varanasi... and happy birthday to many!

well well well....
so here we are again.

this is now my third trip to this city i am learning more each time... at least i hope.

the last time i learned to have some sort of protection against blood sucking insects...
along with that, i learned that this city is the birth place of much...
this is the city in which buddha preached his first sermon... i had the opportunity to visit where that was. along with that.. it is a huge stronghold place for hinduism....

i am also learning about contextualization. it is something that will take more than a blog to explain.. so i will save it for conversation, but highly recommend looking it up for yourself.

this time around, i am staying with a hindu family that some friends know. it is more than a great opportunity to learn hindi as well as see the culture.. well.. more like live the culture.
this is also the first time in my time here that i can go out with shorts on... oh is it appreciated. the temperature is rising and i find myself hiding indoors over that last couple days. but it is more to do with the holiday "holi".

holi, as i have mentioned it before, but spelled incorrectly... :) is the day they celebrate with throwing powder dyes at each other as well as horse play and many other things. it is the day of transition between winter and spring.. and i think a significant day representing new birth.
colorful, fun.. and full people acting outside their norm... everyone gets involved.. so say good bye to any nice clothing you happen to wear.

i think God has been showing me more about these people too... from how they live, to just being real with them. sometimes it seems so fake... foreigner prices, asking names, where i am from... it's many times just related to getting me into their shops and purchasing what they have.. but even then love needs to be shown. He has for sure been helping me to give a gentle smile and kind words, and i still have much to learn.. don't get me wrong. but the more experience, the more i am loving these people. thank You Papa for showing me another aspect... or teaching me another way of loving people.

i look to be here around two weeks.. not forsure dates... then really seeking to head north into himachel pradesh. it is an area with mountains, snow.. and i am hoping cleaner air... but more importantly.. i have had the honor of meeting some people who work and live there, and they do prayer treks as well as other ministries to reach the people. in the time there, i will have the opportunity of somewhat scouting for future teams doing outreach.... and i have a huge heart for mountainous areas...

the other day, God hooked up money for the ticket to germany... but the date lingers yet and i will continue to seek Him as well as inquire about which day to head there... i am more than ecstatic to head back and God only knows my heart for that place.. though it still trembles in comparison to His heart for germany/berlin.
i would love to chat for hours on this but should head back before it gets much later here and the people get crazy...

health is better and all the prayers have been more than appreciated. as for requests.. or actions.. regular support is of course needed. health. a love for these people as well as a wisdom on how to approach them with His message. also, for some friends i have met while being here. i love them so much and want even more for them to experience this grace and salvation... bei Gott ist nichts unmoeglich...

today is my moms birthday.. send her a card! :)

much love from one of the oldest cities on earth. i look forward to being more and more part of His plan....

thank You God for Your love and grace... may we learn more of You as we step out. take us from our comfort.. all us who what to know You more.. and please bless beyond blessings those i have met thus far here. especially the BA's. (you know who you are!)
viel viel Liebe, und in Jesus name, amen!

we may plant, but it is only You that can make it grow. please grow them.

tschuessie and happy birthday to many!

israel

undeserved

i wish i could either itch my entire body with a swift swipe.. that, or go back a couple nights and sleep in another room and use different body wash.

since i can't do either, i am still covered with bumps from a night under attack from them blood sucking insects, whose very flight noise brings annoyance and flailing of arms to my disturbed night.

i thought that would be an appropriate intro to this entry.

my body is more than annoyed with this climate. i could leave and be happy for healths sake. however, i am blessed that i am here.. and cannot leave. in response to my undergoing suffering.. my attitude has had many checks and turned up short on more than most. why am i here? to be comfortable... maybe to just be somewhere else...

as i have mention to some while talking about past time overseas.. this is not a holiday. not a vacation. i don't know that i would particularly enjoying taking a holiday most places..

my idea of fun has been changing. though i have a heart to travel the world... it lacks when my own desires are alone. if i can't love the people to where i am going or where i am at... then how can i enjoy my time there. it is so easy to turn the other cheek to the people here followed by a remark that if said around anyone who knows me, would swear it wasn't me they were with.

i am surprised at my attitude towards some people here. constant cheating, constant honking, constant yelling and coughing and body pain is the atmosphere. so culture shock could take part in creating difficulty. i suppose a smile or words of genuine kindness covered in patience don't come to a heart trying to do it on it's own.

am i trying to do this on my own?

