Carnaval de Quebec

When I first heard about Quebec holding their carnival during February, I thought "how genious!" When most places have their carnival in the Springtime near Mardi Gras, Quebec gets all the tourists to come into the city during the slowest month of the year for tourism. What a great way to make money.  But that's only part of the story. As I've gotten to know many Canadians here, they tell me they like winter. One of the coolest things about Canadians is when the weather gets cold, they don't whine about how much it sucks and how they wish could move to some warmer state. Instead, they actually go outside and have fun. When I ride the bus every morning and evening, I see people outside cross-country skiing at parks and athletic fields. The And there are runners on the sidewalks around the city. The outdoor skating rinks are full in the late afternoons. People are strolling the streets with friends. People aren't hiding inside, afraid of getting pneumonia or of slipping and falling on ice. This time of year, it's all about ice. Ice is a good thing. All over the city are fun ice sculptures to celebrate winter and Carnaval.  Here are a few for your enjoyment. :-)

Last Friday night, I went with a bunch of my classmates to Carnaval near the old city. The Carnival lasts for over two weeks.  Before we could go, we had to buy our passes ($12).  Your "Ticket" is an ornament that your tie to the zipper on your jacket.  This year it has a bonnehomme de naige (Snowman) on it and a disco ball over him.  He looks like he's doing a John Travolta move from Saturday Night Fever. The slogan for this year's carnival is "Le Carnaval Vous Fait Danser!" (The Carnival Makes You Dance!)  My roommates ran into this festive pair.  These guys were wearing all of their passes for every year since the Carnaval began.

Just inside the gate were sculptures made of snow, illuminated for the night.  Artists come to Quebec from around the world to make snow sculptures for Carnaval. Then, they have competions.  The artists were out there carving in front of spotlights by night.  One artist from France was making a sculture of an enormous hare standing on top of tortoises. He had the bushiest mustache I've ever seen. It had small icecles hanging off the ends. He'd been out there a bit too long!  He was a little embarrased about the ice on his face as he talked to us :-)

Next ,we passed 2 ice slides that look like rather straight Luge courses. Men & women were going down them on their sleds. There were taller snow slides in the distance. Then, we passed people in their bathing suits and winter hats sitting outside in giant hot tubs, in the snow.  I'd hate to have to get out of one of those to get a towel!  As we approached our final destination, there was a tent with a Bistro inside. In front of it was a place where people were drinking red drinks out of glasses made of ice.  This has become a tradition for Carnaval.

After taking in the sights, we walked into the midst of a crowd of about 1,000 people to watch feux d'artifice (fireworks). That was to kick off the Soiree with a hip Quebecois band up on the big stage.

Most of the crowd were wearing their thick mittens, snowpants and Sorrel-type boots. Some people had colorfull winter "jester" hats for the festival.  Meanwhile, all the tourists, like me, were freezing our butts off in our gloves, jeans and long johns.  The band played awesome hard rock. People sang along in French. The crowd was jumping around to the music and cheering. You can't really clap with your mittens on, right?  This is how they do it!!

Quebec

Port Saint Jean on my walk to school

City Hall

Typical February Evening in Old Quebec

Entrance to Bouchereau Lingua International School

Maria the Dane and Julia the Swiss Miss

Breakfast at Dorothee's with Maria

On the way to Quebec I hit a maze of exits in Montreal. I ended up south of the St. Lawrence river instead of on the north side. Once I realized there were no more signs directing me back to the road I needed, I stopped off at a McDonald's, hoping to find someone who spoke English. Only one worker knew enough English to help me. He looked at my google map, asked me to wait a minute, and came back with a new map in his hands. He had gone to the office in the back & printed me a new google map in English. It had directions from the McDonald's to my host's house near Quebec! This was my first taste of Quebecois kindness.

