Merry Christmas???

Here's a quality short news story...
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/12/27/clashing.clergy.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Really?

God help us.

Pictures and Articles

Well it's been a while since we posted a bunch of pictures on our Shutterfly account, but we finished the project in doing so this week. If you click on the link for "Our Pictures in Israel" you'll be directed to our Shutterfly account and find the following new picture albums with descriptions:

JUC Fall Semester 2007
Hanukkah
Ben’s Hiking Trip up North
Christmas Eve in Bethlehem
A Jerusalem Christmas

It's a lot of new pictures for one sitting. Maybe view one new album for each day of the workweek.


Also, a while ago I added links to a couple of great articles but didn't mention anything about them. Maybe these topics are of interest to you...

Jerusalem Divided – TIME Magazine article written from one living in Abu Tor (our neighborhood) as he describes what life is like for Arabs and Jews living in Jerusalem.

Bethlehem 2007 A.D. – Excellent National Geographic article with great information on some of the current political situation “surrounding” Bethlehem.

Until next time...

Christmas in Bethlehem

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” –Luke 2:11


On the Monday morning of Christmas Eve, life here in Jerusalem started quite normal. Stacie and I walked to our Hebrew class, but then we skipped the second half of class, “ran” some errands around the New City, and back to our place for lunch.

About 2pm, six other students from JUC met at our house and we walked to Bethlehem. Yup, we WALKED to Bethlehem. I mean it’s not really that far considering we live in S. Jerusalem and not Nazareth...and none of us were 9 months pregnant. The walk there with friends was pretty fun. I mean, I know it was nothing like the journey made by Mary and Joseph…we walked on a sidewalk along a main road with cars whizzing by us. However, as we walked I couldn’t avoid seeing the massive “Herodian” in the skyline. The Herodian was one of Herod’s palace-fortresses he had built on top of a man-made mountain just to the SE of Bethlehem proper. I have been researching the archeology of a number of different biblical sites over the past couple weeks for this big project I’m working on, and the night before our journey to Bethlehem, I happened to be reading and researching about this massive palace-fortress that stood over Bethlehem. Herod was crazy. But what struck me the most was trying to picture Mary and Joseph on this journey...seeing the enormous Herodian in the background, shining in all its glory, as they approached Joseph’s hometown, the place where they knew the King, and Our Savior, was to be born. Was it during the day or under the moonlight when they finally arrived? And was it really in late December? (Probably not, most likely Sept/Oct but I won’t go into reasons why at this time).

Well we arrived to the welcoming 25-foot cement wall checkpoint of Bethlehem proper after about an hour on our feet. Waited in line. Showed the favored American Passport. No questions, issues or problems. Then we walked about another hour in Bethlehem before arriving at Manger Square/Church of the Nativity, where the traditional site of the Birth or our Lord took place some 2,000 years ago. Most of the main festivities were to take place later at night, including the annual midnight mass service in the church, but we didn’t stick around for that. There were crowds of people arriving when we were there and a group of Christians were gathered together singing some Christmas songs in the courtyard. Christmas music in English and Arabic played through the streets, lights and decorations were everywhere (especially compared to Jerusalem) as well as numerous armed PA soldiers keeping things well under control. We didn’t stay in Manger Square too long, we stopped at a tiny restaurant where we squeezed all 8 of us into the “Peace Restaurant,” ate some 5 shekel Falafel, and drank some Arab tea with sage (not a person) while talking with the two overly kind Muslim men working the restaurant. It was “peaceful.”

Afterwards we stopped on a hillside overlooking Bethlehem and we read the birth story of Jesus in Matthew 2 and Luke 2. I love reading the stories on the site where they took place. Can’t really explain it unless you’ve experienced it. It changes something inside me. Extra special on Christmas Eve too I guess. The story won’t be read the same next year at this time.

Christmas day was spent exchanging some gifts with Stacie and Karin (JUC student and current houseguest) in the morning, enjoying a huge Turkey feast for lunch at the neighbors with about 15 JUC students and then they all came to our place at night to enjoy some desserts as well as some good laughs with a white elephant gift exchange.

It was a different Christmas this year not being in MI, or being around family, not seeing advertisements for things I need to buy, not seeing Santa at the mall, snow or Christmas lights in the neighborhood. But it was a good 1st Christmas with my wife, and we were in Bethlehem, also unique. But most of all, this Christmas, I am thankful for Jesus.

