Summer Hebrew 08

Greetings and Shalom to you,

Yesterday was an exciting day as we first delved into the book of Jonah. That will be out main course of study for the next 2.5 weeks along with a host of other activities to help us understand the book in Hebrew as Hebrew. Remarkably, by this point in our studies I'm reading the text pictured above (Jonah 1:4-5) out loud in Hebrew and understanding what's going on, no translation! Praise the Lord. Pray that all of us here would be able to proceed with due diligence and ample humility.

Summer Hebrew 07

Talked to Rachel again today - amazed at the gift of technology and the irreplaceability of face to face relationship. Tomorrow morning she begins her trek home to Michigan for the month of July. Benaiah is excited too, it will be his first long car trip facing forward in his car seat!

They'll be spending the month of July at Rachel's parents home in St. Johns. Rachel is planning to teach some backyard swim lessons with her mom, see some old friends, and get in a little relaxation time in the country and at their cabin. Benaiah, well, he doesn't have any plans but everyday is an adventure. I'm sure he'll enjoy getting acquainted with grass, trying out his walking in a bigger house, and getting pushed in the swings grandpa has been hanging up for him.

Pray for them as they drive the next few days. I miss being with them but am very glad they can make this journey and be with family for the next while until I return home.

Shalom to you all in Jesus.

Summer Hebrew 06 - A Day in the Old City

Har Zeytin is its Hebrew name, we know it as the Mount of Olives. I took the long walk up this hill yesterday for the first time. Across the valley from the temple mount was one of Jesus' favorite places to sit and teach. It's also the place where he made his famous prayer for us in John 17. And it was in a garden on this hillside where he was betrayed to his death, a death we have celebrated for millennia because of its eternal implications!

We have studies to fulfill on the weekends but much more time than is needed to complete them. Between rest, exercise, and soaking in the beautiful Judean countryside a few of us decided to travel to Jerusalem and see the Old City. After 8 hours of exploring just this small section of greater Jerusalem I can say that there is still so much more to see - perhaps another weekend.

One of the sights that struck me the most was seeing two groups of Christian pilgrims carrying crosses through the streets of Jerusalem, praying aloud, singing, and seeking to remember our Lord's great work of redemption. What struck me even more was that the first group I saw was clothed in all white and of obvious African descent. The second group, though not color coordinated, was all of Asian descent. How beautiful the body of Christ from every tongue and tribe and people and nation (Rev. 5:9).

Summer Hebrew 05

We have officially finished our first week, whew! So far we've communicatively used over 200 Biblical Hebrew words, learned three songs and began learning the Shema, moved from hesitant speakers to giving commands and answering questions in Biblical Hebrew (making lots of mistakes, of course!), and just today we began the book of Jonah.

This picture is from the end of our class period today where we prepared to welcome in the Sabbath. This is usually done in the evening among family but we did it before parting ways. To do this Dr. Buth, pictured here, taught us about the blessings we would say and the culture behind it. He did this almost entirely in Biblical Hebrew - and praise the Lord, most of us understood most of what he was saying most of the time!

We used something similar to the blessings that Jesus would have used at the last supper to bless God, the King over everything, giver of the fruit of the vine and bread from the earth. And may he be praised for this wonderful week of learning, may he be honored in all those who have supported us in prayer and by financial means and through encouragement, may he be magnified in the coming days of rest and study - through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thanks for your support. Shalom.

Summer Hebrew 04

Boker Tov! Every morning I wake up, shower, spend time in private worship and then step out the door to face my new host culture. "Boker tov" is their simple "good morning" statement. When I get up to the dining hall I'm greeted by this - a lovely kosher breakfast. Actually, it's a buffet so I can chose what I like but this is my normal fare: hard yellow cheese, a few eggs, salad (peppers, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, olives, tomatoes, wet white cheese), juice, milk, tea, and pita with honey. [meat and dairy cannot be mixed in kosher settings]

Usually I sit by an open window and spend some time reading Pilgrim's Progress before class starts while eating my breakfast. Today Christian met and parted ways with Mr. Formality and Mr. Hypocrisy who entered the narrow way from the city of Vain-Glory. It seems that in this land where I am a guest religion has lots of formality, lots of legality, and yet sadly misses the narrow way.

