From Israel to Egypt: Slides & Stories
Evacuating the Middle East during a time of war
We were able to record and upload the video from the other night, where I shared about:
My trip to Israel
Conversations and experiences I had
How God asked me to pray
God’s heart for Jews and Muslims
What it was like to be there during wartime
Many other things!
I went to Israel because I feel the Lord sent me and gave me His heart to pray for the people there. He told me He wasn’t asking me to have opinions on politics or the government, but to focus on love for people. I went because He wanted me to sow my tears into the region, and to declare His Kingdom, which is one not like the kingdoms of this world. You can read more about the story behind it here. Though I’ve always wanted to see sacred biblical sites, what this trip ended up being and what’s come because of it has been no easy ask. But I wouldn’t choose anything other than to obey Him.
Before you go to the video link, there are a few discrepancies or things I want to note from my talk:
I talk about “being there 11 days” — what I mean is that I was away from home for 11 days, including all of my travel to and from, plus days in Israel and Egypt.
I know that there are various interpretations of Romans 11, and I welcome hearing from anyone who would like to share theirs with me! For now, I feel compelled to contend for the fullness of that chapter by praying for the descendants of Jacob, who was renamed Israel (so I’m talking about people here), and for those descended from the ones who were first given the covenant and the promises, from whom our Jesus came, to see clearly their true Messiah. Because they are still waiting, as I witnessed up close and personal!
I reference Rev 20 (around 13:40), but mean Rev 22.
Orthodox Jews (15:00) don’t pray all night; they pray 3x per day. On this flight, many of the men were getting up at different times to fulfill that, so it felt like someone was praying at all times throughout the night. The plane was VERY active with the men doing their prayers!
I mention the Jewish woman on the plane talking about persecution of her people since “the beginning of time,” but what was said was “all throughout time.” (She was referring to what’s been called in history, “the longest hatred,” with ancient Roman and Babylonian exiles, Haman in Persia, medieval European crusades, Spanich Inquisition, blood libels, expulsions from England and Spain, Russian pogroms, and Nazi extermination, etc.)
Not all of us 120 women were in Paul’s cell at the same time—we took turns!
The Orthodox Jewish man’s cap is called a “kippah.”
The reason it took 10 hours to drive through the Sinai Peninsula was because of all of the precautions and checkpoints we had to go through.
I mentioned that the Egyptian gas workers wanted to show us solidarity; I meant in our group’s plight to get out of a region in war.
A further note on when I talk about the variations in Islam: The Qur’an is in classical Arabic, not modern Arabic, which makes it harder for many Muslims to fully understand. A significant number of Muslims, while they recite lines from it in prayer, do not read the Qur’an with a translation, so they often do not know what it is saying.
Someone asked me if we actually saw the missiles—YES. I have videos from outside our hotel, and below is just one heading toward Tiberias. We saw them, we felt them, we heard them, we smelled them.
Many Thanks
Thank you to my husband, Matt Shaw who supported me from the very beginning and all the way through—not just with his prayers and excitement for me, but with very practical heavy lifting on the home front (before, during, and after my trip). Thank you to the York County Prayer team, who rocked it back home in being present in the prayer room—leading workshops and gatherings, praying with people, staffing, cleaning, watering plants, taking out trash.
Thanks to those of you who were able to come out and hear about my trip. Thank you to Old Town Church for the use of your building for this event, and to Debbie Garrick and Emily who helped things run so smoothly.
Thank you to the countless others of you who were praying for me while I traveled, including Lakeshore Christian Fellowship, who rallied and had many at the altar praying for us. Thanks to all of my friends and family, so many of you, who gave generous gifts to support my trip. Thank you to the countless ones of you who sent me scriptures and encouragement while I was there and when I got back. Thanks to my parents, who were such a support to me. Thanks to many in my 24-7 Prayer family, especially on the broader national team, for how you prayed for me and cheered my safe return. Thanks to the women and leaders I was on the trip with; so many of you were such a gift. And thanks to those who are interested, even if mildly, in what this trip stirred in me!
Much love to all of you guys…
Video HERE.