Around 3am Friday morning we here in Israel were awakened by the air-raid sirens. We awoke to the reality that Israel was now in open war directly with Iran. Iran has been the power behind Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. They have been threatening for years to destroy us and have come perilously close to developing a nuclear weapon to use against us. After refusing to continue negotiations and boldly declaring that they would ignore any treaty obligations, the IDF attacked.Â
Many of our young men and women were called up back into service Friday morning. Classes at schools and universities were cancelled, non-essential businesses were ordered closed and citizens were instructed to to stay near bomb shelters. Because of the distance they have to travel, we get about ten minutes alert in our area to take shelter, an improvement on the one minute warnings we would receive when missiles were launched from Lebanon.
Friday night three air-raid warning woke us, sending us to our various places of shelter. Thankfully, most of the Iranian drones and ballistic missiles sent at us so far have been intercepted, limiting the amount of death and destruction here. Unfortunately, those that have gotten through have been heavy, powerful and have caused death and unprecedented destruction.
Our congregation met for worship this Shabbat on Zoom as all public worship facilities have been closed until further notice. Daryoosh and Sara joined us from the UK. Daryoosh is a former Muslim Iranian Republican Guard soldier whose heart was changed when came to faith, transforming his hatred for Israel into a deep love for God’s chosen people. He and Sara were a part of our congregation for a number of years as a part of showing that love. Daryoosh prayed for Israel and for us at our meeting, as well as for Israelis and Iranians to come to know the Messiah.
We remain committed to following the directives of our Home Front Command. Our current plan to resume broadcasting our weekly worship services on YouTube until we are able to once again meet. Our weekly Hebrew prayer meeting will continue on Zoom until we can return to meeting together in person. We are encouraging our home groups to find ways to encourage and to meet together in ways that follow the directives of the Home Front Command.Â
Meanwhile, we rejoice in what the Lord has been doing here in and through our congregation. On May 24th we met as an entire congregation at the Baptist Village for fellowship, teaching, testimonies and baptisms. Our theme verse was Psalm 29:11 “May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!” Ten individuals were baptized, half of whom are the first in their families to receive Yeshua as their Messiah. As they told their stories it was encouraging to hear how the Lord was able to break through their prejudice and toward the New Testament and open the eyes of their minds and hearts to receive Yeshua as their Messiah, Savior and Lord.
One of the young men scheduled to be baptized wasn’t able to make it on the 24th. So the eleventh individual was baptized the following Friday upon being given a short leave from his service in the IDF in Gaza. Several other individuals have requested baptism and we are hoping that we will be able to gather by the end of June to celebrate their decisions to follow the Lord in this way according to His instruction.Â
We are humbled by the privilege and responsibility the Lord had placed in our hands with these and so many other young believers in our congregation. Please continue to pray for their growth and the development of young leaders in our midst. Some of young men we consider to be key future leaders recently met to discuss how the congregational leadership might help them grow in their faith and service. The leadership has already been working on a development plan, so it is exciting that they feel this need! We hope to finalize plans to begin meeting in the fall to meet this need and expand the ministry in the congregation.
We appreciate your prayers for our safety and for the safety of our country. Please remember the people of Iran as well who suffer under the darkness of a radical Islamic regime, many of whom have come to faith in Yeshua over the past decades. We are also grateful for your prayers for the strength we need from the Lord to minister the gospel to those here under these circumstances.
With Gratitude and Blessings,
Shmuel Aweida and the Beit Eliyahu Congregation
