28 hours there.. another 26 here... all worth it!

This is a blog that I wrote in Northern India but didn't post it for some reason.. probably due to the many power outages at the internet cafés. None-the-less, here is my birthday present to you all, a reminder of how good God is!... or maybe it is one of His presents for me....?!

Much love, israel
enjoy!


over the past few days i have been more than blessed in many ways.

my friend and i left varanasi and spent 28 hrs on a train to kalka.. where we met a couple of travelers headed to shimla.. so we hopped on a toy train with them shortly after arriving and spend the next 6 hours traveling through famous 103 tunnel railway... making friends with a few indians. we stayed that night in the beautiful shimla... which reminded me of europe and took my breath away.. mostly because of the chilly weather and amazing mountainous scernery.. not to mention we were about 2400 meters high.

the next morning.. early.. we boarded a bus to kullu and sat uncomfortably for about 8 hours. it was a much pleasurable ride regardless of comfort. in kullu we met up with kamal, an amazing man with an amazing family i met at the conference. we met together and talked about a lot. it was a blessing having my friend with to witness what he had to say about how God has done some amazing feats in their lives. around midday, we left on another bus to manali, where we are now. i met with two people from the base here and look to join them tomorrow for worship. it will be an amazing opportunity to meet the others from around manali and hear their hearts as well as share mine with them.

God has been opening doors and lining things up with much grace and i am sure it is all with reason. i remember recalling a week or two back saying and asking God why i was here. that i didn't feel i was doing anything of worth. since then... God has unstoppingly taken me along a path of reason. meaning, when i was first invited, i felt Him say that it was an opportunity with reason. He has been showing me that He is more than close to me and doing more than i could possibly imagine right now. He is doing something big.... remember that?

He is doing something... right now! egal wo ich bin. Er ist immer gut und macht Gute!

as that was a mouth full... i would love to go into detail about how the mountain peaks covered in snow that are in view from the porch of our guest house make a perfect place to reflect on what He has recently been doing and jot it all in a note book for further blessings in the future... or how there is a bakery just a minute from us that serve nutella croissants... which i am sure are far from a germany version... or that i enjoyed indian made german bread for breakfast this morning... all this and more have been just small but huge signs of His love in the past couple days.

so.... thank you all! your prayers have been continually heard.

right now.. i could use prayer for finances and health. the norm, but still a consistant need.

ja. not worried but not comfortable. which is just fine!

4 weeks, i should be in moscow waiting for my plane to berlin. wow!

my heal hurts a bit, and i am excited to join worship tomorrow.

Daddy, You have rocked my socks. thank You! in this, please complete all that You have planned. i love You and am amazed by You.

may all i have met with be left with this blessing and those i will meet be prepared.

You are my shepard, i have all i need.... i have You!

viel Liebe, israel

deeper

after a weekend of snow, a friday of goodbyes and a monday of a feeling of unfinished business... the sun slowly drives it's heat mobile across the sky as i think of the so uncertain thoughts running around in this bearded head.

friday was the last day of work. my wrist is hurting today so after stopping at the unemployment office and furthering the process i stopped at the doctors office. what is with this ridged body of miracles that, when demanded, works like a charm but reminds be regardless of the hard years behind us. last week left me with a crummy cold that is now just kleenexes and coughing.
i can't help but be outside in this crisp moist early winter. my heart, as my body and this relationship yurns for some sort of confirmation of His grace. i suppose just looking around in the present and the past would surely satisfy it all. there is a sense of anxiety or better said unrest in my heart as i wait for the operation, for my flight to sam, for the money for kathy and i to america, for the loans to be paid off, for more of Him right now, here!
again and again i have the deep feeling that we are here for a reason. that makes sense... and undoubtably goes deeper that we really understand. i am really not used to living a life of steady hours at work, coming home to a family (wife) and spending other time chillin with others or relaxing. not that it's bad.. but for me a bit off track in my feelings.. maybe it is that good sense with every payment towards the loans, or the hope as i read an update or email from india or elsewhere, or the memories of sitting somewhere in a city that had trapped me for a period of time before going somewhere else struggling with the goodbyes, new hellos and the question, why am i here? not, why am i living... more what should i be doing here, now? what should we be doing here, now? are we doing it? are we doing it partially?
i don't want to be partially, but maybe the wholeness only comes when all else is given up and real pursuit is taken...
then again, maybe that is the quitters way out... stopping what is hard or where it is hard to apply living in truth and living the normal radical way..
put to plainer words... i enjoy taking pictures, climbing, spending time outdoors and traveling, building relationships and being alone. can and should these things be used for Him, for living for Him? and how?
but i suppose in a relationship, when communication is fluent, both sides speak.
God, how might You want to use these desires, mixed with the longing for going back to india and other parts of the world and teaching and exercising Your love everywhere? and how might You desire to use kathys desire too mixed with mine?
oh the great mystery of a greater love, or of a Father who knows how to raise His sons and daughters.

i know You will answer me, for You are greater than good, better than great and You desire us. bring us to You. bring those, whom You have called to Yourself, to You. this world is full of trouble, but we shall take heart, for You have overcome the world!

fight for truth with purity, with excellence, on purpose.

