Merry Christmas
As we near the Christmas season, we want to say a special thank you to everyone that has prayed for us and supported us in 2024. It’s hard to believe that our family has been in Israel for the past 5 years now. The time goes so quickly! Without your help, we wouldn’t be free to do what we do here in central Israel, so we thank you for making it possible to serve God’s people in the Holy Land.
In the past few months, we have continued our work of discipleship with new believers, we’ve seen another come to faith, and we have continued in outreach in proclaiming the good news. We have been intentional in our sermons and messaging to include an invitation to follow Yeshua (Jesus) as we recognize that the time is ripe. We have also made plans for a completely Hebrew speaking home group to begin at the beginning of January to extend our reach even more to Israelis. In February, we will also launch a class to discuss tough questions about the faith that many believers continue to have.
In September, we had the privilege of baptizing some of the new believers at the Jordan River. Our son, Alon, also chose to be baptized, so I had the joy of baptizing him!
Travels
In October, our family took a trip to Germany where we ministered in worship at a dynamic conference at a church in Heidelberg. It was an amazing time, and we got to share testimony of how God has spoken and kept us during the war, as well as what God is doing here in Israel. We spent some time after the conference doing some traveling and taking a short vacation.
Then, we flew to the US for 4 days to help lead worship at a large fundraising event for Israel related ministries. It was an amazing experience to worship with Jewish, Arab, and American worshippers all singing the name, “Yeshua!”
Let There Be Light
This past week, we held our annual “Let There Be Light” event, where we sang carols, toasted marshmallows around a fire, and shared the Christmas message of Jesus coming to earth. We had many people attend, including many who have never heard this message before. Our aim with these big outreaches is to plant a seed, get people to stop and ask questions, and allow the Holy Spirit begin to work on hearts.
Once again, we are able to help with these outreaches and discipleship opportunities because of your generous support. We pray, in turn, that you are blessed this Christmas and into 2025.
Prayer and Praise
We thank God that the sirens and the missiles have calmed down in Israel after the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. We had quite a scare in October as Iran attacked in a big way and Hezbollah ramped up their attacks. Some of you have also been praying for some of members of our congregation that have mandatory service in the army right now. They are doing well, but please continue to pray for them.
Please agree with us in prayer for my (Matthew’s) work situation. I work a secular remote job in the US that helps provide most of our needs. Without providing too much information, we are praying for God’s guidance and provision with this role and we need God to open a door very soon.
Requests
- Pray for a quick end to the hostage and humanitarian crises.
- Pray for Matthew’s work situation.
- Pray more Israelis to come to faith by a work of the Holy Spirit.
- Pray for God to enable us to disciple these new believers.
- Praise God for all the answered prayer!
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