Granada, Spain

We await news from Granada...

In the meantime McDermott Scholar, Alyssa McMenamy wrote the following article during her recent visit to Granada.
Granada, the fruit of Spain, the pomegranate of pithy flesh and thousands of tiny seeds, cultivates a trifold history of Arabic, Christian and Jewish influence. The gypsies, Arabians and Castillians contribute unique flavors to the savory picture that flows over all senses. Flamenco, the dance of Andalucia, with the backdrop of La Alhambra brings passion and meaning to lives filled with tradition and modern urbanity. The ancient songs of undulating voices decry times of war and of first loves. The wild stamp of feet and the rustle of many-layered skirts beat the rhythm of a simulateneously raging and trickling river. Granada is a medium-sized sprawl of urbanity. Never before have I experienced the urban life in such vivid color. The people live in high rise apartment buildings. Few homes are within the city. Shops on lower levels with apartments above belie the intermingling of residential and commercial zones. Beautiful parks with running trails and benches beneath beckoning branches of shady trees provide respite from the congested air. The city has wonderful treasures in remote locations with intricate networks of streets that begin and terminate at seemingly random intervals. Such is the paradise of an avid Spanish student. Small enough to allow glimpses of friendly faces on the street with an urbanity that reflects the character of New York.The Sierra Nevadas provide a breathtaking backdrop to the skyline of the city. The ancient Moorish palace, La Alhambra, winds along a slope over looking the city, reminding the populace of several hundred years of Moorish rule. Andalucia prays upon the heart and awakens the deepest desires to dance with abandon.

We hear that the whole family is currently taking spanish classes ~ How 'bout some comments in spanish from our spanish speaking friends out there?!

Díganos por favor de su amor para Jesucristo

(Please note that this item was posted by a friend helping with the Blog, but all posts entered this way automatically say "posted by Gloria, Hatcher, Reid, Harrison Geary".

What constitutes a successful mission trip?

Train from Madrid to Granada
A Successful Mission Trip

How does one determine if they are successful or not?

It is a question that I have been pondering and praying about for some time now. As an American and a businesswoman there is a part of me that wants to quote statistics or “bottom line” information.
I want to be able to report things like, “We won 6000 souls!” or “We shared the Gospel with 1 million people!” Now that sounds like a successful mission trip…or is it? I don’t know the answer, but in my spirit I feel that being able to quote these statistics does not “in itself” mean a mission was successful, at least not in the eyes of God (and of course the eyes of God or God’s opinion is truly the only one that matters!). It is my flesh, my business training that says I need proof. I am beginning to believe that only God knows if our time is successful.

Are we following His will?

Are we seeking His face?

Are we being obedient to His call on our lives?

Are we listening for and heeding His still small voice?
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matthew 7:21-23

Almost daily I wonder if we are doing enough. Should we be bolder? Are we speaking to as many people as we can? What if that woman who just stopped and asked us for directions needed Christ and I didn’t even mention Him to her?

I asked the boys what they thought would make our mission trip successful. Harrison said, “to tell others about Christ”. Reid offered, “to know Him more” and Hatcher felt, “if one person, even if that one person was in Gaffney (our hometown) was saved because we went, then we have been successful.”

What do you think makes a mission trip successful?
I think and ponder this question, and then another more important question arises…

What do you think makes a life successful?

Our mission trip is important, but it is only a portion of my life… when I stand before God on judgment day…will He be pleased when I report the results? ….of our trip? ….of my life?

I don’t know the answers, but I know that I need to continue to ask the questions of Him until I do.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:4-5

Please do share your comments by clicking "comments" below :-)

Your family blessed us...

From: Dan & Tracy Meddaugh dan_tracy_meddaugh@suddenlink.net
To: gloria@gearyfamilymission.com
Dear Gloria,
We returned from the Czech Republic a couple of weeks ago. We met you on an airplane--you were a great encouragement to us and to the missionaries we went to see. We gave them the bracelets, movie, and the soccer balls and their boys got very excited. Zachary was so excited when the lights were out one night and his bracelet lit up. I forgot to tell them that the bracelets glow in the dark. The Czech Republic is not an easy place to live as you can see, and the couple was encouraged by the fact we prayed in the airport!

We passed out sandwiches (sandvich--I know about 10 Czech words now) in the train station. We got a different response from the homeless. We also were able to pray for some--they grabbed our hands! I am very puzzled about this country and Eastern Europe in general. Why are they so hard? What has made them aetheists? They were not very open in general, but my husband got to pray for a visitor at our friend's Bible school in Slovakia. He thought there were many roads to heaven. My husband asked if he could pray for this man.

Our friend that has Bible schools in Czech Republic moves in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. His website is http://www.schwarzministries.org/ They have lived in Prague for 12 years.

