We leave for NY early tomorrow morning.

Let me start with an update from last week when I had no access to internet.

Last week we had interactions with people who were to busy doing drugs to care about anything we had to say.

However that being said the L-rd made us available to a few key people who really had questions about what we believed, and we ended up giving out multiple new testaments.

This last week we were on an All guys team. Hiking all around, it was a really great growing experience as well as a very difficult and dark time for us as I mentioned the people who didn’t want anything to do with us.

I will try to give more details in a different blog post, right now I want to talk about how amazing this trip has been after I tell you about this morning;

This morning we arrived in Delhi and I went to bed around 6am because our bus had just dropped us off. When I woke up I felt really Ill and cold, even though Delhi is a extremely humid and hot place. Thankfully I went back to bed, turned off our AC and Fans and put on really warm cloths and got up around 3ish, being all sweaty, and no longer being cold, but needing to put something in my body to give me energy because I felt very weak. So Praise Y’sh’a that this illness hasn’t been a very long ordeal (I think) I still feel a bit ill.

Now onto the partial unpacking of what happened on this trip.

This 10 week Journey has been a wonderful and great ride and I am really appreciative of the fact that it exists, and all the people who have helped it become what it is right now, I also look forward to where this trip will go in the future…

Many difficult and wonderful things have taken place on this trip, and through it all the L_RD has provided for me in each and everyone.

From the long grueling hikes we were on last week, to the adventures we had in Israel and the people we met and friends we’ve made both on this trip with me and the people we encountered along the way. I am truly glad that Y’sh’a called me to this trip this summer.

Although this trip is over, The season that follows when I arrive home will be another journey that I am excited and ready for, and I know it too has hardships along the path but I look forward to tackling them as they appear.

I am sad to be leaving the people who have become such an amazing family to me in these past 10 weeks but also and happy to part ways from them that I might see how this trip will allow their changed lives to bear fruit in the different paths all of us are about to go on.

I am happy that we are going back to the states but saddened by knowing that I will be leaving 6 wonderful friends I have made behind. As they continue on with the call that G-D placed on their lives for these next 4 months.

This trip has really opened my eyes and helped me gain a new perspective on evangelism, life, living a life of evangelism, and also shown me what I need to work on next in my LIFE LONG journey to knowing and growing closer to Y’sh’a.

It gives me great joy to know I have such an encouraging community behind me. And as hard as this trip has been looking back on all the things that have been accomplished for “The Kingdom” and in my life, make all the hardships that my community and I have been through, worth it.

Before coming on this trip I knew that I would be changed when I went home but I didn’t know that it would be so drastic, the next issue on this journey will be not falling into the boxes and routine things that I used to do.

I want to thank all of our Supporters who have been praying for us and helped us come on such an amazing Massah Trip.

I pray that all of you will be blessed imensely for all the support you’ve given us.

This post seems very unorgainized but I hope that joy I have from this trip and appreciation I have for you helping us on this trip comes across.

In HIS Divine and Perfect Mercy

~Jonathan

From Dehli

Here we are again in Dehli. I can’t believe the end has finally come. This trip has been way more than I expected in so many ways. It has changed my life…for the better. I’ve learned so much and have 12 new friends that will probably be in my life for the rest of my life.

The past few days have been the most altering for me. We were in Shimla (a very nice touristy town where many wealthy Indians live), able to relax and recap our time in Israel and India, focusing mainly on our time in India the past few weeks. It was so amazing to hear about everybody else’s experiences in different Northern Indian villages and how God worked through them in ministry and changed them spiritually, emotionally, physically…and probably other ways As a group we discussed the difficult aspects of this trip as well as the fun and easy parts.  I really valued the time we had there as Massah Aleph and Beit, to worship, debrief, and talk about life now and when we get back to the States.  I appreciated our discussion about how we see God has changed us.

Coming into this summer, I expected God to change me, but I had no idea how He would do that. I thought maybe I’d learn more about Judaism and Israeli culture and get more comfortable doing evangelism. Yes, God did all those things, but even more, He has shaped the way I think and respond in certain situations. My life can’t be polarized into two realities–the first being how I am at church or in a spiritual context, and the second being how I am in “real life.” They’re one, and I am a whole person,  and the way I am in “real life” must include all of who I am, especially my identity in Y’shua. Evangelism isn’t just for the occasional summer mission trip or church- organized outreaches.  Sharing the Gospel is part of who I am and how I live my life and I want it to be spilling out of me uncontrollably because of how God has changed my life and because of a desire to share that with others.

