שלום

  This is it. I'm in Israel.

  I don't even know how to describe it. The only adjective coming to my mind right now: breath-taking. This is nothing like what I expected. No matter where you are standing, there is an awesome view. Maybe because of the fact that it's all hills and valleys here, so most of the time you're at the top of a hill over-looking miles and miles of holy land.

View of Old City, Jerusalem from Mt. of Olives

  That's a picture (or a bunch of pictures put together rather) of when we went for a walk around

In King Hezekiah's water
tunnel

Jerusalem. We met up with our contact here and he took us to the city of David, where King Hezekiah's water shaft is, the one where King David went up through with his mighty men to capture the fortress. It was about a 45 minute walk through shin high water and it was pitch black, we had to use flashlights. It was so mind-blowing to think that in that same little tunnel we were walking through, about 3,000 years ago, the only one in the Bible to be called a man after God's own heart came up to conquer the city where he built the tabernacle of God where His presence rested. And it's like that everywhere here, there's so much history everywhere you look.

Wailing wall

  We went to the wailing wall where thousands of jews gather to pray to the God of Israel. They come here because this is the closest they can get to the temple Solomon built for God to dwell, where the Holy of Holies was. The temple is under muslim control so they can't go in. God's presence is so thick in this place (wailing wall). They come here to memorize and recite the Torah (five books of Moses) for hours on end. It's heart-breaking to think, they know God so well, yet they fail to know Jesus his Son. All I could pray while we were there, was that God would open their eyes, that he would give them eyes to see and ears to hear. I kept repeating these words over and over until we left. And that is something we all need to pray constantly, that is why we gentiles are saved, for the sake of them.

  We've been here for a week now. We just settled in Caleb Company's apartment (read previous post), before this we had to stay for a few days in other friends' apartment. So far we have been getting to know the land and the culture, visiting the biblical places, and it's really making the Bible come alive. God's been showing us more and more of what He feels for these people. This week though is going to be more ministry oriented. I'm not sure what this is going to be like since the leaders for the week always let the rest of us know what we're doing the night before.
  Thanks for reading! Please be praying for us! That people might know we're Christians by our love. That God would soften their hearts, open their eyes, open their ears. And anything else you can think of and that God might remind you.

אני אוהב אתכם

-חוליו-

P.S.

If you ever get the chance to go to Israel, take it.

Tennessee Y'all

  Our time in the US is over with. We only have a few more hours in this country.

  But thanks to Nashville, we're so much more prepared for Israel. They taught us a lot about God's heart for Israel and their purpose. Like all the prophecies about Israel in the books of the prophets and the rest of the old testament. Paul talks a lot about it in Romans 11 as well, I encourage you to read it if you want to understand our role as Christians with the Jewish people.

Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?

                    Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression,

salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.

                                                              Romans 11:11

We are the gentiles. We are saved, to bring His people to Him. They are God's firstborn.

If some of the branches have been broken off,

and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others

and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root.... After all,

if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature,

and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree,

how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

                                                              Romans 11:17, 24

The Jewish people are the natural branches, we have just been grafted in to their inheritance, with the sole purpose of bringing to the Jews the good news.

Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

                                                                   Romans 11:30-32

How's that last one to screw up your theology? He is who binds people in disobedience.

  These are just some of the things we've learned this week. I am so filled with excitement. I don't know what I'm going to do to make time go fast in my next 3 flights. One of them 10 hours long.... See you tomorrow Israel!!

Shalom! 

-Julio-

P.S.

You will never understand God. EVER.

Washington D.C.

  It's cold up in here!!

In front of the Supreme Court of Justice.

  Especially on our first day here, Tuesday the 2nd. Election day. When we did another life siege, for 18 hours straight. We took shifts in pairs as we prayed outside the Supreme Court for the election of pro-life senators that would ultimately have the power to end abortion. The shifts were an hour and a half each and started at 6am going till 12am. I took the 6-7:30 shift and the 10:30-12 one. I'm glad we got to stand in the gap for something big like this, the murder of babies. I had to layer up like crazy, and even that didn't prevent my toes from going numb after 10 minutes of standing there.

  On two days we got to attend and help at this conference. They didn't have anyone to play worship for them so our crew did it. Also, the church that held the conference was going on like a local outreach to the lower class area of D.C., "the other side of the river". So they held like a festival for anyone to come. They had balloons, face painting, music, some people rapped, inflatable castles, food, a drama (I got to be Jesus... mainly because of the hair), and a lot of other things. The church did a really good job setting this whole thing up, and it was a good opportunity to go love people that probably don't get much of it. There were a lot of kids.

