The Longs

Why I'm Not "pro-Israel"

2011-09-23T08:45:00.012-05:00

Now I know my title has caused the majority of you to have slight heart failure, or maybe just the usual biting of nails or slight shake of the head. Striking an emotional chord, your mind has already been enthusiastically thrown into the task of giving me a well-deserved rebuttal. Maybe for a moment you could harness these thoughts, grab your preferred beverage, and hear me out. I hold no agenda for personal gain, I’m simply driven by a moral obligation created through my personal discovery of facts, and my attempt to live by biblical scripture: “Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” Proverbs 31:8.

I write this in one way as a clarification for those who have misunderstood me. Gathered from the limited number of characters that you can type in your facebook status, some have constructed the idea that I am an ardent supporter of Islamic political organizations, and even a supporter of terrorism (side note-Why does the former automatically link me to the latter?). I do think that some Islamic political organizations are wrongly demonized, being falsely, yet conveniently lumped together with the likes of Al-Qaeda. Although they may not posses an ideal political system, some Islamic political groups display legitimizing aspects - an array of social services, active political participation, ect… - which should enable them to be recognized as legitimate political groups. I mean there is something to be said when Hezbollah offers better health care than most U.S. companies. (Calm down, I’m not advocating Hezbollah.) With that said, I do NOT support terrorism, whether it comes in the form of a suicide bomber, or in the form of an F-16.

I write this in another way in hopes to educate, or at least spur interest or even debate to the degree one would look past their traditional sources. I am by no means an expert on the complexities of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, nor am I of an age the offers me the title of being “wise”. I’m simply a student of Political Science, an advocate for the oppressed, and a 26 year old who still has much to learn.

We only get two choices?

Because I’m not “pro-Israel” does not mean I’m “anti-Israel,” or even that I’m completely “pro-Palestinian”, based on the general definitions. It does not mean I’m anti-Semitic, and it certainly does not mean I support terrorism. For some reason we are plagued with viewing world affairs through nice boxes, where we attach nice labels. Seeking simplicity in a world of complexity, everything is presented with two choices: Pro/Anti, Conservative/Liberal, Republican/Democrat, Western/Non-Western, Good/Evil, Us/Them. So when I make comments that are critical of Israel’s policies, I’m perceived as a crazy, young, unpatriotic liberal who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Some may even have a hard time viewing me as a Christian. I think those people don’t realize that a Christian holds no political obligation, meaning you don’t necessarily have to be a Republican, you may have views that would be considered liberal, and you might be adamantly opposed to the fear projecting news stations that are simply political tools for some elites trying to push their parochial interests over the actual interests, like…I don’t know…Fox news.

If I could label myself, I would love to attach “pro-solution” through non-violent means. But then I’m probably tagged as a deranged, idealistic hippy trying to escape the realities on the ground. No. I see past the “constructed realities” and actually see the realities on the ground. So if you want to dumb this issue down to pro-this or pro-that, I’ll take the pro-Palestinian label. Why? Because in the U.S., there is only one narrative to this conflict, and the daily humiliations and violations of human rights against the Palestinians is never included. This narrative is projected through multiple conduits, all in harmony with the other. Whether it is through the mass media or from the pulpit, each affirms the other.

One question I like to ask people is: Why do you support Israel? Some view this politically, saying, “Because Israel is a crucial ally in the “War on Terror.” Others view this religiously, “Because they are God’s chosen people.” Many cross these two because they are Bible believing Republicans and “that’s just what we do!” Some may not have an exact reason why, but they know they should. The most common answer by one poll was “because they are like us.” I think these answers stem from the fact that there is only one story being told in the U.S., and all the outlets that are telling this story are easily accepted by most as undisputable authorities. Nothing is questioned. Why would it be when your favorite news channel, your own pastor, and the top-selling feature film are all saying the same thing. Although, the last one is done with ridiculous special effects and a love story to go with it.

Constructing the Boundaries

Lets look at the mass media. Most of you have your favorite news network or newspaper, and you trust that news source because it fits well with your politics. If you are a Republican you probably watch Fox News and either read your local paper or maybe the Wall Street Journal. If you are a Democrat you probably prefer CNN or the New York Times, maybe even the Huffington Post. But with this issue, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict or anything pertaining to Israel, the mass media are of one voice. Now the Fox crowd is saying, “No way, the liberals at the New York Times and CNN are way to critical of Israel.” False. On Israel, the liberal media serve the crucial function of setting the “left”, or “pro-Palestinian” boundary. Meaning whatever they say that might come across critical of Israel serves as the most critical thing you could say of Israel. So if you go past what the liberal media are saying, you are considered fanatical.

On the Palestinian/Israeli issue, both sides of the boundaries of debate are narrowly focused with Israel in the middle. Israel has been granted a free hall pass from the mass media. They get to roam freely through the halls, knock over lockers, and punch the principle in the face. After all that the media provides a nice frame that places responsibility and moral obligation on the other, or if it’s really bad you just never hear about it. Events such as:

- The expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians from their homes to create the State of Israel in 1948. This horrific event that not only forced 700,000 Palestinians to be homeless but involved numerous mass murderers and rapes, is now celebrated as Israel’s independence day.

- The Lavon Affair, an Israeli terrorist attack on U.S. facilities and other public places in Egypt in 1954.

- The 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty ship, which killed 34 U.S. Navy men

- The Deir Yassin Massacre: 250 defenseless Palestinians were slaughtered, including more than 100 women and children by the Irgun Tsvai Leumi, a Zionist terrorists organization led by Menachem Begin. The same Begin who would be the Israeli Prime Minister in 1977.

- The 1946 bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem that killed 91 people carried out by the LEHI (the Stern Group) led by Yitzhak Shamir, the same Shamir who would be the Israeli Prime Minister in 1986.

- The Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1982: Where the Phalangist, a Lebanese Christian militia, raped, tortured, and murdered 700-800 innocent civilians in a refugee camp. The Israeli Defense Force authorized and provided protection for this operation. http://www.countercurrents.org/pa-fisk180903.htm

- The 29,000 children who required medical treatment from being beaten by IDF soldiers during the First Intifada (1987-1991). One-third sustained broken bones, and one-third were aged 10 and under.

- The 1996 massacre in Qana: Israel bombed a UNIFIL base killing 106 civilians who were seeking shelter from the Israeli operation “Grapes of Wrath.”

- The 23- year old American women who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003.

- Operation Summer Rain of 2006, An Israeli attack on Gaza where collateral damage totaled to 100 civilians, including 44 children.

- The civilian casualties from the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006, 43 Israeli’s & 1,109 Lebanese civilians.

- The civilian casualties from the 2009 Israeli attack on Gaza, 9 Israeli’s & 1,417 Palestinians, including 313 children. You probably saw these last two in the media, but they framed it just right where these civilians were accepted as necessary collateral damage. “Israel had to make a tough decision and its unfortunate that these civilians had to die.” The only problem with this thinking is the numerous testimonies by Israeli soldiers who explained the horrific acts they were ordered to carry out. You can find those testimonies here: http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/testimonies/database

The images and ideas that occupy your mind about a foreign land are constructed from the images and texts you have been exposed to in the mass media. Humanitarian emergencies and civil conflicts are serious events, but they do not exist for the majority of the world unless constructed as an event that has been interpreted through the media. Further, foreign enemies are terrifying and mysterious, but they do not exist for Americans unless constructed as a dangerous and imminent threat. Stop letting the 30-second frame you see on your favorite news channel construct “reality”. The mass media are great at rewriting “bad” history. How many Vietnamese were killed in the Vietnam War? Go ahead, take a guess. The average American response is 50,000. I wonder where they got that number? The actual number is 3 to 4 million.

“Because they are God’s chosen people”

For the people who answered, “because they are God’s chosen people,” probably refute that the media guide their views, and base their support solely on “what the Bible says”. Well when you look at what the Bible says, their reasoning is in direct opposition to what the Bible says. This group likes to view the world through an Isaac/Ishmael prism. They like to look at Us, as good, moral Christian’s who descended from Isaac. They like to look at Them as bad, barbaric, crazy, Muslim Arabs who must have descended from Ishmael. These “bad Muslim Arabs” live in the “scary, unstable Middle East”, from India to Morocco. Of course this view, which was shaped by either Mark Twain, National Geographic, Fox News, Aladdin or the latest Bruce Willis film, doesn’t account for the Egyptian Sunni-Muslim who is Arab, the Egyptian Coptic Christian who is Arab, the Iranian Shi’ite-Muslim who is Persian, the Lebanese Maronite Christian, the Lebanese Druze, the Palestinian Christian who is Arab from Ottoman descent, the Kurd who could be Muslim, Jewish, or Christian and residing in numerous countries, and the many other different, diverse groups of people that reside in the Middle East.

