chosen.

i have left israel. it was one of the most emotional partings i have experienced on this trip. i felt connected to the holy land and its people, more so than any of the other places i have visited. being there brought peace and clarity to so much of what i believe. i have a greater understanding of the current political and religious situations, and for the first time i can see the significance of zion, and God's plan for the jewish people.

coming from the ends of the earth, in new zealand, to its center, israel, is the divine plan for this school. so after 6 months of challenges, pain, growth, and incredible joy at what the Lord was doing in us, our YWAM school has parted ways. but we didn't go out quietly.

after hearing rick ridings speak during our last lecture week in israel, a large group of us felt called to the ELAV israeli youth conference that was to take place later that month. it meant changing travel plans, but we felt God wanted us to be there.

rick started and runs a 24/7 house of prayer called "succat hallel" in jerusalem. during his time in israel, God has laid isaiah 19 on his heart. the passage speaks of a day when all of assyria and egypt will worship the one true God together with the children of israel. modern day assyria includes iran, iraq, saudi arabia, lebanon, syria and jordan, all of which are heavily muslim countries. despite this, rick has witnessed changes taking place in these areas that have, in the past, seemed so closed off to the message of Christ. he has seen God moving, and feels it is the young people that are going to usher in the fulfillment of isaiah's prophecy.

the conference is meant to bring young believers - arab, jew and gentile - together to worship Yeshua and experience his love. we wanted to be involved in any way we could, and ended up volunteering in the kitchens to prepare food for the event. after four days of living and working at the camp, we saw hundreds of youth arrive. and then it began...

we experienced crazy worship, church leaders pouring into the few and chosen youth of israel, reconciliation between arabs and jews, mighty prayers for peace and salvation, healings, annointings, prophetic words, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. far too much happened for me to relay it all here, but i will share a few stories that impacted me in big ways.

the first night, rick called up and introduced two young arab brothers. even a small understanding of the sentiments between jewish israelis and palestinians makes it hard to believe that these kids were all gathered peacefully together. but God is all about breaking down walls, and he used this conference to tumble many. the brothers were from gaza. i know, right? they had escaped the border and made it bethlehem, where they were miraculously transported by ELAV to tel aviv for the weekend. their testimony was moving, and they brought news of at least 1,000 christians living in the gaza strip! after they spoke, rick asked all of the jewish kids to come forward and lay hands on their brothers in christ and pray for them. a few people prayed over the microphone for the brothers from gaza. israeli soldiers, in uniform, were praying for palestinians. it was the most powerful display of reconciliation in Christ i have ever experienced. praise God.

and then there were the healings. just a few quick stories to demonstrate God's power and love:

heidi baker was there. during one of her teachings, the Holy Spirit revealed to her that someone with intense eye pain was going to be healed. she shared this, and kept right on teaching. the next day, we heard that one of the security guards (a non-Christian) was completely healed of pain in his eyes.

after a teaching session on healing, lots of prayer was going on and my friend dan received a word of knowledge that someone needed healing in their spine. he asked the people around him, and a guy ended up being healed of back pain.

on the way back to jerusalem the very first night, phil, beau, dan and myself got bumped to another bus. there weren't many of us riding, but we were joined by josh and kris, both from bethel school of supernatural ministry in redding, california. kris stood up and told us that God wanted to heal some people on the bus. weird, right? i know...

so he looks over at my side of the bus (there were about 5 of us sitting there) and announces that one of us has bad neck pain that God wants to heal. and i was like, "you've GOT to be kidding me! not again." i'd been hurting from carrying my huge backpack everywhere.

so i raised my hand. my friends laid hands on me, kris prayed, and i felt a little better. but not 100%. so we prayed again. BAM. the pain was gone. REALLY GOD? every time i experience doubt, or feel distant from him, He's there. chasing me down. proving Himself to me. He's insane. i love it.

those are just a few of SO many amazing things that happened last weekend. we were expectant, and God met us. many words had been spoken over the conference before it even began. the leaders felt very strongly that God was going to move in huge ways...and i was able to be there! israel is, and always has been, at the center of God's plan for the world. the bible says that all of israel will one day be saved. in romans 4, paul teaches that abraham's descendants have been chosen. and not just his biological descendants, but also those who have been grafted into the family of God by sharing the patriarch's faith. that's us! gentile christians. we are now fully part of God's chosen people. the gravity and significance of this has never been so clear to me as it was during my time in israel. the jews are set apart, loved by God, chosen for great things. and by God's grace, i have been chosen as well. i am chosen.

so my time in israel has ended. but i have a strong feeling i will be back someday. as for now, it's greece. our big YWAM group - my family for 6 months - has split up, gone separate ways. but the things we've learned, the miracles we've seen, the love of Christ that we've experienced, it goes with us. and it will shape the rest of our time in this world. each of us has a calling on our lives to serve the kingdom. and we're pursuing that! i've already received emails telling stories of ways in which God is using my classmates to share his love, healing power, and redemption in the lives of people they encounter.

that is what i'm praying for. i want God to use me in whatever way he chooses. this next season is all about making myself available for Him to move. we've been in athens for the past few days. it's been a great time of rest, of enjoying friends, and of time spent with God, reflecting on the things i've seen and heard. from here we go to zurich, paris, london, dublin...and wherever else we feel called. what a blessing it is to be free to pursue what God has for me.