Jericho or Bust Part 1

As some of you know I am preparing to move to Israel and minister in a Palestinian refugee camp. It all started with a vision that Katherine Eibel had while she was in Israel. For those of you who do not know Katherine she and her husband Scott graciously opened their home to me last year and allowed me to live in the basement apartment for free. They have two boys Bennett and Charlie that I really love. This is how I met the Eibels. It was at the Signs and Wonders Camp but that is another story.

Anyways, here is Katherine’s vision in her own words. This is part one and I will hopefully be able to post the rest soon (as soon as I get my paper done for Church History that is).

On January 13^th, I was in Israel with a group of believers from around the world worshiping at the traditional Jordan River crossing site – where the Israelites, under Joshua’s leadership, crossed the river on dry ground and entered the Promised Land for the first time. It’s also believed to be the location where John baptized Jesus. The site is located in an Israeli military zone and is generally not open to the public. But on this day, the Israeli army opened the site to Living Bread International Church so we could we worship there.

Living Bread began as an outreach to Muslim’s living in Jericho. As you may know, Palestinians in Israel are not free to travel outside their territory. But for the gathering this day, the new believers from Jericho were given permission to travel with us to the site. It was quite remarkable to be worshiping with both Jewish and Palestinian believers. Each group has their own style of music and dance, but all the glory was being given to the Lord!

Toward the end of the day, after several hours of worship, the Lord gave me a vision of the Palestinian children. (Earlier in the week, I had attended a Living Bread worship service in Jericho. The children there were so friendly and playful. I so longed to see them mentored in the Lord – for them to grow deep in their faith in Him.) In the vision, I could see their same faces. The children then began to gather around Mike Wakeman. As Mike began to walk down the path, I could see the Palestinian children following in line behind him. Then the vision ended.

Immediately, I knew in my heart that Mike was to work in Israel with the Palestinians – especially the children in the refugee camps! It all made so much sense. For the past several months, God has been using Mike to mentor and shepherd our two sons. They love spending time with “Mr. Mike” and he has been absolutely incredible with them. God has used him to draw my sons into a much deeper relationship with Him. His gift for working with children is quite apparent. I also know that Mike has had a heart to serve in overseas missions, and in particular, to work with orphans. Serving the Lord among the Palestinians – especially the children – seemed to be a perfect match.

The Lord has since confirmed this calling to Mike and I have no doubt he will be used mightily to usher in the Kingdom of God in the West Bank.

Part 2 of Jericho or Bust

Part 3 of Jericho or Bust

Part 4 of Jericho or Bust

Part 5 of Jericho or Bust

~ by mjwakema on May 2, 2008.