Dorothee, my host, lives in Sainte Foy, a suburb of Quebec. She has a spacious colonial with all the modern amenities. She is a petite lady who's probably in her mid 60's. She has a accounting business and works from home. She feeds us breakfast and dinner, and she feeds us well! (See Maria at breakfast) On my first morning, she walked me to the bus stop on the edge of her neighborhood and gave me a sheet of paper with perfect directions to the school. My route to school passed by lovely stone and brick houses. Most had beautiful doorways and shutters with old world elegance. I soon discovered there's a love for beauty here akin to that of the French. My bus stop turned out to be just outside the wall of the old city. It was much older than I anticipated! I passed through Porte Saint Jean, an old gate to the city. Along the brick street of St. Jean are cafes, creperies, restaurants, pubs, boulangeries, patisseries, and every kind of shop imaginable. My school, Bouchereau Linga, is located in Le Promenade du Vieux Quebec building. It's on a square facing the grand L'Hotel de Ville (City Hall) and it's not too far from Le Chateau Frontenac. La ville est tres belle!

Bouchereau gave me a very brief placement test, all one minute long, and placed me in the advanced beginner French class. Sylvie is my teacher. So far, I have only one classmate named Gozde. She's from Istanbul, Turkey. Normally the classes have a few more students in them, so I thank God for placing me in this small class. I have lots of individual attention and time to speak in class! Ma professeure est tres stricte. I have to ask her for help in french. Gozde is warm and kind. She's shown me around the old city. Here are some pictures of the city.

This week, I had two housemates who were also students at Bouchereau, Julia from Switzerland and Maria from Denmark. (See the picture of Maria and Julia in front of the Chateau Frontenac). I could only understand about 25% of the French they spoke at dinner. But they, along with Dorothee, were eager to teach me new words. Julia just left on Thursday to begin a new job elsewhere in the Provence. Tomorrow, Maria is going back to Copenhagen to begin her semester of Masters classes. She's also looking for internships in West Africa through the Danish embassy. I'm hoping she'll get one in Senegal. Then, we might be able to see each other sometime in 2010 or 2011 while I'm there. :-)  Thank you Maria for your awesome pictures! Now, I can actually show my friends Julia (I never got her picture) & some cool spots in the city.

Last day here

Last night I went to visit my friend Katherine and her husband Adam. They have an enormous heart for Israel. They quit their jobs in Australia a year ago to move to Jerusalem. They rented an apartment here and lived off their savings while serving the Jewish people here through Bridges for Peace. Katherine is now 12 weeks preganant with their first child. Adam & Katherine are moving back to Australia in a few weeks to serve Zealous in West Australia part-time while Adam works. They hope to come back to serve in Israel again once they have the provision for that. Our visit was very timely. I pray God will provide them with a support team to partner with their ministry. Like me, they come from a small church and are facing similar circumstances. I had a chance to pray for them and bless them and their child before I left.

Today is my last day in Israel for a long time. This morning I'll be going to the Bridges for Peace Office to visit my friend Marnus. He's the current leader of Zealous 8:2. Marnus lead the Christian young adult trip to Israel I was a part of this past June. Katherine works for Marnus. Since Katherine's leaving & he also lost another staff person earlier this year, Marnus is now running 4 departments for Bridges for Peace! He's overextended. He's taking a month off to go back to South Africa with his wife to see friends & family. I was able to pray for him for the Lord to provide more workers and refreshing for him. After visiting Marnus, I walked across town to the Knessett. Got to pray there for a little while. Proclaimed Joel 3, especially verse 12. Now, I'm not really into end times prophesy, but this was a clearly the Lord's direction. Along with this, I prayed that Israel's leaders would not divide the Lord's land.

The Sherut to the airport was surprisingly inexpensive. Nesser Sherut rocks! While waiting at the New Gate, I met a young man from California who was waiting for the same Sherut to the airport. He was dressed like an Orthodox Jewish man with a big bushy beard and a black hat. He soon confessed that he believes in Yeshua HaMeshiach. (Jesus the Messiah). He had some awesome testimonies to share about how he was able to share with the Orthodox community about the greatest rabbi that ever lived. Why? Because of his appearance. Very encouraging. He challenged me to think like the Apostle Paul, who became all things to all men. Why did Paul embrace this philosophy of ministry? Cause it works!

