Fast Times at Yom Kippur

It's that time of year again, the beginning of Fall and this week also marks the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Last week was the start of the High Holy Days with the holiday of Rosh Hashanah ushering in the New Year (5772) for Jews all over he world. Wednesday, September, 25th at sundown, Yom Kippur begins.

For religiously observant Jews, this is a time for pious reflection, atonement for sins, going to Temple, the blowing of the shofar, and for the most devout...this is a time to fast. As I understand it, this time of fasting is a very subjective and personal matter. Some take it quite seriously, depriving the body of ingesting anything by mouth, including water. Others simply limit their intake, cut out junk food, caffeine and sugar or otherwise modify this 25 hour period to best suite their purpose.

I am not Jewish, so why do I care about all of this? I have established my own reasons and traditions that surround this special time of year. First of all, I am a Christian and somewhat of a self-proclaimed biblical scholar. Being a Bible scholar means that one must have a good grasp of both Old ans New Testament texts. This knowledge must also include many of the ancient Hebrew traditions that are celebrated today. Christianity itself began as an early Jewish sect during the first century. In fact, during that time, to become a Christian, one must first have had to convert to Judaism. I could go on and on... suffice it to say that I hold a very special place in my heart for the customs, traditions and culture of the Jewish people.

Back to what this time of year means for me. I resolved to fast twice a year, and have done so quite faithfully  for nearly 20 years, as closely as I can reckon. I fast for both spiritual and healthful benefits. I choose the Christian holy week preceding Easter Sunday in the Spring and I use Yom Kippur as the target date for my fast in the Fall. The duration of my fast is about 5 days. I first introduced this ritual with fresh vegetable and fruit juice. Now I can get through these days on water, tea and occasionally vegetable broth.

I will begin tomorrow. Monday the 24th. I will attempt to go through Friday. I've never had much trouble getting through this before, so I don't feel like this time will be any different. It's always a rough go the first couple days, this generally means headaches, weakness, and concentration problems. I always thought that being away from my office, with so many demands and omnipresent food that are a regular part of the day, would be so much easier.

Though I must say that I now have a small group from the office who faithfully join me in this bi-annual regimen. Each with their own personal reasons, goals and slight modifications.  For me it's the same all the time, I begin tentatively, with some doubt as to my tenacity and resolve to keep the course. Mid-week always brings renewed hope and relief of many of the uncomfortable detoxification cleansing-crisis symptoms. And by Friday when I introduce a small healthy meal, I have a whole new appreciation for food, I find my clothes fit a little looser, and I feel renewed energy, sharper mind, smoother skin and deeper faith in my Lord and King.

Yet, there's still something that the Jews have that I don't yet possess. I always wanted my own shofar. If you are unfamiliar with the term, a shofar is an ancient trumpet, fashioned from a ram's horn. I always thought it would be so cool to blow it from my backyard as I usher in my fast times...

Tears Water the Seeds of Hope

There is an amazing couple that I know from the Madison area of Wisconsin. They are amazing to me because they are doing something that has profoundly changed the lives of people. No...saved the lives of people and changed the course of countless others in the impoverished, eastern region of Guatemala. In truth, they are not that amazing, but what The Lord is doing through their surrendered lives to Him is what makes them so. And I'm sure they would agree.  How many lives have been, or will be changed by their selfless efforts, we will never know--at least not on this side of Heaven.  I know Kim and Randy Tews from personally joining them and their volunteer team twice on their life-changing mission efforts in Guatemala. I have been on a good handful of mission trips between the church where I regularly attend, The Orchard Evangelical Free Church and Kim and Randy's, not for profit, Christian organization, Outreach for World Hope (OWH).

Kim just published a book, Tears Water the Seeds of Hope, detailing her and Randy's journey from living the typical American Dream of self-sufficiency, buying a stately home on 4 acres of land in a suburban, sub-rural setting. And all this while working the fast-paced and lucrative careers of successful realtors to the point where carving out time for their two young daughters had become a matter of concern. Like many others who also share this unquenchable drive and need for material success, one of the rewards is the means to be able to take that occasional and well-earned tropical vacation that a life of those who work hard and value such luxuries as Kim and Randy's are entitled and can afford.

It was on one of these vacations to a tropic, sun-drenched, rum-soaked beach destination where Kim's story begins. This is a true story and great testament of how trust, faith and commitment in Christ can transform lives one heart at a time. That is the beauty of ministries such as OWH. Ministries like these don't only change the lives of those people it was intended to help, but anybody who invests some of their time, talent and resources to such endeavors will surely realize blessings of their own, often far from what they had ever imagined. Generally it begins with a change of heart, which directs thought, which often leads to action...and on and on it goes...  Kim and Randy are very different people today since they committed to forming this ministry. The book, Tears Water the Seeds of Hope is about their journey in putting together this organization that continues to grow, changing the course and the lives, not only of the souls in eastern, famine-stricken Guatemala, but also of all those involved in their work.

 I just ordered my signed copy and can't wait to read it, maybe savor it, but likely devour it. I know as one of the volunteers on two separate mission trips with Kim and Randy how profound an experience this can be. I know I can relate personally to much of Kim's narrative and proud to say I feel a part of this story. I was first invited to work with OWH by a co-worker and friend of mine, Judah from Madison, who happens to be a friend of the Tews family and has been many times to Guatemala. Judah has in fact lived a short time there and has dedicated much time, muscle, tears and love himself. One of his blessings was meeting his  wife, Jena, who was a volunteer on the last trip where I served. Jena continues to serve the people of Guatemala alongside Judah, now married for almost a year, as of this writing.

I first got my feet wet in volunteer work on two relief trips I made with The Orchard church to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. I didn't know anybody, but felt somehow compelled to serve.The experience was so amazing that I committed to doing some type of  short-term volunteer relief/mission work once a year as an opportunity is available. Since then I've been to Juarez, Mexico, twice to Guatemala with the Tews, Judah and teams, and this year my heart led me to the Republic of Haiti.

Short term mission work is definitely a move out of most anybody's comfort zone. It can be quite uncomfortable at times, sometimes scary, unfamiliar and uncertain, but always a lot of fun at the same time as you will be sharing all of these fears and emotions with everybody else on the team. The payoff is always well worth the commitment. Every trip brings new adventure, new hope, new relationships, renewed perspectives, self-evaluation, a re-defining of priorities and those things that are truly of value, new miracles, and always... always a closer relationship to Jesus Christ, in Whom we dedicate it all.