love, israel

what a neat cup

crisp coldness, a warm thick coffee from my neat janosch mug and a lazy cat almost laying on her back...
a whistling stove trying hard to heat the 4 small rooms and 1 hallway...
the album leaf doing there stuff to make any day a chill day..
one week of work left before being unemployed and the need to fill out the paperwork and get it back to the unemployment office before heading to my wrist appointment on wednesday...
yet another new season... the yellow, brown and red leaves of our lives dropping to the ground, making way for new chlorophyll filled beauty of the new year...
the coffee is really thick today, but i think i like it that way the best...
kathy would probably add more milk than normal to it if she weren't working at the cake stand for the flea market for the german ymca...
tomorrow is my dads birthday and today kathys mom celebrates her birthday which was on tuesday...
my wrist...   oh my wrist.... what will they do with you... i have enjoyed using you for lots of neat things and now they will lock you away for some months before allowing you to glee and bask in the glory of fullness...
i think kathy likes porcelain... in two weeks i will be in england again.... sam and i will hug.... multiple times... the album leaf reminds me often on eugene and spokane...  hi eugene... hi spokane... still no money for the flights.... i am not too certain that it will work out, but thoughts have wandered my mind about first paying the loans off before taking some time to come back relaxed and ready... i wish ryanair flew to rapid city... or even to the states in general... we saw a flea circus at the fair... never again...    our basilika grew hair, i will send him to the brown bin later today....   curtis comes from baltimore and is super chill...  we spoke shortly yesterday...  3 bollywood films are now awaiting our attention, my attention in on the chores today and the mountains...   they are already snowy...  
i wish i were snowy too...
my coffee is getting colder though i drink it regularly...  but the mug is still neat...
the cat snores sometimes... i call her tommy.... kathy calls her mizi...      but i still call her tommy...
i like recorded rain, or recorded vehicles driving through the rain... or recorded airplanes...
i like this coffee, it is so thick...   the album leaf is still playing...    good.... the chores are still waiting...
the neat mug is almost empty...    whistle stove, whistle yet a while...  sleep tommy, sleep yet a while..
hang clothing, for you might not yet be dry... play album leaf, play for i am not yet done...
the flowers are so beautiful...   my toes are still chilled.... the coffee is finished, but thick to the end...
there is still more for this neat cup.

much love, israel

fotofever or is it hopeful eyes...

due to the nature of being home and having time and somehow getting a new sight of memmingen with His help, my camera has been chillin with me and i finally developed a roll of film that i have been working on since 2009. i put up a couple of picture on my flickr and hope to keep up with it more regular. the link is below and i will send it out with my blog update emails too from now on... unless i don't want to or forget or something of the such... word!

enjoy, hopefully your eyes feel better after the looking... maybe even the heart....
oh.. one more thing... it has been on my heart to pray for memmingen... we live in the city.. literally, with the city wall as our back wall and my heart has been aching for more of God, more of Jesus and more of His spirit here.

pray with! you'll be seeing photos of the area so maybe God will hook you up with some cool prayers too!

much love, israel

www.flickr.com/photos/translatelove/

OPs, flights and one year today!

the rain kept me home, better said brought me back home from work today. caught some extra sleep (well needed), cleaned and put things away in the new apartment that we call home now for the last 2 months, went to the bank to see if there was enough funds for london and then made yummy fat filled american grilled cheese sandwiches with a touch of german meat.

one year ago today, crazy but yeah, today, we were joined by friends from europe to celebrate our wedding here in memmingen, germany. i suppose the time has indeed gone by super fast. already celebrating one wedding from us (to explain, we married in the US in July and in germany for each of our families), this one is the more realizing one for Kathy since her family was our family. i thank God for today, for the last year and for the umbrella He has put us under through all the rain and storms. but, as the analogy goes, the rain will bring growth, and growth usually has growth-pains linked to it. i really thank you all and God again for the prayers, support in conversation and that He has heard and answered your prayers. tis true, the year has been hard... but... it has been worth it.

a couple things to mention as i try to compact thing blog with several months of events during no time or laziness or other priorities.

our heart is to be back in the states for Christmas. it will be the first time being back since we came last year in august. we look to fly out around the 7-9th of dec and stay til the 30th. Kathy has the time off and i will be out of work due to the wrist surgery. during the first couple weeks we have talked about getting to nebraska to visit my dad and friends there, and hitting up the northwest to visit dear ones there. as neat and fun as it all sounds, we are struggling with the means of getting it done. technically, from our jobs, it is not possible to come up with the funds to fly, and i have decided not to fly without kathy. i also have to get some others things straightened out with unemployment (again due to the surgery) and physical therapy before hand. the funds for the flights look to be around $2,000 and i can't really say how it looks with funds for traveling around the u.s. when getting there.
but...  i, or we, have been challenged to give this to God. what that means is... if He provides the money to do this then we will be there, if not, then all we can do is trust that He has something even better in hand for us. our hearts, naturally, is to come back and see our new nephew and everyone else... but my heart trusts God. He has the best for us, for you!

next, my wrist surgery is to be on the 13th of Nov. i will be in recovery for about 3 months and after, starting at a café here when it be His will. i do not expect it to be a very easy time but i really believe it will be full of maybe unexpected neatness and wonders. i will have lots of time on my hands. we shall see!

kathy and her health need prayer. it is really hard to sit or stand and watch her being sick so often or having physical problems... her health is, however, from God. and i pray for strength to get through all things regardless of health stuff or apathy or whatev...

another loan is officially paid off!!!! the last one is up to bat and with His grace, will be off the base in no time. thank you endlessly for any and all support towards those!

my job ends soon. my wrist can't take it anymore... to be honest, my whole body needs a break :)
shortly after my bday (31st of oct.) i hope to fly to sam and beth in harpenden, england to visit. although, due to work and stress, kathy can not join with, i really feel this visit has something deeper attached... again like an opportunity with purpose. it is always a joy and pleasure to visit my best friend sam and his wife... yep, shall see.

other than that... i miss all of you. the leaves here are joining the others in piles on the ground, jackets are coming into style and i am starting a little with tutoring english. :) our hearts smile and hope at the opportunity to see you all. please pray with us.

i attached some random photos of the area. please enjoy and i hope to hear from lots of you soon!
keep in touch, regardless of the time in between!

much love, israel and kathy (well.. written by israel but supported by kathy:)