Now some Arab’s may be ethnically linked to Ishmael, but many are not. Ishmael’s decedents were known as the “sons of the east,” known for their Godly wisdom. The original Arabs descended from Shem, the son of Noah. Shem had a descendent named Eber who had a son named Joktan who populated the Arabian Peninsula. So to be clear, Arabs were around long before Ishmael. It’s a shame the current neighbors of the modern state of Israel are viewed as the ancient enemies of Israel.

Back to my point. Stephen Sizer and Gary Burge do a much better job than I ever would at explaining why the Bible does not support this argument. Here are two articles that all Christians should read when assessing their support for the modern state of Israel.

http://www.stephensizer.com/2011/08/seven-biblical-answers-to-zionist-assumptions/

http://www.christianzionism.org/Article/Burge02.pdf

Knowing some of you might not read those articles, I would still like to highlight a few things of why I do not agree with the “because they are God’s chosen people” argument.

- Many within this group like to quote Genesis 12:3, “God bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel.” But they like to ignore other scriptures like Galatians 3:16,28-29, “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” God’s blessings come by grace through faith, not by works or race. Ethnicity nor nationality hold no currency for salvation!

- “The Jewish people are God’s chosen people.” Wrong. God’s chosen people are of every race based on grace through faith by Jesus Christ. This is explained in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 23:7-8, Psalm 87:4-6, Isaiah 56:3, 6-7) and the New Testament (Romans 2:28-29, Romans 9:6-8, Colossians 3:11-12) “Chosen” means those who follow Jesus Christ.

- “The land of Israel was given by God to the Jewish people as an everlasting inheritance” False. The land is God’s and residence is conditional, (Leviticus 25:23). As Christians, our inheritance is heavenly not earthly. His Kingdom is not of this world.

- “Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people, and should never be divided”. This argument has NO scriptural basis. But Psalm 87 says Jerusalem must be shared. Again, as Christians, we are looking to the heavenly Jerusalem.

- “God has a separate plan for the Jewish people apart from the Church.” This is supported by ripping Romans 9-11 out of context. Paul defines the word ‘Jew’ in Romans 2, “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.”

The armpit, if you will, of this argument comes from one of the top leaders of the Christian Zionist movement, John Hagee and his organization, Christians United for Israel. To be blunt, if you took out the words Christian and Muslim from Hagee’s and Ahmadinejad’s theological statements, you would not be able to tell one apart from the other. Pastor Hagee likes to think that our all sovereign God and his plan is dependent on U.S. foreign policy. How do you preach from the bible I read and call for a pre-emptive strike against Iran, and justify this strike with some twisted end of times theology that has no scriptural support! God does not need you or I to carry out his plan, but he does want to use us too serve the poor, the meek, the orphaned, the widowed, and the oppressed. All of Hagee’s efforts are aimed at lobbying the U.S. government to pursue a certain policy that apparently will help God with his plan. All the while these efforts are at the expense of the sick, the poor, and the oppressed, the people Jesus repeatedly told us to care for. Instead of preaching the gospel, Hagee and his organization push money around to bulldoze the homes of Christian and Muslim Palestinian families, so a Jewish family can have a new illegal settlement. You may want to cover your eyes for this next statement. When it comes to world affairs, Hagee is a more dangerous actor in this world than any terrorist group that the media has constructed in your mind.

This is getting long, lets jump into politics.

You will not find a single, current U.S. politician that will be critical of Israel. Why? Because being critical of Israel is political suicide. Now some of you are saying, “Obama is critical! He called for negotiations based on the 67 borders!” Yes he did say that, and no, he is not critical of Israel. The conservative media wants you to think he is, but he’s not. He’s made a few good speeches and then returned back to his big, white house where the Israeli Lobby holds him hostage. American Presidents have been calling for negotiations based on the 67 borders since Nixon stated it in 1969. Since then, every President has agreed with Resolution 242, which calls for Israel to return to the 67 borders. Not the new ones that have been made throughout the last 40 years, but the original 67 borders. So no, Obama did not say this crazy radical statement; the conservative media just wants you to think he did. It doesn’t matter anyways, Obama is already campaigning, so he’s not even going to think about touching this issue. For those of you who are furious with what I’m saying, don’t worry, Obama is going to do the politically expedient thing, not the right thing.

Politically, I am not supportive of Israeli policies because they are illegal, they de-humanize an entire people group, they are nowhere near democratic, and their results leave innocent lives dead everyday. I do agree Israel has a right to exist in safety, but within their own borders, not the ones they stole in 1967. (Even though they stole that land in 1948, but you have to concede somewhere.) I do agree Israel has the right to their own democratic state, one that Palestinians recognize, not the one that requires Palestinians to call it a Jewish state, where citizenship is based on the principle of blood kinship. Someone explain to me how you are a democracy and a Jewish state? I don’t get it. Seriously, I don’t get it.

Wrong from the Start

The modern state of Israel was created in 1948. But like many imagine, they didn’t just go to an unoccupied land and stick a flag in the ground and call it Israel. No, they came to a land where a people group had been residing for 1300 years, and violently murdered, raped, and forced several thousand Palestinians from their homes.

Sharing the land was never an option. Israel’s first Prime Minister, Ben-Gurion stated in the 1930s, “After the formation of a large army in the wake of the establishment of the state, we shall abolish partition and expand to the whole of Palestine.” His “Greater Israel” plan could not work with all these Arabs, as he stated in 1941, “it is impossible to imagine general evacuation [of the Arab population] without compulsion, and brutal compulsion.” But he was well aware of his crimes. He told the World Jewish Council, “If I were an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural…we have taken their country…They only see one thing: We have come here and stolen their land. Why should they accept that?”

In efforts to create the new Israeli state, many Zionist organizations carried out a number of terrorists’ attacks against the British. These attacks were mostly coordinated by the Irgun and the Stern Group, with the primary tactic of placing bombs in public plances, targeting women and children (including a pre-school). The Israelis themselves do not deny this. Prime minister Yitzhak Shamir argued, “Neither Jewish ethics nor Jewish tradition can disqualify terrorism as a means of combat.” Rather, “terrorism had a great part to play…in our war against the occupier [Britain].” Just to be sure, Israeli’s were the first to carry out terrorist attacks, not the Palestinians.

“A U.S. Strategic Asset”

The U.S. gives over $3 billion a year to Israel. That’s one-fifth of all U.S. foreign aid. In per capita terms, the U.S. gives every Israeli citizen a direct subsidy worth $500 year. This is a country that has the equal wealthy per capita income to Spain. O well, we have the money right? Our economy is fine right? Wait…it’s not? Probably because we are in two wars we can’t afford (Iraq alone has cost over 3 trillion dollars, not to mention the 137,000 Iraqi civilians killed or the 4,000 American soldiers killed) and giving Israel $3 billion a year. Good thing Iraq is all fixed now and Afghanistan is coming to an end. Ok, sorry, I’m getting too sarcastic now. Putting the two wars aside, maybe we should listen to General Petraeus when he says the current U.S. policy towards the Israel/Palestinian conflict is the “root cause of instability” and “obstacle to security” in the region – which aids al-Qaida.” I don’t know, he seems like he has a resume’ that would imply he has more knowledge than you, me, and the U.S. Congress.

When observing the cost of Israel being a strategic asset, they are no longer a strategic asset, they are an expensive “friend” who offers nothing in return. Examples: The U.S. gave Israel $2.2 billion in emergency military aid during the 1973 war. This aid triggered an OPEC oil embargo, inflicting a tremendous amount of damage on Western economies. In return the U.S. could not count on Israel to secure Persian Gulf oil supplies after the Iranian revolution in 1979, causing the U.S. to create its own “Rapid Deployment Force”. During the 1990 Iraqi invasion, Israel became a “strategic burden,” because the U.S. couldn’t use Israeli air bases because this would have ruptured the anti-Iraq coalition. Same thing in 2003: Bush couldn’t ask for their help because he knew this would trigger Arab opposition, so they remained on the sideline.

“Ok, they may not have helped us during these wars, but they are still a loyal ally.” Not at all. Israel has consistently ignored U.S. requests to halt settlement construction and “targeted assassinations” of Palestinian leaders. Also, Israel has provided sensitive U.S. military technology to potential rivals, like China. A State Department Report called this “a systematic and growing pattern of unauthorized transfers.” For other examples just google Jonathen Pollard or Larry Franklin. Israel is not a strategic asset, it is an expensive friend that only takes, and their “alliance” creates enormous, costly complications for U.S. policy.

Israel’s Settlement Policy

Also called the expansion policy, or a gradual takeover of what the right-wing Israeli leaders call Judea and Samaria, is recognized by every nation as illegal, including the U.S. And being that Israel is the only country that does not have to account for how it spends U.S. aid, this money ends up funding settlements; the same settlements that U.S. policy says are illegal.

