Journal
Welcome to the Fulfillment Fest team journal! Here you will find updates from Jerusalem written by various members of our staff. Grab pictures at flickr or picasa and check back often for updates!June 9 2008 By: Michael
Tonight is the last day of Fulfillment Fest 08! Today is also Pentecost. God has done some amazing things here on the Mount Of Olives. We have faced a lot of warfare in the past week and some really intense moments in worship. Personally I'm in awe over the whole experience. God's heart is so big! He only does good things.
More pictures will filter in soon. At the moment I have to run out for the last sound checks and setup. Please continue to pray for tonight and that the ripples from the worship tent would go out into the city.
June 6 2008 By: Michael
So we had an amazing night last night... Cannon Hill opened followed by Sleeping Giant. These guys are amazing. They are a heavy metal band (screaming, thumping, roaring--whole 9 yards) Their hearts are so humble and real. The Lord totally brought them here as a key to unlocking some rough ground. They where a hammer to break open the land and make way for the King.
I am more excited about Fulfillment Fest, Israel and God's heart than when we started all this 4 months ago and I'm more exhausted than ever! I don't think I really have it yet, but I want it and I keep asking to see a little more of the huge picture. The team is tired but we're staying as a unit. And that alone is a huge key. We (as in the FF team) are not "it" at all nor are we going to make "it" happen. This whole thing is about real living people and God's passionate heart for them. Personally, I'm in awe.
We have 3 more times of meeting under the tent. Saturday we plan on taking a team to the top of the Mount Of Olives and cleaning the streets a bit. We'll pass out event 'tickets' to attract the local arabs and meet under the tent at 6PM.
We can't hold a meeting Sunday night due to Pentecost, but we're planning on worshipping on Sunday morning.
Monday the 9th is our final day under the tent on the Mount. We'll start at 6 and go till the Lord says done.
June 1 2008 By: Samuel
This last week has been wild and busy. I've visited Nazareth, the sea of Galilee, and finally.... our container with our tent was released from customs. It took us a whole day to get the thing up, and I got some pretty nice sunburn in the process. Getting through all the red tape to get this event going has been crazy. But the festival has finally started and the name of Yeshua is being lifted up and proclaimed across the city of Jerusalem. Please keep us in your prayers. There is constantly something new being thrown our way: whether is be the police on their way to shut up down because we can't have a grill running, or the molotov cocktail that was thrown at our tent in the middle of the night. There is a nice sized hole burnt in the tent now. Thank God the tent is "fire proof". But regardless of the circumstances, Jesus is lifted up! Check out the pictures >>
May 31 2008 By: Michael
Fulfillment Fest is underway! Friday night was really good. Emily Emily Schiavi opened up for us and really set the atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to come. Andrea Carr followed up with a 2 hour set. At 10PM we prayed for people in the tent that had various needs of healing. We have been asked to not hold the Festival on Fridays due to Shabbat. Even though we would have liked to continue Friday the team has been running strong for the last few weeks and needed the rest. We will continue tonight (Saturday) at 6PM. Pray that the Lord will invade! We only want Him. More and more we're realizing, the flesh profits nothing; only the Spirit of God gives life. Get more event photos at flickr>> We are shooting as much video as we can. If time allows, there should be short video uploads from the event online soon! Check back often.
May 21 2008 By: Samuel
The past couple of days have been a bit fun filled. I visited Masada the other day and took the long trek to the top. And quite a long trek it was.... I've know the history of the place for some time, but have always wanted to visit. For those who don't know, the basic history: There were about 900 (maybe more) jewish zealots that took refuge at Masada. They were lead by a man named Elazar ben Yair, whom the romans were not too happy with. So the romans laid siege to the city. (Masada was built by King Herod on the top of the Mountain) The siege lasted two years, being that the romans were unable to get to the top. The Romans had 10,000 soldiers and realized that the only way that they would be able to get into Masada, would be to build a siege ramp. It took them a year and half to build this ramp up to the top of Masada. When Elazar ben Yair realized that their defenses were going to be breached; rather than be taken alive as slaves to the romans, they chose to die by their own hands. Pretty intense! But they had decided that it would be better to die than to be slaves.
May 13 2008 By: Joelle
I still can't believe I'm in Israel. It's only been a week and I've been from Tel Aviv, through the Judean hills and to Jerusalem. I've walked the Old City atop Mt. Zion through the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Armenian Quarters. I've seen the tomb of David and traversed through the Holocaust Museum. I've walked the Via Dolorosa, and tasted the falafel from one of the many local fare. I've experienced the perplexity of the Western Wall and trodded upon the Mt. of Olives where we're going to have our event. It has truely been an incredible experience. In light of the people, the sites, everything in Hebrew, the soldiers everywhere with large automatic weapons, the religious in black garb with top hats and long spiraled side burns, the check points to and from Jerusalem with armed guards, and every single building made from white stone, I can only say I don't believe I'll want to leave this place. I do feel very safe here and there is a peace about this place. I'm looking forward to what the Lord has in store.
May 12 2008 By: Samuel
So we arrived at the Call Sunday, and I met up with my parents for the first time since they arrived here in Israel. It was wonderful to hear Lou Engle's voice booming through the Israeli conference center. His voice has this authority that comes with it. So funny... during the onething conference while Lou was speaking, the national park on the other side of the woods sent someone over to turn Lou down. They said he was too loud. And then... while Lou was talking about fasting, the ice cream truck started playing on the other side of the woods. Ironic... ehh?
The Call was a good time, and God TV broadcast it live. They had reconciliation prayers, prayers for breaking curses of the nation, and celebration. The dancing was quite fun to watch. My group was there to volunteer as ushers and security, so we were in and out the whole time. We were wiped out by the end of the day. So when it was over we hooked up with David and Victoria and went to a good Israeli restaurant. And I had.... pizza. Yeah, good Israeli pizza.
May 7 2008 By: Michael
Me and Samuel arrived here on the 4th- it's been really good. Israel is much more real than I thought; not the ga-ga bibleworld but real. And extremely deep in rich culture. We visited the tent site 2 days ago. It's in a really cool spot right in the middle of olive trees ;) The picture to the left is of the tent grounds. It was good to walk the place and get a feel the surroundings. I feel incredibly safe in Israel. I had these pre-supposed ideas that it would be hostile all over and fraught with fear and unrest. Not the case-- There is a certain peace that hovers over this land. I really enjoy it. More so than many European countries I've visited. I'm so excited to see the unfolding of this event. Also, OneThing Jerusalem starts tomorrow and then TheCall this Saturday. The Holy Spirit is going to rock this place.
May 6 2008 By: Samuel
So I got lost this morning with My friend Michael Carr. We were going to meet some friends of mine, and missed our meeting place. We ended up walking around the entirety of Mount Zion, around the walls and then back down. Finally joined up with my friends that I haven't seen in a little bit. David Howell, and Victoria Beaver. David took us for a little tour of the old city. We got to see a little different side than yesterday. We visited the church of the Sepluchre, the site that the catholics believe is where Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. It smelled strongly of incense and oil. I got to hear the monk sing. It was amazing to hear, echoing off the stone walls.
Then we took a walk down the Christian quarter (it's not so Christian anymore). There were tons of vendors selling anything and everything you could ever want or never need. In the process of ducking through side streets, and down narrow alleys we hit a little bit of the Muslim quarter too. Some produce and meat shops. [see pictures] All in all, a very cool day.
[You can see samuel's Jerusalem pics here]