ELAV Day 2

Today was an amazing day. It was filled with worship, impartation and the Spirit of God. That's been something that has really struck me about this conference - the Holy Spirit's presence has been so strong and thick in a ll the worship times and sessions. It's amazing to be in His presence. Getting out out of Jerusalem and experiencing this sweet presence made me realize how in need of refreshing I was! My eyes do not stay dry for long in the worship times, for I am so overcome by His goodness to come and meet me again and again.

It seemed like unity was our theme today. We had worship sets in Hebrew, Arabic and English! Very exciting. We had a special time of prayer with the youth, where Jews prayed for gentiles and vice versa - just blessing each other. Tonight was a big night in the fact that we had Matt Gilman (IHOP KC) lead worship and our speaker was Heidi Baker. It was POWERFUL! Matt lead an amazing time that had hundreds of us dancing, completely undignified for our King, and then on our knees weeping in awe of God's holiness. It was so anointed and Holy Spirit was moving. Heidi Baker spoke about how sometimes it takes realizing just how blind we are to able to be used by God to heal the blind. The evening ended with an intense fire tunnel. For those of you who are not familiar with this form of prayer ministry, a fire tunnel is when people (the youth in this case) walk in between 2 rows of people (the leaders of the conference and spiritual leaders in Israel) to receive prayer and laying on hands. It was a great time for the youth to receive impartation from the generations ahead of us and opened the door for Holy Spirit to come in and taking control - changing lives forever.

We also heard two exciting healing testimonies today from Israeli youth. An Ethiopian Jewish guy who prayed for a deaf and mute Arab guy who was healed and a Jewish young woman who prayed for a blind man who was healed! More Lord! It IS happening! Continuing praying that God will use His people to bring healing and blessing to the nations and that He would raise up this generation!

A quick praise report - James, one of our worship leaders who had lost his voice at the beginning of the week is feeling much better and will be able to lead his set tomorrow morning! Thank you to all of you who prayed! This was a great healing from Abba.

Another quick prayer point - A prophetic word came out today through Esther Ridings (daughter of Rick and Patti Ridings, founders of Succat Hallel) about the spirits over this nation. A spirit of rejection, a spirit of hopelessness and a spirit of death. I can testify to how true these are and how much they need to be removed through intercession and spiritual warfare. Please join us!

Well, it's another full day tomorrow! Please be praying that our last day goes great, that the youth will seize every opportunity to get what God has for them this weekend and that everything will run smoothly. Good night and Shabbat Shalom!

P.S. Here's a video of Matt Gilman singing one of the songs that he palyed tonight - "Holy" It was such a powerful time of worship and I wanted you all to experience part of it. Enjoy!

ELAV Day 1

Well, it's almost 2am here in Israel and I'm home from the first day of the Elav youth conference. Thank you so much to everyone who is praying! We need it! The conference is off to a great start though. All the youth arrived today who are staying at the venue, and so far, there have been no major glitches. A few scares, but God had been so faithful and it was a great day! After just the first session, many of the youth are already being touched by Abba. We had two brothers (who for security reasons must remain nameless) from Gaza share testimonies of what God is doing there and the growing number of believers. It was so powerful to see their Jewish brothers and sisters surround them to pray and lay hands on them. Itzhak Mor-Haim shared a powerful word about our need to be available and willing to live the life of a servant for God to use us. Many of the youth were compelled and we saw Holy Spirit moving in them. Please keep praying for us. All the staff and volunteers are staying very busy during the days, so pray that we feel supernaturally rested by the time we need to be back on the bus in the morning - just six short hours from now. Pray especially for the spiritual warfare we are experiencing. The conference this year falls during Ramadan, the Muslim holiday. Satan would like nothing more than to defeat us in someway during this time. Pray for continued grace and peace over the conference as a whole and all involved. We're off to a great start and can't wait for the next two days! But I must be off to bed or I won't make it through them! Thank you for all your prayer love and support. If you have any questions about the conference or how you can be praying, feel free to comment or email me at chelsea_nunnenkamp@hotmail.com

Also, check out this promo video for the conference - it will give you a small taste of what's going on ever here!

