JMU YL Visits and YL Palestine Camp

Hello Friends and Happy Summer,

The past 2 weeks were busy, fun, and full of activities! First, after a long 8ish months of waiting, finally the James Madison University (my alma mater) Young Life came for their tour of the Holy Land. Then, the time finished with serving as work crew/program at Young Life Palestine camp!

(JMU Friends with YL Naz kids at the Lambeth's home)

 

This was one of the unlikely times where you are really excited for something and build it up in your mind...and then it actually exceeds expectations. It was awesome to spend time and instantly become friends with good people from home. Even more so, my fellow JMU DUKES!

I joined for most of their touring time around the country and my heart, body, and spirit were filled again with Jesus. It was my 3rd in-depth tour around the country (spoiled, I know) and I'm continually amazed at how deep the well goes. There is so much to learn. The history and context of the bible continues to have more and more layers, spiritually I was strengthened at a great time of the year and for my ministry here, and the community we developed was something that cannot be beaten.
When a group of people commit to opening up their heart to God on such a deep level, it is impossible to not connect and become a family.

(YL Palestine Camp Picture)

 

Then, after touring we all headed to Bet Sahour (just outside of Bethlehem) for YL Palestine camp. Around 115 kids from the West Bank towns of Zababdee, Tubas, and Ramalla all came to have one of the greatest weeks of their lives and hear about who Jesus is and what he did for them.
Now YL camp is one of the best things in the entire ministry and I witnessed that wherever you go in this world, much of the ministry elements remain the same. For example, we had club with the kids (singing songs, skits, games, and a message), cabin time (going deeper talking about the scripture, and how we feel about it connecting with our own life), fun activities, program/skits and more.
Yet being international YL in a different, it came with it's own flair.

(1 Thes. 2:8 "Because we loved you so much, we were delighted not only to

share the Gospel of God with you but our very lives as well.")

At the end of the week, kids lives were changed and I am just thankful I was there to witness it all (:
- A short post with pictures today...but I plan to write tomorrow as well because it is a special day for me.

Much Love, Zack

(Young Life Shenanigans - Flour bombs, and water balloons)

 

Snapshots

Hello (:
It's been a busy last couple weeks.

// Highlights //
- Served lunch to 300 people in 1 day at the Nazareth Village
- Graduation for the seniors from the Nazareth Baptist School where we are directly involved with Young Life and this group specifically was special as they had been the kids I went to camp with 2 summers ago at Windy Gap and our staff has strong connections with most of them.
- NC State Young Life College group came to visit for 12ish days
- Toured some of the country with said YL group
- Young Life Capernaum (special needs kids) camp in Bethlehem
- More Nazareth Village work...but there of course was some fun, a.k.a. dinner with the staff on the Sea of Galilee

Now understand, I'm so thankful and love all of this. Busyness helps keep the mind from thinking too much, makes me feel productive, and what a joy to be in the land I am in doing what I am doing.
Nothing better than a 4 hour nap though when it all caught up to me on Friday.

So, this period of the year has been long awaited for me personally. Graduation for the seniors was so much fun. To share in their excitement made it easy to be happy and smile...and then it also made me remember my own graduation (Spring 2009). I thought how it would be absolutely ridiculous for my present self to tell my 18 year old self what I would be doing right now. "Yeahhh, sure I'll transfer from VT to JMU then move to NC, then move again to Nazareth, Israel working with Young Life ministries. Okayyy crazy Zack from the future."
But that's how life is...we plan our life, which we have very little proof or experience that it will happen as we think, then it goes in a completely different direction.

Also, June meant friends from NC State YL would make their visit! It was great to host them and see them experience the Holy Land for the first time as I once did. Oh, and even better...James Madison University Young Life is coming in a week. (The school I attended and the same trip I took 2 years ago) LETS GOOO!

----- There's the info of what's happened. Now for the deeper, lessons learned part -----

The NC State group was actually just girls (a group of 9). It's all good, I was a fan haha
This equated to a lot more pictures. I personally am a simplistic picture taker...I try to be in the moment without the camera and then get just 1 reminder pic.
However, I am super thankful these awesome ladies captured some great snapshots. As life happens, pictures are so helpful and great at bringing back emotions and thoughts of favorite memories and friends. Easy to see why Instagram is so popular.
- So I'm gunna share a few and just some thoughts.

 

Young Life brought this room of people together. Just outside Bethlehem people from Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, USA, Canada, and Kenya were in a room together worshiping, talking about Jesus and praying for kids, teens, and adults who feel lost in this big world. 

