TimHowey.Com

Breaking My Silence

There's been a lot of silence coming from my blog recently.  I've been wanting to update everyone, but LIFE has been happening.  :-)  Anyway, here's what's been up.

• Hanging in Florida -- Over Spring Break, the family & I took a week to spend time with my dad & step-mom in Florida.  It was cold the first part of the trip.  Then it warmed up.  In fact, the Sunday that everyone in KC was dealing with 6-12" of snow, I was dealing with a slight sunburn on the beach.  I guess we were BOTH "suffering".  :-)
• Right Knee MRI -- Last Thursday, I finally got in to have my right knee checked.  About halfway through, the tech told me that I'd have to wait a few minutes.  I thought, "I'll bet she had to reboot the machine..."  Sure enough, she did.
• Right Knee Re-Injured -- That night, as I was watching NCAA basketball, I sat on the couch with my knee bent a little to the side of me.  When I got up...OUCH!!!!!  For the next 24 hours, I was limping around again, just like when I first injured it.  The knee was fine after 48 hours.
• Bracket Busted -- My bracket is like so many others...shattered, along with my prediction of a KU-UK final.
• Bowled Over -- On Saturday night, I met up with a bunch of guys from Grace at the Incredibowl on 151 & Antioch.  I was a model of consistency, bowling a 146-148-143.  Not bad for me.  Too bad the other 3 guys on my lane just CRUSHED me.  Even the guy with the bum shoulder beat me because he started his 2nd game with 5 out of 6 strikes.  Sickening...

Seeds of Hope

Hey guys.

Sorry it's been a few days since I've continued updating everyone on my trip.  In the meantime, I posted a photo album on Facebook.  Check it out!  There are some great shots there.  Also, I've been struggling to get back on to CDT.  I keep wanting to go to sleep at 2p and wake up at 3a.

Yesterday, at "Grace Day at the Royals", Dan Fletcher an anonymous person kindly pointed out that I'd left everyone hanging on my blog with comments about "More to come..."

Okay then...  :-)

One of the very best moments of our trip was having the chance to visit Tass and his organization called Seeds of Hope.  This is a REMARKABLE organization, dedicated to bringing love & hope to all the peoples of the Middle East.

• Note:  Tass' story is amazing.  If you haven't read his book, Once an Arafat Man, you've got to pick it up.  His story will BLOW YOU AWAY!!

One of the main projects of Seeds of Hope these days is opening up a kindergarten & cultural center in historic city of Jericho.  (Yes, the very same place that Joshua saw the walls fall down; that Elisha healed the spring with a cruse of salt; & that Jesus healed the blind men & called Zaccheaus out of the tree to eat with him).

Ben & I had the privilege of spending time with Tass, Karen, & their staff, seeing the kindergarten in action as they started their very first year in the city.

P.S. If God moves in your heart to partner with them on one of their projects, do it!  Don't wait!  You can partner with them by donating towards (a) sponsoring a kindergartner monthly (i.e. they spend far more for each kindergartner than than they charge their families), or (b) equipping the youth activity center (i.e. they have plans to serve young men & ladies in the 9-13 year old range), or (c) one of the other projects listed here.

Check out the pix below,

Tim

I-S-R-A-E-L Day 7

Well, I'm about to start packing up my stuff & to head to bed to rise early tomorrow for the loooooooong ride home.  What a week Ben & I had.  And I'm kind of shot right now (been flirting with a headache for a little bit).  When I get back, I promise to write more personal reflections.  In the mean time...

Ben & I spent today with his dad, Tass, in the Old City of Jerusalem.  We saw amazing sights today.  Seemed like every stop caused me to catch my breath & picture a pivotal moment of Jesus' life & other history.  We saw the lower city (older city) of Jerusalem, which was the Jerusalem of King David (none of the current "Old City" was built in his day!).  We stood in the place that Pilate's home was & where Jesus was sentenced to death.  We witnessed the likely place of Calvary, where Jesus was crucified on a hill which looks just like a skill.  We entered into a quiet tomb nearby where Jesus' body might have been laid.  We entered an area near the upper room where Jesus met with his disciples after his betrayal & where the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost.  We stood on the Mount of Olives (where Jesus prayed, where he ascended to heaven, & where he will "touch down" when he returns to earth).   We entered a museum called the Burnt House, which was burnt to the ground when the Romans sacked Jerusalem in 70 AD.  We saw the Jews praying at the Western Wall (wailing wall) of the Temple.  And our eyes beheld the gleaming of the golden Dome of the Rock atop the Temple Mount.

It's hard to put into words what this was like.  And about some other things that we came to see, I'll share soon.

L8R.

I-S-R-A-E-L Day 6

I think I'll tell yesterday in (internet freeware) pictures.  My pictures are coming to Facebook when I return.

Yesterday was all about...

The Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on water.

Tiberias, on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee, near where Jesus multiplied the 5 loaves & 2 fishes.  (You can also see Capernaum on the north coast in the distance.)