Face to Face with Destiny

Have you ever had one of those moments where you feel like you've come face to face with your destiny? Like you are suddenly struck with the reality that the opportunity that lies in front of you is what you were created to do at this point in history? It's a pretty awesome feeling and I had one this week.

Since moving to Israel, I have had a lot of trouble sleeping. I think that it's probably a combination of the heat, the mosquitoes, my mattress and the spiritual atmosphere of this city. On the nights that I can't sleep I normally lie awake in silence until I can't take it any longer, and then I decide that if I'm going to be up in the middle of the night, I might as well do something productive. I return emails, read, or listen to a teaching. I had one such this past week. I was able to pick up one bar of wifi signal in my room from our neighbors - this in and of itself is quite the feat. I opened up my browser and soon found myself on a website reading about an internship opportunity here in Israel. It's with a legal organization that fights for the civil rights of Messianic Jews, living in Israel, that are being persecuted for their faith in Yeshua. Just sitting in my room, in the dark, in the middle of the night, reading about this opportunity on my computer, I began to cry. That's not normal. When's the last time you cried while reading about a legal internship online? Yeah, it doesn't happen everyday. But it happened that night, because I was coming face to face with my destiny. Yes, I really want to be a part of this organization and internship. I have a love for law, justice and government, but it's not so much about this particular internship as it is about the whole picture.

Over the course of this past year, God has really been speaking to me about the role He's calling me to play in the political world. I've always had a love for government. I made my mom take a picture of me on the first day I voted (an off year election), I watch Fox News for fun and I read Ronald Regan's auto-biography at age 16. I love it, but I never thought I could really pursue it. It always seemed just a little out of my league. I didn't feel adequate to be involved. But this year, Abba has been revealing to me that He's given me that passion for a reason - a reason that will ultimately further His Kingdom and bring glory to His name. I feel a new release and prompting to pursue what God has for me in the realm of politics. The past several months have brought prophetic words and pictures about God's call on me for government. He's been impressing it on me more and more, giving me the dreams of His heart for this sphere of influence and it all crescendoed that night in my room, crying with my laptop. It was like the Holy Spirit was saying, "Be encouraged dear one, there's a perfect fit for you. These are the desires I've placed in you. There are others who's heart burn for the same things your does." I just had this peace in my spirit and I knew that He was revealing the next step. He was making it a little clearer and shedding some light on how I should proceed. It was an amazing moment. In the days following this night, it seems as though things have been falling into place right and left. I feel like I have clear direction on how to fulfill the purposes that God has for me in my generation. He's done it in a beautiful way that gives Him glory, meets the desires of my heart and makes the more economic and practical sense than anything I could have come up with in my own. I have a five year plan. Crazy.

Now it's important to note that this is what I'm feeling God say right now, and the plans could change - God does that. But when I first felt God telling me that my pie in the sky dream to somehow be involved in politics wasn't so unrealistic, I didn't understand how it could ever work. I just kept thinking about how much school I was going to need and the timing and logistics. But I waited on the Lord, I laid it on the altar what felt like daily and committed my way to Him. And in the end, He gave it all back to me in the most perfect way. He is so faithful and capable.

I'm really excited about this next season and the plans that God is revealing. And He's showing my that the desires and passions that I have are placed in me, by Him, for His glory! What an awesome God we have! So what are your passions? What does your heart burn for? Chances are, it's not a coincidence. I believe that God wants us to enjoy the work that He's called us to. Ministry isn't more holy if you're miserable doing it... it's just miserable. Ask God how He wants you to use the gifts, passions and talents He's given you. Ask Him to bring you face to face with your destiny. It's pretty great.