Father, please break my heart more and more for this land.. for these people. that i could love on them regardless of whether anyone deserves it. that i would purposefully take time aside for You. You have brought me this far with reason..... may this time be about You and the plans You have. i don't want to be here if it is by my own plans. in fact, i would rather leave if this is holiday. please use me for Your Kingdom... make me.. us a part of Your plan! in Jesus name, and by His grace alone, am i able to come to You honestly and transparently, thank You and so be it!

our train was late by five hours, and we arrived in agra early in the morning. saw the taj mahal and made my walk.. haha. then we split for varanasi that night after too long of a time in a cafe that insisted on loud music. our time in varanasi thus far has been of meetings with ywam folk, visiting the widows home in the north, and seeing some of the area including buddhas temple he first spoke at.

tonight we will stay with an indian family. tomorrow we will join worship with a base here in varanasi, meet another for networking and head back to delhi in the evening.

josiah stays in varanasi, and the other three plus myself will part shortly after in delhi. i may be headed to jaipur with a couple friends then i am again alone. (to my liking for now). i have mentioned some possibilities for the future time here in india.. but as for things happening, may His will be done.

i have been thinking on heading north sooner than planned. it turns out that i know a lot more people there than i realized. so it may just come down to hearing His voice on it. i would mind, the weather here is getting warmer. i may also, still work with ute, the german lady who reaches out to travelers in varanasi. no plans.. no worries. much love, and just as much prayers.

thank you all for the prayers. please keep health, finances and His will in prayer.

hallelu hallelu hallelu halleluja... Praise thee the Lord!

tschuessie!

israel

to agra in about.. 50 minutes.

we have just gotten back to paharganj from the conference.
i suppose i didn't know what to expect.. which is good because i probably wouldn't have imagined it either. however, God did hook up some good contacts which i don't doubt will play important roles in the future. when.. i don't know.. but a blessing none-the-less.

we leave back for agra again in just over an hour.
i do apologize for the lack of blogs lately. this is the first time i have had decent time to get internet and update since..... well, the last one. ja.

we got here (delhi) on the morning of the 12th, the day the conference started. we had the joy of seeing loren and darlene cunningham and heard some good things from them on what our Father is doing around the world. i met many people was reminded to love others. at the beginning of the conference i was sick and tired of a lot of people and wanted to be left along and just soak for sometime. well... though i didn't get super long soaking, loren and darlene left on a note of us all making a new commitment of loving our Father with all our heart soul mind and strength, as well as those around us.... as well and continuing to spread His gospel to the ends of the earth til the day He returns. big commitment but one i can and will spend my life doing... by His grace of course.

so, in the morning we will hit up the taj mahal for sunrise, then head back to varanasi that night. i have enjoyed varanasi the most so far. so i look forward to heading there again for some time.

for the sake of information for all of you, here is more than a rough statement on where i will be and what will be happening over the next... um... while. keep in mind, this will more than likely change.. but serves as a rough model to pray about and ideas floating around with the chance of becoming reality... grab some popcorn.. this could be fun.

Lord willing, while we are in varanasi, we will join the school of hindu studies as well as some contexualisation things...(classes or explanation). very interesting and different ways of looking at reaching the people in india... then i will head back to delhi with the rest of our little team minus one around this next sunday/monday. then i will join a couple friends and leave for a couple days to jaipur/ the pink city. they will fly out after we get back, and i may get time with a friend i have made here in delhi the first week i arrived. i may take part in holy day (a giant paint fight...) march 1st.. then Lord willing head back to varanasi with that friend and meet up with a german lady who reaches out to the modern hippy traveler that comes to india in search of... well, lots. Lord willing, i will also be able to spend sometime and stay with an indian family. i may stay in varanasi until the end or march (roughly) doing a variety of work... i was invited to visit the home town up north of my friend, then i hope to stop by kullu where a family i met at the conference does church planting. oh, how i wish i could go into detail right now of all the amazing things God is doing in the place... please keep praying. He is doing things, and i look forward to being a part of it. after my time there... i hope to be heading back to berlin but am open for whatever He has. all is open..

