Shalom Haverim,
It is Sunday here, the weather is cold and stormy and I have spent the entire day in my jammies. How absolutely wonderful that has been. I highly recommend it. And added to that is the fact that sweet, red, and delicious strawberries are in season here… what a wonderful gift.
Storm winds have been blowing through much of Israel since late yesterday, with 10 cm. of snow falling on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights. Wind and heavy rain with snow also expected on the upper peaks of the mountains in the Galilee region. Sandstorms have been blowing in our area since yesterday and rain is expected to appear later in the day.
The high winds make the rocket launches difficult and dangerous for those in Gaza so it has been quiet since the winds began late yesterday. The current count so far this month is ten mortars with some damage to a home on a kibbutz and an Israeli man hospitalized after injury from a mortar on December 8th.
As to the ministry; I shared before about the beautiful handmade blankets Deanna a volunteer had brought with her. Well we recently had some other friends visit from the States, who brought a suitcase full of baby clothes. It seems like there is always someone having babies here. In the past two weeks we have made several home visits to families either expecting very soon or who have just had precious little ones. It is such a joy to be able to bless them with a few baby things and a warm blanket.
On one such occasion, we went to the home of one of the families we provide with food. The brand new, first time grandmother of triplets was so excited she couldn’t sit still. And how cool it is that with all those blankets to choose from, I was able to find three matching ones for the triplets (two girls and a boy).
The unexpected gift of a few simple baby things and a warm blanket give us the opportunity to tell them about the wonderful believers back in the States who simply love Israel and want to bless Ha’Shem’s children. But even more importantly we get to remind them that Ha’Shem loves and cares for them.
Ha’Shem shows me more and more each day that this ministry is so much more than just distributing food to the poor. There are daily opportunities to share in their lives; the births, the death of a love one, the everyday struggles of life and relationships allows us an opportunity to remind them of Ha’Shem’s love and faithfulness toward His children. It allows us to share about His character and heart. The everyday business of running the storefront gives us the opportunity to teach our volunteers about the need to operate the storefront with Godly principles which glorify Him.
This all serves to remind us that sharing His truth does not require great skill or vast knowledge on our part, but instead requires only the willingness to have Him be part of every conversation with those He has put in our lives.
This Christmas may you see and know anew how great His love is toward you... Love so amazing.
It's hard to think of a Christmas without you here, fresh off a night shift from work. The Lord bless you and keep you in His tender care. You have encouraged me greatly this past year; I pray for you now and often as I think of you and the dear ones you have gone to serve. I selfishly miss you but know the greater blessing is yours. Love you Sis, Steph
ReplyDelete