Downtown Healing

One evening a few weeks ago, I was walking in the city with some friends and I passed a woman sitting at the bus stop with two walking canes. I immediately heard the internal voice of the Holy Spirit tell me to go and pray for her healing. So I stopped dead in my tracks, handed my things off to my friend and approached this older woman. I introduced myself, (thankfully she spoke English, because my Hebrew isn't at that level yet) mentioned that I had noticed her canes, and asked her the reason for them. She explained that she has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis in her back and both knees for many years. I shared with her the work that Yeshua has done for her and that He wants her to live without this pain. She smiled, patted me on the hand, and matter of factly stated, "Oh, honey, a life without pain would be impossible for me." Impossible...huh? I smiled right back at her and stated a fact of my own, "All things are possible with God." At this point I was getting excited to see how God was going to show up. She consented to me praying for her and even allowed me to lay my hands on the areas of pain. (When you have a true revelation that you carry the Spirit of the Living God Who created the Heavens and the Earth living inside of you, you want to lay your hands on sick people!) I prayed a simple prayer, but full of faith. After asking her to test her back and knees for the pain, she said "I feel comfort in my body and I can't feel the pain!" Hallelujah! I explained that the Comforter is the Holy Spirit of God and we talked about Yeshua for a bit. I encouraged her to continue checking her body over the next few days and to know that when the pain wasn't there, God's Son Yeshua the Messiah, has healed her. After that, she got on her bus and I rejoined my friends who had been faithfully praying a little ways off on the sidewalk.

You see, this is the life of the normal Christian. When we, who have Jesus in us, come into contact with people who are sick, it creates an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to show up and show off His love for humanity. Sick people + Jesus is always a good combination. I'm not a super Christian - I didn't spend an hour in prayer before I approached this woman, I wasn't fasting for her healing (in fact, we were on our way to dinner!) and I had even sinned that day. I'm just a girl who loves Jesus and is willing to step out in faith that others may also know His great love. With my Abba, everyday is "take your daughter to work day."

So be encouraged! We serve a God that heals the sick, raise the dead and delivers the oppressed. Step out today. Sick people are simply opportunities for God to show His love. But you may be asking... what if they don't get healed after I step out and pray for someone, especially in public? Won't I feel silly, or worse yet, won't that make God look bad? But I ask, if God does heal someone we pray for, can we take credit for that? Of course not! That also means that we don't have to take responsibility if He doesn't. It's really, really not about us. And if they don't get healed, what's the worse that happens? They meet someone passionately in love with Jesus, and full of radical faith, telling them that God loves them. Not bad.

My Revelation Summer

God speaks to all of us in different ways. One of the ways He speaks to me is by giving me themes for certain seasons in my life. My first year at the Gateways Beyond Training School, the theme He gave me was Spring - the winter was over and it was time to step into the new life that was waiting for me in the Spirit. It was an amazing time of healing, unveiling and discovering the Holy Spirit. This past year at Gateways, it was all about being a Living Sacrifice - learning to live to die. Dying to my flesh, for Him. In Ethiopia, the theme was Mercy - that through the mercy given to me, God would have mercy on others. Well, when I got to Israel in June, I began to ask Abba what the theme was for this season. I had big expectations for my first summer actually living in Jerusalem, and being part of the House of Prayer no less. Yes, I had high hopes. Something that I love about the themes for my life that God gives me, is that they connect everything He teaches me over several months time into one fluid transformation. I love looking back on those times and seeing how He wove all my experiences together for the purpose of teaching me that virtue. I believe Jesus intimately knows me and knows that my analytical mind loves being able to view life in this organized manner:)

Well, this summer, my theme did not manifest itself right away. I waited and prayed and asked God what He had for me this summer. But I was given no answer... and then I began to worry a bit. This is where I lost sight of the path. Jesus is always faithful, I must simply take the next step towards Him and He will reveal Himself. But in my efforts to find out what God wanted to teach me in this season... I stopped looking at God. Ironic, isn't it? I felt that I didn't want to come across the world and live in the City of Zion for three months only to miss what God had for me. I played around with different ideas of what it could be, but none seemed to fit. I can't force God - but sometimes, to my shame, I try.