In the extremely disrespectful speech Netanyahu gave to the U.S. Congress a few months ago, he stated that the ‘Greater Israel” (the land from the Nile to the Euphrates) will never be given away. He declared this land is “all Israel’s.” When he said this, the entire Congress erupted in a standing ovation. Now either the U.S. Congress is that ignorant to cheer against their own foreign policy, or they are racists. Observing some of their comments, like Rep. Eric Cantor, “Sadly, it is a culture infused with resentment and hatred. But it is this culture that underlies the Palestinians and the broader Arab world,” I think it’s a little of both.

This policy includes the demolishing of Palestinian homes that have been there before the modern state of Israel was ever created. People like to think of the West Bank as this big chunk of land the Palestinians get to live on. Its not! It now consists of Palestinian islands. Picture below.

The Wall

The separation wall, which is twice the size of the Berlin Wall, is justified by Israel as a means to heighten its security. Some people would nod their heads at that in agreement. But the weird thing is the wall cuts deep into the West Bank, placing 200,000 West Bank Palestinians on the Israeli side of the wall. Now if you wanted to keep the “dangerous” Palestinians out, why did you build a wall that placed them on the inside? Maybe its because the wall is simply a way to steal more land, a crucial piece to the gradual expansion plan for Greater Israel.

Below is a picture of my parents, my wife and me, and our new friend Allen inside of his shop. That’s not his real name, but he goes by “Allen” so foreigners like me don’t butcher his real name. Allen is a Palestinian Muslim who lives in Bethlehem, Palestine. He is 25 and has never seen Jerusalem because he is not authorized to cross the wall. Jerusalem is only 5 minutes up the road. He told us “I’m not a terrorist, I don’t know any terrorists, so why does everyone outside of this wall think I’m a terrorists.” It was tough to leave him after we became friends, knowing he could never leave Bethlehem and we could drift about with our convenient blue passports.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem must be divided. I’m getting tired, this point is obvious.

For Israel’s sake

If the Israeli government were basing its decisions on national interests it would have already signed a peace deal giving Palestinians their own state. Israel will not be able to maintain their current position. If the Palestinian birth rate alone doesn’t create problems for their Greater Israel plan, international outcry will. They can’t afford it anyways. They just had a million Israeli’s protesting against them because of their faulty economic policies. Maybe if they didn’t spend $570 million a year to subsidize life in the settlements and tended to their own population they wouldn’t have a million people chanting against them.

There’s much more but I’m going to have to save it for another blog.

Closing

So, I do NOT support terrorism that is carried out by Palestinians, NOR do I support terrorism carried out by Israelis. I am NOT anti-Israel or anti-Semitic. From what I have observed, there is a strong non-violent movement that includes Palestinians and Israelis, who are Muslim, Jewish, and Christian, who are putting all their efforts into finding the elusive solution. That’s what I support. You can learn more about this movement in the movie Little Town of Bethlehem.

My hope is one day Israel, not the Palestinians, will tear down the wall, and people like Allen will be able to live in freedom like you and me.

"For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.” Ephesians 2:14

But more than that, I pray Allen finds a greater freedom. I’ll end with a passage written by my beautiful wife.

“One Day he [Allen] would not be persecuted for being Palestinian. One Day he would feast with Jesus not because of his race, but because of his faith in him. One Day “There will be the finest of wines and choicest of meats….” In Christ he has the promise of a new home, a new life, one that allows him to not be confined behind a wall. One Day he will be able to pass through that checkpoint and walk down “streets of gold”. One Day he won’t desire what you and I take for granted….to fly on an airplane, to go to a restaurant in Tel Aviv, to see his family or take his wife to a decent hospital. One Day, we will not be marked by borders and passports. One day all the Assyrian land will live in peace.” – Sarah Long

If you have any questions or want to challenge some of my information, I will gladly give you the appropriate sources.

Benjamin Long

Dear family, we are fine.

2011-01-26T03:20:00.003-06:00

We live a few miles away from downtown Cairo and have seen no repercussions of the violence and protest in downtown. We are not traveling anywhere right now except to and from work. Please pray for peace, order and security in this land. The people want change. God has ultimate authority.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12284235

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12279633

Africa Hope VBS 2010

2010-08-13T14:53:00.000-05:00

I just had to.

2010-06-13T11:49:00.005-05:00

I don't see a grey area on believing in Jesus Christ. I am black or white. You either follow him or you don't. He is an all or nothing Savior. Is this a flaw? I think so because I do not know when to stop, and sometimes I go too far. When I stumble through this, I apologize with the deepest regret. BUT, everything I am about to say I can biblically back up with scripture, and for that I make no apologies.

I have not watched American late night Christian TV in a while (maybe never), but last night something happened. Ben and I were babysitting Kate and Jackson and when they went to bed, we took full advantage of the TV. I scrolled down the channels and stopped on a "Christian" station. I had to watch it, because of the flaws and nightmare our society has made out of the Gospel. (I do not wish to debate about this statement, but I feel so strongly about it that I will) They wanted your money, so that they could pray for you. They are telling people who are physically ill that if you send them 31 dollars a month (or a one time fee of $1000) they would pray for you with their anointing powers, and you would be healed. I am serious. People called in and said "You just prayed for me over the television and my throat cancer was immediately gone". Unbelievable. Does Jesus heal? ABSOLUTELY. But these people were taking your money and the credit.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." That is not me talking, that is Jesus. Look it up. Matthew 7:15

"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me 'Lord, Lord' did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do mighty works in your name? And then will I (Jesus) declare to them, 'depart from me, I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness.' Matthew 7:21-23

If that is not sobering, then I don't know what is.

What happened next? Well we already discovered that I do not know when to stop, and I want to dig deep with people who are proclaiming the name of my same Savior. Ben said you should call them in a not so serious voice, so I did.

I want to be clear in that I do not say or act on anything just for the sole reason of having an opinion or being right (which I rarely am). The problem with this is that the greatest news this world ever received was that of the gospel. If people watch this who are suffering, which many people are, and they call in and Christ does not heal them. What do they do? Turn against Christ because He did not do what they wanted. Why? Because these "Christians" said they would be healed and they weren't! This is my Christ and my faith too that is being falsely taught. They are entering into idolatrous false worship caring more about money and their ministry then these people actually knowing the love and truth of Christ. Christ already paid the bill on the cross. You do not need to pay someone to be healed.

Our phone conversation did not go anywhere. She said she would pray for me and I asked her about John the baptist being beheaded. I also asked what if people don't get healed, do they get their money back ? No, we just continue to pray for them.

We kept watching the show, and the main guy went on a rant about not babbling on the phone and how he just needs your name, number and address. He also said not to question their ministry.

Jesus healed many people in his days. He is still healing today. But He does not heal everyone. Why? For his Namesake. We have a Pastor who is battling brain cancer right now. If Christ heals him then we will all shout Hosanna, but if he doesn't heal Matt, we will still shout Hosanna, you are good and merciful. My flesh and my heart may fail but You are my strength and my portion forever. Look at the how God allowed the death of Jesus . People suffer for Jesus and it does not always end well for them, but in the end they get Christ.

The crucifixion. Luke 23:26

"Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; to put him to grief" Isaiah 53:10

John the baptist was beheaded. Matthew 14 1:12

James was "put to death with the sword" Acts 12:2

I was still upset this morning so I got on their website and checked out their foundational beliefs. Everything was what I believe except this. "We believe that the redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides healing to the human body". I do not believe that, and scripture does not either. I believe that the redemptive work of Christ on the cross reconciles man to God, providing healing of the soul and ultimately salvation. The human body is of this world. We are called to live in this world but not of it. Not conformed to this world, but transformed by Christ.

I am reading a book right now that my mother in law bought and gave to our VBS team called "The Hole in our gospel" by Richard Stearns. He is the president of World Vision. This is an incredible book of what it means to love our neighbor and provide and love the poor and needy, not take their money.

We need to commit ourselves to pray for this nation. The nation that has heard the gospel for over 200 years, yet this is what Richard Stearns says about the age of the prosperity gospel, and how the poor see it.

"For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved".

The adaptation rewind

2010-06-10T17:08:00.008-05:00

Welcome back to the american culture it has been. We are living it out in a transition period at my dad's while traveling back and forth to see family and friends all over Texas. We have missed our family and friends dearly. I thought I would give you a brief update on what this month in Texas has looked like for us....

Adaptation number 1. Bubbles and ribbon galore!!!! I guess I forgot what I made my bridesmaids do last year as I stare at a yellow paint pen and 200 bubble containers. My beautiful sister married her best friend Blake two weeks after we arrived.

Adaptation number 2. Hello BMW! There is a great story that goes behind this. Lets just say all is well with driving this thing. My dad graciously gave up his car for us for 6 weeks. It is so great, Ben likes to pretend we are apparently in WW3 in Colleyville, while he shoots "missiles?" at the other cars with the emergency brake.

