins intact that we had the chance to go through. We also heard Dann Spader share with us about these fields being where the shepherds of the Christmas story heard the angel chorus, right there in the shadow of Herod’s palace.

After Herodian, we went to lunch in Bethlehem (as was mentioned above) sang Christmas Carols (!) and listened to the testimony of a Palestinian pastor (Johannon) who has and still does endure incredible hardships as a Christian, but even more because of his ethnicity. Pastor Johannon shared how God had used dreams to draw him to Himself and he asked us to pray for Palestinian Christians and their plight behind these walls…. We also saw an incredible (and huge) scale model of Jerusalem at the time of Christ that had the entire temple constructed.

Pastor Johannon sharing with us over lunch in Bethlehem.

Our evening session (and the other 2 to follow) was one of worship and debriefing what we had experienced that day which was very helpful for the whole day’s experience.

The streets of Jerusalem....

GYI Israel continued...

March 5-8, 2008 (journal)

My niece, Megan dropped me off at Goerkes Corners for the bus after saying good-bye to Shelly and Kameron in the morning. I slept almost the entire way as the bus made its way down from Brookfield to O’hare where I had a couple of hours to wait before getting on my flight to London.

The flight seemed longer than usual because I couldn’t seem to sleep (unusual for me), but I finally ended up at Heathrow early Thursday morning after having watched 3 movies on the plane! I only had to wait a couple of hours for the flight to Tel Aviv and in a short time (4 hours or so) I was in Israel.

I was a little apprehensive as I made my way through immigration and customs because of all you hear going on in this country, but my suitcase made it as well (although the handle was entirely broken off) and I was on my way through what would prove to be some very busy but very meaningful days.

A few other folks that were also here for GYI shared a shuttle with me and we were off to Jerusalem and the Regency hotel. Once having arrived, checking in and having dinner, I headed off for bed….until midnight, when someone was trying to get into my hotel room! I had turned the dead-bolt and my newly arrived roommate (Kyle from Kuwait) couldn’t get in, so I let him in and went back to bed. But before I went to bed, I sat on the edge of the bed thinking that it was already morning and that I had already slept through the night! But once I figured out that I still had at least 6 more hours to sleep and had a laugh about it with Kyle, I fell right back to sleep.

We started Friday morning early, as would be our daily routine, checking out of the hotel and loading on a bus. We headed for the old city of Jerusalem and began a walking tour through the Armenian and Jewish quarters that would led us eventually to the Western or “Wailing” Wall. Along the way, our guide Koren (a very cool guy and Messianic Jew by the way) pointed out a number of things of interest in this ancient city. Unfortunately, one of those things was a posted announcement regarding a funeral for a young man who had just been shot the night before; one of 8 in a Hebrew University campus that had been shot by a Palestinian teenager. It kind of sobered him for a moment and then we moved on….

It’s interesting when you arrive at the Wailing Wall. We heard an orientation regarding it and then were given the option of going closer. After initially heading down the wrong side (I was heading into the women’s section !), I made my way up to the wall. I passed and took pictures of a Bar Mitzvah taking place near-by, saw numerous Orthodox Jews reading their ‘Torahs’ and even heard a ‘Shofar’ being blown. It seemed ok to do so, so I went up to the wall myself and put my hand on it; it’s hard to explain what started to come over me at that point, a flood of feeling, impressions and definitely the presence of God as I really didn’t say much but was spoken to through these impressions and the Holy Spirit’s presence there….that’s about all I can describe….

There was definitely a feeling of kinship as well with all of the Jewish believers around me that’s hard to explain. Being the first full day of the trip, this experience seemed to define in a way some of what God may be about in this time in Israel. Being at the wall, we were also able to go into an inside area where many men were praying and reading the Torah at the Western Wall. We spent some more time around Jerusalem and then got back in our bus and began our journey south into the Judean Desert where we would spend the night at a Bedouin Camp.

The Bedouin Camp was an oasis in the region of the ancient and modern cities of Arad and definitely in the wilderness! We were first treated upon arrival there by a camel ride in the desert; our camel was not too pleased with lifting up me and my invited friend from Japan, Paul Ewing! The camel made all kinds of noises as he lifted us up and as he let us down!

Paul and I upon our less than pleased camel!

A Bedouin man shared with us about their way of life, made us some bread on an open fire with coffee and tee and also shared some of his music with us on his lute. After a great dinner where we sat on mats in a large tent, we had some time together as a group to worship and share some thoughts with each other about our experiences so far. About 150 youth leaders were a part of these initial 2 days of pre-conference before the GYI Summit officially began in Jerusalem.

Before going to bed (in a very large tent with 120 other men!), my new friend Kyle and I took a walk out away from the camp to get away from the lights and see all of the stars. We talked about the fact that this area really looks no different today really than it did back when the Israelites would have been wandering in the desert for 40 years. Getting back to the tent, we were greeted by a chorus of 120 snoring men which made it a little hard to get to sleep!

Waking up the next morning we descended over 500 meters to the lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea. We went north along the Dead Sea’s western shoreline (which is receding at the rate of 1 meter a year) to Ein Gedi where we had a 1 ½ hour hike up the stream to a waterfall. It was cool to think about this area where David had hid from King Saul with its cliffs, heights, shady areas and interesting animals (some of which we saw; ibeks, hyraxes).

It was then time to continue on to the northern edge of the Dead Sea before we headed west and ‘up’ to Jerusalem, the Regency Hotel, and the GYI Summit where about 100 additional youth leaders would join us! We had our Opening Session that night with Dann Spader, president of GYI, sharing what it will take to see a movement of God among the youth of the globe.

I also met my new roommate Nicky Joya, a professor at a Seminary in the Philippines, this night and we spent some good time getting to know each other; many other meetings/networking/friendship opportunities would take place as well.

(to be continued)