Israel Update Feb-Mar

Hello everybody,

I've been in Israel for a month and a half now. It's been really nice though it starts to loose some of its magic sometimes.

I am currently working on four different fronts.

The first is Hebrew class. It is four times a week, Monday to Thursday, in the morning. I feel that I understand it easily, so that is good because I feel relaxed about it. I am learning a lot of Hebrew so that is also good.

The second is the musical. Luigi and I are working on "HaMeshiach" to present it during passover, a month away. It is a lot of work and there are still lots of things that need to be done. We are presenting it in a really nice theater in Jerusalem (their website is www.pavilionjerusalem.com). Pray for God to provide all the people necessary to do the play well. Pray for our rehearsals which start the first of April. Pray for God to provide all of the finances. We still have a lot left to raise. And most importantly, pray that lots of people, especially young people would see the play and get saved. Pray for the publicity, that it would attract all of the right people.

The third is the youth church we are building. The name of it is Wave Jerusalem. It is officially a church plant by a larger church called Wave in Virginia Beach. The director of the church plant is Richard Frieden. He is an Israeli that has been working with youth in Jerusalem for over 10 years. He also operates a thing called Jerusalem Street Productions which is a video production non-profit organization that is run by youth. Well the church is very small right now. But they are working on getting a building and our team is growing. Right now, Luis is leading worship and I am helping in the Media Department and in leading prayer. We are very excited about it and know that lots of youth are going to know Jesus through it.

The forth and maybe most important thing is the House of Prayer. There are four of us here: Nancy, Jaime, Luis and I. We love and serve one another. There is almost always a nice ambiance here. We also outreach to those around us, mostly to other believers that we know. We have bible studies and dinners. But I feel that we lack in the area of prayer, especially myself. I say it because God keeps reminding me of it, that I need to pray more. But I always leave it for last.

Well that's it for all of the things we are doing. Luis and I spend lots of time with Jaime and Nancy. They are both wonderful people, in their late 20's and recently married. My favorite place in the house (and where we spend the most time except when sleeping) is the kitchen. It has one of those counter tops that serve as a dinner table. We spend lots of time there talking and cooking. I've learned a few things from Jaime & Nancy, though I'm still pretty terrible at cooking. I will get better though.

Except for my sushi. Phillip, who is a Japanese American, says I make the best sushi in town. =) I also spend lots of time with him. We study Hebrew together and he is the co-leader, together with Richard, of the the church we are planting.

Well, that's all. Everything is really good.
-Jose