Family Changes

September 5, 2022

Dear Friend,

Summer has come to an end and the new school year has begun. It has been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster for us this summer. There are some major changes for our family and especially for Sasha.

Sasha’s foster care has always been a bit of an exception to the general rule. Her biological parents put her the center of their bitter divorce. The past school year the court gave more time each week for each of them to see her. This summer the judge ordered that she would be able to spend an overnight at each of her biological parents’ homes.

The culmination of this is the decision that Sasha will return to live with one of her parents. Sasha shared her preferences with the social workers and they met with her state appointed lawyer, her biological parents and their lawyers on August 11th and reported their recommendation that Sasha live in Haifa with her father. Her mother didn’t accept this and so the matter has been referred to the court. The initial hearing was scheduled for August 28th, but was postponed to September 7th by her mother since her lawyer was out of the country.

The changes, the waiting and the wondering what will be decided have left all of us quite emotionally exhausted. As of today we still don’t know if this will happen. Her mother has been pressuring her to ask to move to live with her. Given the litigious nature of her parents’ relationship, we can only imagine how such a move would limit Sasha’s ability to see Dasha, her nieces and her brother.

Please pray for all the family as we go through this time of uncertainty and transition. This has been very stressful for everyone. It has been difficult for us to act as parents and for Sasha to treat us as parents knowing we won’t be her parents much longer. We also are asking that judge make a decision immediately after the hearing so that all of us can begin a healthy transition to our new reality.

The beginning of the new academic year is a time of planning and preparation. In addition to getting my English and Hebrew home groups off the ground, this Friday we will start a new group for the study of Romans. This is designed to be an in-depth self-study program that will require the participants to prepare the material for themselves before our bi-weekly meetings. The goals for this group are to give the participants a solid understanding of the gospel which is laid out in depth in this letter as well as equip them to do study the Word for themselves.

I’ve also joined the leadership team of our Young Adults ministry to help facilitate their meetings. The leadership team was scheduled our meeting dates for the up-coming year and will continue to work on planning the content for those meetings. We are wanting to expand the team to include others with a variety of gifts and abilities. Be praying that the Lord raise up the right people to join us.

Heidi will be continuing leading her Hebrew and English women’s groups. And in addition, she will be meeting with the women in leadership to facilitate a greater understanding of how the Lord has made and gifted them. The goal is to engage them in ministering in the areas of their gifting and passion. She has been spearheading this effort as part of a congregation-wide process. The parallel process among the men in leadership is moving slower than anticipated. Please pray for us as a growing congregation that through using the gift given by the Messiah we would “grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head” (Ephesians 4:15).

As you pray for us here, please be asking the Lord to:

• Give us patience, love, energy and wisdom as we wait to see what decision will be reached regarding Sasha and as well as deal with emotional needs.

• Show us the next steps as we seek to help our members discover their spiritual gifting and enable them to express those gifts effectively in at Beit Eliyahu.

• Raise up new leaders for both Hebrew speaking and English speaking home groups as well as our young adults ministry.

• Use the study of Romans to deepen an understanding of the gospel and how to live out of the power of the Spirit among those seeking to deepen and strengthen their walk with God.

• Give Heidi total relief from the pain in her trigeminal nerve which continues to limit her, especially in these time of personal and family stress.

We need your prayers as we face the situations that are before us. It is the assurance of His grace and the knowledge that He is listening and responding to the prayers of the saints that forms our hope of seeing lives changed, starting in our own lives. Thank you so much for the time you take as you invest in our lives and ministry so faithfully! May the Lord bless you and grant you a deeper knowledge of Him.

Yours in the Messiah,