Pray for me and the various peoples God has placed me among for the summer. May it be replete with worshipful language learning and witness-conscious living. Shalom.

Summer Hebrew 03

Short update tonight but a fantastic day!
-I got to watch my little buddy play for almost an hour on Skype today. He's having great fun with mommy, Mimi, and aunt Courtney. (I think he misses daddy though :-(
-Got a glimpse of a wild antelope on my run today through the countryside.
-Spoke a full sentence in Hebrew to an Israeli and was understood!
-Hosted a wonderful prayer meeting in our hotel room tonight for all the students.
-Tomorrow I may be going to Jerusalem for the first time!

Contrary to what the picture may seem to indicate, our teacher actually do like one another. Here they are just demonstrating some Hebrew vocabulary for us as we were introduced to the sacrificial system. 95% of the class time is in Biblical Hebrew so they will do almost anything to help us understand without giving us a translation. This makes for a pretty wild four hours every morning!

Thanks for your prayers. Shalom.

"A Blast from the Past," or so it seemed. Upon arrival in Israel 3 days ago we met some friends at a popular shopping mall near the airport. I knew our quest would take us to some historical places, but I didn't expect this! (Don't worry, they're not real.)

This was just a small surprise from our initial days - which are common in international travel - but here are a few more serious ones:

-How expensive a taxi is on the Sabbath
-How in your face the culture can be
-How open people are to talking about what Americans would consider too deep for public conversations (i.e.- religion and personal faith)
-How clear the Muslim call to prayer echoes through the valley beneath my hotel
-How beautiful the Kibbutz is that we're staying at
-How much fun it can be to learn another language, especially a "dead" one

Thank you for your prayer. Shalom

Summer Hebrew - Day 01

We finished our first day of Hebrew class at 12:30 today and I hadn't written down a thing! In fact, the teachers encouraged us not to write anything, even when we got back to our rooms. The key learning words this summer are: relax, enjoy, absorb.

Now, after that description it may seem like we didn't do a thing today, but in fact we were very busy. Though we knew some of the vocabulary coming into class, we interacted in a living setting with approximately 70 different Biblical Hebrew words or forms in just 4 hours.

I have some homework to do later this afternoon and then we're required to get 8 hours of sleep. Ha! How's that for homework.

Many thanks to all who are praying for our family and for my studies. Here's just one photo off my balcony of the hill-country just north-west of Jerusalem. (we're on top of one of the taller hills)

Greetings family, friends, and supporters. I've arrived safely in Israel. Last night we (myself, Scott, and his wife Vanessa) met with some friends who live locally. They gave us a brief introduction to the land and to the people who call Israel home. It was very helpful.

After a stop at the grocery store we hired a taxi to take us and our luggage to the Kibbutz. The airport is on the west coast of Israel and the Kibbutz hotel where we are staying is near Jerusalem in the center of the country. So, it was quite a ride with our cabby Yosi who at times expertly navigated one-lane roads through the mountains.

I hope to be posting pictures and videos from the days to come. Today is a time for rest and reflection - tonight is orientation - tomorrow classes begin at 8am.

Rachel and Benaiah are doing well. It's sad to be missing them on our first Father's day but they slipped a card in my bag before I left. We're holding on to the promise Jesus made to us, "everyone who has left (lit.- let go, released) houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life."

We are grateful for your prayers during this season of our lives and preparation.

Back From the Dead...7 Days and Counting

After a three days in the dehumidifying process, it appears the Lord has spared our computer. It got splashed with some water last week and I was pretty sure it was finished. But apparently we acted fasted enough and the Jesus who holds the universe together by the word of his power kept water from going down into the sensitive innards. Whew...relief.

So, a brief apology to all for any delayed emails, etc...

This morning we packed my backpack and prayed together. This week will go far too fast. And I will miss mornings like this...