finances have been.... normal.
i expect God is doing something to help me in this. i have been learning from watching the others i am with to not hold on to it so much... thinking that He can't continue to provide when i am low but also to spend wisely. i don't mind eating and living cheap.. actually i prefer it! but to spend on everyday expenses, i shouldn't worry about what i will eat, or where the clothes i wear will come from. until now, i have never really known these needs to this degree. but i am blessed to experience this and look forward to growth in these areas.

thank you all who have supported me, and continue to. i wouldn't be here if it wasn't for all the blessings you have poured into my life. prayers are more than needed as each day shows different struggles and places of my life that i need growth in. thanks be to God for the strength to get this far.. but i will for sure need a continue close relationship with Him to really do His work and represent Him well.

so, Papa, thank You for the opportunity to be here. it has been crazy good. but may we go deeper into Your plan now. financially, relational, spiritually, mentally.... in all areas. let go Papa. with You nothing is impossible.

thanks for reading these things. i hope that it has given you some what of an update... and i am sorry that i cannot go into detail just yet. ask questions though.. it will help me to communicate info that will help you understand what is going on.
email me! this.is.a.real.fake.email@gmail.com

much much much love, and thanks for all the prayers.
ciao from delhi... the place with dirty air!
viel Liebe, israel

scatterbrained blessings

so sorry for the lack of update.. but due to much changes, this is the first time being at internet access and will not be for much time. thus, i will cut to the points and make it enjoyable at the same time! way super!

the last week has been full of events that i will soon go into detail.

josiah and duane did come, which left me with minimal sleep for a few days.

we made friends with two girls from argentina, and went with them to agra where we met up with the team. oh, it was so good being with them again. it was complete opposites.. meaning, they are at the final few days of their outreach and here we are just beginning the time here.

i was able to sit down at chat with a few members of the team, at it served as a huge blessing for me.

we shared worship together, praises and ministry. it is so obvious that God has completely blessed this team and it was so great being able to see them again with all the changes and growth that God has been doing in their lives.

i was more than blessed and excited to see sam (my roommate from ebc, whom i came to know this team from idaho through). we sat at a rooftop restaurant with a view of the taj mahal and monkeys.

the monkeys here are very dangerous. we just heard a story from our friends today that one was chased by one as she was hanging up here towel on the balcony... as she ran away, a man with a rifle came and shot the monkey. i have also heard of stories about monkey gangs and the brutality of them... eek! then as i was meeting on a roof with one friend, we were warned about them from the hotel manager. later i saw the silhouette of one, and we immediately made out way down the stairs.

last night, we left for another smaller town where we were to catch a train to varanasi. our argentinian friends faced many hours of delay.. which is quite normal for the railway system in india. so we should have expected for our own trip to the same city with the same schedule. upon arriving, our waiting time was about an hour... but quickly changed to three.. then with another added on as time got closer to when we were suppose to leave. of course, it turned out that our 830 train didn't come until 1230... but we were able to make conversation and drink chai with some polish people who were waiting on the same transportation delay.

it was... all in all.. fun!

eventually, the train came, we slept, and around noon, six hours after our original eta, we arrived here and enjoyed hot showers and time to rest.

i am left with mixed feelings about being in this place. the ganges. the holy city. varanasi.

oh how i wish God would come down and show all these people the love they are made for... but i know that His timing is perfect. so i wait, and pray.

we are here for only three days leave the third at night back for delhi. we will seek to attend the ywam conference while there, and meet up with more from ywam colorado springs. as for direct itinerary, we just continue to seek God for it and He continues to bless us with opportunities to see Him.

after the conference, there are some possibilities.. but we may be coming back to varanasi as well as agra.

please continue to keep us in your prayers. God has been more than faithful in bringing back my health, blessing us in many ways, and open ways to share about Him to people from around the world.

please pray for continue protection and grace.. and that we proclaim Him boldly and lovingly. also for unity among us as a team.. and finance.

sorry that this blog is everywhere..

but thank you all for the crazy blessings of prayers that you continue with.

