Shalom friends!
As there Sabbath comes in, we want to wish you שבת שלום ‘Shabbot Shalom’!
We appreciate you and know that you are praying for us. We are safe and doing well – trusting the Lord in the midst of a very intense week.
As you know, Israel and the U.S. carried out pre-emptive strikes to stop the Iranian regime’s nuclear efforts. Since then, Iran has responded by firing wave-after-wave of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel and nearby countries. And all of this happened during the week of the festival of Purim, the celebration written about in the book of Esther: When Mordecai and Esther chose to stand up to those who would seek to kill and annihilate the Jewish people (Esther 3:6). There have been some incredible articles written about the comparison between Iran today and ancient Persia/Iran. The adversary of (in the Book of Esther) Haman – and now Khamenei – did not survive. It feels like we are reliving the book of Esther in real time.
Normally, Purim is filled with joy – costumes, street parties, candies, and the reading of the “megillah” (The Scroll of the Book of Esther). This year, everything was cancelled. Our kids (and I’m sure all Israeli children) were disappointed, but we believe the celebrations will come later, maybe even sweeter than before.
What will we celebrate? In my opinion, it is the potential ending of decades of threats the were going to come to fruition. Words like nuclear enrichment, ballistic missile stockpiles, and arming regional proxies are very real. We saw the incredible military build-up all around Israel. We knew it was going to happen. It is just hard to believe we have arrived at this moment.
Last Saturday morning, March 1st.. it began with a fury.. we were alerted at 8:15am to the news of the Israeli and US pre-emptive attack on Iran. We spent that day – and every day since – in and out of our fortified bomb shelter, which is our apartment building’s basement. We are usually give na 10-minute early warning on our phones by a piercing noise and flickering flashlight which we cannot override. We quickly go down the 5 flights to meet our 30 neighbors, and even strangers from the street, and usually stay for around 20-30 minutes, while we wait for the sirens to stop and any shrapnel to fall. In the dead of night, we stumble bleary-eyed to sit in sleepy silence. There are times when the sirens come back-to-back and we repeat going up and down the stairs. In some buildings, people have safe rooms in their apartments and they sleep in them, not needing to get up. We don’t have that.
Yesterday (Thursday) we had to go get groceries before Shabbat. In Israel, on the Sabbath most shops are closed and weren’t going to make it to Sunday. It was also good, in light of the situation to have more supplies. With no school, it became a field trip for the kids and me.. and off we went, had fun time shopping but on the way home, another alerted sounded. We pulled over, put the hazards on and sought out a bomb shelter – this time an underground parking garage, and sheltered there wit the kids.. and the quickly-melting ice cream (you’ll be happy to know it survived!).
I share this so you can picture what life is like here right now. Israelis remain amazingly resilient – some cafes are open, the kids can play outside, and remote/essential/office is happening – but always close to a shelter. There’s Zoom school and I give the kids worksheets which they doo in Hebrew and in English.
Conversations, for the Lord are happening in bomb shelters. People are asking deep questions about faith, hope and comfort. It is an extraordinary time. Chosen People Ministries will start to mobilize to help the poor, needy, elderly, soldiers, families, young adults soon. Will you pray for us and for wisdom how to serve and love our neighbors and friends?
On our hearts, too, are the people of Iran who want freedom, without fear. Israeli believers are praying for the people of Iran, that their hearts will turn to Jesus, the giver of Life and Salvation. We pray for our region, the Middle East, to become a center of worship and belief in Jesus the Messiah!
As the peace of Shabbat arrives after such a heavy week, we you also pray with us for Israel, Iran, and our whole region – that the Gospel would be heard clearly, in conversations and even in dreams?
With love,
Rachel and Steve, Eli, Adam and Amalia
P.S. Last Friday night, just hours before everything changed, we watch the ‘David’ movie. The kids (and we) have been humming this song ever since. Here it is if you want to listen: https://youtu.be/kITbBIq07lQ.
Chosen People Ministries – 241 East 51st Street, New York NY 10022-6502
Please consider a donation: chosenpeople.com/donate/ or by credit card: 212-223-2252 and please write donation code: GOLDR
