Unprecedented Times
As I’m sure everyone is aware, this has been a unique year. In January, our congregation in Herzliya, Israel engaged in a 21 Day campaign of prayer, going before God’s throne for our city, the nation, and the world. We knew there would be some shifts this year (different members of our congregation moving and other aspects of our fellowship growing), but we had no idea, like most of the world, of this ensuing pandemic and its effects. I’m glad we began the year soaked in prayer: who knows if we would have been able to continue in strength without it!
I will start off by saying that we (the Escobars) are well. Thanks to faithful supporters and my (Matthew’s) secular work, we have been covered financially, thank God! We are all healthy and happy. Thank you all for your continued contributions and prayer.
Going LIVE!
When the threat of COVID-19 began to spread toward Europe and the Middle East in the spring, our pastors here at King of Kings Herzliya, Daniel and Jalene Geppert, had left the country for a ministry trip in Europe. One Friday in March, Daniela and I realized that we could not safely hold service the next day (before any restrictions came into place). I shared this with our pastor, and we called the man who was supposed to preach and arranged to record his sermon, as well as filming ourselves leading worship. We streamed the service the next day on Facebook Live. For the next 3 months, every week, we filmed and recorded our service. Our pastor, who was still stranded in Germany, emailed a video of his message each week. We also filmed a program for our Kingdom Kids ministry each week and made both available on Facebook and Youtube. We also resumed our community groups by meeting on Zoom weekly. While some congregations in Israel were unable to reach their people for weeks following a mandatory shut-down, King of Kings Herzliya never missed ONE WEEK of reaching people with the Word of God! And that is thanks to YOUR SUPPORT and continued prayer!!!
Staying Flexible
At the beginning of June, we began to hold services again as things began to open. Throughout June, we were able to get our visa renewed for another year (Praise God!), get an Israeli driver’s license for Daniela, and open an Israeli bank account. These seem like little things, but in Israel, each bureaucratic endeavor is a challenge, usually requiring 2 or more visits. Our goal in these is to soon be able to buy a car and move to another apartment (so we are not sharing the facilities with the congregation). As of writing, this has come to a standstill again as there has been another spike in coronavirus cases, and a teacher in our son’s school tested positive for the virus. This means we are again in mandatory quarantine for two weeks and our congregation has moved services back to online-only. Again, we thank God that we are able to still reach people with an online presence.
Please pray with us:
- For souls: even in the instability in our own lives, we want to be focused on the goal of Yeshua which has not changed – to make disciples of all nations
- King of Kings Finances: our congregation has not been hit as hard as other congregations in the land, but we still need the grace of God in this area. Pray for our fellowship as well as other Messianic fellowships in Israel regarding finances.
- Transition: our congregations is saying goodbye to many families who have been pillars in this fellowship. Pray as they go that others would be led to continue their work here with us.
- For us: we need God’s wisdom and favor, as well as finances to purchase a car and an apartment. This will help King of Kings with more space (since we lease the second floor in the congregation’s facility), as well as giving us some independence.
From where you are, you can empower God’s work in Israel! If you want to contribute financially, click on the GIVE link.