We were blessed by your family's heart to share the Gospel. We share the same heart and believe God calls families. Our kids have been willing to do things they never did before for God as a result of this trip. They are getting used to speaking in front of others and doing puppet shows that share the Gospel. They also made the sandviches and helped pass them out in Prague. We long to raise our kids to walk in the miraculous and to walk in God's ways. What you are doing is a great inspiriation to us and your kids are a great blessing!
God bless you,
Tracy Meddaugh

This email arrived recently. What a blessing! We thought this would be a great encouragement to others traveling with kids. We'd like to encourage people to pray for them and maybe support them in some way. (please visit the site above for more information) May God bless each of you! ~ Gloria & family

Embassy of Unnamed Country

Madrid, Spain
GG’s Birthday!

We arrived at the Embassy. The door to the consulate was locked. We walked around to the other door, it too was locked. Immediately the door opened and out walked a woman who looked to be responsible for cleaning the building. In my broken Spanish I explained we were there to get a visa. “They closed at 12:30,” was her reply. I asked the time and we learned it was 12:34. I couldn’t believe it. We had been traveling for over two hours to get there. We had spent the whole morning trying to get things together to get there. We had gotten lost twice and we had missed it by four minutes.

The woman turned, opened the door and invited us in. I was shocked, yet thrilled. She spoke to the woman at the front desk whose response I didn’t need to translate. I knew our chances were dwindling. The kind woman disappeared and returned. She brought me four copies of the visa application. We sat and I wondered if maybe they would have mercy on these tired travelers.
The door opened and in walked a man who obviously had clout at the Embassy. The woman at the desk began explaining to him why we were there. He spoke to me and I explained that we were traveling for six months and had several visas to obtain and could not afford the time before we left the U.S. to mail in our passports for the visas.

I didn’t get far into the story. He simply said, “We close at 12:30.” The conversation was over.
Every drop of my American blood wanted to argue. My mind came up with all the arguments…. Did he understand how difficult it was for us to get there? Did he know how much money we were going to pay for this visa? Shouldn’t he be grateful we were going to spend time in his country? God ever so gently reminded me that I have been praying for Him to make me humble and I realized this was an opportunity to walk out that prayer. I purposely closed my mouth so that nothing would come out of it. When I knew it was safe, I opened my mouth to confirm that we could come back the next morning to apply. I thanked him and the two women for their time and we left. I wanted to cry. We had planned to leave town that afternoon. We had planned to do some sightseeing. Our luggage was checked at the train station and we had only the clothes on our backs.

The boys and I talked about what had happened and what our options were. Suddenly I knew what we had to do. We threw every plan out the window. We booked a room at a local hotel. For whatever reason God did not want us leaving town today, we would trust in Him and make the best of it.

We had a lovely lunch, stopped by the local store and bought a deck of UNO cards. We spent the rest of the day playing UNO in the lobby and taking turns having a nice hot bath in the great big bath tub in our hotel room. We witnessed to the hotel staff as we interacted with them.
I prayed that night that God would give us an opportunity to witness to the man of clout. The next day in the same clothes we wore the day before; we applied for the visas and caught the evening train.

I would love to be able to say we met the man of clout and witnessed to him or that we had a supernatural encounter with one of the hotel staff. But the reality is nothing out of the ordinary happened. The truth is this incident was all about me and my willingness to walk in humility. Was I willing to honor one in authority even when it meant a total rearrangement of our lives? I’ve prayed mightily for over seven months now for God to teach me humility. It is a lesson that I am having a hard time learning. God had given me an opportunity to grow in humbleness. It wasn’t the first opportunity, but it was the first that I felt good about how I responded. There have been many others where I failed miserably.

As of this writing, there is still some question about how and when we will pick up the visas. Who knows, maybe God will still use us with the man of clout. If not, I know that God used the man of clout to remind me that my role is to follow Christ in being humble before those in authority.
Scripture---God has put those in authority to rule over us

A time of Rest

Madrid, Spain
We have been here for close to a week and have seen nothing but the two streets near us, the Ghana Embassy, the internet cafe and the grocery store. We have only ventured out to eat and to do what business we have had to. To say we were exhausted is putting it mildly. I don’t know that as a family I have ever seen us stay still for this long. We have done school work, read, watched movies, played games, taken baths, and slept. Then we slept some more.
We were all thrilled to see the bath tub when we arrived and it has been well used since we have been here. Our next big thrill was the washing machine…we smell a little nicer this week too. We also found popcorn at the grocery store and I think we have eaten about 15 bags. We keep seeing ads for American pizza, but have yet to find any….maybe tomorrow.

