But the one thing that made me feel safe was to have God as my Shield… In Him there is no fear in any environment.
I learned about the Jerusalem Ulpan from a brother when we were having some fellowship. It is a one-month summer language course offered by the Hebrew University. Through his encouragement, I tried to apply for this course. I prayed and sought His will during the application process. From the time I submitted the form till the admission, everything went very smoothly, beyond my expectation. I knew then this was the Lord who wanted to bring me to Israel. So I followed the Lord’s leading and went to Israel.
Most of my time was spent on studying in campus. The course in the University was very intense, and the pressure to study was tremendous. Most of my classmates specialized in language learning, while I am pretty much an amateur in this field. It was a tough course for me. Nevertheless, our teacher was really skillful in the class, and I managed to learn and build up a foundation in the language.
The dormitory and the campus were in two separate locations. Every morning, I had to walk uphill to go to class. On my way I always thought of the psalms of ascends, and experienced first-hand in going up to Jerusalem. Going uphill is indeed not easy, but we still need to look up to the mountain and aspire to ascend to the Temple of God.
During the time in Israel I also had a special experience. It was summer 2014, the time when the Hamas and the Israelis were fighting. It was the first time for me to experience war. That said, the Israeli “Iron Dome” defense system was really strong, so I actually did not feel much danger. The Israelis people were also not much affected, going to work and continuing their studies as normal. But the one thing that made me feel safe was to have God as my Shield. Often I thought of the hymn “A mighty Fortress is our God”. In Him there is no fear in any environment.
One month passed by very quickly. I also spent some time in the city of Jerusalem afterwards. During this time, I followed some brothers and visited a number of Biblical sites: the graveyard of the Lord Jesus, the room where Jesus shared the last supper with the disciples, the Wailing Wall, the Mount of Olives, and the Temple Institute. The Temple Institute gave me the deepest impression. The Jews have already prepared all the utensils necessary for the rebuilding of the Temple, and some of them were under training as priests. How much they desire for the coming of the Messiah. This made me realize that we should have this kind of desperation and longing, and live a life in the light of the Lord’s return.
In summary, I have broadened my vision during this study trip to Israel. I really cannot exhaust what I have experienced, so here is a fraction of my sentiments. I only hope there would be another opportunity in the future, and I look forward to going to Israel again.
(YB, 2015)
I learned about the Jerusalem Ulpan from a brother when we were having some fellowship. It is a one-month summer language course offered by the Hebrew University. Through his encouragement, I tried to apply for this course. I prayed and sought His will during the application process. From the time I submitted the form till the admission, everything went very smoothly, beyond my expectation. I knew then this was the Lord who wanted to bring me to Israel. So I followed the Lord’s leading and went to Israel.
Most of my time was spent on studying in campus. The course in the University was very intense, and the pressure to study was tremendous. Most of my classmates specialized in language learning, while I am pretty much an amateur in this field. It was a tough course for me. Nevertheless, our teacher was really skillful in the class, and I managed to learn and build up a foundation in the language.
The dormitory and the campus were in two separate locations. Every morning, I had to walk uphill to go to class. On my way I always thought of the psalms of ascends, and experienced first-hand in going up to Jerusalem. Going uphill is indeed not easy, but we still need to look up to the mountain and aspire to ascend to the Temple of God.
During the time in Israel I also had a special experience. It was summer 2014, the time when the Hamas and the Israelis were fighting. It was the first time for me to experience war. That said, the Israeli “Iron Dome” defense system was really strong, so I actually did not feel much danger. The Israelis people were also not much affected, going to work and continuing their studies as normal. But the one thing that made me feel safe was to have God as my Shield. Often I thought of the hymn “A mighty Fortress is our God”. In Him there is no fear in any environment.
One month passed by very quickly. I also spent some time in the city of Jerusalem afterwards. During this time, I followed some brothers and visited a number of Biblical sites: the graveyard of the Lord Jesus, the room where Jesus shared the last supper with the disciples, the Wailing Wall, the Mount of Olives, and the Temple Institute. The Temple Institute gave me the deepest impression. The Jews have already prepared all the utensils necessary for the rebuilding of the Temple, and some of them were under training as priests. How much they desire for the coming of the Messiah. This made me realize that we should have this kind of desperation and longing, and live a life in the light of the Lord’s return.
In summary, I have broadened my vision during this study trip to Israel. I really cannot exhaust what I have experienced, so here is a fraction of my sentiments. I only hope there would be another opportunity in the future, and I look forward to going to Israel again.
(YB, 2015)