Volume Two Number Four

- 5.1 pages, 2,661 words -

Delays, Divine?

The ship has a four degree starboard list, and the bow is aimed at the sky. Almost all of our cargo has been discharged – the "almost" causing the list, the "all" causing the shallow draft forward. We have toured the country, made friends with the locals, argued with the longshoremen, and experienced tremendous spiritual growth. We’ll sail away from Israel in just a few days, but even now, I’m sure that I’ll be back. Maybe I’ll return as captain on another voyage of the Spirit of Grace. Maybe I’ll return to spend a few years in seminary, studying the Bible in the land where it was written.

We made landfall on Wednesday, October 4th. Ashdod is the busiest port in Israel and there was no room for us at the pier. We dropped the hook two miles from shore expecting to wait at least through the weekend for a berth to become available. We were all surprised when the call to be ready for the pilot came late Friday morning.

The pilot’s name was Captain Jake and he did not board until the ship was well inside the breakwater, almost alongside the pier. He ran up to the bridge in a mad rush, having given engine orders from the pilot boat, and out of breath, hollered orders to the tugs to hurry up and shove us against the dock. Hardly were our lines out when he shook my hand and bolted from the bridge. We continued the tie up as the sun sank slowly into the Mediterranean. Later I saw that Captain Jake had been aboard for only 19 minutes.

I always thought that Yom Kippur was the big deal holiday in Israel. It is, but as the holiday of seriousness and reflection. It is known as the Day of Atonement, or the Day of Judgment. Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and not feasting. Sukkot, or Tabernacles, is the big deal holiday in Israel of feasting and not fasting. Sukkot is approximately equivalent to Christmas. Sukkot follows Yom Kippur, and Captain Jake was in such a hurry because we were pulling in on Erev Sukkot, his Christmas Eve.

Check this out, from "The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Judaism," pp. 167 – 168.
"Sukkot: Live in a Booth

"From the mountain of Sinai, the Jews began their long trek through the desert. It would take them 40 years until they reached the Promised Land. How can anyone survive for so long in such inhospitable surroundings? From where would the Jews get food and how would they find shelter from the heat of the sun?
"God had to perform one more miracle for the Jews. It would be one that would be repeated throughout the rest of Jewish history – the miracle of Divine Providence. Sukkot is the holiday that commemorates Jewish survival in the face of impossible odds. Jews miraculously made it through the desert because of God’s special care. And Jews made it through thousands of years of subsequent wandering in countries just as unwelcoming as the desert because God continued to show his ongoing love and protection.
"During those 40 years, right after the Jews had received the Torah, God fed the Jews with bread from the sky, called manna. (That’s where we get the expression "manna from heaven.") And for protection from the harsh sun, clouds followed the Jews wherever they traveled. Jews want to remember this miracle. Instead of just talking about it, though, they go one step further – they re-enact it.
"Sukkot (plural of sukkah) means "huts." On this holiday, observant Jews, even those who live in the most magnificent mansions, build frail little huts in which they "live" during the entire eight days of the holiday. In warmer climates, many Jews not only eat but also sleep in the sukkah. In more frigid lands, eating all one’s meals there is sufficient. The point is to exchange the security of a house for a frail structure, which makes you realize that your ultimate protection comes from God."

So, maybe the exact day of our arrival was significant, and not just the random consequence of accidental hurricane timing. Think what you will, I choose to accept the idea that God was directly involved in orchestrating the moment of our arrival. This encourages me not to freak out when events don’t happen exactly as I have planned them.

Events, as I had planned them, included the immediate and rapid discharge of our cargo upon arrival. This has been anything but the case, on both counts. Delays have been encountered in almost every aspect of this trip and I am gradually coming to terms with God’s timetable being different than mine. The delays have been positive in virtually every regard, almost as if God knew what He was doing.

Touring

While waiting to unload, Friend Ships arranged for the crew to participate in three days of organized tours of Israel. The first day took us to Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee. I was given the tremendous privilege of reading the Sermon on the Mount near the very place where Jesus Himself delivered it. The songs of the birds rang out with clarity as I read about the Heavenly Father feeding them. The colors of the bougainvillea seemed especially brilliant as I read about the Heavenly Father clothing the flowers of the field. I will always remember reading the Beatitudes on the Mount of Beatitudes as a highlight of my first trip to Israel.