A Video Worth 98 Minutes

It's two men, sitting in chairs, talking about doctrine...but it's worth your watching. Carve it up into 10 minute segments or watch it all at once. May the Lord bless your viewing.

VIDEO

The 17 Day Countdown

Summer days sure do fly when the strictures of school are laid aside. But we have certainly not been wasting the time, especially since the weather has been so chaotic. Rachel is working through a bag of books Grandma Leman gave to her, I cracked my 600pg "concise" history of the Middle East, and if you haven't seen the video's...Benaiah's walking. In fact, today he pretty much preferred to walk instead of crawl whenever possible. Very amazing!

But we're also busy praying and prepping for our summer adventures. So far we've received 65% of our needed financial support for the summer as I prepare for my language learning in Israel. Rachel, while dreading the day I leave, is also very excited to be free from her work schedule for a while and go home to Michigan, only to be teaching more lessons there. But she assures me that those are way different :-)

Many of you have mentioned that you are praying for us and we greatly appreciate knowing that. It may seem a small sacrifice for me to give up my summer to go learn Hebrew in Israel, bigger for Rachel who is letting me go. But we're looking at this as something God has called us to pursue - with whatever future possibilities it opens up. (e.g.-like the fall Hebrew course I'll be co-teaching here at Bethlehem) So, please continue to pray for us as the Lord leads - I've been leaning into the everlasting God of Isaiah 40:28-31 lately in my prayers, perhaps you can join us there.

Here is an intermediate level video from the school I'll be attending - though it is all in Koine Greek, you'll still get a flavor of what the second half of my summer will look like.

YouTube Star

Greetings to all our beloved readers. We'll still post videos and pictures to the blog, but I also wanted to alert you to our YouTube page. There are two new videos of Benaiah walking. Yes, walking! Go check them out.

Read the Bible this Summer

Wanting to read the whole Bible in a year. My Old Testament professor has come out with a reading plan that takes you through a Law, Prophets, Writings, & New Testament reading everyday. Download it and read more here.

Halfway Reflections

It occurred to me the yesterday as I walked home from class - 2 years of seminary are past, 2 more ahead. What a ride this has been and we're still in the saddle by God's grace.

This journey to Israel over the summer seems a fitting halfway house to describe the last two years: learning languages, studying history, wrestling through theology, the birth of our son, serving in global outreach...and now a journey to the land where our faith was born.

The God who called us to pursue this education in Minneapolis and this summer in Israel has been faithful to carry us this far. And through the many kindnesses of friends and family we're also felt the tangible love of God through his people. Our apartment will be filled with families from our cohort tonight - the brothers and sisters that Jesus promised when we commit to following him.

Thank you for your prayers - we always love to hear from you! Next week, an update on plans for the summer.

July 2008

August 2009

April 2010

January 2011

May 2011

Defining Terms

You can judge the quality of a book when it is still life-giving the fourth or fifth time you read it! I'm finishing off Let the Nations be Glad for my final class period tomorrow – and I was struck again. This time it was something simple but extremely helpful.

What is a missionary? The term is not found in the Bible, it's root is Latin meaning "sent." But even if the term is not in the Bible, is the concept there?

One of our pastors here at Bethlehem gives a short answer from 3 John 7, "they went out on behalf of the name [Jesus], accepting nothing from the Gentiles [pagan nations]." He comments, "here is perhaps the best definition of a missionary in the New Testament...a missionary is propelled by a deep love for the name and glory of God" (LNBG 2003, p.237).

So, let us test our own motives day in and day out. Are we people living for the fame of God's name? And for those willing to be sent out and go to places where there is very little witness for Jesus, let us make sure God is our motive and that God is goal.

Thinking of Eternity

We just arrived back in Minneapolis from a 2 graduations. One was my brother-in-law's graduation from college, the other was my uncle's graduation from this life to the next. Someone sent me this video and I don't have words to describe it, just watch and worship...

Booked! Better! Breaking!


