HaYovel

There is a ministry based in Missouri called HaYovel. HaYovel is a non-profit organization that brings Christian volunteers from all over the world to serve Jewish farmers in Israel. This is a little of what they say about their mission statement on HaYovel.com

Israel is in the news everyday. Everyone knows about the conflict – the bombings, shootings and riots in the streets.  Every country in the world has turned its back on Judea and Samaria – the heartland of Israel, where 80% of the Bible was either written or occurred. But is that all? Is Israel just a war torn country with no hope of survival?  Has Almighty God’s promise of restoration to Israel been annulled?  NO!!!

Our mission is to take an active role in, and educate people about, the prophetic RESTORATION of the land of Israel that is happening TODAY!  
Over the past ten years, we’ve brought over 1700 volunteers into Judea and Samaria (the so called “West Bank”). Our goal is to equip every volunteer to be an educated, effective, positive ambassador for Judea and Samaria. Because of this, not only do our volunteers have the chance to fulfill prophecy by harvesting or pruning vineyards and olive groves, they also experience the length and breadth of Israel’s heartland through professional tour guides and hear from a long list of articulate guest speakers. We are serious about providing the best hands-on educational experience for anyone willing to become an effective advocate for Judea and Samaria. 

Soon after we began working in Israel, we saw the huge need to send a positive voice from Judea and Samaria into the nations – a voice declaring the amazing, restorative things that we were seeing with our own eyes and touching with our own hands. Since our first speaking tour in 2006, we’ve sent our articulate, educated and experienced spokesmen to New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Norway, South Africa, Nigeria, Congo, Italy, the United Kingdom and all over the US and Canada.

We give thanks to God Almighty who, by His great mercy has allowed us to take part in the restoration of Israel!

WHY WE SERVE

God’s deep, unfailing love for Israel is well documented in His Word. He speaks through Isaiah with great emotion, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” Isaiah 49:15-16

 

Seeing and feeling the God of Israel’s strong emotion towards His people and land inspires our own hearts to beat with the same passion. It is this passion that compelled us to establish HaYovel. We, as a multi-generational and family oriented organization strive to unite Jews and Christians to work together towards one common goal – the restoration of Israel through tending the land.

 

“So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it.” Ezekiel 36:35,36

                                                                    Why Judea and Samaria?

“You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria…” Jeremiah 31:5

Judea and Samaria are the historical and spiritual heartland of Israel, and the heart of where we work. The majority of the Biblical history unfolded in this area! Here, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each received the promise that this land would belong to their descendants FOREVER.

This region is often called “the West Bank” in the media. It is possibly the most contested piece of real estate in the world. Many Jewish people live here because they believe the PROMISE given to Abraham and believe in the restoration of Israel, as prophesied in the Bible. Farmers inspired by the words of the prophets have planted vineyards and olive groves. Some planted in faith, not knowing where they would find laborers to bring in the harvest. Many farmers we serve depend on HaYovel volunteers to keep afloat, year after year.

We invite you, by faith, to leap into the prophetic pages of the Holy Scripture and join us as we sink our hands into the soil of God’s beloved Israel. Experience the incredible restoration of the Land and People God has never forgotten.

Here is a picture of some of the HaYovel staff. If you would like to check out HaYovel's website it is: HaYovel.com  HaYovel is a great ministry and I highly suggest that you at least look at their website. I hope that you will take some time in your day to pray for the ministry of HaYovel and pray for the Holy Land of Israel. I hope you have a great day!

He always loves you- devotional

January 19, 2016

Now that we have finished with ‘Vienna Chronicles’ I now will be writing things that are important to me--- my passions, recipes, devotionals, and maybe a few controversial topics. I’m asking you to be open to exploring ideas that you may not have heard of or necessarily agree. But would you look into the word and ask for God’s guidance.

 I hope you will continue to come back to read and to go out into the world and make your own mark in the world. Remember that we live in a dark world and we need to live out in this world and to “let our light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NIV.

Some people in this world don’t know and don’t think that God is there. They feel like He isn’t answering their prayers or maybe didn’t heal their sick grandmother and so they turn away from Him. Some people don’t even feel like God cares or loves them; I know I felt that way in middle school. But guess what… He DOES LOVE YOU and He is ALWAYS HERE FOR YOU!!! If you still don’t feel loved after this then just turn to your Bible. The Bible is like a big love letter from God to us. As I was thinking on this subject a couple of days ago I read a devotional on this subject in “Jesus Calling”.