He is Christ the Lord.

Heaven and Earth.

I acknowledge that I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

However, the more days that pass me by I realize more and more that we were not created for things of this world. Our relationships, commitments, experiences, etc. are all important aspects to life here on earth. If you are reading this…you have been created with great purpose. Purpose today, here, now, on earth. Purpose to bring praise and glory to God. Here. But ultimately there is a much greater purpose. A heavenly purpose.

For whatever reason, God chose to create Samara for heavenly purposes only. I think that’s pretty cool. Think about that thought for a minute. God chose to create Samara for heavenly purposes only! What an honor, joy and privilege.

Friday was a day to honor and remember Samara. And thanks to the advancements of modern technology and a “we won’t give up yet” attitude through the final minute from mom, dad and others, Stacie and I were able to watch the memorial service live (via skype and webcam). How great it was for Stacie and I to feel like we were there, to have our hearts hurt with them. Of course we wished we could have really been there in person, but this was the best possible supplement.

Even though we were unable to be in Grand Rapids at this time, Stacie and I did however eat lunch in one of our favorite Restaurant/Coffee Shops in the Old City the other day in Samara’s honor. We thought it seemed appropriate.

Sitting "7"

About five weeks ago I was walking through a neighborhood just south of Jerusalem and noticed a big tent out in someone’s yard (apt complex) and a group of people sitting on a few cushions on the ground of their porch. At first I didn’t know what this was, the tent wasn’t extremely nice, in fact it looked like pieces of tarp hung to make a tent, so they weren’t really celebrating some big special event.

They were “sitting shiv’ah.”

The Hebrew term “shiv’ah” is simply “seven,” and the phrase, “sitting shiv’ah,” refers to the Jewish custom of sitting in mourning for seven days following the death of a deceased parent, spouse, sibling or child. During this time, the primary mourners do not leave the ‘shiv’ah house’ except on Shabbat and do not engage in normal work or business or even study Torah. Things like haircuts, bathing, shaving and changing of clothes are also prohibited in its practice today. Throughout the week of mourning, the mourners sit on low stools, benches, or on the floor. They also keep a memorial light burning. Friends and other relatives visit them to comfort and pray with them. When visiting the shiv’ah house, the mourners do not serve the guests, and in many communities people provide meals for those sitting shiv’ah. When visiting those sitting shiv’ah, the primary mourners speak first, if they don't speak, you should stay silent.

But you sit. There. With them.

In the New Testament, one of Jesus’ closest friends Lazarus dies, and “Many of the Judeans had come…to comfort them at the loss of their brother…Mary continued sitting (shiv’ah) in the house” (John 11:19-20). Both sisters seem to observe the practice.

The traditional origin of shiv’ah has been traced to seven days of deep mourning observed for the Patriarch Jacob (Gen 50:10). I also recently read through the book of Job and this Jewish custom is the context for most of those 42 chapters as well. Job endures great loss in the first couple chapters and then, Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar decided to stop what they were doing, travel to his house, in order to sit and sympathize with him.

“When they saw him from a distance…they began to weep aloud…Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:12-13).

Now Job’s friends were not particularly exemplar friends or guests, as much of their dialogue was critical towards Job and questioning his integrity. But the idea of this Jewish custom is beautiful isn’t it?

Stop. Sit. Sympathize. Shiv’ah.

Samara Joy

Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

My sister Kim and her husband Chad lost their baby this week. They were due to have their 5th child (2nd daughter) in less than two weeks, but apparently God had other plans. This awful news was discovered on Tuesday and after a very, very long 24 hours or so, Kim delivered on Wednesday, December 5, 2007.

Late Wednesday night (Jerusalem time) we talked with Kim on the phone from the hospital shortly after the baby was born. Samara Joy Zwyghuizen was born around 4pm EST Wednesday. She was 6 lbs 14 ounces, with lots of black, curly hair. Kim said she was beautiful, and looked just like their other daughter Mikayla did when she was born. My Mom and Dad went to the hospital, as did my brother Corey and his wife Sara. Meanwhile, Chad left the hospital to go tell his four other kids the heart wrenching news. Dallas, Justin, Mikayla, and Sawyer had been anxiously waiting for their new baby sister all day. They knew mom was in the hospital having the baby, but the kids didn't know what we already knew...new baby sister wasn't coming home. They all went to hospital together to see her and took turns holding her. Stacie and I desperately wished we could be there.