Much has transpired recently but we've been too out of commission to write about it. Two weeks ago, through a number of generous support gifts, God provided just under half of our support needs for the summer so we booked the plane tickets. Soon thereafter Rachel and I came down with a debilitating stomach illness and only just have gotten back to normal eating. (thankfully Benaiah was spared this sickness) And now we're celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ by being with family and breaking from our normal routine.


Today we were hiking in the Wasatch national forest and ran into a rather interesting predicament - the bridge over the rushing creek was covered in 10 feet of snow. The peak of this pile was packed, icy, and only 12 inches wide! Carrying Benaiah on my back, I could tell we should not trifle with this the icy path. You can see the result below

One month until the semester ends. Two months until I leave for Israel, Two and a half until Rachel heads back to Michigan. Thank you for your continued prayers during this pressure filled time in our lives that God would sustain us through these years of study and direct us for the future.


Here are a few more pics from recent events:

Playing with Pops at my Park!

My first wave pool, bring it on.

There's no place like...Omaha?

Rachel, Benaiah, and Becky just got back from a road trip to see cousin Jake and aunt Cheryl. They had lots of fun as you can probably tell. Meanwhile, back in the Norseland I was holding down the fort. I just about got all the snow melted before they returned.

Hanging in the Jungle

A Couple of Sub-Mariners

Can I go Swimming, Mom?

Everyone enjoying the slides!

Even space cowboys need to hold mommy's hand still.

We're Breaking, When Does Spring Arrive?


Today began my spring break from studies here at Bethlehem Seminary. While we're happy to see the six foot high snow banks melting down to the size of small shrubbery - when does spring arrive? I saw some red-headed sparrows outside my window this morning, but when does spring arrive? My wife is now wearing flip-flops on a daily basis, but when does spring arrive? My running shoes are feeling neglected, when does spring arrive?


I think it's like a lot of things in our walk with God, we wake up one morning and somethings we've been longing for are here. We struggle and fight and pray for more faith and one day face a trial where we notice - it's here, although still imperfect. We long and fight and pray for release from a besetting sin that almost seems to be part of our personality and one day we feel its grip released, though it remains crouching at the doorstep.


These are vague generalizations, proverbs if you will. But what's most important is that one day soon I'll wake up and cast off the mantle of winter because spring is here. Even so, come Lord Jesus, we await the eternal spring of your presence.


From the sublime to the... well, you can label them...

We got a little fussy, so the bottle became a prop.

My new favorite place to play, the couch!

Why is this monkey attached to my pants?

Dad builds with blocks and I eat them.

Mum, could you fetch the Rolls-Royce for me?

So it Begins!


Even though we've been offline lately, many of you have been keeping up with us and know about our new language learning venture.  About one month ago we began a basic curriculum in preparation for my studies in Israel this summer. (Rachel's doing the pre-course studies with me :-)  If you have time you can watch this video and see how we're learning biblical Hebrew.



It's a basic audio-lingual method that helps you connect the meaning straight to the target language without translation.  This helps get the language inside the learner instead of learning about the language as some sort of external entity.


Today I just sent in my registration for 6 weeks of study in Israel where this curriculum will be followed up by 8 hour days of immersion in Biblical Hebrew.  We'll target the books of Genesis and Jonah during those six weeks of class time, personal study, field trips, and other interaction with speakers of modern Hebrew in the community.  Lord willing this will be followed up by two years of teach Hebrew here at Bethlehem, a master's thesis, and beyond that as the Lord would see fit to use us... (feel free to contact us if you want more details :-)


Meanwhile, we're making plans for Rachel and Benaiah to be in Michigan over the summer with Rachel's family.  She'll be teaching swim lessons and enjoying summer-time in the country. (It can get pretty hot here in Minneapolis.)  So, please pray for us as we make this venture out of our comfort zones as we follow God step by step.  Pray for focus and endurance as we face this summer.  Pray for financial provision as we have some funds saved but not the full amount and will need to raise some support.  Pray for us to hear his voice more clearly over the summer as we seek his direction for our time beyond seminary.


And as for Benaiah, he just keeps on smiling and swimming.  Kick, buddy, kick!

Star Student!

