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Journey to Jerusalem 2010
Part One ~ What Is It?
For the past few years, North Asheville Christian School has blessed its graduating seniors with the Senior Trip of a lifetime. That is not a platitude; the trip is one that WILL change their lives – forever.
After upholding Biblical, educational and spiritual integrity in Christian schooling at NACS, what trip could express the culmination of years of loving instruction from the Word of G-d? What graduating gift could NACS give their seniors who are leaving the safety and community of the Christian school to go into the world, firm in their faith in Yeshua (Jesus) and with a passion for His Word, living out His will and making an impact for the Kingdom of G-d?
What North Asheville Christian School has done is take their graduating senior high school students on a Walking Bible Tour of the Holy Land of Israel. I think we shall let that sink in a moment before we continue. A Walking Bible Tour of the Holy Land of Israel. ??? ??????????
Eretz Yisrael
The Word of G-d (1Timothy 3:16-17) is the real guide on this trip through the land. The Scriptures come alive as the students walk in the steps of Yeshua and actually see and touch the places they previously only read about. Many choose to be baptized in the Jordan River as Yeshua did. They also walk upon the stones that He walked upon as He approached His place of crucifixion. They linger on the shores of the Sea of Galilee where Yeshua spent much of His time and look out over the water where Yeshua told Peter to walk to Him. There is much more they experience, but Pastor Jimmy Dykes leads them in a spiritual journey as well as a historical one. And many who immerse themselves in the living journey in Yisrael, make plans for their future actions, directions and missions. Again, this is a life-altering trip of a lifetime.
I was honored (and scared actually) to be asked to be a part of the fundraising dinner in honor of the seniors who are traveling to Israel in the next few months. The students need to raise their own support and this annual dinner is one of the avenues they use to help fund their trip.
I was asked to provide a full Israeli meal for about 125-150 people.
WHAT? WHO? ME?
After much prayer (and I mean MUCH prayer), and back and forths with my family and the wonderful Administrative Assistant for the school who handles all the details (Mary Rice) and after her promise of help for me, my husband and I sought the bottom line in all this.
Was this just a dinner? Was this a good deed? Was this a mission service? Was this some sort of an ego thing for me? WHAT was it and why would we want to support it, let alone help make it happen?
G-d in His faithfulness showed me clearly what this was and how to view it:
1) As Believers in Yeshua (Jesus), we honor His Word and believe it to be 100% true and divinely inspired, and our roadmap for life.
2) As Believers in Yeshua, we not only LOVE His Word, but we do our best to LIVE it.
3) As parents who believe in raising our children according to G-d’s Word and by Yeshua’s example, we believe in quality education with G-d and His Word as the foundation. In our family we are committed home educators (and have been doing this for 21 years) but we (our family) support a truly G-d-honoring Christian school for those who choose not to, or cannot, home educate. This school is North Asheville Christian School. Not only do students get a quality spiritual education (which is first and foremost to us), but their academic education is excellent as well.
4) As parents, we believe and support the efforts of the Body of Messiah (His community of Believers, aka the church) to help reach out to those who do not know Yeshua and disciple those who do. So, even though our children do not attend NACS, we support what they are doing and our children interact and walk with these children at North Asheville Baptist church, and we see the positive input of NASC and NABC in their lives.
5) As an American-Jew, my lifelong dream was to go to Israel. I had several possibilities at times to visit Israel, but I wanted more than a “trip”, I wanted to see the fullness of the Scriptures come alive. I wanted the whole she-bang, not part of it. I wanted to walk on the G-d-given soil as a Jew and see and touch the literal prophecies alive and see the land of the Tanakh in person. I wanted to celebrate the Jewish homeland as a Jew, but I also wanted to know the fulfillment of the truth of the whole of Scriptures (to Jew and Gentile) as a child of Yeshua (Jesus). I had the extreme honor of going with Pastor Jimmy Dykes and his wife Tracey on a “Walking Bible Tour of the Holy Land of Israel” for my 50th birthday, and experienced for myself the education, history, spiritual illumination and being changed from the inside out on that trip. I also found myself humbled beyond words at the reality of what I saw in that holy place and learning more about the Scriptures than I ever thought I would or could.
6) We desire OUR children to experience the same eye and spirit-opening experiences that I did when participating in the Walking Bible Tour of Israel.
As all of the above, I believe that the Senior Trip of North Asheville Christian School is one of the most important, life-impacting and priceless gifts anyone or any school could offer a young person.
When my husband and I talked about these observations and revelations, it was crystal clear that we (as a family) must do all we could, physically, spiritually and financially to support this honorable and worthy effort of North Asheville Christian School to send its graduating seniors on a Walking Bible Tour of the Holy Land of Israel. I especially feel such gratitude to the school and to Pastor Jimmy and Tracey Dykes for their time and investment in these students and opening up the Scriptures to them through their steps in the Holy Land. What a ministry!
So, that’s what we came to see, what this is.
Please continue on to Part Two
About Vickilynn Parnes