Ben and I celebrated our first year of marriage on May 15th. What a year it has been. If you are a newly wed I honestly suggest you sell everything and move overseas. It is awesome.

Nope, it doesn't get much better than this.

Adaptation number 3. Bella was forced to wear a pink mini skirt while I was gone that may or may not have compromised her dignity.......

My mom has lovingly kept and cared for Bella this year, BUT, we have now be reacquainted after 10 months, so the whole pink skirt incident won't happen again. Only of course if we can get her on our plane back home.....my mom may fight to not let that happen. :)

An ordinary busted up clay pot

2010-04-18T10:17:00.008-05:00

Today, I returned from the most incredible weekend, spent with women who love Christ. I don't use incredible loosely here. It was that good. I built relationships with women who serve and love our Father. We were away from the busyness of our lives where we just prayed and worshipped for 3 days. The second I walked back through our flat door I was reminded of how much our world is broken. The second I open my computer I am reminded of the brokenness of human beings hearts. And once again, as I try to take a shower, I am reminded that our water heater is broken. Reality. Brokenness. Oh how my heart is hurting and longing for Him to bust out of the sky and remove it all.

I was asked to talk at the women's retreat, and we focused on being an ordinary clay pot, whose treasure pours out of us. 2 corinth. 4:7. “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us”.

While preparing, I was faced with just how broken and busted up this clay pot is. I found that I was beginning to become prideful and boastful of working with my Sudanese kiddos. I had to step out of the school for a couple of weeks for the Lord to bring me back down. Why? Because my apathy had been revealed. I cared more about my refugees hearts than those who are lost. One does not deserve the Kingdom over the other. We are all in desperate need of a savior. This is how it all begins. My human sinfulness asking and getting a smidgen of the glory of His works, and God breaking me down. It is now a continuous pattern. I wrestle with him and struggle with one particular thing, weeks, maybe months later I feel His glory and my understanding mold together, only for Him to reveal some other piece of brokenness about myself and then we wrestle all over again.

The most beautiful aspect about God and the thing I treasure most about Him right now is that in His sovereignty, he never leaves me to do something on my own, because I would fail at doing anything on my own, and on top of that try to take some of the glory! The reason that Paul uses the analogy of a clay pot is because in his lifetime a clay pot was used to store food, water and other goods. But they were not durable and would crack and break easily. But with a little water, they (we) are moldable. These past 9 months I have come to a deep understanding of how badly I want to be the pot, because we just discovered I can’t do anything on my own. That doesn’t mean I don’t hear Paul in my ear saying, “who’s the pot to question the Potter?” Oh, believe me I question Him! But after we wrestle and I beg Him to break my heart all over again, I fall to my knees and thank Him for molding me into the image of His son, because I would fail at molding my self. This is why the passage says we have this treasure in a jar of clay, not in a beautiful glass vase. Because the beautiful glass vase would take away from the treasure that is inside of it!

I so badly want to work with the poor and oppressed, but God is saying no, not until you show that same grief for those who are spiritually dead, poor and oppressed. He is molding me, his jar of clay. There is no better news in this world than the gospel. And obedience to God’s calling will be painful and difficult, it already has been. The end of the verse says we will be afflicted in every way, but not crushed. Struck down, but not destroyed. And this is what draws us nearer and nearer to Christ. John Piper says “God purposely permits the clay pots to be struck down so that He can exhibit His supernatural power in the situation.” This truth sets me free from my own brokenness and of this world. Without Christ, nothing would ever be reconciled. Jesus is enough to cover all our brokenness.

With that said, watch this video of what satan does in our lives.

On a lighter note, picture of the day from Cairo. Please, no barking.

Spring Break @ the Red Sea

2010-04-01T02:25:00.005-05:00

Being that I'm still a student after 17 years, I still get a spring break!!! AUC recognizes western and eastern holidays, so it works out that I get two weeks off for the break. So...Sarah and I took advantage of this time and took off to Dahab for a little time away from the craziness of Cairo. It was great! We spent four days of just beachin, snorkeling, swimming, and an all you can eat buffet!!! It did take an adventuresome nine hour bus ride across the Sinai, but it was worth it. Apparently this place is famous worldwide for its diving, but Sarah and I took it easy with just a snorkel. It was plenty for us to see all the crazy fish.

This is a famous diving location called the Blue Hole. It was rather amazing, but somewhat eery.

My beautiful wife getting her snorkel on. She was a little hesitant at first to go in, but after I convinced her there are no sharks in the Red Sea she jumped right in. But, we found out when we got home there are actually many kinds of sharks in there, whoops.

Enjoying a little coffee on the balcony. Well actually we were enjoying the scenery more than the coffee. If you've ever had NesCafe you know what I'm talking about. We also did a lot of people watching. The hotel we were at had many people from all over Europe. So... lets just say we saw some rather interesting swimsuits that showed us more than we wanted to see.

I caught Sarah here messing with this camel trying to sleep. It's become one of her favorite animals. She does a great impression of a how a camel eats, ask her about it.

We got a Kindle (an electronic book for those who are wondering what that is) for Christmas this year. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes to read, especially if they travel alot. And the books are cheaper. I think I'm demonstrating it nicely here, I might send this pic into Amazon.

Enjoying a nice dinner by the sea, bedouin style.

Be inspired

2010-03-19T13:51:00.003-05:00

Vacation Bible School is coming in July. Get pumped up and pray- we could use you.

Psalm 145

2010-03-14T05:17:00.007-05:00

These past two weeks have been pretty crazy and overwhelming. Apologies for not blogging in a while, but with a big break comes tons and tons of news! First up, my husband is awesome. I don't often boast about him to other people, but I have watched him develop into this incredible man of God. We don't ever see ALL the pressures he is faced with everyday in the field he is in. I would bet there is 1 Christian out of every 30 at his school, and in his program, he is the 1 in 30. International Relations is extremely competitive, especially in the Graduate program. He works so hard, and our prayer is always for him to seek the Lords plans first, and then see how he can be used in poli-sci. He read a whole book yesterday, and is at school right now writing a paper. With all this said, he still makes time to hang out and be a part of the youth program. He spoke last month to them and plays music every week at youth. This past week the worship pastor, Mark, asked Ben to lead service again while he was at a worship conference. He graciously accepted. I snagged a clip of him and one of our youth girls Courtney, singing Shane and Shane, Psalm 145.

A song of Praise-Psalm 145

4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts

On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate

They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness

They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love

The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Psalm 145 has been on my mind all week. A few weeks ago I heard of a job opening at the American private school here. It sounded like a good salary, but my heart was not all in. I knew it would have been a good job for us, but it was going to be difficult to continue what I am doing now, and do this job. We prayed and prayed about it. I applied and had an interview, hoping for God to direct us where he wanted us, and if that was in an American school and not in the slums, then I would submit. I just asked God to make it very clear, so I could have peace. 3 people who are affiliated with the church coached at this school. They were all told they could no longer work there last week because the government said they did not have work visas, which is true. But they have never had them, nor do any other coaches/part time employees. A few days after, I got a call saying I could not work there either b/c I did not have a work visa. Crystal clear to me. So we continue to be part student-part volunteer, but that equals unbelievably happiness because we know God has other plans!!! The Lord is gracious, slow to anger, rich in love, He is good to all. Are Christians discriminated against? Absolutely. But what Paul told the people of Rome about God's everlasting love sits well on my heart today. "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us".

If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give all things?

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect (believers in Christ)?

It is God who justifies.

Who is to condemn?

Christ Jesus is the one who died-more than that, who was raised- who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution...

"For your sake we are being killed all the days long, we are regarded as sheep led to the slaughter".

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:31-39

On a lighter note, we have plane tickets home!!!! Woo-hoo!!!!! Thanks pops :) We will be home in the middle of May till the first of July. When we return, I have been asked to head up a VBS (vacation bible school for us non church kids) for African Hope. It is going to be awesome. I am planning now, but will need about 10 volunteers from the states. I will have more info soon, but just put that in your head and let it marinate.

Arabic is still going well. We have a tutor now who we love, so slowly but surely we will be able to have conversations. We are also in the process of possibly moving to a more egyptian area by an awesome friend. We just need a stove, fridge, washing machine, bed, couch....so if any of you have an extra fridge....nah i'm just kidding. :)

Sarah

Storm yesterday and John Piper

2010-02-26T06:33:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was possibly the first and only storm that has ever passed over Egypt. It maybe only rains in Cairo 5 times the whole year, and it has usually only been a light drizzle. Ben called me in the living room where he was reading and said do you hear that? We automatically knocked thunder off the list (because it never happens), our guess was wind or military jets. I opened the window to find lightning. About 5 minutes later it began to hail (definitely never happens) and side ways rain. Unbelievable! I have been anxiously looking forward to visiting the states in May, and one of the reasons is seeing thunderstorms again! Of course that is after family and Bella on the list. :)

Ben and I are HUGE fans of John Piper and would put him right up there with C.S. Lewis and Paul in his theological teachings. Well, I may be facebook friends with him and his wife, and may have seen that they were in Egypt meeting with people getting ready for the Lausanne conference in Capetown, South Africa. I had the opportunity to go hear him speak at an Egyptian church about 45 minutes away. You can almost guess what he spoke on, but the scripture was 2 Corinthians 4:4-6. He gave hope to Christians living in the Middle East. It was incredible. I have a short clip of him teaching, just to give you an idea. He has a wonderful resource website called Desiring God.

