"Come."

25/5/08

While worshipping God at our church camp, I had a vision of God standing in the door with open arms saying "Come". The following day we were praying for the needs of the world so I prayed that God would open the doors that were set hard against His word...that he would open the closed doors so that the aid would get to the places where it was needed. After the weekend on the way to work I spoke out the bible verse, declaring it: "Open up you ancient doors and let the King of glory come in". The following Saturday the Canberra Times newspaper had the following headline: "Burma opens door to aid workers at last".

A few days later I turned the Christian TV channel on and the "Door of Hope" program was on. The preacher was saying "Come to Israel". They had a volunteer program helping refugees.

I had been asking God where He wanted me to go as I am considering retiring next year and have some paid leave due. My husband is retiring then and wants to go back to New Zealand but I do not.

.....About a year prior to this I had begun thinking how pleasant it was living in Canberra, when 3 times in the one day I heard the same message...the same story twice and the same message 3 times. It was the story about a frog who was sitting in a well and thought he had everything he needed. One day he jumped out and found that there was a wonderful and bigger world outside the well.....so my time in Canberra was coming to an end.....but going back to New Zealand didn't feel like going to a bigger place.....

A few weeks previously I had had a word from God saying "Behold I am doing a new thing. Can't you see it". I told God I couldn't. I am recovering from my 5th car accident and last week the psychologist said I should learn something new. This seemed right to me...God doing a new thing and me doing a new thing too. I asked God what I should learn. I used to want to learn Hebrew and I thought about that, but thought it would be too hard. It would be easier to learn it if I went to Israel. I decided to do an online search to see what university level subjects I could learn locally. The Hebrew looked difficult so I did an online search to see if there was something simpler to start with. I found a free online program and started learning the spoken English letter translations. What a great little program....a very effective teacher. I learnt a range of animals in the first session, the colours in the second and some greetings in a third.

As I pondered about going to Israel, enthusiasm began to stir within me. I thought I would investigate the idea of going to Israel as a volunteer with the Living Bread Church, whose web address I had seen on "The Door of Hope" program. So I sent an email to them asking about food - I am diabetic and wondered if the food would be suitable. I received an email back saying they do a lot of fasting. I thought "I cannot fast as I need regular food to keep my sugars level at present". But I knew that God would enable me to do what he wants me too. I was thinking about not being able to fast on the way to church and heard on the Christian radio the message about Ether fasting and praying before going in to get an audience with the King, saying "If I die I die" So I said I am willing to go and if I die I die. When I got to church the bible reading was Isaiah 58:

"Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? "Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter? When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of God (the existing one) shall be your reward." (a range of translations)

The preacher preached about fasting and prayer as a call for the upcoming week.....

I began listening to "The Door of Hope" TV program and each week Karen, the preacher spoke of Israel as a "good land".....I rememberd the bible verse God had spoken to me through (Deuteronomy 8:7-8). Was Israel the "good land" God had promised to bring us to?