The cause of death was the umbilical cord wrapped around her in three places. Kim remembered the baby moving around on Sunday, it all happened so fast. And how is it that the very thing God created to sustain a baby’s life, the umbilical cord, brought death?

I have wrestled with things like this all week. It just doesn’t make sense…to me. To us. This baby will never learn to crawl, or walk, read or write. She won’t sing in a middle school choir, nor know the joy of being asked to dance with a boy. But we are confident of this… she joined a choir that is better than any middle school choir in the world; and there is no doubt that Samara is better dancer than I. Jesus has already given her some good lessons.

So while the King of the Universe has called this little child to Himself, He also knows it’s not easy for those of us who feel the heart wrenching pain of this loss. Jesus said,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Please pray for our family as we keep trying to “come to Jesus” during such a time as this.



God is good. Chad and Kim picked the baby’s name shortly after they became pregnant.

The name Samara means "under God's rule."

We know He sits on the throne, and what He does is good.
We know she is with Him.

Annapolis Peace Conference

“Salaam” is a common greeting in many Arabic-speaking and Muslim countries. “Shalom” is the salutation used by Jews at meeting and parting. Both terms mean “peace.” Yet there seems to be a lack of peace here in the Middle East. Maybe they should all adopt the English “greetings,” “what’s up?” or simply the head nod instead.


A Middle East Peace conference is to be held on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 in Annapolis, MD. The primary purpose of the conference is surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been going on for many, many years. It wasn’t until I moved to Jerusalem and have taken classes that have dealt a little with this issue that I realize how deep and complex the whole issue is. The U.S. Government has been working hard in preparation for this conference and Condoleezza Rice seems to have been here about every other week as we have seen her ride by in her caravan while we were walking to Hebrew class a few times this fall. May God bless the governments’ efforts.

I have taken some time to look at the Scriptures to see what God says about peace. The English word “peace” is found 250 times in the Bible such as when the Apostle Peter said in Acts 10:36, “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” But I also found it interesting that many times the term “peace” was used in the New Testament, it was coupled with the word “grace,” (found 123 times in the NT). In fact EVERY single one of Paul’s letters starts out with “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Some have said this was simply a cultural greeting in a letter, but all of his letters are packed with themes of grace and peace and he even closes each letter (including the short 25 verse letter to Philemon) with something like “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” The much-needed message of the Gospel of Jesus is grace and peace.

Grace and peace.

Which is really interesting to me when I think about the little that I know about the current conflict between these two people groups in Israel. Both people groups have had horrible things done to them in the past, both by others and by each other. Both people groups seem to be hanging on to those things. No grace for past hurts, no peace in the present.
I am asking you, friends, family, brothers and sisters worldwide, to please join us in prayer for this conference. Pray for the leaders from 40 different countries who have been invited to the meeting in Annapolis. Pray for wisdom in complicated decisions. Pray for grace to be known, given and received. And may Messiah Jesus bring His peace to the Middle East...and to the ends of the earth. “For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility (Eph 2:14).

Shalom. Salaam. Peace.

Quake

Well it’s been another great, yet busy week. We just completed our last week of classes at JUC for the semester. Last night Stacie and I had just gone to bed. It was the quiet, still, take a deep breath, restful silence. Friday night, we were quite tired, and ready for some Shabbat Shalom. Shortly after getting settled in, Stacie initially thought I began shaking the bed with my feet or something, but I told her I wasn’t doing anything and in fact it wasn’t just the bed that was shaking. It was a deep, eerie, rumbling of the entire house for about five seconds. Earthquake.
When we woke up in the morning we read that the quake measured at 4.2 on the Richter scale, and its epicenter was located in central Israel. Nobody was hurt, no damage done, just another interesting experience here in the land of Israel.

Thankful.

Thanksgiving Day is again upon us.
A day often spent overeating turkey and a smorgasbord of deserts, watching the Lions game, and spending time with family. This year things are different for us. Our school, JUC, will be hosting a big Thanksgiving dinner so we can still gorge ourselves with turkey and Stacie is currently making one of the deserts for the feast, but it is quite difficult to find a place to watch American Football around here. Go Lions anyway, I guess. Family? We love family, but they are not here today either. However, life is good and I’m thankful to God for many, many things. Here’s a short list (in no particular order) of things I’m thankful for today.

I am thankful for eyes to see the colors in the rainbow from our rooftop this morning.