Still no news about the job, but He is faithful. I had the opportunity of speaking to about 30 high schoolers at Youth wednesday. I was pretty nervous about it for about 2 weeks. But the Holy Spirit consumed me and the night went great. It was pretty cool. I talked to them about idolatry and having other gods in our lives. We talked about the failure of Israel and Judah's kings who were faithless, so pray that God would be stirred up in their hearts this week, for their own good, but also because we need them. Two people were denied access into the country this week. One was a member of our church who has been here for ten years. The other is the author Josh McDowell. God in his sovereignty is good. But we are human and I just ask to pray for our selfishness when people are forced to leave. We have friends returning in a couple of days, and man, we really want to see them again.

Thoughts on Sudan

2010-02-03T05:27:00.005-06:00

I found these drawing that children in Darfur had made on BBC.

One young artist named Aisha said: "It is very kind to send us food, but this is Africa and we are used to being hungry. What I ask is that you please take the guns away from the people who are killing us."

Bakhid was eight years old when he saw his village being attacked and burned by Janjaweed forces on horse back and Sudanese forces in vehicles and tanks.

Today is a nerve wrecking day for people scattered all over the world, who all share one thing together, the hope that their home country of Sudan would be restored and leaders brought to justice. Last year an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was issued by the ICC for crimes against humanity and war crimes. Today, the Hague will decide if Bashir will be charged with the genocide of three groups in Darfur, Sudan, the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa people groups. He has avoided the arrest warrant, with the help of his Arab supporters. If today he is in fact charged with genocide, it is at least hope for the people of Sudan, that they will no longer have a leader that states he has no control of the actions of the janjaweed and what they do in Darfur, as well as a leader who housed and supported Osama bin Laden. Lord willing, he shall step down. In 2011, the people in south Sudan are voting to have their own sovereign nation of Southern Sudan. Bashir has given them hope of a sovereign nation, but decades of conflict between the north and south over oil and religion has taken the lives of thousands, I'm not convinced in his false attempts at restoring his name.

Everyday I get to witness the aftermath of war and the effects it has on family's. I have the opportunity of talking to Sudanese kids who's parents have be killed, or have illegally ran across bordering countries to try and find work for there families. Most of whom are shot at. The kids put their hope in their education they are receiving, and learning english. I want them to embrace Arabic, but westerners have convinced them english is the way to success. I had the opportunity of helping one girl write her college acceptance essay in the US. We have no idea if she will get in, but she deserves it over me. With all this said, I do not know the plans God has for each person and family. I do not know why I was blessed with a free college education, I do not know if the violence in Sudan will ever be resolved. The only thing I am certain of is that God will triumph in the end, and that He is not "shocked" at everything I have written about. It has all passed through His hands, for His glory and our good. I have hope in a sovereign God, and this is the hope I can celebrate.

Grace,

Sarah

جبل موسى (Jabala Musa) Translation-Mountain of Moses

2010-01-28T09:31:00.006-06:00

We are extremely undeserving to have a God that loves us enough to give us the tablets of the law. To show how unbelievably sinful we are and how we run from Him, just look at what God's first commandment was/is. "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me...". But as we read a few chapters later in Exodus, it didn't take long for the people of Israel to lose their patience, gather all their jewelry, and form a golden calf in their camp fire. I guess it kinda shows us how ridiculous some of the gods we put before God. But, undeservingly we have the gift of grace.

Location of the town of Saint Katherine where Mt. Sinai is located

Here we are at one of the stops Moses made while going to Mount Sinai. When the people were wining, again, Moses, poor guy, pleaded with the Lord to provide water, and he did. Supposedly in this spot.

Before we begin I would just like to note that nobody warned me this would be the most strenuous "walk" I would ever take. I was nowhere near being mentally prepared for what was coming. I may be over exaggerating just a little, but still, I have done a lot of athletic things in my life, but this was tough. I feel bad for Moses for climbing that everyday for quite sometime (well, and the fact that he had to deal with the Israelites). As soon as we got back to Maadi and I found our friends Dave and Julie (who had just gotten back from there), and my first words were why didn't you warn me I would be in pain the whole time going up? They actually thought it was funny because nobody warned them either, so now we all have this "thing" going that if you hear someone is going to climb Mt. Sinai, we don't tell them it is hard, and see what their reaction is when they get back.

This is the beginning of our hike. The guy in front is our "tour guide". When we were walking up, the tourist police stopped us and asked us where we were from. We responded, "America", and they said, "Oh yes, you need a guide". Of course we thought they were just ripping us off, but he ended up not being so bad.

Just some camels enjoying the day, hoping that we don't mess it up by riding them.

I remember this was about 10 minutes into the hike and I was already feeling my state of not being in any kind of shape. Thats what a semester of sitting in a chair and studying will do to you. I am trying to work on that this semester. I finally went and saw where the gym is, just haven't actually gone yet....BL

This guy was being a little shy. His name is Edward, and although he has an attitude problem he is one of the best camels on the mountain. Actually none of that is true, but I think Edward would be a good name for a camel. BL

My mom making a friend on the way. We were stopping to take this picture, but actually I was stopping to catch my breath.

Getting closer to the top.

A little something we like to call "steps of repentance"... 700 of them. Not a good way to end a hike.

At the top!!! We finally made it to the top for sunset. It was a great experience, not only for the biblical history behind it, but for the scenery as well. But, if any other family comes over here and wants to climb this, you will have to do it alone. We think once is good for us.

Grace,

Sarah and Ben

Family has arrived-First stop, Cairo, Egypt

2010-01-17T11:58:00.009-06:00

If you didn't already know, Ben's parents came to see us January 1st and I cannot describe how wonderful it was to see family, especially them. In 9 days we traveled to the Sinai, Israel and Palestinian territories. We have an enormous amount of photos and stories of where Jesus spent his life, and I cannot wait to share them. I will do my best to share a town a day :)

Cairo, Egypt:

My sweet mom and Ben's parents partnered together to give us a Christmas suitcase and cooler full of food, coffee, clothes, bacon, steak, chicken and dumplings....pretty much anything we cannot get easy here. It was unbelievable. Also, my dad got us a kindle, which is an electronic book that you download books onto.

Our first stop, the pyramids of Giza.

This picture was taken while we were waiting on Ben to walk ALL THE WAY back down to the bottom to get us tickets to enter inside the pyramid. The tickets were actually being sold on the other side of the pyramid. We always joke about how foreigners get stuck or suckered into buying something from an Egyptian. Like when Ben asked for directions and ended up in this man's oil perfume shop. Well needless to say, Ben came back on a horse, with a tour guide. Haha.

That night, Amy took us all out to a good family friend of hers in a village in Sakara. We all felt really bad for this donkey because he had two men on his back.

The camel must have known he was having his picture taken :)

After all the riding and seeing the Sakara pyramids, we were graciously welcomed into their home where the sweet women Noel, Sumaya, and Ibtisam fed us dinner. This is one of my favorite families we have met here.

Matthew 2:13-15

13. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." 14. And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, 15. and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."

Although we did not go to any sites that document Jesus living in Egypt when he was a toddler. We are not sure if there is any existing evidence, but we still think it is worth mentioning.

I'm sorry it has taken so long for us to make a post about our trip, but I have been recovering from strep throat. Since we have lived in Egypt, I have acquired swine flu, the regular flu twice, an upper respiratory infection with some kind of horrible cough, and this week, strep throat. We sought out God's plan for us for many months, and after all the illness and prayer, we have decided that I do not need to be working at my preschool anymore. We continuously strive to seek our purpose here, and until we do, this is an opportunity, by God's grace alone, for me to have more and more time with African Hope. Ben finished his first semester very VERY well. He has been super-husband this week with cooking every meal, doing ALL the laundry and he doesn't start his second semester until Feb 1st! I am so undeserving of him, but so very thankful.

Until next time....

Grace,

Christmas in Egypt!!!

2009-12-30T10:02:00.007-06:00

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying "Glory to God in the highest , and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" Luke 2: 13-14

As my own life demonstrates mankind is in rebellion with God, whether or not it is spoken or intentional. We are all in desperate need of a savior which brings us to the purpose of Christmas, the birth of Christ, the arrival of God in human form, the purpose of Easter, which is the crucifixion, and then the resurrection of Christ.

Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, put to death, and resurrected for God to reconcile his people with himself, his people with each other, and his creation with himself. It is hard to separate Christmas and Easter, because the two go hand in hand. Because from him and through him and to him are ALL things. And “all things” includes God sending his son and sending him to die.

We hope that this Christmas God brought forth more joy and peace in your hearts, and the desire to glorify the One who sent his son to save the world, for His glory and our good.

First of all, December is Melissa's birthday month, so Happy Birthday Melissa!!!! :)

This sweet girl is one of the many reasons I love my job. She teaches me arabic, and she is 3. And when I say teaches, I mean translates back and forth from to english to arabic...amazing.

Christmas eve service at Maadi Community Church

At first, we were not going to spend money on our own stocking, so we borrowed two from the lady I work for. As the spirit of Christmas began to sink in we no longer wanted to be Jerry and Caroline. I found this talented, nice egyptian man named Mahmoud Farag, and he hand stitched stockings for our first Christmas together. Names in English on top, Arabic on bottom.

Unwrapping presents. Ben got a tabla!!! (egyptian drum)

And I got a bike!!!!! I had been wanting one since we moved here, but I forgot about it when Christmas came around. Ben hid it with our boab, Hassan, and surprised me on Christmas morning!!! It now has a basket on the front so I can put groceries in it!!!

However, we will be investing in a helmet. On my first day to ride it around, I got lost in a village for 2 1/2 hours trying to find my arabic school, I rode by an all girls school and a mean one threw a rock out the window at me, and then as I go around the microbus that stopped right in my path, a car comes flying from around the bus and almost hits my front tire, I jump off.

For Christmas dinner we went over to Skip and Bonnie's. AND we had ham, it was amazingly delicious! They graciously opened their home again to about 5 or 6 family's who had nowhere else to go for Christmas. Here we all played white elephant.

This picture represents Team Long. The gift I chose was this skirt in the picture, and I loved it!!! Ben happened to open a toy scorpion, haha. So if anyone stole my skirt in the game, I would steal Ben's scorpion and he would steal my skirt back. We ended up with it. Team Long.

We now have a new Christmas tradition, bottomless chips and salsa from Chili's. Man, do we miss mexican food. Chili's is the only place with bottomless chips AND they actually taste like tortilla chips! :)

I have saved the best for last. My sister and her fiance sent us a Christmas package filled with skittles, starburst, beef jerky, pringles, candles, christmas socks and the list goes on and on. I cannot describe to you in writing how excited we were and are when this happens. We consider ourselves extremely lucky that we have family that goes through the trouble of doing this for us.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Ben's parents on Friday. They are going to be the first family members we have seen in 4 months!!! We are going to show them all around our town and then travel to where Moses received the ten commandments, and then to where Jesus spent most of his life on earth...eek!!!! T-minus 48 hours!!!!

Merry Christmas,

Sarah

Update on Matt Chandler: http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/pastors/

John Piper teaching on hope, at the village church: http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/resource_files/audio/200912271115FMWC21ASAAA_JohnPiper-SubjectedInHope.mp3

We have been counted worthy to fight and suffer this battle. Suffer well church.

Thanksgiving at the Red Sea

2009-12-04T11:55:00.007-06:00

Thanksgiving in Egypt was new, different, but overall an awesome time for Sarah and I. Being here for nearly 4 months now, God has gone beyond answering our prayers in finding friends to walk through life with. He has given us friends who feel more and more like family in each passing day. As the pictures display below, we got to enjoy an awesome Thanksgiving dinner with great company. A few weeks before we were trying to think up some ideas for food to eat on Thanksgiving to try to make it feel like home. But fortunately we were welcomed into this home where turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, and all the other Thanksgiving food items where there for us. Following our meal, 17 of us headed out to the Ain Sukna, a small town on the Red Sea, for four days of nothing but board games, football on the beach, and an occasional game of reverse hide and go seek (i'll explain later). Its always great to get away from the loudness of Cairo. It doesn't matter how much you love it, everybody needs a break from the unique elements of Cairo.

I don't care where I'm at in the world, nothing beats throwing the football around.

Caleb and my beautiful wife enjoying the sand.

One of the great games we played while at the beach was reverse hide and go seek. Basically one person hides. Then everyone goes and looks for that person, and once they find them they hide with them. This goes on until there is just one person left wandering around by themselves. Its hilarious, well if your not that person. If you listen to the video below, you can hear Amy explain the rules in a blues like fashion as I play the guitar and Caleb displays a few of his dance moves.

Caleb, Sofia, Annie, and Sarah getting ready to play the game.

Here we have 6 of us trying to hide behind one little flower pot as a few have yet to find us. Gets a little uncomfortable after awhile. I would like to take a moment and brag about my hide and go seek skills. When I hid, my spot was so good after 30 minutes of not finding me Sarah was beginning to think I was kidnapped. I was extremely proud of my hide and go seek skills, but unfortunately I had to feel the pain of laying in a ball under a bush for nearly an hour.

Sarah and I enjoying the sea. Looking at a map, I'm almost positive this is where Moses had to have parted and crossed the sea. To bad he didn't have a GPS or mapquest, he would have known he could have walked a few miles north and gone around, crazy Moses.

One of the hundred ships we saw a day headed out of Egypt.

Even a relaxing weekend can wear some out.

This is a separate occasion. My wonderful Sister and Brother-in-law sent Sarah and I an awesome care package. It was filled with numerous items. Things we just can't get here in Egypt. As you see, Sarah was excited about the beef jerkey. Lets just say it made both of our days.

Pray for The Chandler family

2009-12-02T05:53:00.006-06:00

I was saved and reborn three years ago in June, while sitting in the 2nd to last row at a baptistism service, at The Village Church. I am confident in the teachings of the scriptures that God called me to His kingdom, in His time, and not by any acts of my own doing, but by His grace alone. It was not The Village Church, or Matt Chandler that saved me, but Jesus Christ. All glory be given to His name.

Matt Chandler and Beau Hughes have been our lead teachers of God's word and have pastored us from day one all the way to our move to Egypt.

On Thursday, Matt suffered a seizure and was taken to the hospital. He spoke with a Neurologist yesterday and as a church body we anxiously awaited the results. Matt will have surgery Friday afternoon to remove a tumor located in the frontal lobe of his brain. The surgery will be performed by Dr. David Barnett. Dr. Barnett told Matt that he was positive about recovery but won’t know the full results until the surgery is performed. The doctor was uncertain about the malignancy of the tumor, and a biopsy will be performed as part of the surgery.

Here is part of a letter written from the elders concerning prayer for Matt and his family.

The outpouring of support and prayers from all over the world has been overwhelming to Matt and Lauren. Continue to pray and fast on behalf of the family. The church’s monthly prayer service will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Highland Village, Denton and Dallas Northway worship centers. We encourage you to fast throughout that day and join us to pray that evening. If you cannot join us, pray wherever you are.

We continue to rest in the knowledge that Matt is in the sovereign hand of our heavenly Father who loves him immensely more than we can comprehend, and He alone understands the reasons for this trial. Along with your prayers, continue to give Matt and Lauren and their family time and space for their continued rest.

Certainly pray for Matt’s healing, and pray that he and his family would experience great peace during this time. But don’t stop there. Ask God to reveal what work he plans to do in you, in Matt and in our church through this trial. Although it may be easy to see the hand of the enemy in a situation like this, remember that God is sovereign that he may ordain trials to deepen our faith, draw us closer to him or to accomplish some other purpose. Therefore do not fear.

One thing to consider would be to send Matt a written note. His words and actions faithfully point to how lives are changed through the gospel of Christ so it always encourages him to hear what God is doing in you. The time and effort to reflect and write out your thoughts on God’s goodness in your life could warm your soul and allow Matt to hear, see and celebrate the work and blessings of Jesus. Bring your notes with you on Wednesday night. If you cannot be there, mail them to 2101 FM 407, Flower Mound, TX 75028.

Lauren Chandler has been a reminder to me....

The Sunday before the "event," I opened my Bible intending to study a specific text in John. When the pages fell open, the title page of the book of Job stared me squarely in the face. I'm not normally one to play the magic eight ball game with the Bible but I'm also not one to believe in mere coincidence. The Lord--in His sure presence--was readying my heart. He was reminding me that nothing, absolutely nothing, can happen to Matt, the kids, other loved ones, or me without first passing through His hands. Satan had to ask permission to sift Job. The prince of this world is but a pawn in the Lord's plan. Them Chandlers

Father, You are worthy of our affections, in the presence of sorrow and joy. Let your Will be done. You are our great reward, our only portion, Lord. Our hope and trust is found only in You. We are trusting You...