I am just so grateful for the time that I have had here in India and in Israel. It’s been one of the most pivotal times in my life and I hope I never forget that.

It’s going to be SO hard to say good bye to my close friends on the Beit/Mobile team, who will be staying here for another 4 months, but I am so proud of them all for obeying the Lord and sacrificing so much to serve Him.

Please pray for safe travels as we fly to New York tomorrow and then split off to go home to various states.  Thank you SOOOOOO much for all your support and love. It has been so encouraging and uplifting.

In His holy and mighty Name,

Shaina Rachel Rosett

I LOVE it here in India. I’m on a team with Aaron Trank, Abbie, Barry and Ben and we’re doing great here in Ladakh area. It’s so beautiful here and sometimes I forget that I’m in India.

The past few days here have been quite successful and memorable, but I want to focus on our day yesterday.

We woke up early to go to a religious festival that we heard about from some Israelis up in Peonk (about a 30 minute drive). We were probably at about 11,500 feet or more. It was interesting to see, but we didn’t stay long. We got back into town, had lunch, and then went to a cafe that we heard about called Desert Rain. Almost every day of the week there’s a Christian fellowship that meets there, so we decided to go. It was a humble gathering with 6 members. The leaders are a blind couple that have been married for 2 years. They led worship on the guitar and then read from the braille Bible the story in Mark 16 about Jesus healing the blind man. The man mixed in his testimony as well, explaining how he became blind and used to be paralyzed, but God healed him. We introduced ourselves and after the fellowship the couple invited us to go to their “quarters” to visit with them. We took a 20 minute taxi ride to their home, which is on the property of a school where they teach 10 blind students. They were so hospitable and kind, offering us Mountain Dew, cookies, and curry snack. After an hour of visiting, we thought we were done, but then they invited us to tour around the school property. We met 3 of the blind students and one little boy sang a few songs for us. They are learning English well and they go through mobility training to learn how to walk confidently without a walking stick. The little boy was even playing soccer!

After our tour, they invited us to stay for dinner. We hung out in another room watching VH1 music videos as we waited for dinner. Overall, it was amazing to see how generous and kind they were to us, even though their home was no bigger than my dorm room and the woman’s mother and niece live with them as well.  I learned a few new cultural differences and was able to catch on quickly to them. We were there until about 9:30 pm. It was definitely an unexpected series of events, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

God is continuing to teach me patience and contentment with what I have. I’m realizing more and more how selfish and greedy I can be, especially in comparison to a Christian blind couple who live on almost nothing, yet are so in love with Jesus.

Please pray for a few member of our team who have been sick today. Fortunately none of us have really experienced altitude sickness, so continued prayer for safety and health would be much appreciated.

THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH for all your support.

Love,

Shaina

First of all, my apologies for not writing sooner than now. Life here has been pretty busy. I have been wanting to give an update on what we’ve been doing, but then one week turned into two, and it would just be a lot for me to write EVERYTHING that we have been doing.

Tomorrow we leave for India…and I’m excited, as well as a little bit nervous to experience a different country and culture. Part of me feels prepared because of the extensive talks we’ve had with our leaders and with the Beit team, who went last year or the year before, and then the other part of me is unknowing and anticipating it all. It feels like this whole time in Israel has just been the build up or the platform for what is going to happen in India. The last few evangelism times we’ve had here in Israel have been great and really encouraging to me that it’s never about what I can do, but all about what God wants to do.

Last night we had an amazing time for us to encourage each other as a team. Each person from our team (including our leaders) got a chance to sit in the “hot seat” and we all encouraged that person. I know for me, I felt SO loved and uplifted by everyone. God has truly blessed our team with a variety of personalities, gifts, and strengths. Last night was a good picture of how the Lord brings different people together to be one body. How beautiful! I’m SO excited to see how God works through each of us for His glory.

Keep us in your prayers as we embark on a new part of this adventure. Please pray for safe and smooth travels and painless backs

Love,

Shaina

The Amazing Race:

So let me start from the beginning. On Wednesday we were told that we were going to Be’er Sheva to go camping in the Negev. I was all packed and ready to go. I even wore long pants to ride the camel! All of Aleph and Bet were together and we sang a few songs in worship. ALL OF A SUDDEN a video starts playing on the screen and everyone except the Aleph team leaves and it starts with Aaron going “So we told you that you’re going to Be’er Sheva…but we haven’t told you how you’re getting there.” and the rest of the video was the Bet team explaining the Amazing Race that were going to do.