 

Young Life - for some reason this organization has been immensely influential in my life. From my working activities today, to how I gave my life over to following Jesus, to lots of laugher and learning, to get this....how my parents met! In the background are students waiting for the last club of the school year and it was a blast. PTL (praise the Lord)

 

 

This land is so special. It's where God chose to come to Earth in Jesus. I join tours each chance I get just to learn more about the history and what happened as people have lived in this area for thousands of years! This is from the top of Mt. Arbel on the Sea of Galilee which I've hiked about 5 times now. 

 

The Nazareth Village is my unexpected blessings/volunteer opportunity during my time here. From being a tour guide, to hanging out as a shepherd, to making bread/meals...it's a testament to 'you never know what may happen.'

 

Now these "Snapshots"...they show just a moment. And this is what came to mind when I wanted to write this up. A picture is great. We take, post, and share them. Usually the top moments are the ones we try to capture. However...pictures lack the backstory...the behind the scenes. For example, you don't see the 2 hour drive to Bethlehem, serving special needs kids, and not getting enough sleep. You don't see the hours spent at school, trying to befriend high school kids you don't know and don't speak the same first language as, planning clubs/bible study, then being bummed when kids cancel on plans. You don't see the work and exercise to make it to the top of the mountain. You don't see the hours of waiting just for a group to pass by for a couple minutes, or the thousands of other pieces of bread made standing next to a fire when it's 90 degrees outside or serving 300 people in the span of a few hours.

 

Day to day life is a lot of work and grind with few glorious, movie worthy moments. Relationships, work, and self growth are all tasks we undertake continuously. But when the time comes and you get a snapshot, it is a good moment. And that good moment makes it all worth it. For me personally, Jesus is in that good moment smiling with me. Even more important though, I believe He is in ALL the moments - tough, mundane, difficult, stressful, joyful, happy, thankful...

 

Love you all, happy Sunday and Blessings to you!

 



Day to Day and Inspiration

It's May already?!

This year is really moving quickly and it being May, that means Nazareth has been home for 10 months! Also, this month and next month there are 2 special groups coming who are very close to my heart.
NC State YL College where I volunteered as a leader for a year post graduation has a small group of 10 people coming this month. Then in June, 35 James Madison University YL leaders are visiting the Holy Land. This is my alma mater (Go Dukes) and 2 years ago it was this very trip that put me where I am today.
In the fall last year I began looking forward to hosting these 2 groups and I'm stoked the waiting is almost over (:

Since my sister visited, I traveled to Cypress for a week of rest and vacation (went with The Lambeth family and it was awesome), there have been some long and hard work days at the Nazareth Village (such as serving 250+ lunch on multiple accounts), I've had some tougher down days, and then some amazing days I never wanted to end. As it goes according to the law of undulation = the natural ebb and flow/up and down movement of life.

(Paphos, Cypress - the water was super duper blue....and cold)

 

Now, to delve deeper and share a little more personally about my day to day, I've been doing something the last 2 weeks that has really helped me remain aware of the holy spirit always being around. We all have idle time during the day (watching tv, on fb, on our phone). During this time I've chosen to watch online sermons of messages from pastors I really connect with...like the way they bring Jesus out of scripture and how they deliver their message resonates with me.
Steven Furtick and Judah Smith are my top 2 guys right now (from Charlotte, NC and Seattle, WA). Just 30-45mintues out of my day to hear a message from the Bible helps me so much. And with technology today there is so much available to me...honestly it's pretty sweet.
Doing this regularly is also a reminder that Jesus and Church isn't just a Sunday thing. Jesus is an everyday thing because He's not a thing He's a person, and we don't just hang out 1 day a week at a place called church, it's a daily, personal relationship I have with Him.

These two pastors, Steven and Judah inspire me with how they preach. And I'll admit sometimes when I'm watching them I get all jacked up and think "yeahh buddyyyy! that's what I wanna do!" haha.

links for talks if you wanna check them out
Pastor Judah Smith talk
Pastor Steven Furtick talk

I'll tell you over and over, ministry is not something I predicted or wanted to do with my life. There were moments even when I felt kinda like my parents were pushing me into it...(not that they were, it was all encouragement and parents usually know you pretty well and what is good for you #lifetipsfromzack). But here I am living it out with YL in Nazareth and I'm loving it.
Also today, and this has happened a couple times now, I gave a tour at the Nazareth Village. Afterwards two different people came up and said "Zack you have something in you that comes alive when you share about Jesus." I say thank you, you're very kind. And usually tell them I have no idea what is ahead in my future they reply "think about continuing with ministry because you have a gift."

- Surrender -
I've had these conversations a couple times and try to be humble and thankful during them. However, later in the day as I sit alone and think about life, the future and try to figure out what it is that God's got for me...maybe it does make sense.
Either way, I'm going to continue to give my all to God (in the good and the bad days) because I've found it's a fuller life than whatever I tried before.

I hope the May flowers are coming after the April showers wherever you are.
Cheers from Nazareth, it's starting to get hot here...Bring on the Summer!

