Summer Connections

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Dear Friend,

The last month of school was the usual whirlwind of end-of-year parties and goodbyes. Shir left kindergarten and, while she is excited to be entering 1st grade, struggled with the goodbye to her teachers. Leeya goes to 3rd grade and, while the children in her class will mostly remain the same, she struggled with saying goodbye to her teacher for the first two years of school. Roni will be returning to the same teachers and students for 6th grade, so she really didn’t have to say many goodbyes.

The need for spiritual refreshing was addressed by Shmuel in a sermon series starting the week leading up to Shavuot (Pentecost in Greek). His four messages were in response to the weariness that so many seemed to be experiencing. During the last young adults meeting I addressed the issue of spiritual gifts and this past Friday evening together with their leadership we did a seminar to help discover what gifts the Lord has given them.

Summer vacation began on July 1st. Planning and enabling the grandgirls summer activities has been a huge part of Heidi’s focus – summer camps, studies, sports activities, vacation and just plain time off. For Heidi the biggest challenge has been getting time to read and relax during this past month.

Hannah’s friend, Nicole, and her daughter, Posy, have been with us now for a couple of those weeks. Becky and Boaz, mother and almost 3 year-old son and a part of our home group, have been spending time with us and Nicole during the past weeks. Nicole is still not clear on her relationship with Yeshua, so all the interaction is spiritually good for her. She was close to Dasha during her previous visits, and it’s good to have Becky establishing a relationship to fill that gap.

Noah’s final exam in Heat Transfer did not go well for him. He failed the test by two points but was given the opportunity to try again with the international students at the end of July. He felt that he failed this second exam as well, even though he was much more confident that he was well prepared. He has struggled with test-taking performance anxiety since high school. Dasha’s murder and the war here complicated his academic performance, and he lost several semesters of study as a result. However, he got the results back today and passed!

Right now, he just wants to complete his degree. He asked me to call him each morning during the periods before both exams and we’ve prayed together consistently during those times. While he finds it a struggle, he is growing to trust the Lord more with his anxieties and worries. He has only one more course to complete this semester and he will have finished the work for his BS in Mechanical Engineering.

Josiah works regularly in the prison now and can support his needs there. He has met another inmate at work there named Yotam with whom he has been able to speak about Yeshua. Yotam grew up secular on a Kibbutz, but during his many years in prison has read the New Testament. He and Josiah have been taking time at lunch to read and discuss the book of Romans. Josiah gave Yotam my number and he called me to express his faith in Yeshua and ask that our congregation pray for him.

Heidi has been able to meet with a couple of women and is praying about how active she can be in discipling a young woman in the congregation. The grandgirls continue to be her primary focus. As they grow and become a bit more independent she is looking to see how the Lord would like her to invest her time and energy.

The Lord has impressed me with the need to pray for two to three serious young men to meet with regularly during the upcoming year. Yesterday I met with one who might be a potential candidate. I’ve been very encouraged with a few who have been attending our regular weekly prayer meetings. The meeting is usually attended by only a handful of people and most of the time is comprised only of men. As we approach the upcoming High Holidays, I’m looking for those who will lead our traditional day of prayer and fasting for the nation on Yom HaKippurim.

The threat of further strikes and renewed conflict haunts us in the background all the time, although it has stayed quiet. We never really know when the conflict with Hezbollah will erupt again, or Iran will decide to launch more drones or missiles. No one really trusts anyone else – and for good reason. “Agreements” don’t seem to hold and are subject to each side’s interpretations. Thankfully, we are currently able to go about keeping normal schedules at the congregation, but as people travel we wonder if they will go and if they will be able to get back as planned.

As you pray, please join us in asking the Lord to:

• Encourage, energize and empower the body here, applying the lessons regarding the Spirit’s work in their lives.

• Allow those travelling

  to return to Israel without interruption during this period when so many are out of the country.

• Give Noah the ability to trust the Lord completely with his studies and finally overcome the test anxiety with has troubled him for so many years.

• Meet with Yotam to encourage him to grow in his faith as well as help Josiah to also grow in Him.

• Move the decision makers in the USCIS to look at and grant our grandgirls’ request for US citizenship.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated. We are grateful that you are standing before the Lord on our behalf as we deal with the uncertainty of life and ministry. Thank you so much for your faithful partnership!

Yours in the Messiah,

Phil and Heidi