We were in 3 teams of 4. I was the team leader of Team 1 with Dan, Tamar, and Ben. We opened our first task and were off running through Tel Aviv. It was so much fun to bond with my team and do funny things like make a 30-second musical video on Rothschild Blvd. and play leap frog on a busy street. All of this had to be documented on our digital video camera by the way. Just when we thought we were done, we went to the location on our last clue. There waiting for us were Rachelle and Remy ready to give us the next set of tasks for JERUSALEM!! We booked it over to the bus station and took the hour long bus ride to Jerusalem. By this time we were all tired and it was so hot outside. PLUS, our task was to go to Me’a Shareem (most orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem)…and Tamar was wearing shorts! After trying to chase down a few buses, we started to walk and then we took a taxi to the neighborhood. Dan had an extra pair of basketball shorts in his bag so Tamar put those on so at least her knees were covered…she was still uncomfortable with the thought of offending the people in Me’a Shareem. The taxi driver took us way into the heart of the neighborhood and it was looking more and more dense with Orthodox Jews…women dressed in long skirts and long-sleeved shirts and men dressed in long black coats and hats. By this point Tamar is crying in the back seat of the taxi and I didn’t know what to do. The taxi driver stopped and I made a quick decision to just have Dan and Ben go do the task while Tamar and I stayed in the car, but our driver had to go! So we all got out, Ben and Dan tried to do the task, and Tamar and I stood on the street anxiously looking for another taxi. Tamar was sobbing and it only got worse when an orthodox drove up next to us on the street and angrily talked to us in Hebrew. Tamar understood and said that he called us “filth,” which only added to the anxiety of the situation as young girls walked passed us staring and men steered clear of us. By the grace of God we finally hailed a taxi and rushed in without completing the task, which we really didn’t care much about at that moment. We finished the tasks in Jerusalem and then found out we had to get ourselves to Be’er Sheva as well! In short, we were the last team to arrive in Be’er Sheva, but it was such a relief to see everyone again. We had a nice dinner and spent the night at a church.

The Negev:

Our next adventure was in the Negev. On Thursday morning we rode camels (Tamar and I rode a camel that we named Sally) and experienced the desert like true Bedowins After much driving around, checking out craters and Ben Gurion’s memorial site, we made it to the campgrounds, where we set up camp and took a nice nap. We had an AMAZING worship time under the stars and the Holy Spirit was totally moving in all of our hearts.

THE HIKE!

Woke up at 5:45am to go on a hike. I was really looking forward to it because of what people had said about last year’s hike, but I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. We hiked the tallest bluff in the Negev called Mt. Ardon (I’m pretty sure) in the HEAT of the desert. Isaac and I were in front leading the way and I was feeling pretty good….and THEN we started going up a pretty steep part. My heart was beating so fast and it felt like it was gonna jump out of my chest, not to mention that I felt like my legs were gonna fall off! BUT with much encouragement, I made it to the top and was able to catch my breath. It was such a beautiful view, which made me a little upset that my camera is broken. Then! we had to go up a little bit more before we headed down, which was crazy too, but definitely more fun then going up. I felt so good when we all finally made it to the bottom. What an accomplishment! YAY! After a cold shower and a hearty lunch, I felt even better.

What’s more is that when we got back to the Hostel from such a long 3 days away, we found out that we were going to do street evangelism from 11pm-1am. It was a little bit shocking, but it was definitely a huge test in trusting God to be our strength. We went out in our Amazing Race teams along with some of the Bet team as our leaders which was SO encouraging and so many of us had really good conversations with people! God totally worked in our weakness and spoke through us.

The Finish Line:

When we got back at 1am from b’soor, Talia announced the winners of the Amazing Race and….. WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was only by a few points that we beat the two other teams (who coincidentally had a tie). Our prize was a VIP movie, which is basically dinner and movie worth 120 shekels (about 30 bucks!). WE went last night to the VIP movie and saw The Proposal haha

Anyway, this week is going to be pretty packed as well. Keep us in your prayers for strength and energy to press on.

Love,

Shaina

This past week has been exciting, informative, fun, heart-breaking, and exhausting. We started Hebrew classes on Sunday, which have been a lot of fun for me. I love our teacher Noa and I am already learning a lot from her.  We do Hebrew Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday from 10:o0-12:30.