The Mount of the Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.

Capernaum, on the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee, Peter & Andrew's hometown, where Jesus called the two fishermen.

UNDOF, a location we drove through on the way to Mount Hermon, where Jesus transfigured before Peter, James, & John.

Majdal Shams, a Druze city we drove through on the way to Mount Hermon, where Jesus transfigured before Peter, James, & John.

Kiryat Shmona, a city we drove through on the way back from Mount Hermon.

L8R.

I-S-R-A-E-L Day 5

Well yesterday, I THOUGHT we'd be going to the Old City of Jerusalem.  But we had to change plans.  Madonna was there...

Actually she WAS there when we were 2 days ago.  Yesterday morning, Ben was reading internet news and said, "Hey, Madonna was in Jerusalem last night when we were!"  I replied, "Do you know what Madonna is saying right now?  I'm reading Tim's blog & Pastor Ben was in Jerusalem last night when we were!"

Anyway, Ben wasn't feeling well yesterday (again) so we changed our plans.  We decided to hit up the Dead Sea area.

We drove by the Qumran, the area where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in 1947 (proving that the Bible Text went way farther back with amazing consistency, which went against all the accusations skeptics were winging around).

We ate lunch between the Dead Sea & Ein Gedi (where David once sought refuge in the arid, rocky cliffs as he fled from King Saul).

We then headed to Masada where we spent most of the afternoon.   This is a STUNNING place on every level: visually, geographically, architecturally, historically.

• It was an inaccessible mountain plateau in the middle of the desert, which Herod turned into an amazing winter palace.  Then after the Jewish Rebellion of 66 AD, and the subsequent sacking of Jerusalem & burning of the Temple in 70 AD, there was a little pocket of resistance left here.  900 men, women, & children were holed up on the mountain, & holding off 10,000 Roman soldiers for months.  The Roman decided to create a mountain ramp, shovel by shovel with Jewish slave labor.  They finally burned the gate one night and planned to take over the next morning.  But the Jews decided death would be better than slavery & they committed mass suicide (via 10 men with swords who had drawn lots, then 1 of them killed the other 9 & fell on his sword).

We were moved on every level at Masada.

On our way home, we had to cool off.  So we swam in the Dead Sea.  Actually, we didn't swim.  We floated.  Even I floated, who can't ever float!  It was another great experience.

Today, we plan to see the Sea of Galilee where Jesus grew up, worked as a carpenter, & spent most of his earthly ministry.

L8R.

I-S-R-A-E-L Day 4

I'm still waking up this morning after a full night of "catch-up" sleep.  I've heard it takes 1 day for every hour of time zone you change to feel fully adjusted.  Ben & I are now 8 hours ahead of KC time -- which means 8 days to adjust -- which means we'll almost be adjusted as we step on to the plane to return.  :-)

Be praying for Ben.  His stomach has not been good to him all yesterday and, it looks like, again as he woke up this morning.  And while I was sleeping like a rock, he was up & down.  Would you pray for healing of his stomach & tremendous rest tonight?

Yesterday's services in Bethlethem were great.  The people were warm, the music was lively, the pastor was clearly a passionate follower of Christ, and the church has a vision of having a hugely positive impact in the city where Jesus was born.  The services were translated into English via headsets, so we could follow along.  And the pastor asked me to bring a greeting from Grace Church so I did.  (I brought them greetings from my family & my church, told them that their faithfulness to Christ in this land was a great encouragement to our church, and told them that many of our people wish they could be here with us today.)  We had lunch with some families after church.  Was it a huge lunch?  (Do you have to ask?)  :-)

If you could pray for them, they would appreciate it.  Their church is where ours was a few years ago.  They are growing; renting a facility; they purchased some land; they have a desire to communicate some sense of permanency; and they've got some upcoming bills to sustain the ministry.  Would you pray for God's provision & protection for their church family in paying off their land (I think the end of September is another key date for them) and providing the funds for their ministry needs?

After that we spent the late afternoon in the Old City of Jerusalem.  Saw the Tower of David, walked through the shopping bazaars, and prayed at the Western Wall, laying our hands on rocks that Jesus saw when he lived 2000 years ago.  My head is spinning with the history & events all around.

Got to bed early last night.  Turned my light off at 9:30p (1:30p KC time!) and got 9.5 hours of sleep.  My body is still trying to get on this new schedule.

We're heading back to the Old City of Jerusalem (only 1 mile by 1 mile!) for the FULL tour today.

L8R...

I-S-R-A-E-L Day 3

We had another whirlwind day yesterday.   We got to walk around the excavations of ancient Jericho: the inner & outer defensive walls, homes, & other buildings.  We then got to go inside a building which protects the well that Elisha cast the cruse of salt in to heal the waters.  Wow.

And Ben & I got to ride a CAMEL.  I took pictures of his spitting, staggering, slobbering self.   I got pictures of the camel too!  :-)

We then went exploring the center of Israel.  This is an area called Samaria in ancient times.  I can't tell you how surreal it is to drive by traffic signs with names I've been reading in my Bible for 21 years!  It's not often you get to follow the traffic signs to Jerusalem!