“Nothing can separate you from His love. Let this divine assurance trickle through your mind into your heart and soul. Whenever you start to feel fearful or anxious, repeat this unconditional promise: ‘Nothing can separate me from Your love, Jesus.’ Most of mankind’s misery stems from feeling unloved. In the midst of adverse circumstances, people tend to feel that love has been withdrawn and they have been forsaken. This feeling of abandonment is often worse than the adversity itself. Be assured that ‘He will never leave you nor forsake you!’ His presence watches over you continually. He has engraved you on the palms of His hands.” Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Joshua 1:5, “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Isaiah 49:16, “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before me."

Latst pictures from Vienna. Some aditional photos

These are some photos that I gathered from different people in the choir.

 Me blowing bubbles at the refugee children's area in the train station

 Sariah playing the violin for the children

Our choir singing to raise money for the refugees

 Two little sisters at the train station. Mrs. Porter called them "future choir members." :)

 Our choir in front of an alter in the Votive Church after sining

 The front of the Votive Church

 Our choir singing in the Votive Church

 (Left to right) Mrs. Porter, Jackson, Kale, Rebecca, and Sariah.

 (Left to right) Abby, Emma #2, Kira, me, Emma #1, Mrs. Ellison, and Lavonne.

 Our choir performing in the hall for the festival.

 (Left to right) Sariah, Kale, Mrs. Ali, Kira, and me

 Mrs. Ali and Mrs. Porter after the festival

 All of us at the Indian restraint after the festival

 Our choir in front of the St. Stephens Cathedral on the first day!

 Our choir performing before we left for Vienna.

 Our choir at the Schonbrunn Palace

 Our choir with Mrs. Ali's choir

 Our choir performing for a high school choir

 Some guards and police in the train station

 Mrs. Porter getting interviewed by an Austrian news reporter on what we were singing about

 Some refugees getting off a train

 Our choir singing to the refugees in the light while they walked in darkness.

 Emma #1 teaching a little refugee boy guitar.

Some of us girls at the DIA airport the day we left for Vienna

Pictures from September 14th

 The beautiful sunset outside our hotel window

 Rebecca and my cute little room

 The map on the plane. You can see Israel is really close to where we were

 Our huge Austrian plane

 Austrian airlines!

 Kira doing Emma #1's very long hair in the airport while we were waiting to board.

 

 Some of the pinkish clouds on our way home. Sorry this isn't a very good picture of it.

 Kira and Abby ready to go home!

 

September 14th Travel day from Vienna. Last Vienna blog :(

September 14^th, 2015

Rebecca and I got up at 5:00am. I finished putting away things I had used that morning and I also Skyped with my family for the last time in Vienna. I had enjoyed every opportunity to be able to talk with my family every morning and night that week. I can’t believe that our team was in Vienna for only one week! The time went by so quickly. Mrs. Porter assigned a journal day to each person and Rebecca and I were assigned Saturday for our journal day. We wrapped up our journal day and headed downstairs to the lobby. The hotel had prepared sack breakfasts for each choir member. How considerate of the hotel to do that for us!. As our choir loaded the bus we all said our farewells to Jackson and his mom. They have family who live in Europe so they were going to stay an extra week.

 We had a great drive to the airport. The sun was just rising and we were all in good spirits (well most of us, some of the girls got sick on the trip.) We arrived to the airport on time, checked in, went through security, and headed to the plane. The flight was long and tiring, but it was very encouraging to think that I was going to be home soon and see my family. This trip has reminded me how comfortable Americans are. We have everything there at our fingertips and yet we often complain how we don’t have such and such when there are people across the world that don’t even know where there next meal is coming from. I am so comfortable in America and when I went to Vienna, I felt a little nervous; even though Vienna technically isn’t really a “third world country.” I was having bitter sweet moments on the plane. I was excited to see my family and be in my home again and yet it was sad to leave Vienna because that was where my first missions trip happened. We all have created wonderful memories together and have grown so close to each other. I really do hope that we made an impact in Vienna-whether on the streets when we sang, at the festival with our listeners, but especially with the refugees who needed a cheery distraction from their difficulties of life.