Those who deny Christ do not Love, Honor or Know God

2009-11-23T08:31:00.005-06:00

For the sake of forthright, honest, biblically faithful, Christ-exalting, trust-preserving dialogue, and for the sake of truth-based, durable peace. Jesus said, “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (John 5:22-23). When Jesus says, “Honor the Son who sent him, he means honor the Son for who he really is as the divine, eternal Son of God who laid down his life for the sheep and took it up again in three days. The person who does not honor him in this way, Jesus says, does not honor God. -John Piper

For obvious reasons of where we live, I think it would be in everyones best interest to let John Piper explain the flaws behind the Yale written document, "A Common Word", that states a shared love for God, between two religions.

http://ow.ly/EGvB

This weekend is the muslim holiday, Eid Al-Adha. ("The Feast of the Sacrifice") commemorates Abraham's willingness and obedience to sacrifice his son Ishmael to God (and God's mercy in substituting a lamb for Ishmael). The day begins with the sacrifice of an animal (in their front yard or the street, or our back porch ). One-third of the meat is given to the poor, and the remainder shared with neighbors and family members. SOOO we will be celebrating thanksgiving with a group from the church, at the Red Sea. We will be praying for all of you as you gather and celebrate with your families. I hope you have sweet, sweet moments worshiping Christ together. We wish we could be there. Happy Thanksgiving :)

You thought Cowboy fans are rowdy

2009-11-18T14:13:00.005-06:00

Saturday night Egypt needed to beat Algeria by two points to tie them in the overall standings to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. They did, 2-0. This gave them the opportunity to play Wednesday night to decide who would go to the World Cup. The pictures below show you how our somewhat quiet community turned into a crazy scene of passionate Egyptians showing their support for the national soccer team. People chanting, cars squealing, and fire projecting, this put any pep rally or tailgating party I've ever been to, to shame. BL

You would think with cars pealing out, people climbing on top of cars, and then fire thrown into the equation, which consisted of lighters and aerosol cans, someone was bound to be injured. But that didn't stop the 60 year old women or the 7 year old boy from joining the festivities.

When Sarah and I walked up to this circle down the street from our flat there was probably 30 to 40 people. Once the game officially ended 5 minutes later, that 30 to 40 people turned into 300 to 400.

Seeing the daily routine of this culture for 3 months now, I've seen faces of hardship and frustration. Not that everyone walks around depressed, but that the day to day living for most is an all out effort to provide food for their loved ones. Saturday night put all this aside as you could see a community as a whole chanting and cheering over the victory of their soccer team. But for these Egyptians it was more than a soccer game, it was a victory for their country, and they proudly let everyone know.

Update

2009-11-14T11:27:00.004-06:00

I want to first thank you all for your constant prayers and support. It is such an encouragement to hear about people praying for this place. MCC is has jumped right back on their feet, and now are just hoping for God to stir up affections for their needs in everyone again. I talked to my mother-in-law, Cindy, for a good bit today about African Hope and their needs. The Lord is working through us to do something for their long term, and short term needs. He has spoon fed me a way into these children lives, I am just not sure why. His will is what I am after, and He is faithful.

On a lighter note, I wanted to share with you some of the fun fun fun times we have had with the youth, when we see them. If you are not sure what we are doing with the youth, we are too. If you are not sure why we are in Egypt, we are too. I like to call her my mentor/role model/sister/most amazing person i've ever met/Amy, is the youth and children's pastor at MCC, kind of threw us right in to leadership roles with this international group of youth. We both never thought in a million years we would be working with youth, let alone in Egypt, but we are. God has a sense of humor doesn't He? Anyway, we love being able to walk with this group through all the hardships living overseas brings, as well as having a blast following Christ. We were fortunate enough to have gone with them on a retreat out in Sakara.

Ben and I may or may not have provided the youth will an amazing show on talent show night, at retreat.

Gustapo.

Gustapo team that hid while the youth tried to find us. The game is pretty well known at church camp, but I was not a church camp kid, so it was all new to me! The kids tried to find me, and if they did, I traded them their "passport" for a "secret document". But, if Ben or Tara jumped out with a flashlight and called "Gustapo", you had to go to jail. It was awesome.

This has nothing to do with anything, except for the sole reason that our zipploc baggies have arab family's on them. Gosh, I love Egypt.

The Lord is good, all the time. And all the time, The Lord is good.

2009-10-18T14:41:00.003-05:00

It has now been two months since we have moved to Egypt, and we could not love it anymore. The swine flu outbreak is over (for now) and Ben is right in the middle of a test, a research paper, over 500 pages of reading a week, and contemplating a thesis. I am still working with my preschoolers in the morning and I go to African Hope school in the afternoon. My first week with them was tough, because I so badly do not want to be "The white teacher that pulls them out of class and ask them to read". Right now they just want to shake my hand and know my name. I crave relationship with every single one of them. Everyday I hear them repeat "The Lord is good, all the time. And all the time, The Lord is good". Amen.

On my third day I was doing some work and I heard a joyful noise coming from across the hall. Christ is alive and active, and I was glad I brought my camera that day.

Every day I tend to wonder if they are going to teach me more about life and following Christ than I am going to teach them about the ABC's.

We had the chance to hang out with some of God's children here in Cairo.

My classroom at school

We really thought you would all enjoy seeing how our Egyptian cornbread turned out, as you all tell us how wonderful the weather and fall food is back home.

We are missing home now with the holiday season around the corner. We are meeting people and finding a touch of everyone in our new friends, but you are all irreplaceable and we pray for you and your lives daily. We miss you.

Grace,

Swine Break

2009-10-02T05:21:00.010-05:00

Egypt's decision to "combat" swine flu failed after slaughtering 300,000 pigs. Now, all the schools have been shut down for two weeks while the government thinks up another idea....

What does this mean for us? Well, we got to go to Alexandria for the day while Ben took a break from the 500 pages of reading a week he has. And it means that we got to engage in new relationships with new friends. We were able to play broomball with the youth at the only ice skating rink here. I was able to go with Amy to a village in Sakara where we enjoyed wonderful food and laughter with a Egyptian family she has known for about 18 years. We barely spoke Arabic, and they barely spoke English. It was awesome.

Last year over 7,000 people died in traffic accidents in Egypt. So pretty much we are about 10 times more likely to get hit by a car than die from swine flu. See below....

*Cindy and Dale, don't watch. :)

Alex trip:

Train station in Alex. Melissa and Justin, show Jackson!!!!

This is one of the biggest libraries in the world, and one of the main sites people see in Alex.

I thought the "end poverty" sign was interesting in the million dollar library, that also charges you a fee to enter.

Tara, me and Brenna. My new friends I mentioned above.

Enjoying God's beautiful creation.

These girls giggled at us for a few minutes because they had never seen Americans before. Then they wanted a picture, with my camera. :)

Great story: This picture was taken in front of the castle we couldn't get in to. Well we could, for 25 L.E. while Egyptians only pay 2. We asked Egyptians to buy us tickets and they did. But the guards would not let us in. Then the argument began, and lets just say they got an ear full about discrimination, not being an international team player, and that they are just trying to pocket our money because we are foreigners, after they changed the price 3 times. We got them to admit how wrong it was, and then we left when we saw their AK47s.

Beautiful Coptic Church

Our train was full trying to get back to Cairo, so we had an hour to kill. We stumbled into this Coptic Church, and everyone was laughing at us. We thought it was because we were westerners. Then we realized Ben was sitting on the women's side with us.

In that same hour, we also saw a wedding.

Outside the train station in Alex.

Sakara trip with Amy:

Sunset in the desert. One of the most humbling experiences.

My horse, Imira. I later found out this was the same horse that Amy fell off, broke a bunch of ribs and had to be hospitalized. Thank you God for keeping me safe.

Best meal i've had in Egypt.

Even better, we got to eat on the floor.

This is Ramadans youngest daughter, Sara and Caleb

Amy is the Youth and Children's pastor at MCC. It is hard for me to describe to you through a blog how much we love Amy. But our lives are filled with twice as much joy now. And that is Caleb with her.

Broomball with the Youth:

A great excuse to wear our Cowboys jerseys. I am a little ashamed of my "Romo" jersey, but it is all I brought here.

Broomball champions.

Broomball is similar to hockey with no puck, no skates and no stick. Just a broom, a ball and your shoes on ice.

Was I a little competitive, yes. But my team won :)

Grace,

Wamileleh/Yesu , Jesus,المسيح

2009-09-18T13:47:00.003-05:00

An oasis of refuge and renewal....

Welcome to Maadi Community Church!

What a breath of fresh air it is when you walk down the streets of Maadi, into a tent filled with people worshiping the God of this place. From over 40 denominations people come for renewal. The church consists of every race, ethnicity, culture, language...you name it! There are people here working for American oil companies to africans seeking refuge. Did you know there are 4 million Sudanese refugees in Cairo?

For two weeks Ben and I have been attending the Africa Live service. Partly because I truly believe I am african at heart. And we have never seen people worship like these people.

