Brought together by art and music
 |
| Iina ja Asi Eshed |
Iina and Ace Eshed are a couple from Rovaniemi who have met through music. Iina is from Reisjärvi in North Ostrobothnia and Ace is from Israel.
“After I graduated as an art teacher, I have lived here for about 10 years. I work part-time as an artist and paint different types of commissions such as portraits and sceneries. I also make music with my husband.”
Iina’s husband Ace – many Finns call him Assi – was born in Israel.
“I could call myself many things, but at the moment I primarily feel I am a musician. I have published five records in Israel and am working on my sixth. The latest album we have made together.”
Iina’s road to Rovaniemi began through her studies. “Before coming to Rovaniemi, I was thinking whether I should become a Finnish teacher or work with art. When I first applied, I did not get in to study Finnish in Jyväskylä. My father encouraged me to apply to study art in Liminka for a year. That is when I noticed that my heart beats more for art. The following year I applied to Rovaniemi to study art and was accepted.”
Ace was brought to Finland through music when he first visited Finland in 2015.
“I got to know a Finnish couple on the plane from Helsinki. It turned out that they were musicians Ulla and Pete Ronkainen. We got on well and after that meeting we have cooperated with concerts in different congregations in Finland and Estonia and even on a cruise ship to Sweden.”
Paths meet
The couple met at a concert in Rovaniemi. Ace’s cousin Noam had invited Iina to a concert where Ace was playing. From that day on, things came together in many ways. Ace moved to Finland and became a Christian. The couple got married and had a family together. Now Ace has his own music business, Eshed Music & Art.
“With some people it could take years for all of this to happen, but with us it happened very quickly. Now that I think about it, that pace probably did not seem very smart. So many big and good things happened in such a short time.”
Ace has enjoyed being in Finland a lot. “Sometimes I think that we could live in Israel too at some point. I have my roots, but I do not feel like I am tied to any certain country. I believe that we belong to God and that is why our earthly home does not matter that much. Of course I miss my relatives and friends. I am happy as long as I have my family. And some way of making music.”
FINNISH – ISRAELI FAMILY ESHED ON RADIO ROVADEI
Iina and Ace Eshed’s interview in Finnish and in English on Radio RovaDei at Palm Sunday March 28th. Interview on program about 11 am after 10 am starting family mass (only in Finnish). Replays on Good Friday and Easter Sunday: Part 1 April 1st after church service (only in Finnish) that starts 10 am and Part 2 April 4th after Easter Mass (only in Finnish) that starts 10 am. STAY TUNED!
Radio RovaDei 93,4 MHz or www.radiot.fi and recordings: soundcloud.com/radiorovadei
“If we think about the life of a missionary, we are calling people to God both near and far.”
 |
| Liisa Alanne |
As a youth worker, Liisa Alanne found joy in seeing Christiany grow among the youth. The spark for missionary work was there and Liisa was able to take part in establishing the first Lutheran church in Thailand.
“The work began with establishing parishes. We studied the language and culture. The grassroots work was done in Thai. After my years in Thailand, I moved on to Israel where there are a lot of migrant workers from Thailand. Though there were human rights issues and other problems, we were given the opportunity to spread the Gospel. Many wanted to become Christians and they were baptised.”
An Israeli Easter
In Israel, Easter is the whole Jewish people’s and country’s celebration that lasts for at least a week. Pesach or Passover is a Jewish celebration where the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt is remembered. As the tenth plague, God killed the firstborn sons of each Egyptian and their cattle from all the houses where the doors had not been marked with lamb’s blood. Because of this, Pharaoh let the Israelites out of the country.
“Pesach comes from the Hebrew word which means “to pass”. The celebration includes eating unleavened bread to remember the hurry the Israelites had while leaving Egypt when there was no time to leaven the bread dough. During the Pesach week, no products are bought which may contain leavening agents which is why certain shelves in shops are covered.”
In Israel, there are many different groups of Christians. For instance Arabic Christians have their own celebrations and traditions.
Liisa Alanne has taken part in a Messianic Easter celebration, which is celebrated by Messianic Jews who believe that Jesus is the messiah.
“They have a seder meal where Jesus is incorporated literally as the sacrificial lamb, meaning He is in the bread and the wine. This means the Easter of the New Covenant replaces the Easter of the Old Covenant. Once after the Easter meal on Holy Thursday, we took part in an ecumenical procession which went from Jerusalem’s old city towards the slopes of Gethsemane and we sang Christian songs. There were soldiers and police making sure we were safe in the procession. Because of the risk of suicide bombers, sometimes during outdoor services at the Garden Tomb there would be a helicopter right above us.”
Comments
Post a Comment