We had a few sessions on Israeli culture and history this week, as well as some tours around Jerusalem, Haifa, and Ceasarea. We went to the Valley of Elah (where David killed Goliath), and the Gezer. In Jerusalem we went to the Western Wall and prayed. I wasn’t sure what to feel. It was amazing to actually be there because it is so often talked about, but I felt such a strong spirit of emptiness and incompleteness. There were women weeping and praying so fervently and it was really sad to know that they don’t know Y’shua. I put a prayer in the wall asking God to reveal Himself and His Son to His people.

A few days ago when we were in Haifa and Ceasarea, we visited the ministry Tents of Mercy. Marty and Eitan were really encouraging and passionate for the Lord. They prayed for us and I was so overwhelmed by God’s love and mercy that I began to cry. I felt like I experienced a piece of how God’s heart breaks for His people and how He so desires them to be drawn to Himself. The rest of that day I kind of felt empty too…and a little defeated in a way. It might have been a spiritual attack, but God definitely used it to help me focus on Him and pray. We were at the beach and it was so cool to be able to enjoy God’s creation and just walk and pray by myself. It also helped me to process my thoughts with Remy (my counterpart/brother). He speaks my language and gets me most of the time. I realized (with the help of my best friend) that even if I don’t experience some amazing spiritual encounter with God and FEEL something, God is still working and changing and molding me. No doubt, I’m going to come out of this summer changed and new, whether I think it happened or not. Thank you Jesus!

I love you all,

Shaina

The past few days we have been doing street evangelism, which is a totally new subject for me. I was so completely intimidated and nervous about the whole thing when we started on Sunday. I felt so little and insignicant. Why would God want to use me when I feel so inadequate and ill-equipped to share the gospel? At the end of the first day I even broke down crying in a mall (typical for me haha) because I was so overwhelmed with these feelings of inadequacy. There was a point when I even questioned the fact that I’m even here…kind of dramatic, but it’s true.

But God has transformed a lot of things for me. I’m seeing that it’s SO NOT about me! Duh! Yes, I’m little (in every sense of the term), but I think that’s why God wants to use me…because His power will be shown so much greater and his glory so much brighter. In these last few days I have felt the most humbled and dependent than I have ever felt and I believe that’s exactly where God wants me to be.

Today was a lot more encouraging. We went to Tel Aviv University where it was actually pretty slow and I think I only had one interaction with someone, which wasn’t even a full conversation. Later, when Aaron was tallying the conversations and interactions I told him that I had only one and he genuinely said “That’s really good, Shaina!” It kind of took me by surprise because I was listening to everyone else say that they had a lot of conversations. But it definitely encouraged me because it showed that this whole mission that we’re after isn’t ONLY about numbers. It’s the fact that one person who might not have had any contact with the gospel and the concept of Y’shua as the Meshiach experienced  a bit of truth because of a simple interaction that lasted about 3 seconds.

Later tonight we went to some busier streets to pass out tracts and talk to people. God totally proved Himself faithful and answered so many prayers. Many of our team members, including myself, had quality conversations with people about Y’shua and challenged their beliefs in a positive way. I’m excited to pray for them and hopefully hear about them seeking out Y’shua more. I hope to stay in contact with them through facebook or email.

One interesting thing: My neck was hurting so badly on Sunday and Monday. I thought it was because I slept on it wrong or something. It was just really tight and sore. Last night we had an amazing worship time that was really spontaneous and I realized today that my neck doesn’t hurt anymore! I believe that God gave me the grace to surrender my feelings of fear and inadequacy (huge burdens to carry) completely to Him. Thank you Jesus!

Thank you all for your prayers. More later!

Love,

Shaina

I can’t believe I’m actually here. It’s taken a few days to actually settle in, and I think it might take longer to get completely acclammated to the culture, etc.  One of the hardest things is not knowing the language. Sometimes I feel like a little kid, not being able to understand anybody, and them kinda looking at me like I’m incompetent and a stupid American. Most Israelis speak english though, so that’s a huge blessing.

Yesterday, we went to the Shuk (pronounced shoe-k), which is the outdoor market. They have everything there: food, clothes, toiletry items, souvenir type things, and more. We did a short orientation session and learned about the heart of Massah and basics of team dynamics. I can’t wait to bond more with my 11 other teammates. They are all amazing and I think we’ve already started to mesh really well.

Today we had a consecration service. The Massah Beit team prayed over us and anointed us with oil. I am so grateful that God has brought us all here. We’re all so different and have a variety of gifts and skills to bring to the group. I know that I will learn a lot from each of them.

Thanks for all your prayers. Stay connected and know that I love you all.

-Shaina Rosett