In the Old City

Today was a free day. This morning is the day of Sukkot once a year where the chief Rabbi of Israel gives the Aaronic (priestly) blessing over all the Rabbi's in Israel at the Kotel. All the Jewish people in Jerusalem there from around the world for the pilgrim feast go to pray at the Kotel and listen to the blessing. It was so packed, there was barely room to move. I was in the crowd to experience this solomn and joyous time for the Jewish people and pray for the Lord's blessing and revelation in their lives.

This afternoon, I meet up with friends I made earlier this summer who live in Israel. I saw Tom, the tour guide from my trip this past summer, and my other friend Barry, a Jew who converted to Christianity, at Bidges for Peace's Office. God blessed our time very much. Barry even encouraged me to contact a pastor of a local church in Jerusalem who has a lot of connections here.

Tonight the Eagles' Wings group I prayed/traveled with left for the airport to fly back to the US. They were a tremendous blessing to me, not just through encouragement, but several people handed me cash on the trip to help with my expenses. A couple even said they might be interested in supporting me in the future. After saying goodbye to my friends, I headed to a hostel in the Old City called the Citadel. I'll be here for the last two days of my trip.

The Jewish Connection

I heard a man speak a couple of nights ago. His name is Dan Juster. He is a Jew who received Christ and leads a ministry in Israel. His services and community have a Jewish culture, but they have received Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah and live within the new covenant and the grace of the Lord. Since 1992, he's planted 7 Messianic congregations in Israel and has helped to plant others in Russia, Brazil, and other nations. And guess what? His wife and some of her family are from the Syracuse area. Small world.

Sunday morning we did a prayer walk on the ramparts (walls) of the old city. This is the same path used by the soldiers who defended Jerusalem throughout it's history. We prayed in the Spirit and the Lord gave us many Words for the city.

Sunday night was the International Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem. It was a ceremony celebrating and blessing the prayers from the Body of Christ that went up to God from around the world for Israel that day. The day began with prayers from the church in Japan, Korea, and China, and ended with prayer from the Americas. Many Jewish leaders were present and addressed the crowd, including Rabbi Nekrutman and Rabbi Riskin were there. Please pray God blesses them with peace and revelation and His will will be done through them.

Beit Lehem

Saturday afternoon we crossed the Palestinian border to see our brothers in Bethlehem. Beit Lehem means "House of Bread". This town is the birthplace of King David and King Jesus. A few years ago, Israel had to build a wall between Jerusalem and Bethlehem to protect Israelis from suicide bombers and snipers. God is doing many amazing things in Bethlehem. In the midst of death threats, and church bombings an Arabic pastor there is committed to prayer and fasting. The Lord has healed and delivered many people at his church recently. God has even opened a door for him to reach a much wider Arab audience. The greatest difficulty the Church there is facing is financial. 90% of the church is unemployeed and destitute. Bethlehem has almost no industry apart from tourism and olive wood art/carvings (bought by tourists). These businesses are suffering due to terrorism and the closing of the border. The upper class in the town (teachers and government workers) make ~$700/ month and rent is ~ $500 alone. Please pray for God to provide for the Christians in Bethlehem and help them start new industries that will prosper.

After visiting the church, some of us stopped at the Church of the Nativity, built over a cave. This is the traditional site of Jesus' birth. There is a star in the basement of the church marking the area of the cave below where the local people believe Jesus was born. While we were there a couple of Eastern Orthodox Christians kneeled down to kiss the star (to pay homage).