I am thankful for taste buds, the Thanksgiving feast tomorrow will be fantastic.

I am thankful for legs to walk, even though it was cold and raining this morning.

I am thankful for a house, a bed, and a hot shower with a push of a button.

I am thankful for Stacie. She loves me well.

I am thankful for family; it is always fun talking with and seeing you all (via webcam for now).

I am thankful for an abundance of friends back home who have journeyed with me and taught me so much along the way.

I am thankful for leaders in the Church and other Christian ministries. Your work is not in vain.

I am thankful for you, the person reading this, chances are God has used you somewhere along in my journey through life.

I am thankful for the people who continue to pray for us, encourage us, financially support us and believe in who we are and what we are doing.

I am thankful for books to read, papers to write, and the ability to think, study and memorize.

I am thankful to be living in Jerusalem, “the city of the Great King” (Matt 5:35).

I am thankful for this King. The One who died here, in this city, two thousand years ago. For me. For you. For friends. For enemies. For the world.



Indeed, we should be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Litter. Trash. Broken glass.

I love living in Israel. But the “Holy Land” is not exactly “holy.” In fact there are a number of things here that we find challenging, annoying, frustrating or just really sad. There are numerous things that are “broken” in this place. Here are a couple examples:

1. The constant, unnecessary honking of car horns. In Israel, the traffic lights turn yellow before turning red AND before they turn green. So, if the first car in line isn’t going by the time the light shines green, a car ten cars back will start laying on the horn telling everyone to go. Is this a drag race? Do we really need to be in that big of hurry all the time? Also, many times the “honking” is a far cry from a “love tap.” “Why is there so much aggression in the way you are honking your horn sir?” Especially as a frequent pedestrian, the constant, extra, “unnecessary” noise can be quite rattling at times.

2. In America, the customer is always right. Do whatever you can to keep him or her happy, right? Here? Not the case. If the person behind the counter is having a bad day, you’ll know it. In fact, it seems as though that’s often the case. Last week we had to pick up our student visas. Let’s just say she wasn’t extremely kind, patient or helpful. It often seems like the people here are pushy and rude. (Often, not always, we’ve met REALLY GREAT people here). Is it just the culture? How does a kind, quiet, selfless person survive here? How much of this “in your face” culture should we adapt in order to be heard or respected? How much should we push in order to get on the bus, or buy bread at the shuk (market)? After all, there are no lines here in Israel. What does Jesus think about all this?

3. Litter. Trash. Broken glass. Everywhere. Do people care? Isn’t this the “Holy Land?” Isn’t this the land God commanded His people to take care of? Isn’t this the land people are constantly fighting over because they want it so badly? This too, drives me crazy. Especially the broken glass. There are glass shards on the streets, sidewalks, in the parks and in the Sea of Galilee. While walking, if a small stone gets caught in my Chacos, I need to stop right away and make sure it’s not a broken Coca-Cola or Heineken bottle getting embedded into my foot. Why are they still putting things in glass bottles in this country anyway? Haven’t they learned? Does anybody else care, or even ask these questions?



For many months now I have done my share of grumbling about all of them, along with others unlisted here. I’ve tried to understand the logic or culture behind some of these. I even asked Ishmael, our Arab taxi driver about “why all the horn honking?” All have led to nowhere. No solutions. No changes.

It seems as though many of us do similar things. Complain about the way certain things are in the world. Then go and do nothing about it. Whine some more. Do less. Does my verbal criticism change anything? Does it even make me feel better? Is it just nice and to my credit that I can see the things that are not as they “should” be?

I had been feeling convicted about my attitude lately and have tried really hard to not be negative and also have been challenged by figuring out what I can do to make it better. To make a difference. Change. Not simply complain to my wife, or the locals, or the sidewalk about it. A few weeks ago Stacie and I began going to a new church here in Jerusalem, and we have really been enjoying it. The first week there, they were kicking off a new “campaign” to clean up the streets in Jerusalem. Serving God. Serving the community. As we pick up the trash and broken glass of the streets, maybe God will clean them up spiritually.

So this past Friday, our friend Mark, Stacie and I joined a group of people from the church for a couple hours.

Strapped on some latex gloves.

Filled some plastic bags.

Received a free t-shirt.

And we picked up some litter, trash and broken glass.

The t-shirt is fun, but it wasn’t about a free t-shirt. It felt good picking up broken glass.

As it should.