We have both been plugged right in to the needs of MCC and are thanking God everyday for where he has placed us, and for this place. I am working some with the children's ministry and we both are kind of "go to" people if the youth needs anything. Ben has actually had the opportunity of playing for the first youth night, which was wonderful, and he will probably play for a small group we might join. He truly has a gift.

This church is extremely rich in character, and I hope some of you have the opportunity to come see us and see the one place we feel at home in God's kingdom.

Wamileleh Wamileleh mubah barakahni Yesu weh!!!

Grace,

Romans 12:2

2009-09-14T13:33:00.008-05:00

Today as I sat in the back of a cab feeling so degraded I attempted to tell the driver where to go, in my best broken arabic. As I am looking out the window ( I cannot watch the driving anymore or I will have a heart attack) watching the trash, stray cats and dogs and the hungry go by, while listening to the sound of honking horns and screeching brakes, the weight of this place begins to sink in to me. After I did not get our internet fixed for the 3rd week in a row, I got back in another taxi. I came home to listen to Chandler, but prayer came on and I could not hear him. I love Cairo and everything about it. It is diverse and rich in culture, but that doesn't mean it isn't hard seeing the perfect suburb life and then this.

Did you know that just a few hundred miles south of us a women in Sudan will take 40 lashes for wearing trousers. nytimes.com

With all we have, we have come so far to lift Your name on high. It's all about You. Sleep, peace, understanding and rest are only found in You. He is our only refuge from the daily pain we see. Our time here is not to impart wisdom upon ourselves but to serve Christ. And we will submit. Eventually Chandler lead me to Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

On a side note, here are a few pictures of my sweet, sweet preschoolers I see in the mornings.

A little blurry, but he is too precious not to post.

And I have saved the best for last....Egyptians begin dancing lessons young.....

You said...

2009-09-07T12:45:00.006-05:00

ask and you will receive, whatever you need.

You said....

pray and I'll hear from heaven, and I'll heal your land.

As most of you know, Ben and I have a longing in our hearts. We are here for Ben to get his Masters. We desperately want to speak Arabic, successfully. There is a third reason. Africa and what lies beneath. Darfur. This brings me to African Hope.

We were called here, and right now it is for me to serve at a Sudanese refugee school. It is a low budget (if you can even call it that) school that is an opportunity for these people who have been deeply wounded to get an education. They have fled from Sudan, with no land, and without any sort of education they cannot get jobs here in Cairo. I will be taking over the position of the English teacher who is there now, but only in the afternoons. There is no funding, so I will work in a preschool in the mornings (by the way my kids rock!). This means that the students who go in the mornings will not get the tutoring they need to advance to the next grade in English. African Hope is in desperate need of anyone that can help....i'm just saying...we have an extra room :)

The African Hope Learning Center cares for over 600 students annually (from KG to Grade 11) as well as a growing number of adults attending evening classes. The children receive an education far superior to any available in Sudan

http://www.ahlc.info/

Most of you have been asking me what exactly you can pray for. I want these Sudanese refugees to seek purpose, education, guidance, love and above all else, hope.

oh Lord, that's the cry of my heart.

A day at the Beach

2009-09-02T00:55:00.005-05:00

It was beginning to look like ground hog day at our apartment in Cairo. So we decided to head east, about an hour down the road to the Red Sea. It was fun. A good place to relax and get away from the city (honking horns, 4:30 a.m. prayers, stray cats, and the sound of screeching tires as you sit and wait for the crash, but are actually a little disappointed when you don't hear it.) Oh did I mention traffic is crazy, its an adventure every time you enter a cab. Anyways, we went to Ain Sukna, and had a great time.

Me and my beautiful wife! We had the whole beach to ourselves. I guess its to late in the year for tourists, and the locals were still asleep. BL

I thought I saw someone drowning. This is just displaying my killer instincts as I sprint through the water, quick like a cat. There was nobody drowning, but if there was, I would have been there. BL

Just sarah trying to part the waters. It kinda looks like she did, but its just the low tide that morning. BL

Just enjoying God's beautiful and creative creations as the day comes to an end.

This actually has nothing to do with the Red Sea, just a quick look at Cairo at night.

Pyramids and Camels!!!

2009-08-25T10:43:00.008-05:00

Meet Obama. The coolest camel in all of Egypt.

I think this is the most awkward creature God made, it really shows his humor. BL

Ben and Itty-bitty

I would not say it was the most comfortable ride, there was some serious chafing going on. BL

Me and Obama

Our first sight of the pyramids

This is downtown Cairo in the background. It is amazing how there is vegetation on one side and desert on the other.

Obama and Itty-bittyf

The guide really made us do this. I went along with it, I was too concerned with my chafing. I guess they are just so awkward and large it makes for a very bumpy ride. BL

Walk like an Egyptian...hahaha the guide made me do it....:)

I was trying to think of something witty to say here, but I think the picture says it all. BL

If you look closely you can see my camel smiling, I told him to.

Our guide ditched his horse and then decided to jump on my camel with me. After a few minutes down the road, I began to feel very uncomfortable with this arrangement. Lets just say I don't want to be that close to any man. I quickly joined my wife. BL

Can you believe this is down the street from us? I'm just saying, most people have a Walmart or a large mall. We have King Tut pyramids, I'm not bragging, I'm just saying. BL

The Sphinx

Some delicious Arabic food for lunch, shwarma and kushire

This was in downtown Cairo. The buildings we beautiful!

This is supposed to show you how bad the traffic is all the time....but how about a cool building instead!

We went to the Egyptian museum after and it was filled with overwhelming history. We need a full day alone just to absorb all of it. It was amazing....

Learning the ways

2009-08-24T01:14:00.007-05:00

We are working very hard to adapt to this country and culture. Right now, the hardest part is struggling to adapt to the time change. Every day gets better and better. But, there have been a few sleepless nights. Here are a few more pictures from around our home. Tomorrow we are going to be tourist for two days and see the Pyramids, and we couldn't be more excited about it!

Busiest market I have ever been in. We were informed later that it was only this busy due to ramadan.

This is nothing in particular. I just thought the arabic was pretty.

This was the day of the first Cowboys game...and of course, Ben had to show his spirit :)

our faith calls us not to stress our own rights, but, as Christ, to deny and empty ourselves, preferring the interests of others above our own (Philippians 2:1-11)

Yesterday we were having a conversation with a man and he threw in there that he hates women....and that I speak bad arabic.

Sound it out....sssss-bbbbb-rrrr-iiiiii-tttt-eeee.

Sprite!

This is our armed guard, asleep.

We thought about buying watches, but this is even better. It lets me know when it is 8:00, 12:00, 3:30, 6:30, and even 5:00 A.M. :) BL

2009-08-22T06:30:00.006-05:00

Well today is the start of ramadan so everything is closed. We are stuck in our apartment and I took this as the perfect time to update our blog. Here is us saying our goodbyes to everyone in the States :)

The Long Family at my graduation

Couldn't have done it without you :)

I did it...woohoo!!!

Making Jackson take a picture with us haha

Kate wanted one

The best picture ever. This is hanging in our new apt here in Egypt. Our home group leaders Emily and Clay had a going away party for us. We love them!

Ben's best friend, Rob. I luff you

Kelley's bachelorette party!

Our sweet pastor, Beau

Our last sunday at The Village

This is sir Maddox, I may have favored and spoiled him in Little Village....

Can't you see why :)

Giving our final hugs to our dear friends Kristen and Jonathan

We miss and love you all

Grace,

Sarah

We have arrived!

2009-08-20T14:54:00.010-05:00

We just found that we have a balcony!!

This is our next door neighbor. Every mosque lights up green and plays the holy prayer 5 times a day on their loud speakers. Tonight is the night before ramadan, the islamic holy month.

Arabic street signs

Traffic

Me in the back

Ben in the front of the cab

A huge mosque on our way to carrefour

The Road our apartment is on

The sun setting on the tip of Africa as we approach Egypt.

Last night Ben and I arrived at our new home in Cairo. We got in around midnight, which was perfect because we were exhausted from our 24 hour travel. We live in a town outside of Cairo called Maadi, and we love it already! I will post some pictures of our apartment tomorrow when we finish cleaning. We took a cab to a huge store/market called carrefour and I took some pictures of the city on the way just to give you an idea of what it is like. Some areas are different then others, you never know what you are going to see!

And the packing begins....

2009-08-13T16:52:00.007-05:00

If you will look closely you will see the great technique of "rolling". When you are moving out of the country for a long period of time, and the airline will only allow so many bags, its tough. I think its all going to fit.

Don't worry, the deer had a long and fulfilling life. And now he will be resting peacefully in our POD.

We are struggling to get ourselves all packed up before the POD arrives tomorrow morning. We wanted to begin this trip to Cairo with our packing adventures...Enjoy!