Corona Restrictions Ending!

June 1, 2021

Dear Friend,

Israel has been in the news once again as missiles were launched from Gaza into Southern and Central Israel. This time the outbreak was accompanied by riots as both Jewish and Arab activists displayed their hatred and intolerance. The city of Haifa wasn’t immune. While it seems that most of vigilantes were not Haifa residents, cars were stoned, windows smashed, individuals attacked and dumpsters set on fire.

Iron dome at work

The mixed neighborhood where our congregational building is located saw a lot of the “action”. Several of the members witnessed the violence and shared videos with us. It was outright dangerous to leave their homes or enter the street. All was quiet where we live, though people stayed close to home. One Friday evening, a couple felt it unwise to leave their apartment and join us.

This type of chaos that’s been reported in the news over the past year reminds me of the situation faced in Isaiah’s day. The Assyrian superpower created great upheaval through its imperialistic policies. The Lord promised to protect His people, but it wasn’t a promise that they would remain unscathed. In fact, it was punishment for their lack of faith and part of the process the Lord would use to bring their hearts back to Him.

The Judean and Israelite leadership were practical men who looked for “real world” solutions to the economic and security problems they faced. They bring to mind today’s leaders – trying every avenue of human ingenuity possible like education, social welfare, legal reform, psychology – none of which work because they fail to acknowledge the Lord and what He says about the true need of men’s hearts. I’m reminded again that only He has the real answers to the personal and social problems that vex us. And only a real relationship with Him will bring about healing.

Elisheva’s experience is a prime example. Over the past weeks she has grown in her faith, but she has had to fight the message that maybe she’s joined a cult; she’s struggled with the desire to disconnect from the fellowship of believers; she’s struggling with how to relate to non-believing family and friends, what to do with deeply ingrained habits and beliefs; and she’s processing the fact that the God she is discovering seems so different from the one she imagined all these years.

Your prayers are key to her victory in this spiritual battle. Our identity in the Messiah can be a hard thing to grasp, especially for someone who is Jewish. It is fine to believe in just about anything and remain Jewish – Buddha, Krishna and New Age mysticism are fine – but you can’t believe in Yeshua. It leaves her feeling at times as if she is being deceitful and dishonest, requiring her to throw all of who she is away in order to start all over. Please continue to pray for her about these issues as she moves ahead in her new relationship with God.

Heidi speaking at a women’s night on Isaiah 55:6-13

The Ministry of Health here announced last week they will not renew any of the current orders restricting gatherings which expired yesterday. So we’ve been making plans to return to normal life at Beit Eliyahu! We will move indoors for our worship services this weekend! We’ve canceled our live broadcasts, we’re readying our meeting room to use it again after more than year and we’re organize refreshments to serve for our fellowship time between services. Yay!!!

Our plans for the Summer are taking shape. In late January, we presented our plan to our social worker. Since this process has drug on in the past, we let her know that we would buy tickets no later than the end of April as prices go up and availability goes down. As happened in the past, it drug on and on. Though we got the paperwork to renew Sasha’s passport, and permission from Sasha’s father for her to join us, her mother refused.

So, on April 30th I purchased tickets for Heidi and me. That lit a fire under the social worker and Sasha’s lawyer. The lawyer finally discovered that the judge for the case had been promoted and no one new had been assigned!

Sending off a couple we’ve enjoyed encouraging.

We’ve asked many people to pray for this permission. Finally, two weeks ago we got it! The next step of getting her a ticket also proved to be difficult. Our travel agent couldn’t add her to Heidi’s ticket; I had to call the airline. The first agent told me that there were no more seats on the flight. So, I went online to check what dates to which we could change our tickets and add Sasha. I found that it was possible to get an adult ticket on our original flights, so I called the airline back. The second agent turned out to be very competent and helpful. It took a while but she got it all worked out. Sasha is coming with us!

We’ll be arriving in Missouri on July 15th and heading to Texas to see Elishua and visit people we haven’t seen for several years. We’ll be back in Missouri by the end of July and spend the month of August visiting churches, friends and family. Sasha and Heidi will return on August 30th in order for her to begin school. My return is scheduled for September 14th. If you’re in Texas or Missouri (or in between) and would want us to visit, please be in touch!

We are grateful for how the Lord has blessed us with faithful partners like you. It is a privilege to be a part of the miracle of lives that are changed. Thanks for your part in making it possible to be a witness to the grace and power of our Lord here in Israel!

Yours in the Messiah,

Phil and Heidi