And it's not often you get to do Sunday worship in Bethlehem.  No... not Bethlehem, Pennsylvania... Bethlehem, the city where Jesus was born.  But this is exactly what we're doing today at the Immanuel Evangelical Church of Bethehem. Then we're going to take in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

More later.

P.S. I'll post pictures from my trip AFTER I get back to KC.

I-S-R-A-E-L Day 2

Kicking off day 2 here in Israel.  What an incredibly beautiful & ancient country, rich in history.  Seems like you could stick a shovel in the ground about anywhere and encounter artificats & history that's thousands of years old.

Now to the update.

Yesterday afternoon, we had the chance to see ancient Jericho.  Off in the distance, we could see things like the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Mt. Nebo where Moses looked across the Jordan and passed away, and the capital of Jordan (Ammann).  We got to actually stand in the VERY SPOTS in Jericho like the archaeological site where they are exploring the walls that Joshua saw knocked down, the valley of Acbor where Achan was stoned for stealing from Jericho, an ancient foot/camel path leading up into the hills of Jerusalem where the story of "The Good Samaritan" took place, a huge ancient sycamore tree on the site of where Jesus called Zacchaeus called him out of the tree to eat with him, a house on the site of Zacchaeus' house, and an ancient city gate near where Jesus healed Blind Bartimaeus' sight.  Wow.

We got to see the very places where Ben's dad is serving the people of the community in a host of ways.  And we got to hear his hopes & dreams to serve as a peacemaker to the people of this area, having met THE "Prince of Peace" himself in a way that changed his heart forever.

We also eat like pigs...Jabba the Hut..."kings" at every meal.  The hospitality of these ancient peoples is well deserved.  Every meal is an EVENT with love & laughter & stories & food & food & food.  Also. at every meal, I keep needling Ben, telling our host, "I think Ben would like more kebob/hummus/fruit/etc.  He's wasting away!"  :-)

Done with breakfast now & ready for more exploring with Ben's dad, seeing how he loves & cares for & blesses the people of this land.  We're also here dreaming how a similar trip might look like for our church someday.

L8R.

I-S-R-A-E-L

Yup.  That's where our favorite rock star worship leader (Ben) and I are.

I-S-R-A-E-L.

We left KC Thursday morning and flew to Newark.  I read/studied through Numbers 1-5 in my daily reading.  The most interesting thing about this flight was that Ben & I -- who were sitting on the back row, mind you, right in front of the bathroom door -- had the bathroom door FALL OFF when an off duty flight attendant closed the door to go to the bathroom.  He was just 2 feet away from us when it happened.  (Good thing it fell off as he closed it!)

We then flew from Newark to Tel Aviv.  Everything worked great on the plane.  I worked through Numbers 6-10 in my daily reading.  But Ben & I both had a ROUGH time trying to sleep in tight quarters & with a crosswind making it feel like a giant was grabbing us by the shoulders & trying to shake us awake.  They had a great database of 250 on-demand movies to help pass the time a little quicker when we were too tired to read & too awake to sleep.  The most interesting thing about this flight was right at the start.  When we were loading, an absolutely HAMMERED man in a black Harley Davidson T-shirt, staggered down the aisle and crashed in the seat right behind me.  He proceeds to accost the Hebrew speakers on his row with his SPANISH, "Hola!  Un poquito Espanol?  Despacio por favor!"  Praise God he was in the wrong seat.  Would have made for a long flight.

Getting into the country was fine for me, a little longer for Ben.  Here was the count:

• Tim's entry -- 1 interview, 5 minutes.
• Ben's entry -- 6 interviews, 4 different waiting areas, 3 hours.

Yes, I sat with my tardy friend for every minute in every waiting area!  :-)

Got the chance to drive around the old city of Jerusalem this afternoon.  Took my breath away, thinking about all the history here, from Abraham & Isaac & Ishmael, to Saul & David & Solomon, to the Romans & Jesus & his 12 apostles.  Wow.

L8R.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Funny story.

My family was flying back from Naples, Florida last week after spending time on the beach with my dad & step-mom.  (That was awesome!)

We get to Atlanta, but they don't have enough coach seats for all of us.  So we see the ticket agent who "unfortunately" bumps us up to business class.  (Hey, when did they stop calling it "first class" anyway?)

(I "break" it to the kids.)

My 8-yr-old daughter immediately does a Tiger-Woods-like fist pump and cries out, "YES!!!  Now we'll get the COMFY seats and the RESPECT!!!"

(I think to myself, "WHERE did she come up with THAT???" as I crack up.)

On the plane, Karina's sitting by her cousin Claira across the aisle and in front of me.  When I notice ANOTHER refill, I ask her how much she's eaten.  This is her 3rd drink and 4th snack during the 2-hour ride.

(I cut her off & crack up again...)