Sharing the bad with you too
The last 48 hours have been a spiritual battle for me. I have felt a heavy oppression and have been too weak to fight it. On Saturday, I emailed my precious prayer partners to ask for prayer. Within hours of sending the email I could feel their prayers. It is a powerful thing to know someone is standing before the Lord for you. This past year I have learned the importance of leaning on those in the family of faith when I am struggling. God intends for us to lean on one another. It is not always easy for me to share with others when I am in need, but I have learned that is what God wants and He will work through the prayers of others when I cannot fight the battle myself. I have also learned that bringing to light (telling someone) any darkness I am struggling with is like taking the ammunition out of Satan’s hand. There is a shift in the spiritual realm whenever I do this. Try it the next time you are struggling with something.
“Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” I Corinthians 12: 14 & 27

The last two nights I have had the same dream and God has been dealing with me on some very deep issues. He has convicted me about some serious mistakes I have made and how I had allowed myself to be deceived, actually I should say how I deceived myself. If you are not familiar with the story of Balaam and Balak (Numbers 22), I encourage you to read it. It is a very unique and different scripture that deals with being disobedient to God’s word. I heard John Bevere preach on this several years ago. After hearing that sermon, I literally had a crisis of belief about the Lord, spent many weeks struggling with Him and came to a new and deeper relationship with the Lord as a result of that. This week I have been reading a book that discussed this same story. Again, God has taught me on a deep level about myself through this scripture.
I have also struggled with many negative thoughts. I have doubted everything in my life, my ability to raise my boys, complete this mission trip, hear God’s voice, manage my business, or be a decent friend. I have even questioned my salvation and Satan has been working overtime to bring me down. It seemed that every negative word ever spoken in my presence was going through my head. Intellectually I could see the craziness that I would even think these thoughts, yet spiritually I could not fight them. It has been years since I’ve had a struggle as difficult as these last two days.
Somewhere deep, deep inside I knew that Satan would only be working this hard to bring me down because he was afraid of the work we are doing. It is that little spark deep within my soul that kept me from losing all hope.
After much weeping, repenting and general prayer the oppression lifted this afternoon. It is not something I can even explain other than at one point I didn’t think I could go on and the next minute I knew we would be fine. It is the difference of being oppressed and God setting the captive free. I thank God for His goodness and faithfulness to provide me with sisters in Christ who stand beside me in prayer even from another continent and who fight a spiritual battle for me so He can set me free.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16
Thank you dear prayer partners! And thank you all who lift us in prayer.

A Memorial Day Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,
As we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, we think of how they have followed in the footsteps of your son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Please hold our service men and women in your strong arms. Cover them with your sheltering grace and presence as they stand in the gap for our protection.

We also remember the families of our troops, and ask for your unique blessings to fill their homes and your peace, provision and strength to fill their lives.

May the members of our armed forces be filled with courage to face each day and may they trust in the Lord's mighty power to accomplish each task.

Let our military brothers and sisters feel our love and support. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

US flags flying at Fort Logan National Cemetery during Memorial Day.

Observed by United States and US citizens everywhere.
Type: Federal (and most U.S. states)
Significance: Honors men and women who have died in military service
Date: Last Monday in May; 2008 date May 26, 2008; 2009 date May 25, 2009
Observances: visiting cemeteries
Memorial Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (in 2008 on May 26). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who perished while in military service to their country. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War I to include casualties of any war or military action.

She haunts my thoughts...

Madrid, Spain
We stepped into the crowd and suddenly there was a lot of activity around us. The cab driver was doing his best to protect the boys and myself from the throng of locals trying to get money.
She was a young woman in Muslim dress. She held in one hand a bunch of flowers and a bundle in the crook of her arm like a baby. It was too small to be a baby, or so I thought. “One pound”, she repeated the price of the flowers over and over to me and motioned toward the bundle with sad eyes. The cab driver shooed her away, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the bundle. The boys went with the driver and began to get in the car. I followed the woman and reached for the bundle.
She opened the wrapping and inside was the tiniest baby I’ve ever seen. It was dark outside and I couldn’t see her well, but she moved ever so gently and yawned.
These words went through my mind, “Gold nor silver do I have, but what I have…”, I placed my hands on the infants head and whispered a blessing over her. I looked at the mom and reached out to her cheek. I quietly spoke a blessing over her too. She spoke back to me but I did not understand what she said. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a 10 pound Egyptian note and handed it to her.
I turned and got in the cab, checked on the boys and put my seatbelt on. Then I turned to look at the woman. She had walked over to a parked car with four men inside. She handed the money to them and I saw her laugh. When she turned she saw that I was watching and quickly kissed her child. As we drove off I looked at the men in the car.
My heart was hurting. I asked the cab driver what she did with the money and he gave a couple of vague options. The cab had a deafening silence in it and I knew it hurt his heart too.
It has been almost a week since this happened, but I can’t stop thinking about this woman and her infant. I continually lift them to the Lord in prayer. I pray too for the men in the car. I don’t know what is going on, but my spirit knows it is not of the Lord.
There are other words that continue to pop into my head when I think of this mother, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”…I am convicted daily in my need to lay prostrate before the Lord and praise Him that He has provided for our needs. That I do not have to beg on a street corner or sell my body or my child’s body to feed us. I can’t stand in judgment of this woman, because I do not know what has happened in her life. I know only to lift her and the infant to the Lord for His protection.
Please pray for all the mothers of this world who need help to care for their children. Pray they will seek the Lord for their covering.