 Once we were seated in the airplane and we started taking off, the screen in front of me showed a map. I located where Israel was and I couldn’t believe how close I was to Israel, and yet I still wasn’t able to go. Lord willing someday I will be able to make my dream come true and go to the Land of Israel.  I watched a couple of movies on the plane, slept, read, I wrote in my journal, ate yummy snacks/dinner, listened to music, and talked with my friends. I sat in the same row with Mrs. Ellison, and Emma #1 which was fun because they were watching Newsies, so I was able to watch a little with them. ;)

 When we were flying through a little chunk of Canada about to enter America, we all had to fill out a U.S. customs and Border Protection… my first one ever to fill out. When we landed in Chicago, Illinois I had a terrible headache. That wasn’t fun at all, but thankfully my dear friend Kira let me lean on her shoulder. We all loaded off the large Austrian airplane, walked through a large tunnel, and came to a long line. We waited in the line for maybe 30-45 minutes and finally came to some Kiosks. I had no idea what to do, all I knew was that they were for customs border check. I just followed the directions and went over to help some of my other choir members after I was finished. After we were all done, we then waited in another line to show our Border Protection slips. We all went through safely and then collected our luggage. We all dropped off our luggage to a check-in-desk, went through security again, and then I called my parents to let them know that I was back in the states safely. We talked for a while and they were glad to hear that I had arrived safely. I am giving a play by play but I am hoping this will help others who have never traveled to and from internationally but may do so in the future.

Kira, Emma #1, and I all bought yummy kettle and cheddar popcorn from the famous popcorn shop: Garret Popcorn! I bought a sandwich for dinner and we boarded our plane to go home after our five hour lay over in Chicago. I sat 12 rows in front of the rest of my choir which felt really nice to be by myself because I wasn’t feeling that well. I was able to have a nice journal time, eat, and sleep. 30 minutes before landing in Denver I felt like I was going to throw up so I distracted myself by looking out the window at the beautiful clouds that were colored pink and blue because the sun was starting to go down. I looked over to the lady on my left and she was doing videography on her computer. I asked her about her business and she was telling me all about it. She was an extremely nice lady and she was going to Colorado for a business trip from Ireland. She asked me how to get to some places in Colorado so I was able to give her some directions. It was fascinating to meet her and be a witness as well.

 I went off the plane, waited for the rest of the group to catch up with me and then I headed to the restroom to freshen up and see if I could start feeling a little better. I felt a little better afterwards. We all then headed up the escalator and as we reached the top. There was my wonderful family waving a welcome home sign with big smiles on their faces!!! It was SO sweet of them to do that for me and show that kind of love. I felt really special and missed. It was great to see them all finally and give each of them hugs. It was much better seeing them in person rather than talking over Skype. I have never been away from my family that long and I had really missed them.

 We headed to pick up my luggage, said goodbye to all of my choir members and Mrs. Porter, and then we headed out. It was so weird to say goodbye to everyone because we had spent so much time with each other. We all have been through so much together, seen so much, and being together a whole week it kind of felt like we were a mini family. :) My family and I picked up chick-fil-a for dinner on our way home because I was really hungry but I didn’t want much food with not feeling well. While eating dinner, I shared some stories from the trip. I honestly didn’t feel like I was gone for a week and I didn’t even feel like I had just been across the world.

 I can not thank God enough for the opportunity to be able to go to Vienna to sing and share about His truth, word, love, mercy, and forgiveness. If you were one of my prayer and/or financial supporters I thank you again with all my heart for your part in my being able to go. May Father bless you. It was an amazing journey and experience. I keep thanking God for the opportunity that He gave us to sing to the refugees, people on the street, different schools, in Cathedrals, and sing to people from all over the world. His faithfulness and love is just amazing and I was able to experience even more of it on this trip. I pray that He will show us all where to go next and that He will continue to keep building us each up. I want to travel the world, serve Him, and share about His love. I look forward to the future to see what He has planned. As Mrs. Porter was sharing and inspired me one day, “We can see the sights, or we can be the sights.” Let’s keep all of our eyes wide open and listen to what He wants us to do next for our Abba Father.

 

                                                     Mark 16:15, “And He said to them:

Go into all the world and proclaim the

Gospel to the whole creation.” NLT

September 13th pictures!

 The "Konservatorium" that we performed in. Interesting fact: my aunt performed in this same Hall when she was my age.

 Walking to the art museum

 The ceiling when you first walk into the art museum.

 One of the many beautiful paintings in the museum.

 My "little brothers" for the week

 The girls sitting down in the art museum.

 The walls were very tall and filled with paintings in the museum.

 Kira and I :)

 A lady trying to imitate one of the paintings in the museum.

 Sariah and I :)

 Two guys wearing horse coverings while playing the accordion outside the museum.

 Abby, Sariah, Emma #2, Kale, and Kira waiting for the concert to start.

 

 The mandolin orchestra from Italy.

 One of the huge choirs that performed that evening.

 Mrs. Porter holding our choirs diploma in the Indian restraint

 Emma #1 and I full after a tasty Indian meal

 The hall that we performed in.

 Front of the art museum

The art museum sign written in German.