The Little Monkey Fell Asleep

Trying to Play with Dad's Books

Daily Bible Reading & Middle-East Unrest

Here's a thought I had after reading God's word this morning and the news at noon:

Days of protest in a few cities have turned into weeks of unrest across the major cities of the Middle East.  Some are chanting slogans for economic, political, and domestic reform.  Others are chanting for the death of certain individuals they see as the cause of their hardships.  News commentators are all over the place in terms of predictions and implications of these events.  But when God spoke about the later times by the prophet Zechariah, we know his words are certain, "I will changed the speech of the people to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord" (Zech. 3:9 ESV).  For them to call upon the name of Jesus and begin living a life of service to the true King requires God to change their speech.  Join in praying today that these movements of unrest would serve as Kingdom movements of God changing the peoples of the Middle East to praise him with pure speech.

Home Again, Home Again


It felt like spring standing outside my Africa themed guest-room.  Clouds were rolling by from a recent rainstorm and I was watching the pond to see if our neighborhood alligator had been stirred up.  There were five of us from Bethlehem at this conference providing some wonderful community in which to process the sessions together.  The main point of these three days was to discuss how to meaningfully communicate the message of Jesus Christ to Muslims without going too far and thus compromising that message; missiologists call this "contextualization."  We are the recipients of someone else's work of contextualization (i.e.-we don't live and think like 1st Century Middle Eastern Jews) and we should be diligent and faithful laborers to help make the gospel meaningfully understood in all cultures.


Here are just a few of my take-aways from the weekend:


1) God moves in mysterious and wonderful ways to draw people(s) to himself.  We should be ready to rejoice at testimonies of this amazing deeds like the angels in heaven.  We should also be careful not to assume that a miraculous work of God should then become our standard for outreach.


2) God's Word does not tell us what to do in every situation we'll face in life, that's why He also gave us prayer and the Holy Spirit.  But we must not be too quick to assume that God's word has nothing to say about most situations we'll face.  On the contrary, this is why we are to be diligent "Bereans" in God's word ourselves and why we set apart certain people in our congregations (i.e.- elders) to study even more deeply and help us connect the dots our own study may pass over.


3) Islam is a religion that has stipulations for everyday life, for politics, and for relating to other faiths.  Christianity is also a set of beliefs and practices build around the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, affirming and fulfilling the Old Testament writings as well.  But there is something about Islam that forces a certain conformity to a more rigid set of principles (e.g.-dietary laws, patterns of dress, even the precise form of prayer).  Jesus taught his disciples about the content of their prayer but never an exact form.  This is one of the major differences between these two worldviews.  One carries a uniform system around the world seeking outward conformity and the other carries a central message seeking to transform the world from the inside out.


4) Muslims need to know Jesus the Messiah and we must take the initiative to love, serve, and bless them.  If they encounter him in the transformed life of his followers and through his living and active word, they don't need to become "Christians" exactly like we express our faith.  I do believe it is not appropriate for them to continue in the Muslim faith but should certainly seek to retain aspects of their heart-culture.  And we can be confident that since they have taken on a new identity in Christ and having been indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are now governed by the Bible - whether Arab, Afar, Uzbek, Pashtun, or Malay - their expression of faith in Jesus will help form one of the beautiful and distinct aspects of the great throng around the throne of the Lamb from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation (Rev. 5:9, 7:9).


Pray that the leaven of God's Kingdom would truly spread among these communities, that God would call out his sheep from blind wandering, and that the Light of Christ would dispel the darkness, especially in these tumultuous days.

Geeky, I guess...


OK, I'll admit it.  I did just spend the last 45 minutes creating a tool on my computer bible program to be able to search and link to all the map files the came with my ESV atlas - my wife just laughed at me when I tried to show her how sweet it was.  Oh well!


We're all thanking the Lord for better health this week.  It's good to see Benaiah crawling all over the place and up to his daredevil explorations again.  He had an excellent swimming lesson this week and would peacefully float on his back, stare at the fish on the ceiling, and kick those chubby little legs.  Good job buddy!