But here's the beautiful part. One night, I went to the prayer room and just laid it all out on the altar before the Lord. I realized the folly of my forcefulness and spent some time in teary eyed repentance. I realized that even if I spent the whole summer in Jerusalem and I didn't hear God's voice once or feel anything, I would still choose to serve and worship Him. After all, even in His silence, He is worthy! I needed to come to that place - to say that even if I don't feel it, I'll still come to my watches in the prayer room everyday and pour out all my worship on You, Jesus. He must hold a higher place than my feelings.

Well, in His typical divine fashion, Jesus showed up loud and clear just one week later and gave me the summer of 2009's theme. This is my Revelation Summer.

It was the night of July 22nd. I was spending the evening with friends Sam and Rachel. Sam was in Israel touring and Rachel is living with and serving the Benjamin family. The Benjamins are leading Succat Hallel's internship program and have become what I affectionately call my "Israel Parents" :) The three of us had just eaten and were sitting in the living room just hanging out. We were talking about something related to Jesus (a favorite topic of mine) and the end times were brought up. I mentioned that I wished I had a better handle on the timeline of the last days. I've heard so many different teachings and feel a little hazy in my eschatology. Well my friend Sam, being the fellow Jesus lover and all around great guy that he is, pulled out his Bible. What happened over the next several hours was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life thus far. The three of us read through the entire book of Revelation of the course of the night. Sam walked us through the book and stopped along the way for the questions I had (which for those of you who know me, were many!). We worshipped and wept our way through the night. We'd move from deep theology to giddy excitement concerning the coming of Jesus. There were times that we couldn't stay seated because the adrenaline it created in us and other times that we couldn't even speak because the presence of God was so thick in the room. When we got to the end of the book and I saw the great love of the Father in His desire to come down and once again dwell with His children, I was overcome. To think of His beautiful unrelenting love; that He created us to dwell with Him in the garden of Eden, but we separated ourselves from Him with our sin. But He did not stop there. No, His love was too strong. He sent His Son once to open up the way for us to go to Him. And He will send His Son again to prepare the way for Him to come to us. What beautiful pursual. What unrelenting love.

Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. Revelation 21:3

I couldn't keep the tears from streaming down my face in light of His love. My body trembled in His presence and I could do nothing but cry and sit in awe of Him for some time. Sam sat with the contented serene look that comes with the presence of the Holy Spirit and the room was silent, apart from the sniffles I could hear coming from Rachel's direction. She'd had an experience with God that night that mirrored the beauty of my own. That night was about Revelation... Revelation of Jesus. He was is and always will be the central focus. We finished just as the sky was beginning to lighten, and decided to go up to the balcony to watch the sun rise over the city.



At some point while we were up there, it hit us. We are watchmen. And we're standing on a wall. And we've given ourselves no rest. And we're here in Jerusalem asking God to establish her as a praise in the earth! (Isaiah 62) Now that may seem all very simple and possibly even boring to you, but we were geeking out! Have you ever had one of those moments when you realize that you're living out scripture? It's pretty cool. We just kept saying, "We're on a wall... in Jerusalem... as Watchmen!" Some might argue that our extreme sleep deprivation may have had something to do with this, but I like to believe that it was the Holy Spirit. As the sun rose over the Mount of Olives, we spoke scripture over the city, sang worship songs and asked Jesus to come quickly. I thought of the passage in Malachi that says the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in its wings. Yes, arise Lord Yeshua!



We finally went to bed around 7 am; our schedules were a little crazy that day. We woke up early afternoon and had a breakfast/lunch/dinner meal at 4 pm. We discussed the night and felt that it had all been a bit surreal. Like, did that really happen? But, indeed it had, in all its wonderful glory!