We went on a whirlwind tour of Jerusalem on the second day. It’s still hard for me to process the reality of gazing at the Holy City, a place with so much history, and the center of so much strife. Jeru Salem means City of Peace, though it seems to have been anything but, remaining so until this day. The day after our tour was the last Friday of Ramadan, and there was a riot outside the Old City. The Israeli Defense Force refused to admit Muslim males under the age of 45 to the Temple Mount because they are known as rabble rousers. Rabble was then roused as rocks and sticks flew with violence and the Muslims screamed in anger, "We are not rabble rousers!"
There is still so much that I want to see in Jerusalem – Golgotha, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, the Temple Mount – and what I did see, I want see again in less of a hurry.

The third day of touring took us to the caves of Qumran, the heights of Masada, and the shores of the Dead Sea. When the Scrolls of Isaiah were discovered in Qumran, most people did not think they were significant because the lettering and content of the scrolls was no different from contemporary manuscripts. Only as the age of the scrolls was discovered to be 2000 years did the significance begin to emerge. God’s Word remains the same!

Masada is not something you’ll read about in the Bible, but is still momentous in the history of the Jews. Masada is an isolated plateau fortification that served as the last stand of the Jews against the Romans in AD 72. It wasn’t until 1948 that the Jews were able to call Israel their home again.

The Dead Sea is 1300 feet below sea level. Compare this to the 282 feet below sea level of Death Valley in California. A visit to the Dead Sea is impossible to describe with words; the saltiness, oily feel of the water, stinging sensation and buoyancy must be experienced to be understood. There was nothing spiritual about it, but it was the most fun I had during all of our touring.
Later, with the new second mate and his rental car, I saw Haifa and Mt. Carmel. It was at Mt. Carmel that God answered Elijah’s call for fire from heaven. Elijah’s sacrifice was consumed while nothing at all happened to the sacrifice of the prophets of Baal. In Haifa, the food was so good that I ate until I almost popped. You haven’t lived until you’ve had the hummus, tahina, falafel and pita of the Holy Land. Yum!

People

Sahar is a dark haired beauty who works as an immigration police officer within the Port of Ashdod. She and her friend, Ronit, were the ones who cleared the ship upon arrival. We had been warned that immigration and customs and security officials in Israel were hard nosed and meant business and that clearing the ship was going to be rough. As a result, we were totally unprepared for the officials to flirt heavily with the captain. Yes, that would be me. I got a phone number out of the deal, and I hadn’t even set foot on the pier.

The delays in discharging the cargo permitted me to spend some time with my new Israeli friends. Sahar and Ronit were joined by Shalhevet, a girl who works at Port Control, and then by Natan and Moshe, the captain and chief engineer of the tug boat Shimshon. Relationships have developed into true friendship. They have joined us for dinner on the ship, and a few of us have had dinner with them at their homes with their families. We have laughed out loud, exchanged language lessons, and talked about spiritual issues.

I have not always been as devoted in my relationship to God as I am now. Through college I felt uncomfortable if I heard someone curse God, but that plumbed the depths of my relationship to Him. A well meaning friend tried relentlessly to persuade me to repent and "get right with God." My relationship with God did not improve as a result of these efforts; I only withdrew from the friend who tried to jam God down my throat.

Bearing this experience in mind, as desperate as I am to see others walk in a closer relationship with God, I try not to shove Him into their faces. As opportunities have presented themselves, I have tried to share God’s love with Sahar and Shalhevet and others, but I have not tried to force them to a decision. The decision now would be rejection of me and of Messiah. God alone can draw them to Himself, maybe the best I can do is not get in the way. Just being here in Israel on this mission provokes people to think, and that might be enough for a start.