(my worship jam recently, not new but so good)

Love Zack

Big Sis in the Holy Land

This past week one of my big sisters Emily came to visit me in the Holy Land! (I have a 2nd big sister Kate just fyi) She was my first visitor to come specifically to Israel because I am here.

Quick background - Emily is 3 years older than me and a math teacher. She's been to 22 different countries all around the world doing ministry mostly so I was gearing up to hopefully provide her with a fun time and new things to see.

It really turned out to be quality bro/sis time as I showed her around the country and took on a bit of the tour guide role sharing all about what I have learned so far. We went to Caesarea, Hiked in Galilee, visited the Mt. of Beatitudes, Capernaum, Jerusalem on Good Friday walking the Via De La Rosa (path of the cross), Haifa, floated in the Dead Sea, Jericho, Bethlehem, and hung around my current hometown, Nazareth.
- This is all incentive for you to come visit me!!! Just get here, I'll do the rest

(Dead Sea mud, Nazareth Village, Jerusalem, and Mt. Arbel above Sea of Galilee)

 

Now, this is the first time I've ever had extended just 'Emily and I time' in our life. Growing up we loved each other cuz we had to as family, but never really would've chosen to be around one another. So I was a little nervous because I wanted to entertain her and also didn't want to argue/fight. Also this would be an opportunity to build some good memories to in our relationship for the years to come and as we've gotten older it has been easier to relate and enjoy each others company. The cliche is family first, or family over everything...but do we really live that day to day? I know I don't however I've learned a lot about how family is such a strong element here in the Arab culture. I am fully aware of the blessing of my family and thankful for my parents and sisters...and this time with Emily was I think a big step in our friendship down the road.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter! It was interesting in Nazareth, there are actually 2 Easters celebrated a week apart - one for the western/catholic Christians, and then the Greek Orthodox Christians celebrated a week later. I don't get it...we all believe in the same Jesus and little things getting in the way seem silly to me. It is a truly special time of year thought and reminder of the Genius of Jesus and what I think is the greatest moment in human history...the cross and then resurrection. PTL!!!

Go tell someone in your family you love them! - or - Do something nice as a surprise!

God Bless - Zack

Easter

Happy Easter Week!

I don't think I'm aware of the significance of how cool it is to be living in the Holy Land during this time of year. While there is the fun of eggs to be hunted by kids and the large amount of chocolate bunnies that will be eaten, we are all aware of the reason for this holiday. Jesus came to Jerusalem amongst a party of people who were all singing His praise, yet He knew exactly what was coming a week later.

I'm even more excited because my sister will be joining me here in Israel for 10 days! Emily is visiting during her spring break and I think I've told everyone I can that she will be here (partially because it is a sentence in Arabic I know I can say haha). I'm looking forward to hosting her, showing her around the land, and most of all introducing her to the amazing people I have built relationships with.
Even more so on the family aspect, my dad's brother and his wife came at the beginning of this month and I took a bus to Tiberias (city on the Sea of Galilee) to enjoy some time with them.

(with Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jim)

 

I've continued my time volunteering at the village (30-35hrs a week) during the tourist season and been blessed through that. While it is demanding and definitely "grind work", there are moments that I am truly thankful for as I've persevered and been willing to give of myself. (I call these "alter moments" taking a tip from Abraham, amongst many others in the Old Testament, who when God showed up in their life, they built a physical alter of stone usually to commemorate and remind them of it. These alters help me remember when God answered prayer or blessed me so I can look back at them during the grind work or when it feels like nothing is happening).

(baking bread at the Nazareth Village)

Young Life will happen Thursday this week and it is time for the "Cross Talk". In YL terms, this is the club where we share the message from scripture of what Jesus did by taking a punishment intended for us, and defeating death as the Son of Man on the Cross. I'm praying the kids who come are impacted by this truth and the gift that is for each of them...and each of you...and me.

Prayers are always welcome - that God continues to reveal himself to the kids we are getting to know and also for my time with my sister...and I pray that you get some quiet moments to contemplate Jesus on the Cross and the Resurrection this week.

Love Zack

Touches of God's Grace

Greetings and happy weekend to you all!

It has been a little over a month since returning to Nazareth for this next part of my expedition. Things have been going very well and I continue to learn day to day through experiences and how I hope to live my best life.

Young Life has gone to another level with lots of new kids and the regulars attending club. We can usually count on around at least 30 students to show up and sometimes get up to 60! Furthermore, while we are directly involved with just one high school, students "our" school have invited their friends from other schools...and then they invite their friends. So students from around 4-5 different schools have at least had one experience with Young Life Nazareth which is exciting. Hunter and I continue with our bible study of some solid guys who want to go deeper into the bible questions and thoughts about discovering who Jesus is. Laurie (Hunter's wife) facilitates the girls group and sometimes we all come together for study with a little worship - this has given me an opportunity to lead on the guitar which has been fun to pick back up after learning some basics when I was younger. B.Study nights usually end with a game of Settlers of Catan which I brought from America and the kids here love it!! Buttt, they still are working to beat me haha.