My dear friend, Kristy

Prayers for a friend from afar...
Madrid, Spain
We have been gone from the U.S. for almost a month, but today it seems longer. I learned yesterday that a very dear friend of mine from home has suffered a stroke. Kristy is a mom of three boys very similar in age to mine. Our families are close and I leaned on Kristy a lot to get ready for this trip. She has been an exceptional friend to me and now when she needs me, I am not there. It is frustrating to me to be so far away. I know the only thing I can do is lift her and her family in prayer. We serve a mighty God. I have to trust that God will minister to her since I cannot. This is a huge leap of faith for me. I ask Him to provide for her and her family in supernatural ways, to heal her miraculously, to provide strength for her and her family. I pray that He will make His presence known to them.
I say and write the words, but my heart is still heavy.

May I share about Kristy? She is a vivacious and energetic woman. She teaches aerobics and she seems to always be active. She is Catholic and has an infilling of the Holy Spirit that would rival some of the most devout Charismatics. She loves the Lord and He loves her. She is a devoted mom and wife and I learn constantly from her in watching her life. She is joyful and fun to be around. She has a servant’s heart. I miss her!
Please pray for Kristy and her family.

Witnessing with colored bracelets

The bracelets are such a blessing. The kids love them and they work with young and old alike. Even the parents want one!May I share with you what we say?
*Gold: Reminds me of Heaven…the Bible says the streets of Heaven are paved with gold…God lives in Heaven and wants all of us there with Him..... I plan on skipping down those streets of gold…you want to skip with me, don't you?

*Black: Reminds me of sin…in Romans the Bible tells us we all sin and fall short of the Glory of God….when we sin we can’t be near to God!

*Red: Reminds me of the blood of Jesus….see God loves us soooooooo much that He sent His only son, Jesus Christ to earth to die for our sin so we can be forgiven.

*White: reminds me that when I ask Jesus to forgive me of my sin and ask Him to come live in my heart, then Jesus washes us white as snow.

*Blue: reminds me of the Holy Spirit….when we accept Jesus as the son of God and ask Him into our heart, then the Holy Spirit comes to live in us….the Bible tells us His sheep know His voice…and the Holy Spirit will tell us the direction God wants for us

*Green: reminds me of growing….like green grass…..that when we read our Bible, go to church, pray and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit….we grow in the Lord.

Also, the bracelet glows in the dark and that is to remind us that God is always with us and He is our light against any darkness…just lean on Him!

That is it in a nutshell…. There is more, of course. You can see why we like the colors….it really helps the kids when they tell us the Gospel back.

Gratitude List from Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain

Things we have a new appreciation for:
· Public bathrooms that have paper towels and hand soap
· Sleep
· That we don’t have to sleep on the street
· Playtime
· That we know God
· Sheets that are relatively new
· That cars and airplanes are available to us for travel
· Christian fellowship and the prayers of others for us
· A loving family
· Bellies that digest food properly
· Food and drinks
· Wireless internet that works
· People in foreign countries who have learned English and help us
· Our house
· My poor sense of smell
· Friends back home
· New friends we are meeting
· Clean feet
· That I am able to feed and care for my children
· Being young (Harrison’s)
· Plentiful toilet paper
· My own permanent drawer and dresser
· Silly games to keep us in a good mood when tempers are short

King Tut Hostel, Cairo, Egypt

Egypt is 15% Christian and 85% Muslim. As we have traveled the streets of Cairo we have prayed for the people of this country. I have many questions for the Lord about this area of the world. I continue to lift these questions to my God, so I can better understand the Muslim faith and how to be a stronger witness to them. God has put on my heart a longing for more Muslims to know Christ. I don’t understand how to get through to them, but I know He does. Please pray with me for God to open many eyes to the truth and to draw this people closer to Him.

"Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:38

Reid’s fever returned stronger last night. He has been very sick. We attempted to go see the Pyramids, and just barely did. Reid was so ill he was fighting the need to vomit the whole trip there and back. We didn’t even try for a camel ride. Bless Hatcher and Harrison, they did not complain once…just did what they could to help their sick brother.
We have stayed in the Hostel mostly due to the fact that Reid has been sick. I had hoped to go buy some Bibles and give them out, but we haven’t.
Last night Reid seemed better and we went to a dinner cruise on the Nile. They had an Egyptian dancer called Sofi Dancing. The man twirls around non-stop….I thought I would fall over just watching him. It was fun and very entertaining.
Our cab driver was Awan. I love witnessing to taxi drivers, you have a captive audience and they can’t leave. : )
He listened politely as I shared the Gospel and kindly said he doesn’t believe in Jesus. I asked if we could pray for him and he said yes. (I am learning that Muslims are very open to Christians praying for them because they recognize that Jesus healed many). I asked what we could ask God to do for him and he didn’t have an answer.
As our wonderful God has done many times before on this trip, He put in my heart what to say. I asked if we could pray for he and his wife to be blessed with children. When I suggested this, he looked at me incredulously and said ok. I could tell we had hit a nerve.
So the boys and I prayed….he listened intently and I know God touched his heart.
One other incredible point God is teaching me on this trip. The hearts of many are touched when a child prays. Often when I ask someone if we can pray, they say ok but when they realize the children are going to pray it seems to take on a new meaning for them. They tune in more, they often weep and I can sense a difference in their spirits. It is like they are opening their hearts more because the children are praying.
If you are a parent of young children, encourage them to lay hands on others and pray and watch how God will deepen their faith….and the faith of others. Remember, children model the behavior they see. So be bold to pray for others yourself, it is an incredible blessing that you don’t want to miss. When I first started praying regularly for people, I was amazed at how thrilled people were when I offered to pray. You too will be surprised how hungry people are for your prayers.
Please pray for our cab driver…Awan and his wife. Stand in agreement with us that God will bless them with children, that He will draw them close to Him and open their eyes so they will know the truth about Jesus.
God will richly bless you for your prayers for others.

Reflections from the King Tut Hostel in Cairo

Rich Christians in an age of Hunger
The title says it all. The book is by Ronald J. Sider and I began reading it several months ago. It is a powerful book and the first chapter alone radically changed my view on the poor. My heart has been pierced and the Holy Spirit continues to convict me. There is and has been a stirring in my soul since I first started this book. From the book…. 34,000 children still die daily of starvation and preventable disease, and 1.3 billion people, worldwide, remain in abject poverty
Please join me in praying for the poor and praying for God to teach His people (Lord, please start with me.) to care for the needy.

From the Word:
His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give back his wealth. Job 20:10

He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. Proverbs 28:27

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Mark 10:21

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. Luke 12:33

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind…Luke 14:13

Travelling from Jerusalem to Cairo

By: Gloria Gault Geary
I have a new appreciation for Moses. For nearly 12 hours we rode through desert. If it wasn’t flat and sand, it was mountainous and rock and sand. All day I kept thinking, “What was he thinking wondering out in this?” He must have been a desperate man to leave the Pharaoh’s palace and to wonder in the desert. No place to stop for water and food. It was hard enough for us to find a place to stop; we literally went hours without seeing anything but wilderness.
It reminds me that sometimes God takes us through desperate times to prepare us for His perfect will for us. What if Moses had not braved the desert? What if he had chosen to stay with the easy life of being the Pharaoh’s son? It was only because he ventured out that he was able to see the burning bush and experience the deep relationship he had with the Lord.

Top Security
The security today was more than I have ever seen. We went through two check points coming out of Israel, then two check points going into Egypt. From there we walked through two gates where they checked our passports again. Then we loaded the bus. The bus was then inspected (it was from Egypt) and we drove through two more stops where we had to show our passports again. At the last stop two security guards got on the bus with us, complete with guns. It was at this point that I thought maybe I should have prayed more about the decision to take the bus instead of fly.
For the next 7 hours we went through probably ten more police stops…. I lost count there were so many.
We arrived past midnight (two hours late) in Cairo, but gratefully our hostel had sent someone to pick us up. Cairo was very much awake and active at this hour of the night….shops still open. We were happy to see our Cairo home and get some rest.
Reid has a fever. Please pray for health for all of us.

Reid's fever finally broke after hours of nightmares and restlessness. God is good!

The Prayer Warriors Arrive

Jesus House of Prayer in Jericho
After the Muslim women and children left, I sat on the front porch with several of the Jesus House volunteers asking them about their ministry. I asked if I could pray for them and we began praying. My heart was heavy for them. I don’t remember all that I prayed, but do remember asking God to provide more help for them. When I said amen, I turned to see an entire bus load of people walking up to the house. “ Wow,” I thought “that was a quick answer”!
This bus load of people was from Kingdom Faith Church in the U.K. and they live outside London. They were traveling around the Holy land visiting different ministries. The visitors came into the Jesus House and listened to the volunteers tell about the ministries and the needs they have.
Then the visitors began praying. The presence of the Lord entered the room and I sat and just absorbed. I knew God was pouring out His blessings on this team through the faithful and powerful prayers of these visitors. How wonderful to be with a group of believers who understand the power of prayer. I quietly joined them in praying. It was a joy to be with them.