Press

Word of the ship and our purpose in Israel reached the local Ashdod paper about three weeks after our arrival. We granted them an interview, and soon we were on Israel TV channel 2 also. Shortly after, the Associated Press asked for an interview, and the article was carried in something like 50 newspapers around the world. I read the article in the Jerusalem Post and I understand it was in the Taipei Times, LA Times and Washington Post as well. This is not to mention the many different websites that carried the article. Try goggleing "Spirit of Grace Ashdod Israel."

Overall, the coverage was positive and primarily asked the Israeli bureaucrats why it was taking so long for us to discharge the cargo. It gave us a chance to explain why we had come to Israel – we bring a gift a friendship, not a cargo of aid. We wish to express our solidarity with the people of Israel, God’s Chosen, and reassure them that there are people who love them. Actions speak louder than words, so we sailed our WWII cargo ship across the ocean and shouted our concern. I personally love the Jews because Judaism is my spiritual heritage. Jesus is a Jew. I am a wild olive branch grafted in to the true olive tree. I am a spiritual son of Abraham, a spiritual Jew.
Feedback to the articles, as seen in replies posted on the Jerusalem Post and HaAretz websites ran the gamut. Most people supported our efforts, but others said they hope we sink on the trip back. Some Orthodox Jews said we came with cargo only as a pretense to evangelize, but that has not been an accurate charge. We have only answered the questions of the curious, and shared to the limit of curiosity. One person accused us of being Jews trained to act like Christians and coming with the agenda of overthrowing the Palestinians.

Cargo Discharge

The press coverage injected a remarkable amount of zip into the customs office here in Israel. We opened the holds and started unloading on November 2nd. As the hatch covers came off and the densely packed palletized cargo below was revealed, the longshoremen could be heard uttering cries of "lo tov!" This is Hebrew for "no good!"

Unloading our cargo has been a challenge (zeh etgar) every step of the way. Our pallets are not all the same size or shape, and packing them so close together makes it difficult to get straps under them. If just one topples, it can make a big mess that takes a long time to deal with. Some items are inherently difficult to handle, like ceramic floor tiles and rolls of vinyl tarp. Israelis are bold and vociferous, and can be opinionated and loud. Perhaps this is especially so when it comes to longshoremen.

I have been studying Hebrew since we sailed away from Lake Charles. It is the most difficult language I have ever studied, even harder than Japanese. I’m trying to learn to read it as well, but with the exception of the Scriptures, there are no clues to vowel sounds in the words. Imagine this very sentence written without vowels, and you have an idea what I’m up against. (Mgn ths vry sntnc wrttn wtht vwls, nd y hv n d wht m p gnst.)

My efforts have been rewarded, however. The demeanor of the longshoremen changes immediately from aloof and gruff to friendly and comical. They have helped me study, taught me new phrases, and then asked more about why we’re doing what we’re doing. Shlomi brought a Hebrew phrase book and a big tub of hummus for me. Eron brought some of his grandmother’s candied eggplant, and Etai seems to hang around even when he is not on duty.
We work two shifts a day, 0630 to 1400 and 1500 to 2230. A different longshore crew comes for each shift, so we see a new batch each time. It has taken us long enough, however, that we’re seeing some crews a second time, and other individuals mix in with the crews so that we’ve seen them three times or more. It’s actually pretty fun to be greeted with a huge smile and big wave or handshake each time. Israel has not been anything like I have expected it, especially when it comes to the people.

Final Days

Today is the Sabbath, and I honored it by sleeping in until 1000. We’ll resume cargo discharge on Sunday, and will likely finish on Monday. Tomorrow, Sunday night, we’re having a farewell shindig on the hatch covers of hold three. The Wounded Soldiers are coming to thank us for our efforts and will sing a few songs for us. Port Officials, the Ashdod Rotary, maybe the mayor, and all the friends we’ve made will be there.

The crew is anxious to get underway again and get back home. We all want to be back in time for Christmas, and I in particular want to get my chief engineer and his wife back home in time for their granddaughter’s wedding on December 15th. We’ll require favorable wind and currents and the favor of God. If you’re the praying sort, please don’t forget us during this final month of the Mission to Israel, 2006.

Thank you for all of your support and your emails. Please forgive for not replying individually yet as internet access is hard to obtain and I’ve been pretty busy.

God Bless you, I mean it.

Jake