Gush Etzion and Efrat

We set out early for the Temple Mount. Had a wonderful time there in the morning. Then we descendent through the Lions Gate? to the Tzurim Valley to visit one small part of the largest archaeologist community in the world here in Jerusalem. They are working on finding artifacts around in dirt that was transported there from near the temple mount. 2 ladies in our group found an ancient coin in one of the buckets of dirt they sifted through. Next,we drove to Rama, to the Prophet Samuel's tomb to pray. It's located under an ancient church. Many orthodox men were praying down there in the basement.
From there we went to Gush Etzion. As we came into town, I felt the incredible love of God for the people here. I believe this is one of the places the Lord will have me focus my prayers. I knew this before I found out about the history of the town. Settlers have been killed off or driven away from their farms here on three occasions. In the war in 1967, the people here held back the enemy to protect Jerusalem from being captured. All died. The bunker they fought from is now a national memorial.
We met the director of the Center for Christian Jewish Understanding here. He brought us to his nearby town of Efrat (another name in the Bible for Bethlehem) It is a modern Jewish town right next to Bethlehem. Rabbi Riskin from a the huge Times Square Synagogue left his ministry to the upper eschelons of American Jewish society in the '90's. He said God called him to leave his rich comfortable life to establish this town. He made aliyah to Israel, became a citizen, and lived out in a tent there with his wife and small children while he oversaw the building of this town.
Now, Jews in Israel are not like American Jews. They are more religious and they mistrust Christians. Many of their grandparents are holocaust survivors who warned them never to trust Christians. In Efrat, we shared life in a synagogue and had a bible study together. The leader there shared that many cutting edge Jewish religious leaders are recently beginning to support Jewish relationships with Christians. This is the first time this has happened since Israel became a country in 1948. We witnessed a new thing God is doing in Israel. This is a historic moment in time! God has opened a door that the enemy thought he could keep closed.

the Ascent to Jerusalem

On 9/30 we went to Masada in the morning. This is the old fortress of King Herod, located on the top of a mountain that has a small plateau on it. It overlooks the Dead Sea and the Judean Desert. It's the site of the last stand of the Jewish people against the Romans. For Israelis, Masada stands for freedom like the statue of Liberty for Americans. All Israeli soldiers are sworn in here, where they pledge to defend Israel to the death. It was a Roman military base at the top, and Herod's palace was at the front. We were at the front of Masada looking out over the Judean dessert when I heard a familiar voice. I looked up and saw Tom Brimmer, the guide for my tour in June/July. I had been praying since July that he would run into Robert Stearns, the leader of the group I was with. They are both leaders in the body of Christ in Israel and I believe the Lord wants them to work together. So both of them, who happend to be old friends, saw each other for the first time in years, right before my eyes! :) They also expressed their mutual desire to get together and see if they can work together. That was a very happy moment.
We took a short hike through Ein Gedi, where David hid from King Saul. I was there this past June (see my blog). Got to jump in a pool under a waterfall to cool off from the heat of the desert. Then, we drove South to pray in Jericho. We crossed the Palestinian border. Jericho is the oldest city in the world. We walked up on the Tel (old hill of the ancient city) to pray for it. Just like the Elisha Spring fountain at the base of the Tel, God is bringing life to the city. A ministry has sprung up there recently that is moving in healings, and signs. Muslim residents are coming to know Jesus.

We then ascended from the depths of the Dead Sea to the mountains to Jerusalem, the city of the King of Kings, the city Jesus is returning to! Our hotel is a 10 minute walk from Damascus Gate, the Gate of the Old City on the North side of the wall.

from the Egyptian Border to the Salt Sea

In the morning we crossed the Rabin border into Israel (the promised land). We drove through Eilat to pray on the border of Egypt and headed north. Eilat is famous for Eilat stone, a mixture of Azurite, Malachite, and Turquoise. These are only found mixed together in one stone in Israel. We rode along the Arava valley and came up to Sodom mountain next to the Dead Sea. Between the mountain and the Dead Sea is a plain where, according to local tradition, Sodom and Gomorrah once stood. All around this little green plain is desert. Not much spiritual activity, cause not many people! There's a small agricultural village that was built on the plain in recent times. Could God be lifting the curse left by the inhabitants of the cities? Nearby are large factories that harvest the salts to extract the metals and minerals. These bring Israel tremendous income from selling products like fertilizers and skin products. We spent the evening next to the Sea and overnight in a hotel. There is a very "quiet" culture on the beaches. Israelis and visitors come here for a quiet spa-like vacation. They say the water of the Salt Sea is heals the body. The night here was a welcomed rest from our nonstop 6:00AM-11:00pm schedule.