Next week I'll be heading to a conference in Orlando as part of my internship.  Yep, Orlando - I've been getting grief over that for months now :-)  I guess I'll just have to enjoy being cooped up in air-conditioned buildings for all three of us.  The conference topic is quite controversial these days and should make for some very thought provoking discussion - "can a follow of Jesus who was once a Muslim consider himself a true Muslim and remain within Islam?"  This also makes for a very timely discussion as riots and uncertainty grip much of North Africa and parts of the Muslim world.  May the Peace of Jesus Christ come upon them all!


Thank you for your prayers on our behalf.  Rachel continues to work faithfully as a swim teacher and loves her days as a stay at home mom.  I'm so grateful to be studying the wealth of God's word - going deeper everyday.  And Benaiah enjoys the adventure of every moment...and so do we.

Cold, Colds, and Coldest


This was a week to slow down.  Minnesota winter biting at your skin.  Rachel and Benaiah coughing and fighting the bug.  And I'm just finishing two weeks of school realizing that I'm out of practice!


But I was encouraged greatly as I completed a study this past week through the "Word" portion of Psalm 19.  vv.10-11 end that portion like this:

"More to be desired [is your word] than gold, even much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

In keeping them there is great reward."

Here was my conclusion after a week of prayerful study:

"Now, do I believe these things?  These aspects are not so much in need of theological development but practical application.  If the word is to be desired above the finest gold, then I am one of the most fortunate and wealthy men alive!  If the word is sweeter than virgin honey still dripping from its comb, then I am ought be one of the most delighted men alive!  If there are eternal warnings and rewards contained in this book that can keep my soul from its deserving, everlasting punishment, then I ought be one of the most humble and grateful men alive!"

It is a true privilege for us to be here going deeper in the study of God's word.  It is our hope that amid these years and as a result of them we will be a blessing to the people of God and the nations from the immeasurable wealth and incomparable sweetness of God's word.

Did you skip all the writing just to get to these?

(Don't worry, I don't blame you, I would too :-)

Sick Day with Snack the Giraffe

(do they make these swings for adults!?!)

A New Vision (pt.1)

Last week you saw a new look to the blog and heard about some of our new year events.  But this week we wanted to update everyone, at least in part, as to a new vision God is giving us for our time here seminary in Minnesota.  Part of my (Marcus) educational emphasis here has been the Biblical languages.  They are both an emphasis of my school and a personal priority while I'm here at Bethlehem Seminary.  But that little seed of study was  expanded seven-fold last semester.

While at a conference in Atlanta, a classmate and I learned about a study program in Israel that teaches the Biblical languages like living languages (e.g.-French, Russian, Arabic...).  For a number of reasons I'll tease out in the future both he and I got incredibly excited as we saw it as a clear next step to what God had been doing in each of our lives individually.  When we talked with our wives about it they were both extremely excited as well seeing this course of study as fitting for the God-given trajectory of our families.  So, the short story is, we're making plans for me to go to Israel this summer and study Biblical Hebrew via this method.  There are lots of details still to be worked out but we've been seeking counsel from many friends and advisors, all seem to say, "go for it!"

So, expect more updates on this in the coming months, and please do pray for us as this is a huge undertaking that is beyond our abilities.  But we serve a God who is not bound by our abilities!

AND...

How could we not add a few more pictures of Benaiah (בְּנָיָהוּ) -

Yes, he did stand up all by himself!!

A New Year, A New Look, A New Vision

It's been a month since we posted.  It's been even longer since we've posted much of substance (although how can you resist all those pictures!).  So it's time for a fresh look, some fresh pictures, and some fresh news about what God is doing in our lives.

Let's start with a recap of the past month and then next time we'll get to the news:

Christmas in Michigan -

New Years in Utah -

And the little peanut's first swim lesson - 

That's all for now, more news and updates next week!

~Pictures~

Life has been crazy around the Leman house this December but here are a few Pictures to update you on our life.

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

Oh, for the day to come when all will truly stand and sing "Praise Yahweh!" (hallel-yah) and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords!