“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
We have been in The Old City, Jerusalem, in Israel for nearly 2 months so far. Thank you for all of your prayers over our journey here. We live, serve, and have classes in The Old City, and as well have been touring all over Israel. We have been blessed to have toured all over The Old City, Galilee, Capernaum, The Dead Sea, and many other special places where we learned about the significance biblically and historically. We wanted to write up another newsletter sharing our hearts with you all and updating you also on our future plans so you can continue to join us in prayer!
From Ashley:
I was about to leave to come to CCBC Jerusalem, I had few people ask me why I
would go to such a dangerous place and if I was crazy. Being a young girl and leaving the comfort of California to go to a war torn country from an outsiders perspective probably did seem a little crazy. However, something I have been learning since taking a step of faith and coming out to Jerusalem is the importance of the hand of the Lord. One thing I am confident of is that being in the palm of the Lords hand, the place he has called me to be, is the safest place that I could be and is a place where I can fully rest. Jerusalem has been such a blessing to me. I love wandering around the old city and seeing the same people everyday. I love saying good morning to the same old Arab man that sits outside his shop every morning as I go to get groceries. I love that the little children get to walk on their own to school because its so safe for them here. Israel is not only so special because it was the place where Jesus walked but also because of the people here.
When I arrived here at Bible College, I was asked to be the dorm steward for the girls. This has been a super big blessing and privilege to me to be able to practically serve the girls I get to live with for this short time. I had been praying for a while that God would use my experiences and my heart for women to serve the women around me. God has really answered my prayers with being here and having this opportunity as the dorm steward. God has also blessed me with being discipled with the director of the Bible college, Elizabeth. She is not only a mentor but a wonderful friend. Being in Jerusalem has been such a mountain top experience for me so far and I could definitely write a lot more about my experiences here (send me a message if you want to hear more!). However, some of my highlights have been the touring weeks where we’ve been able to visit a lot of the historic biblical sites such as the Temple mount, Caesarea, the Mount of Olives, the Holy Sepulcher and the Garden Tomb. One of my most recent highlights was on Easter when all of us students woke up at 4:30 to go to the Garden Tomb (the site believed to be where Jesus rose from the dead) for their easter Sunday sunrise service. The line of people to enter the garden tomb was so long that it took us about an hour and a half to get in but it was
such a great, once in a lifetime experience!
Thank you friends so much for following along with Cassie & I on our adventures in where the Lord has been leading us. Your prayer means so much to us!
From Cassie:
Throughout my time in Israel, God has been teaching me a lot about His word. We have had classes that we have learned so much from teachers that have come from all around the world. But God has been speaking to me, and teaching me the most when I spend time with Him alone in His word. It has been such an amazing experience to be able to read God’s word with an experiential visualization of where Jesus was talking about, and where He was teaching things to His disciples. This has been such a blessing spiritually and just practically to be able to experience this. I think the most special part of my time in Israel so far is when we traveled to Capernaum. It was so beautiful to sit by the Galilee, and to pray. We got to see the house of Peter’s mother in law, and the synagogue, and market place, where Jesus would’ve done most of His ministry. Just being able to imagine healings, and miracles, and even just Jesus being there was super incredible and a very important experience for me.
Before coming to Israel, and even whilst I’ve been here, I experienced lots of warfare, as to if I was meant to come, and why I was here. I felt unworthy to be where Jesus was, but God has been reminding me that its not about me. That everything God was bringing me through was for His glory, and that me coming here to Israel was for His glory as well. I have learned so much being here, about serving, about myself, and about how the Lord sees me. He has been revealing to me lies that I have been believing that I didn’t even realize. As we have 2 weeks left I have not yet realized everything God has taught me but I am excited to see over time what He has been doing and has done. I don’t know what comes next after Israel but I trust that in time God will reveal that to me.
We are really thankful for everyone who is covering us in prayer in this season!
Please pray for:
Direction for both of us to know what God is calling us to in this next season as we go back to California
Financial provision for the remainder of our time in Jerusalem and for some flight expenses
Continued protection physically in Jerusalem, and protection from spiritual warfare
Living in Israel is more expensive than we expected. If you feel lead to give financially to support us, please give on: Venmo: @CassieBailiff
Love, Ashley and Cassie
(Cashley Lol)
“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Luke 1:45