God Speaks
At one point an elder of the church began prophesying over the volunteer team. I couldn’t hear all he was saying, but just continued to pray quietly. Suddenly this man was beside me and began prophesying over me.
I have had many prophesies spoken over me in the last couple of years and many have been helpful and a source of encouragement. This prophesy was different. I felt as if God Himself was speaking directly to me. The first words this man spoke to me were in direct response to a prayer I had just lifted to the Lord. His words went to the depth of my soul and I began weeping. He then began to answer almost every prayer I had been lifting to God in the last week. With each sentence I wept more. I was so touched that God would speak so directly to me! It was the most tender moment I have ever experienced with the Lord. Things I had begged for an answer on, He answered. I couldn’t stop crying. God had touched my heart in a deeper place than ever before. It made me love Him all the more. I love the touch of the Lord.
If you are not familiar with the gifts of the Spirit, I encourage you to ask God to show His gifts to you. The Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways to show the love of the Lord to us, but we must be open to His Spirit.
…"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." Hebrews 3:15
“And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.” Luke 12:10

Jesus House of Prayer ~ 2nd day

Jericho
By Gloria Gault Geary
The first woman arrived before 8:00 am. I greeted her and we exchanged pleasantries even though neither of us understood the other. Before long there were close to fifty women and children. A few of the women were raised Christian but the majority of them are Muslim and have come to know Jesus. They all still dress in the Muslim dress. They are kind and quiet and unassuming.

Those from the ministry arrived too. There were three single women, two couples and a college age son of one of the couples. I took many pictures but was asked not to post the pictures on the site for safety reasons.

This ministry started about ten years ago when Terry McIntosh and his family moved to Jericho from the U.S. They moved into the house and begin inviting neighbors over to learn about Jesus.
Jericho is unique in the West Bank area. There are approximately 100 families who know Jesus here. In Hebron, there are none and in Gaza only about 3 families.

The government and local folks know about the Jesus House of Prayer and seem to be ok about their ministry. The Word of God is being preached regularly.

I am in awe of the women who come each week and of those who come to minister. They are publicly acknowledging their faith in a location where this can be dangerous..

Prayer needs:
Please pray for God to open the ears of those who attend Bible study and to give them revelation of God’s word. Please pray for the men of Jericho. Often the women will receive Christ, yet the men will not.
Pray for God to open their hearts and pour in His love.

Pray for the children. What joy to watch my boys play and be a part of the children’s program. These children are the future leaders of Christianity here…pray for God to work through them in a mighty way.

Jesus House of Prayer!

Jericho

There was a mix up with our taxi driver, so at the last minute Asem (from Jaffa Gate Hostel) called a friend of his to drive us to Jericho.
Suheil gave directions to Asem and we were on our way. Through two security check points, one for Israel and one for Jericho and we entered the oldest city in the world. We stopped at the local market to purchase some fruit and nuts, then Suheil took us to the Jesus House of Prayer. We are locked in for the night…it is just us here.
According to Suheil there are less than 100 families in all of Jericho who are Christian. It is a Muslim area. Suheil took us to the source of water where Elisha healed the waters (2 Kings 2), the mountain of temptation where satan tempted Christ for 40 days after He was baptized, and the Sycamore tree that Zacheaus was in when Christ passed by.
This is a city rich in history. From a local restaurant where we had dinner, you can see the city, the Dead Sea, the Jordon River, the mountain of temptation and more….it is beautiful.
When I questioned Suheil about evangelizing activities he explained the difficulties they face. In the Muslim faith converting to Christianity can be punished by death. It is not an easy obstacle to overcome…but our God is a big God.
What encouraged me more was the fact that Suheil who was raised a Christian has experienced a deeper relationship with the Lord in the last several years. God has poured out His Spirit upon him. It is a story I am getting used to hearing as we travel. God is calling His people closer… creating a hunger for Him.
“…I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” Joel 2:28 NKJV
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her… and it shall be, in that day, Says the Lord, That you will call Me ‘My husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master.’ Hosea 2:14 &16
Is He calling you closer? Are you listening? Open your heart, there is no love like His.

Floating On The Dead Sea

Jerusalem ~ Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Church of the Holy Sepulcher….

this stone is said to have been where Jesus’ body was laid after He was crucified.

`

dd

Click here to read about this on Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre

Damascus Gate in Old City Jerusalem

Taking a strawberry break near Damascus Gate in Old City Jerusalem

d

saf

Click here to read about the Old City on Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_City_(Jerusalem)

and lots of other cool stuff!