Papa, we love You! thank You for being with us! make us part of Your plan. Jesus! You are amazing!!!

viel Liebe!

israel

lost and found!

the past few days have proven a blessing for being alone.

though i have for sure spent much more money than i could or should have, i am being taught the ropes of how to be more content and seek out bargains. living in india is rather cheap, especially compared with other countries, but none the less, it will cost and require further funds.

i put together somewhat of a daily budget that looks like this.

keep in mind, 45-46 rupees is $1.

40 rps - breakfast

250 rps - lunch and dinner

50 rps - internet

250 rps - room/bed

590 rps for 30 days comes to about $390.

so for each month that i am here, not including transportation to other locations, i need to raise this much. this does not include small transportation and other random tidbits including toilet paper, but may or may not be fulfilled each day, depending on what each day brings.

i thought it be important to include you in on this knowledge.

as for other things, oh man!

i spend some time at the park again yesterday. the diversity of the people i met was quite amazing.

the first man, i didn't understand much, and found myself really questioning whether he was sober or not. he eventually went and got cigarettes... as he did this, two younger males sat close to me and invited me to join them. i did, and the other man came back and joined too. we all enjoyed lunch together then spoke much on the normal subjects among the young males that i have met here... but unfortunately this time was a bit more voguer.

one of the boys spend most of the time just joking where as another actually asked questions about my family and such... being quickly drowned out by the louder..

they eventually left, and i was left alone again.

i opened my Bible, this time in english, and read for some time. eventually a man came up to me and asked whether i was french or not. i replied that i was not, and he sat and we spoke. he asked what i was reading and i told him as he took a look for himself. he commented on the notes that i had written along the margins and asked me to explain to him more about Christ.

so we chatted, shared snacks, drank chai and talked about Jesus Christ, His teachings, belief and love.

it was a breath of fresh air once again to meet someone who earnestly was seeking truth and had experienced some of His goodness already!

the day before, i met up with ankur. we spoke and relaxed in a park for several hours before departing our ways. this man has captured something deep within me. he is honest and takes real interest in our friendship. he invited me to join him in visiting his home town in april. so, Lord willing, that may happen. he mentioned that he told his mother about me, that i was from america and that i am a missionary. she is more than excited to meet me. :) BLESSINGS!

so, now i wait for some time to past before i Lord willing join some friends at an indian wedding that i have been looking forward to. early tomorrow morning, i will pick up one contact from the airport, and late tomorrow night, josiah will come and join us! halleluja!

the next days are not certain, but as this arise, you will find out!

thank you all for the blessings of prayer and and thoughts on this journey. my voice is coming back, though i can't sing at the top of my lungs just yet, i will soon! and i am trusting for finances to continue to cover my needs while i am here and as i return to berlin.

Daddy, thank You for Your love, for all that You are doing, and for being mine! i am Yours! may we be made part of Your plan, that we will speak boldly and truthfully Your words and love!

thank You for bringing us back to You for all time!

in Jesus name, amen!

ok, much love, viel Liebe, und bis bald.. oder...

-israel

one last thought, as i bought a handy/mobile/cellphone yesterday, i accidentally left my passport there. when i realized this, i made my way quickly there, and it was safe and sound with the workers. but as i was leaving, a man from the netherlands spoke with me about his hatred for religion and his dislike on america. we spoke for maybe 5 minutes and i spoke gently but truthfully (i sure hope) about how God is not a religion. He is our Father. and about how no one made Him up.. He was not designed by people... and so on. he eventually was too heated to speak anymore and said that he should stop. we bid each other farewell and i thanked him for being honest with me. God bless him!

tschuessie!