Newsletter #42 February, 2013 The Dead Sea Dear friends, Three months have passed since our last newsletter. The brief war with Gaza has passed. Though about 1,500 rockets were launched against Israeli population centers, only five Israelis were killed, thanks to God s protection. Meanwhile, we are still laboring to see the second phase of Israel s restoration take place. As the Lord declares in Ezekiel 36:24-27: For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. God proclaims that He will restore Israel not only to the Land, but also to Himself. The only way back is through the Messiah Yeshua. As the apostle Paul says in Romans 10:1; Brethren, my heart s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. This is the burden of our heart, that Israelis, as well as Palestinians, may find forgiveness and new life in Yeshua. Beit Hayeshua: Beit Hayeshua is more than full. At times we have 9 men in stage 1 whereas we only have 8 beds. That means that one has to sleep on a mattress on the floor. That s a lot better than the street, though. The weather has been quite cold, and homeless have been suffering without adequate shelter. A few weeks ago we received Sergei into our program. He is a relatively young man in his thirty s who is an alcoholic and homeless for a good number of years. We can see that the years on alcohol use have damaged his mental facilities. However, we know the Lord can restore him. He has already prayed to accept Yeshua. He is beginning to open up to the love of God. The last few days he has even begun to sing along as we sing praise songs to God. A month ago we also received a man named Sasha. He is in his fifty s and spent many years in prison for various crimes. He has lived a lonely life, having only a cat as a companion. He has come into the program from Nazareth. A week ago he was very attacked spiritually. This often happens the first weeks a new student is in the program. Satan will do anything to push them to leave through spiritual attacks in their minds. I persuaded him so stay for another week to let God work. Then, in a Shabbat meeting, Sasha came forward for prayer. The Holy Spirit came upon him powerfully and he fell to the ground. He didn t understand what happened and asked me about it afterwards. I explained to him that it was the Holy Spirit. He seems much better after this experience. Pray that Sasha remains in the program.
The other men are all doing well. During January we experienced a snow storm in Jerusalem. This is a rare occurrence and all the men greatly enjoyed going out in the snow and fooling around. That week about 2 feet of water was added to the Kinnear (Sea of Galilee). So we praise the Lord for that. Please pray for the financial situation of Beit Hayeshua. About two years ago a precious sister in the Lord passed away and left all she had to Beit Hayeshua. That came to about 50,000 pounds sterling. That money is now about gone. We are very careful about our expenditures, but salaries and rent do have to be paid. Now there is enough in the bank for two more months of operation. This work began and remains a faith work. We are seeing the Lord set men free and bring them into His kingdom. There is such an anointing of the Holy Spirit upon this work. I don t believe that God would have it shut down. Because of that we trust the Lord to provide. I am letting you know the facts here so that you, our friends can pray with us and give as you feel led. We really need more regularly donations and not just one timer gifts. Thanks so much. Photos from Beit Hayeshua Sea A hearty meal A hard game of Shesh Besh at the Dead Snow at Beit Hayeshu a Snow Ball Fight
A White Jerusalem Damascus Gate at Old City of Jerusalem Congregation Yeshuat Yisrael: There is an increasing blessing of the Holy Spirit upon our meetings. We care especially encouraged by the Monday evening prayer meetings. Almost half of the congregation attends. Sometimes we feel we are right in the presence of God, worshipping the King. There are many answers to prayer; for salvation and healing. We are beginning a program to equip some of the young leaders to move more into their callings. About once a month the Shabbat service is handed over to these young men. This includes organization of the service itself, the preaching, worship, etc. The Scriptures indicate that one of the main purposes of the fivefold ministry is to equip the saints for the work of service. Another blessing is that through Beit Hayeshua, there is a stream of new believers coming into the congregation. That is the life in any congregation. Finally, the Lord is bringing us more and more into community life. Beit Hayeshua is located just down the hall from the congregational meeting hall. After Shabbat services, The congregational members can just walk down the hall and have an extended time of fellowship at the Beit Hayeshua facility. Moreover, during the week, Beit hayeshua provides a center where some in the congregation can come and teach or fellowship with the guys. How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity! Israel: Israel has just had elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have the job of building a coalition government. A surprise in the lections was the Yesh Atid party led by Yair Lapid. It won 19 seats in the Knesset. This party has a platform of equality regarding the military draft (most ultra-orthodox men are excused from the army so they can study at Yeshivas. This inequality has caused much resentment from the secular Israelis who have to bear the burden of the national defense). Any coalition will have to include them as well as probably the national religious party called HaBayit HaYehudi (The Jewish Home). It may well be that the ultra-orthodox parties will be left out of this government, which may be a good thing for believers. However, God knows what s best, so we need to pray. The Gaza war ended some months ago. Very few civilian casualties took place, despite the fact that the Hamas deliberatively targeted civilians. The Iron Dome anti-missile system reached an 84% efficiency rate of intercepting enemy rockets. That is almost unheard of efficiency. Moreover, very few Gazan civilians died (most killed were militants) because of the extensive Israeli use of smart bombs. Good news. After years of drought we have been blessed with abundant rains this winter. The level of the Sea of Galilee has been at record lows for some years. Now it seems that it will be almost at the high point at the end of the rainy season, so we praise the Lord.
Prayer Points: 1) Beit Hayeshua: Thank the Lord for new vision and His confirmation to continue this labor of love. Thank the Lord also for the new men who have come into the program and found new life in Yeshua. Pray also for the men in stage 2, that the Lord would strengthen them and keep them close to Himself as they begin to work. a. Pray also for financial provision. Beit Hayeshua is running a big deficit every month. If it wasn t for a generous donation over a year ago, we wouldn t have been able to continue this work. Pray that our base of donors be expanded greatly. 2) Yeshuat Yisrael: Thank the Lord for His presence which we sense in our gatherings. Pray for the young leaders, some of whom are already serving in the rehab center, that the Lord will raise them up. 3) Israel: a. Pray for the government coalition of God s choice to be formed. b. Pray for God to pour out His Spirit and reveal Yeshua the Messiah to many Israelis c. Pray for God to break the power of Islam among the Palestinians and bring a great salvation to them Yours in Messiah s Service, Zvi and Yaffa Randelman
Donations to the drug/alcohol rehab project or to the congregation may be made out to our non-profit organization: Beit Hayeshua Ltd., and sent to: P.O. Box 25, Maale Adumim, Israel.Please let us know if the donation is for the rehab center or for the congregation. Wire transfers for Beit Hayeshua (drug rehab center) or to Yeshuat Yisrael congregation may be sent to the account bearing the name Beit Hayeshua at: Israel Discount Bank, Ramot Eshkol Jerusalem; Branch No. 109, Account No. 340790 Swift Code: idblilit, IBAN: IL27 0111 0900 0000 8340 791 For tax deductions in the USA, donations may be made out to: Makor Chaim P.O. Box 420715, San Diego CA, USA 92142-0715 and earmarked for Beit Hayeshua For further information and to receive prayer bulletins, please write to: P.O. Box 25, Maale Adumim, Israel 98100 Our e-mail address is: zvir@013.net.il You may also visit our website at: www.beit-hayeshua.org