Thankful Hearts

Dear Friend,

The cashier at the store counter Thursday asked me, “When is Thanksgiving?” When I said, “Today”, she was confused. She expected it to be the following day. As I thought about her puzzled look, it dawned on me that she was reacting to all the ads for Black Friday. American culture has infiltrated Israeli society through the multiplying advertising schemes. This year we’ve been inundated with Black Friday sales, deals and ads, with no direct mention of Thanksgiving.

Leeya setting her own table :)

Thanksgiving was a much more modest affair for our family this year. The fall has been a hard one for Heidi as the nerve on the left side of her face was damaged by the shingles virus. Her left ear is in constant pain as well as consistent numbness/tingling in the nerves surrounding her eye and mouth. She belatedly cut back on her activities and commitments and has been in consistent pain since July. She has visited several doctors and recently changed the pain medication she’s been taking. But in spite of all this, she doesn’t sleep well at night, and it’s hard for her to get out of bed in the morning.

She and Dudi worked to prepare part of the Thanksgiving meal. As they worked, they had a good conversation about life and God’s work in our lives. Dudi is not a believer yet, but he does believe in God. He continues to think and ask questions.

The rest of the dinner was prepared by Janelle, Adam’s wife. Adam returned to Israel with her and their newborn son just over 6 weeks ago. They stayed with us as they searched for an apartment. The task of getting settled proved challenging, but they finally moved into their own place, and the day before Thanksgiving got a working oven. Happy day for Janelle!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with them, Janelle’s parents, our kids and grandkids, and Shay’s family. Noah told the Thanksgiving story to Sasha and our grandkids, and we thanked the Lord for what He has done in our lives. Shay’s dad had an especially good and deep conversation with Janelle’s dad, and they decided to meet again before Janelle’s parents leave later this week.

Michael recently started his classes at the University of Haifa. He continues to be faithful to meet weekly and come prepared to those meetings. I was very encouraged to hear from him how the Lord has been using Scripture memorization in his life. He was asked to join the leadership team for our youth group and recently taught in one of their meetings. It was exciting to see how the verses he’s committing to memory and the study of the book of Romans have provided a great foundation for what he had to share with them.

Earlier this month Gal took the step of following the Lord in baptism. On the day we announced the upcoming baptism he learned that he would be without work on the first day of November, the very day he was to be baptized. Then, immediately following his baptism – that very day – he received to job offers! It hasn’t been easy for him to work, take an active part in the care of an autistic daughter shared with his ex-wife and make time to grow in his faith. But it has been encouraging to see how he’s committed to following the Lord and finds joy and strength in Him.

Sasha taking a lesson from a friend.

Sasha is an active 4th grader, gets along well with those in her class and is faithful to try doing the work she’s given. But unfortunately, she’s behind the rest of her class in reading and hasn’t been able to keep up. This has created a degree of frustration for her as well as those trying to help. Earlier this month she was able to see a specialist once again who, after testing her, determined that she has Attention Deficit Disorder in a form that might be helped with medication.

Because we’ve pursued (and continue to pursue) lots of options and she still needs help to overcome these difficulties, we feel that adding medical help at this time is a worth a try. However, as foster parents, we are not allowed to make such a decision. Her biological parents must approve it, or the judge that is handling the case must order the treatment. So, we’re waiting for the system to work through the issue and are praying that the Lord will provide the help Sasha needs to focus and catch up with those in her class.

So, please pray:

• Heidi’s nerve will recover and that she will be pain free soon.

• Michael will continue to make studying the Word and his relationship with the Lord a priority during this first semester at the University.

• Gal will have sufficient income to meet his needs as well as the time needed to devote to helping care for his autistic daughter while continuing to pursue his relationship with the Lord.

• Sasha will get the appropriate help to enable her to focus on her schoolwork and catch up with those in her class in reading.

We hope that your Thanksgiving was a wonderful time to remember the Lord’s goodness and grace in your lives. We are grateful that you are part of His goodness and grace to us! Thanks for the part you play with us in this ministry and for your faithful partnership in the Messiah.

Yours in the Messiah,

Phil and Heidi