An Oasis in the Desert

The Dead Sea, Israel
An Oasis in the Desert
We have taken a day to see the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has approximately 36% salt in it versus other oceans have about 3%. So when one is in the Dead Sea, you float!.
The mud here is just like the very expensive mud packs you buy back home, but free. So we all played in the mud for a while, floated in the Dead Sea (Annie and GG, you would love it!) and then went to the natural hot springs (again 36% salt water).
It was a delightful day of play.
What a beautiful world God has made for us...
praise be to Him for His wonderful creation!

The Western Wall in Old City, Jerusalem

Visiting the Western Wall…men must go in one area and women in the other

Jerusalem!

Harrison haggles with street vendors and purchases his very own guitar!

details to follow...

2 Chronicles 20:28

So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD.

Worshipping with Palestinian Christians

Jerusalem, Israel
Jaffa Gate Hostel
Worshipping with Palestinian Christians
The last 24 hours have been one of angst for me. I have been praying about going to Jericho. To go, one must hire an Arab taxi driver who can get you through the border. I have felt led to visit the ministry in Jericho…where they minister to new Muslim Christians.
After much prayer yesterday, the Lord answered me in several very dramatic ways. On Monday we had eaten at a restaurant where one of the boys gave our waiter our website bracelet and the salvation bracelet, sharing the Gospel with him. On Tuesday, we returned to the same restaurant and our waiter invited us to a worship service on Wednesday night. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to worship with local believers and assured him we would be there.
Wednesday night we attended the worship service to discover it was a group of Palestinian Christians. My heart was full to be able to worship with these believers in the Holy Land.
The worship songs were sung in Arabic with English and Hebrew words posted. The sermon was preached in English and translated to Arabic. Please visit their website: http://www.upperooministries.com/
At the end of the service I asked if there was someone who could drive us and of course there was. So tomorrow, our brother in Christ, Johnny will pick us up and drive us to Jericho to visit the Jesus House of Prayer.
Please pray for this ministry which is located right outside the Damascus Gate of the Old City.
24/7 Prayer room
We also had a chance to visit one of the five prayer rooms located in Jerusalem. After entering I turned to see a fellow IHOP Intro Class member from Switzerland. Elizabeth had come to Israel to be a part of “The Call Jerusalem”. How wonderful to see a familiar face so far away from home.
On our way out, we walked by Mike Bickle and Misty Edwards. They didn’t recognize us! Oh well, maybe next time. Thanks Mike and Misty for your tireless devotion to the Lord.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

The Call Jerusalem

The Call

After getting settled into the Jaffa Gate Hostel, we immediately took off for The Call located at the International Conference Center. We were able to get in and what a treat to worship with believers from all over the world. The Call was focused on prayer for Israel. Israel celebrates 60 years as a nation this year and plays an important role in the second coming of Christ (read the book of Revelation).

I didn’t realize how empty I was spiritually until I got there.

It was like we have given and given these last couple of months (and please know we have also received enormously from others) and my spiritual tank was empty.

I felt like the Lord just filled me up again while we worshipped.

This day was also the Global Day of Prayer so there were large screens of prayer meetings from all of the world being shown as we worshipped.

What a great experience to have our first day in the Holy Land!

Please pray for peace in the Holy Land.

Pray for a coming together of all Arabs and Jews.

The Call Washington, DC will be Saturday, August 16th, 2008.
This will be a day of prayer and fasting for America.
Please pray about being a part of this.
http://www.thecall.com/

Asem at the Jaffa Gate Hostel

Asem and Noir are the owners of the Jaffa Gate Hostel. We shared with them about Christ and prayed for Asem. They have kind hearts.

Tel Aviv to the Jaffa Gate Hostel ~ Jerusalem

We arrived in Tel Aviv at 2:35 am Sunday morning.

There was no transportation into Jerusalem, so we sat, played cards, ate McDonald’s and slept until about 8:30 am. We took public transportation into the Old City and were blessed to find a vacancy at the Jaffa Gate Hostel. The Hostel is run by Muslim brothers, Noir and Asem. Aiden cleans the rooms and is a Messianic Jew. (Jew by birth, yet has become a born again believer of Jesus Christ).

http://www.hostelz.com/hostel/39116-Jaffa-Gate-HostelJaffa-Gate-Hostel

Our new friend Krzysiek on Gellert Hill in Budapest

Krzysztof Roso³ek krzysztof_rosolek@yahoo.com wrote:
Hi,
I don't know if you remember me. I'm one of the three who you met on Gellert Hill in Budapest (10th May 2008). You gave us three colored bracelets and a polish version of holy bible. I want to send you photos with your boys and us. Can I put photos on the website or maybe you want to send to your mailbox?
Hugs & kisses for your boys!
Best regards,
Krzysiek

Dear Krzysiek,
Please send photos as attachment to email.
We will be honored to place on the website and Blog.
May you share the gospel of jesus christ with all you meet!

Let us see how the computer translates this for us:

Polish:
Sprawiać przyjemność (proszę) posyłają fotografie jak uzupełnienie (więź) poczta elektronowa (wysyłać pocztą elektronową).
My będziemy zaszczycani miejsce na *website* i *Blog*.
Może (maj; majowy) wy rozdzielacie *gospel* *jesus* *christ* z cali wy spotykacie (wykonywać; napotykać)!

Hungarian:
Kedves Krzysiek , Legyen szíves küld fénykép mint egybefűzés -hoz elektronikus levél. Mi lesz honorált -hoz hely -on website és Blog. Május ön osztozik a evangélium -ból Jézus Krisztus -val minden ön találkozik!

Budapest memories...

email from our new friend Krzysiek
We were so pleased to meet our new Polish friends while we were both visiting Hungary.

I don't understand hungarian :)

According to polish translation meaning is almost good but words between stars are not translated so it willbe hard to understand for typical polish people.

Where are you now?

What will be the next country?

I don't know your plans for trip but if you are goingto visit Poland again - particularly Cracow (Krakow) -I can spend few hours with you and show you Cracow(e.g. monuments and all you want). Just give me infofew days before.

Best Regards,Krzysiek

Warsaw to Budapest

Gosia and her husband, Shamack get us settled into the train for Budapest….thanks Gosia!!!

The train ride was such fun! We were all in one room with three bunks and we fit! It was a little like camping out, but you just didn’t have to go so far for the rest room and they served you coffee in the morning. I felt pampered.
Last view of Warsaw from our train bunk room.
Harrison has the “Hatcher blood”…can sleep anywhere.

The ride into Budapest was beautiful and I knew I would like this city before we even got here. After debarking at the train station, we checked our luggage in the storage. The man told me it would be three thousand five hundred and I almost fell over. The dollar value of that is about $21.00, but it sure sounded a lot more expensive.

We took the city tour and were constantly astonished by the beauty of the city. Every corner we turned seemed to hold a new beautiful view. It also helped we were on a double decker bus. The boys loved it. We hopped off at a stop and as God would have it we ran right into a bookstore. The bookstore had great children’s Bibles in Hungarian for about $13.00 American. We purchased 10 and found a Burger King to fuel up.
After lunch we stood next to a bus stop and started offering Bibles. It occurred to me as we started that each time we do this I start off a little nervous, almost anxious because I know we will be turned down. And we always are. Then I start praying in the Spirit….
We gave all our Bibles away and several people were thrilled to get them. One group of young girls listened attentively as we shared the Gospel. I knew they spoke little English, yet they seemed to want to know more.
Ali, from France actually came back and asked if we had a Bible in English he could have. I promised that I would mail him one, if he would email me his address. We prayed for Ali to find the right job and for God to draw him closer to Him. I felt we had made a fast friend with him.
Ali teaches Hatcher, pray for Ali to recognize the gifts God has given him
Andrew is Hungarian and had just lost his wallet. We prayed for God to return his wallet and Hatcher beautifully prayed for the thief to feel convicted and confess his sin. We gave Andrew some money and it was difficult for him to take it. I could tell he was really interested in Jesus and asked if he wanted to ask Him into his heart now. “I really need to think about this.” I know God will work His way into his heart and life.

Please pray for Andrew to come to know the Lord

Our last Polish Bible went to our new friends from Krakow. When we heard them say yes in Polish, we knew they were from Poland.

Stopped By The Police In Warsaw!!!

May 9, 2008
Our last day in Warsaw, Poland
Stopped by the Police
We slept in this morning. We decided we would need the sleep due to our travel schedule the next two days…Budapest in an overnight train and then Tel Aviv the next night arriving at 3:45 am.
After schoolwork we headed to the local commercial area by foot to eat and give out the remaining Bibles and Passion films. We stood at an intersection to give out Bibles. Hatcher and Reid went across the street to reach more people. At one point I looked over to check on Hatcher and Reid and noticed two policemen were talking to Hatcher. My “mom alarm” sounded full blast. I decided I may need to go check on him. Continued…

10 Most Wanted in Warsaw!!!

Stopped by the Police continued...
Harrison and I ran across the street as quickly as possible. I didn’t think we would be in trouble, but knew that Hatcher would probably be a little concerned being interviewed by a policeman (especially one who probably did not speak English). I whispered a short prayer of protection as my mind envisioned a paddy wagon carrying us all to jail.
As I walked up I overheard the policeman saying, “Where are your parents?” I smiled brightly and offered my hand. He was very warm and wondered what we were doing. I explained that we were on a mission trip and were giving out Bibles. His only question was, “Are the people nice to you?” I loved him for that.
Needless to say this had drawn a small crowd. I offered him a Bible and he said he could not accept it because he was on duty. I then offered a salvation bracelet by explaining all the colors to him. He smiled and patiently listened. He accepted the bracelet. Continued...