That night was a definitive moment in my summer... in my life. A couple days later I hear the voice of the Lord tell me that this summer was about revelation - both the book and the experience of Jesus Christ being revealed more an more to my heart. It's been a wonderful time. I've been consuming the Word, listening to great teachings and dialoguing with friends about the mysteries of this exciting book. I even put the audio Bible book of Revelation on my ipod so that I can listen to it as I walk in the city. Holy Spirit has been teaching me so much and I'm loving every minute of it. And ya know what? I'm not afraid of missing it anymore? I have not missed what God has for me this summer - no, I'm enjoying every part of it.

What does God have for you in this season? What beautiful truth does He want to unveil to your heart? I don't recommend chasing after it in anxiety as I did at first, but I do encourage you to wait on the Lord and listen when you hear His voice... even if it takes all night.

Little Brother. Man of Courage. Son of God

Today is my little brother Travis' 18th birthday. I suppose that I can't really call him little anymore. A couple years ago he finally passed me in height and it was several years ago that he passed me in strength, which gave me quite the disadvantage in our wrestling matches. But over the years Travis has not only grown physically. He has grown in strength of Spirit and character as well. It's been an amazing thing to watch. What a gift God gives us in siblings. For the last 18 years, I have had a daily front row seat to see the work of Jesus in another's life. Rarely do we get to see so deep into someone's life as with our family, not even the closest friend can compare. Admit-ably, I have not always treasured this beautiful opportunity. In our growing up years I displayed my fair share of selfishness and unkind behavior, but I am grateful to the Father that He has brought so much healing and I have come to the place where I can truly appreciate my family.

This is one of those days that I wish I could be home with my family, even if it was just 24 hours. I wish I could be with my brother on this special day. Travis isn't a little boy anymore. He is becoming a man. A man after God's heart. A man of worship. A man of courage. A man with valiant strength and a tender heart. I am so proud of that man. I could go on about him for a long time. I sometimes playfully, yet affectionately refer to him in conversation as the "golden boy". Travis has played and excelled in almost ever sport you can think of - basket ball, baseball, football, soccer, even BMX. He recently placed in the top 5 at Nationals for archery. He plays guitar and piano. This last year was his first year in public school and you guessed it... honor roll. He is a young man full of talent and heart. Don't get me wrong, he's not perfect, he's still got plenty of teenage guy in him, but he's special one.

I remember funny things from the years past - going snowboarding together, having pizza and movie parties when our parents were out, the first time I ever rode in his car and he was driving (this was a very surreal experience!), liking the same music, all the little girls in our youth group having a crush on the quiet cute guy with that beautiful curly hair. When it was revealed that was in fact this heart throb's sister, I was immediately surrounded with fainthearted 9th grade girls asking a myriad of questions about him. The beauty of this silly situation is that when asked about his feelings toward his adoring fanclub, Travis responded with something like "I'm in 9th grade and can't get married right now. There's no point of me getting into a relationship with a girl if there's no possibility of us getting married." Travis is still committed to that and confidently states to this day that the only girl he's kissed is his mommy. Trust me, it has not been for lack of opportunity! He's turned into quite the man of conviction and I couldn't be more proud.

Travis plans on attending Bethel Church's School of Supernatural Ministry after he finishes his senior year of high school this next spring. I am so blessed to hear that my brother is pursuing the things of God in this way. I've sown many prayers into his life over the last few years and am thrilled with the path he's choosing to walk. And I can't wait to come visit him at Bethel!

I got to talk to Travis a couple days ago on skype. It'd been a wile since we'd had the opportunity and it did my heart so much good to hear him talk of the things God is doing in his heart. The Holy Spirit has been releasing the song of the Lord in him and worship has been flowing out. I loved hearing his excitement as he recounted the work of the Lord in his life.

Many in our culture view age 18 as the entrance into adulthood. Yes, today is a big day for Travis. It's an exciting birthday and I wish so badly that I could be there to celebrate it with him. But today, Travis is not a man because the world tells him he finally reached the magic number 18. No, today Travis is a man because of his character. Because he has stood firm in his convictions amidst a generation prone to waiver. Because he is choosing for himself whom he will serve.