I also returned as a volunteer to the Nazareth Village Tourist site. This includes dressing as a 1st century villager "working" the land, helping serve meals in the kitchen/restaurant, and finally as a guide leading tours through the village. Current circumstances also led the director of the village to asking if I could give a bit more time and have a more involved role. Basically, I am her personal assistant which has a role similar to that of an operations manager for the other volunteers & staff just making sure people are where they need to be and managing the timing of things to provide the best experience for the tourists. I work about 35 hours a week but still remain a volunteer and while this may seem crazy and not logical on my part...for me it was simply an opportunity to fill a need for a place I have come to love.
My favorite thing by far is leading tours because I am directly involved with tourists from all over the world and share about life during Jesus's time. One example - I led a group from Singapore of pastors who were full of energy. They were a delight to share knowledge with, laugh with, and then at the end they provided a memory that will stay with me forever as they prayed for me and the ministry I'm involved with here. A line that has stuck in my head was - "Lord, let Zack continue to pursue You, and finish with the same passion and energy that he started with." At moments when I feel I am tired or just want to stop, I remember this.

Then, actually today I led a group from Canada. Now, every tour I give, my focus is to give my best and that those the group will learn something new. At the end of the tour the group leader, Pastor Todd took a moment with me. He said "Zack, thank you so much, you did a great job. And can I tell you something?" I replied, "Of Course." And he said "You have a touch of God with you."
I've come to strongly believe that one of the ways God works in our lives is through people - words, actions, service, etc...and things like these kind words are a treasure for me.

I'm thankful that every day I am involved with things centered around Christ because it makes it much easier to keep my focus on pursuing Him and what he taught. I know we all don't have this privilege, however I believe He is always there for us, wherever we may be.

Hope you have a great weekend, and Blessings to you. I'm giving the talk/message tomorrow at club so that's something you could keep in your prayers for me.

(this was taken from my "porch" last Sunday after a storm

a reminder of God's first covenant)

Love Zack

Home and Back Again!

Mar-haba (hello in Arabic) Friends and Fam!

So I took some time away for the holidays as I got to go home to America and see family and friends! It was a perfect 4 weeks at home back in Northern Virginia (and Raleigh to visit my NC State friends). All my love and gratitude to everyone I got to see and swap life updates with. Some hang outs were planned and others were spontaneous but I was blessed by all of them. I'm continually reminded that life is about relationships and building quality ones is my favorite thing to do.  

Making visits to see everyone I could was a blast and I was happy to share all about my initial adventures and learning from my first 6 months in Israel serving with Young Life. Then, to listen to others' stories of where life is taking them and hear about the good things going on, some things that didn't happen maybe how initially predicted, and new dreams created...these are the ways to cultivate meaningful friendships. I'm reminded that we all have our own path and God's directing us in different ways (all in His timing of course). I encourage you to be 100% YOU...aka, find what makes you come alive and pursue it!

I will miss The States, however after the first week back here in Nazareth I find myself full of energy, joy and excitement to continue serving The Lord through Young Life (and my volunteering at the Nazareth Village as well). I cannot explain it, but Naz really does feel like home now. For this season of life, God's got me here...and I've decided all I can do is give my entire body, mind and spirit to being here in the present moment.

A brief post, but just wanted to get back in the flow of sharing about my trip. When this journey began I was hoping for at least a year long expedition and through your generosity, prayer and support that has become possible AND MORE! I have enough fundraised to make it through this whole calendar year (2015)!! I'll continue to stay and serve here as long as there is money donated by those who believe in what I'm doing. I think it could continue beyond just 2015. As you read and follow along with my trip, if you feel called to, here is the link to donate:

https://ylx.managedmissions.com/MyTrip/zackmiller1

Few shout outs:
Dad and Mom: I am who I am because of you. Thanks for guiding me in life while also giving me freedom to become who I am today. Love You
PT, ZT, Bryce, Prince, Daniel, Arlandis, TWebb, Nate: my friends from grade school, I'm thankful that we've remained friends through the many years. What we have as a group of friends isn't common and I'm blessed because of your friendships.
Mackenzie Kelleher: it was so great to see you randomly and hear about your move to NYC in pursuit of your dream of working in music.
My NC State YL friends: What a treat to visit Raleigh and see most of you! Hope you can come visit with YLC

(family crossfit day - with bro in law)

 

Love you all and Blessings from me to you! Cheers - Zack