Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Christians United For Israel: Boston, Massachusetts

One particularly prevalent theme for the last several outreaches has been the diversity in expression of faith. An event with Christians and Jews together is no exception!


The prayer wall in the Olive Branch
However, for the day before the CUFI event, we were split in half. Half of us would go to Boston to interpret dreams and do prophetic ministry on the street, while the other half would go to the Olive Branch bookstore in Northborough to do the same. I was on the team that was sent to the Olive Branch.

In one of the groups that I ministered with, a guy had a dream where he was running after several majestic white horses while an avalanche was fast approaching from behind, yet he felt no fear. We had great delight in telling him that the Lord was showing him how much favor and authority he was about to walk in.

After finishing up at the Olive Branch, we drove to the MetroWest Bridge in Natick to spend the night. It just so happened that we got there as the Brazilian Church (which uses the same building as MetroWest) was just finishing. I got to see my buddy Andre! He greeted me in Spanish, and then spoke to me in a bit of French. Evidently my French is not up to par, but I have been improving on my Spanish. He taught me how to say thank-you in Portuguese (obrigado), and then his wife joined us, who speaks more Spanish. We actually had a short conversation that I understood, which is a step up for me in learning.

Early Sunday morning we drove out to Boston, which I would be seeing for the first time! On the way in we passed by the Green Monster in Fenway Park of baseball notoriety. Our final destination was the Massachusetts State House, located on Beacon Hill in downtown Boston. The Beacon Hill area is a site to behold; while everything is older, it isn't dirty and it actually looks really good! A particular point of interest is the Boston Common, a public park originally used as a military camp before the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Today it is a hotspot for locals and tourists alike.

Our job before the event was to set up all the stuff people would be seeing. Large banners depicting various messages in Hebrew were hung, and the US flag & Israeli flag were both hung slightly in front of those banners. There was an unexpected job which me and some of the other interns took on. We were asked for 6 guy volunteers, and I was one of them. We were asked to 'flag-bear'. We were to walk around half of the auditorium holding large Hebrew emblems (there were 12 in total, and each was representative of a tribe of Israel). It was a whole lot harder than it looked! The emblems weren't heavy, but awkward to move around.


A gazebo in Boston Common
About two hours before start time, we were all set to get changed into our formal attire and then go through dress rehearsal. I realized at this point that I had left my black dress shoes (that I borrowed) in the van! Desperate, I got the keys to the van from Mike Wise (Houston, TX) and then asked Dave Carpentier (Boston, MA) for directions. He told me to go across the Boston Commons (at least a 10 minute walk), look for a particular hotel and then eventually spot the van. I went all the way and could not find the van, even after going an extra two blocks in every direction besides what he told me. With an hour and a half before start time, I was in a panic. Finally in desperation I decided I had to buy new shoes. I asked the doorman at a ritzy apartment complex where I could buy dress shoes. He gave me the directions to a Macy's, which happened to be all the way back to the State House plus another two blocks! As I was in the process of trying on shoes, I got a cellphone call telling me to hurry back, as dress rehearsal was starting. Oy vey! I got back and got changed just a few minutes before the flag-bearing rehearsal, sweat dripping as I changed into my outfit. I wasn't perfectly presentable, but I had made it.

The event proved to be eye-opening and well done, despite the preceding chaos and lack of thorough pre-planning. There was a speaker from Israel and a speaker from Japan (surprised us all I think) that laid out the truth about what's happening in the Middle East, and our role. One of the things that shocked us the most was a quote given from an Iranian leader (and hidden from the media): "Give us the Jews, and we'll give you (America) the oil!" If only people knew just how deep in we are, and how much our decisions truly will affect the Middle East. Genesis 12:3 makes it pretty clear: we must stand up for Israel.


One of the larger banners

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