“So he said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Zechariah 4:6
Precious Brothers and Sisters,
It is an honor to be sending you our latest prayer report; entitled “War Update #9.” Ten months have come and gone since the infamous ‘October 07.’ Frankly, it has become increasingly difficult for us to write about Israel’s troubles. Nevertheless, it is important for us to share our perspectives and how these affect us as a family, as a community and as a nation. We will begin with some personal items and provide you with an update and prayer points for Beit Asaph community. Finally, we will address several aspects of our national crisis and identify current subjects for prayer.
PERSONAL: Maala and I are doing OK, taking one day at a time, encouraging one another and those around us and being very conscious of living with enormous tension. We are currently not in any physical danger nor living in the ‘firing line’ like our fellow citizens in the north or south. Nevertheless, the psychological effect of anticipating a massive missile attack from Iran and its proxies (Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis of Yemen) takes its toll.
Despite the very limited choice of flights and high cost of tickets, we flew for a week to England in July for some much needed respite. This included spending a few precious days with old friends, Tanas and Anne, based in Oxford. Tanas is a West Bank Palestinian and Anne is Danish. Both are dedicated Christians, directing missions for an agency in the UK. Our earliest memories with them are spending weekends in one another’s homes in Bethlehem and Netanya when Sara was just a toddler. Long gone are the possibility of those special times! However, because of our shared background in reconciliation ministries and a mutual passion for mission, we were able to ‘process’ together so much of what has been damaged or lost because of this terrible war.
Our daughter Sara and her husband Beni are both working hard and love being parents to their delightful 2.5 year old, Zoe.
Because of their schedules, we are very ‘hands-on’ grandparents, especially as the young family live just above us!
Sara is only a month out from completing her second master’s degree; this one will enable her to practice as a therapist and clinician to victims of sexual abuse and resultant complex PTSD. Her training also enables her to help victims of all sorts of trauma and that describes about 50% of our population at present. Sara would value your prayers for the successful completion of her qualifications and for ‘next steps.’
BEIT ASAPH COMMUNITY: Despite the war and our lack of a permanent facility/center, the congregation is doing very well. Our services in a local sports center have excellent attendance and our members are keen to serve.
Like many congregations all over the world, our numbers severely dwindled because of the Corona pandemic. Slowly but surely many new members have joined and are committed to help realize our vision to see a ‘permanent home’ established for Beit Asaph.
Please join us in giving thanks as we have reached the 50% mark of the purchase price of the floor-space we have assigned agreement. Paying this will immediately reduce our monthly interest payments by 50% and enable us to begin the renovation and equipping of our new community center. Our prayer goal is to have the facility up and running by the end of this year, 2024. This, of course, will require a continued steady flow of finances – from Beit Asaph members and from you, our dear friends and supporters abroad… We simply cannot do this without you. Please help us see this through to completion.
Please remember Elyakim in your prayers! He has served for more than three and a half years in the field in Osaka, Japan. He is highly regarded, leading a Godly and fruitful life for Yeshua. Let us be praying for a suitable life-partner for him and for an opportunity before the end of the year to come home for a visit and some R&R. He reports that he is doing well and greatly blessed by a full and fruitful summer!
Remember too Miriam (Beit Asaph’s missionary in Africa) and her husband Moses. Miriam is here with us in Israel and about one month before the birth of their son.
Great news! Moses just received an entry visa to Israel and God willing, will arrive in two weeks, just in time for the birth. They will remain until December before returning to serve the Lord in Africa.
A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE: We began by saying how “increasingly difficult it is to write about Israel’s troubles.” Living with a phenomenal amount of tension and uncertainty, and trying to make sense of all the disinformation (from within and without) has left the whole nation exhausted! There is so much sorrow and anger in both the Israeli and Palestinian societies. With no end in sight, the body count continues to rise on both sides. War is such a terrible thing! This week we received news of the recovery by the IDF of the bodies of six of the hostages. They had died in captivity, some because of our own bombs. Because of the complexity of waging war in urban surroundings, the risks of civilian deaths and injuries is very high. Every military operation inevitably results in tragedies, often affecting entire families on the Palestinian side. The Gaza Strip is a scene of absolute devastation. The world has been quick to point fingers of condemnation at Israel. However, one can only imagine the rising levels of anger amongst the Palestinians of Gaza, towards Hamas, Islamic Jihad and their leaders.
God’s message of love (the Gospel) is finding its way into the darkness. Thousands of Gazans are tuning into Christian media like our own “One for Israel” Arabic programs. The responses are significant. Pray please, for a great harvest.
A brief testimony from Germany: Our Yad b’Yad 2.0 team completed their program a week ago. The mission team this year led by Reuben, consisted of young Jewish, Arabic and German disciples, all living in Germany. One of their encounters at a ‘Contact Café’ was with H, a Gazan Moslem, who lost his wife and two daughters and was injured himself because of air strikes. H evacuated to Egypt and from there, managed to get to Germany. There he encountered members of our team and was deeply moved by the love and unity between the Jews and Arabs in particular. Hallil, an Arab Christian originally from Nazareth, shared the Gospel message with H and in the ensuing days, he received Christ and asked to be baptized. He is now being connected to local communities of Believers.
Meanwhile, the situation in the north of Israel is very fragile. Although not yet full-scale war, military exchanges of airstrikes, missiles and drones are systematically wreaking havoc on communities on both sides of the border. Huge tracts of land in northern Israel are burning and left desolate. It reminds us of scenes from Zechariah’s prophecies! Homes are damaged or destroyed and a growing number of residents, who have not been evacuated, have been injured or killed by exploding ordinance. Very recently, Hezbollah intentionally fired upon a group of youth playing football in the Druze community of Madj-el-Shams, killing twelve of them. I know the community well from my own military days. The entire town is in mourning. In another incident in the northern city of Nahariya, missile fragments struck a car, injuring several occupants and ending the life of our Brother in Christ, Michael Samara.
In this prayer report, we have attempted to portray a picture of our lives in the context of war. We have deliberately avoided commenting on the political scene and the social divisions within Israel itself. It is simply too much to take in and frankly too heartbreaking to write about. Please just pray in line with the words of Zechariah 1:3:
“Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
In the content of this report, we have provided you with many prayer requests. We hope this is helpful. Meanwhile we send this with our love, blessings and deep appreciation for you all.
Evan and Lev