So happy birthday little brother, man of courage, son of God, I hope it's a great day! I love you!

Taking Possession

Over the past couple of weeks we have been in the book of Deuteronomy in the weekly Torah portion (The Torah is the five books of Moses. It has been divided into weekly portions that allow Jews to read through the Torah over the course of one year.). As I read through the first few chapters of the book, something kept standing out to me. God continually tells His people that He has given them the Promised Land, all they must do is go in and take possession of it. But we know that the story does not happily end there. The Israelites are overcome with fear and end up spending the next forty years wandering in the wilderness. This was their lot because they did not take possession of what God wanted to give them. I got to thinking... is there something that God wants to give me that I'm not taking possession of? Several things came to mind. God wants to bring in my financial support for this season in Israel, but I must stand in faith and take possession of that promise. He wants to lead me in a life of love that leaves no room for fear of any kind, but I must take possession that life. He wants to open up the realm of supernatural miracles, but I must take possession of it. How many things do we see in the Bible alone that we are not fully living out in our lives? Perhaps the problem is that we are not taking possession of those things for ourselves. When I say take possession, I mean making it our own. Owning it. Believing it. Taking God at His Word. What a revolutionary idea! What if we actually believed what God said to us and lived like the Bible is true? What if we believed that the deaf can hear? What if we really believed that whatever we ask for in His name will be given to us? What if we believed that the blood of Christ really does allow us to boldly approach the throne of God? I believe that God wants to give us so much more than we are currently experiencing, but the problem is that we're not taking it from Him. His arms are outstretched to us, but our's are not to Him. We can not receive a gift if we do not reach out and take it, saying this is mine. Taking possession is the difference between a life of milk and honey and four decades in the desert. What is God wanting to give you today that you are not taking possession of?

φίλος - Phileo

A few years ago, a friend of mine started signing his emails with Phileo. Phileo (verb) is used 25 times in New Testament, and is one of the Greek words for love. It comes from the root word "Philos" which is the word translated “friend.” Phileo love is the brotherly affection of friendship. I love this word. I want it to define my life. I believe it perfectly captures what the Bible intends for friendship. Paul tells the church in Rome to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, honoring one another above themselves. That is phileo love - selfless and pure. Paul also admonishes Timothy, that young men and women should treat each other as brothers and sisters with absolute purity. I have made this my goal. I want to be above reproach. I want to love from a pure heart with the kind of love that is appropriate for the situation. In English, we do not have the vocabulary to fully describe and understand appropriate types of love for the differing relationships we have on our lives. But that is not the case in Greek. In Greek, we have agape, phileo, eros, and storge. There are passionate loves, friendship loves and unconditional loves, each for a specific time and purpose. Well, as an unmarried young woman, I desire that phileo love would define the relationships of this stage in my life. The kind of love that makes every other young woman my sister, not my rival. And every young man my brother, not a potential. I believe and hope that if Christians started treating each other this way, it would revolutionize the church.

Now, this is not something that I have mastered by any means, but Jesus is faithful. Just the other day I made a new friend - a young guy from the states who was visiting Israel for the summer. As I try to do with new friendships, I asked Jesus to show me how I could love this new friend with phileo, like my brother. Well, a few days later, we were having lunch with some new acquaintances and one of them looked at us and asked, "Are you two brother and sister?" It's important to note here that we are not even the same race! My friend is Hispanic and anyone who knows me, knows that I am the definition of what we'll politely call "fair skinned." And yet, we were mistaken for being siblings. In my heart, I thanked Jesus and gave Him the glory. It may sound small and silly, but it showed me something very important. When we ask Jesus for righteousness, He is faithful to come. It could have been so easy for the person to mistake us as a couple, which would have been mildly embarrassing and far less inspiring to blog about. But no, we gave the pure appearance of family. Thank you Holy Spirit. I want to live a life of absolute purity. I want to live a life of phileo.