   Something very significant we did was that we went to Embassy Row, where the embassies of most of the countries of the world are. We went to the Haitian embassy to pray for revival in that nation and for God to raise people full of the knowledge of Him and of His word, for the voodoo priests that God would encounter them and they would come to Christ, for the Fire & Fragrance team in Haiti that God would give them strength to finish strong. We prayed for these things and many more; there's a lot of things to pray for that nation. After that, we took a trip to the embassy of COSTA RICA! We prayed there for my country. It was so good to hear some good ole' Costa Rican spanish, but kind of embarrassing at the same time since I've lost quite a bit of my Costa Rican accent from having to speak english at all times. And it made me miss my country so much. With all honesty, I am homesick. Costa Rica, you are missed. We also went to pray to the Chinese embassy and the Israeli one! After that we drove over to DuPont Circle, an area where a large amount of homosexuals live and hang

out. We just worshipped God for a little bit in a park right in the middle of DuPont Circle. We didn't get to talk to anyone, but we hold on to God's promise that since He lives in us, just our presence, intercession and praises were breaking strongholds and mindsets.

  Then, on our last day, we went to the Holocaust Museum. It was rough. They take you from the rise of Hitler and the Nazis to the liberation of the Jews from concentration camps, and everything in between. The things the Jews went through, things that no one should ever have to endure. I don't understand how  humans can do that to other humans. It broke my heart for the Jews. I honor them so much more now. In this museum, they had this room where you could hear quotes from the survivors about what it was like to be in the concentration camp. After all they were going through, they still wanted to survive. No matter how hungry they were, how cold, hot, or in how much pain, they still did their best standing up straight in front of the person who held their life in their hands and tried to look strong enough to work so that they wouldn’t get sent to the gas chambers. How much did they value the gift of life? What would their thoughts be on the matter of abortion?...

  I’m really glad we got to do that right before going to Israel. It was really significant and important. And pretty much the whole city is beautiful, I loved it there. Now we're in Tennessee, enjoying the woods. This is our last week in the US and we're going to be learning and preparing for Israel. We're gonna be taking classes with this ministry called Caleb Company. Their whole mandate concerns Israel, so we'll be sitting in on their classes.

  I want to thank you all for reading and keeping up with me! Now, about my financial situation, we really need the money right away before we leave for Israel, so my parents are going to have to cover the bit that I have left to pay. But I want to thank all of you who have supported me financially or with prayers. I really am grateful, and it means so much to me. You made this possible.

Love you all

Pura vida

-Julio-

P.S.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the orca:

Enough proof that God exists, we're still alive... all 10 of us.

Hartville, OH

  Another ride on the orca come and gone. We survived the 7 hour ride from Hartville to D.C.

  For our time in this lovely small town, we stayed at a really nice house. The family that lived there was friends with a girl in our team, Lauren Triola, who is from Hartville. So that was good.
Here's a little of what we did:
  -Wednesday: we went to this state park or something to have quiet time with our brotha Jesus. It was amazing. Yet again, I must say how much I love the Fall: a lot. It was so nice to enjoy His creation with Him.
  -Thursday: one of our F&F school leaders, Amy Sollars, came out to visit us to see how we were doing. We all got to hang out with her individually. It was a real boost and encouragement to have her there with us. She was there till monday afternoon where we dropped her of somewhere in PA where she was gonna get picked up by the leader of F&F in Harrisburg.
  -Friday night: we led worship at Canton House of Prayer. We got to minister to the people there and pray for them and what not. We did what we do.
  -Saturday night: we did what we do once again, at this other place in Akron, OH. It blew up!! The Holy Spirit moved greatly. After that was done, we went to Kent State University, one of the top 5 party schools in the US, if not the first one. This was the 30th/31st. Everyone was dressed up in costumes, all drunk and what not. It was a rough place to be. We all gathered on the side of the street in a prayer circle and started praying for God to give us his heart for this people and for the Holy Spirit to use us any way He wanted to. It was like 25 of us there. After being there a bit, and having stuff thrown at us, a big portion of the group stayed on the side of this street and did worship, and the rest of us split into groups of 4 and went out into the heart of it all. My group and I just walked, praying and worshiping. We didn't get to talk to a lot of people, but good thing our God is bigger than all of us, He does His thing no matter what we do, and His spirit lives inside of us, just our presence makes a difference. When we regrouped, there was a ton of people gathered talking to the group that stayed. We stayed there for like 30 minutes after that talking to people and giving them the love they've been looking for in all the wrong places. The love of Jesus.
  -Sunday night: we went to Lauren's youth group. To do what we do, once more. It was amazing. A lot of people got set free from self hatred and suicidal thoughts and all that bad crap. One of them gave his testimony at the end about how he used to cut himself and didn't want to live anymore and how people prayed over him and delivered him from all that that same night. "You guys dont understand" he said, "I am not the same person I was 20 minutes ago, I feel joy for the first time in years". Praise the Lamb!! Plus, I also got to see some old good friends from Aurora, Oh. That was really nice.
  We left the next morning. We drove off leaving yet another family and another group of new friends behind. God bless them.

  Now we're in D.C. till the 10th of Nov.
Fire!

God, end abortion

and send revival to this nation

-Julio

P.S.

Here's what we've been doing all day today. Literally.

http://bound4life.com/the-silent-siege