Greetings in Yeshua,
After almost a year and a half, Israel is still at war having gone through a second winter and now entering a second sprint. The end is not yet in sight, but we thank the Lord for breakthroughs over the past few months, both politically and spiritually.
We praise God for the breakthrough in political negotiations which led to the ceasefire in Gaza and hostage exchange deal. The whole country was glued to the media coverage to see hostages fall into the arms of their loved ones with screams and tears of joy! In this phase a total of 33 hostages were released; 25 of them were alive and 8 were not. In exchange, Israel released hundreds of terrorists, many with a lot of blood on their hands. The exchanges were spread out over multiple weeks, and were an extreme emotional rollercoaster for the entire society.
Spiritually, many are searching for the meaning to life in the midst of great pain, trauma and uncertainty. There are many amazing testimonies from released hostages of how they cried out to God for help, and statistics from online evangelism platforms of seekers watching videos and engaging in conversations is very high. We’ve had two new believers join Kerem-El who found the congregation by searching online. Their stories, along with other updates, are below.
Baptism of New Believers
Baptisms are always a joyful and blessed event, seeing new believers declare the faith in Messiah Yeshua. In Israel they can also be difficult due to the connotations that it carries for Jewish people in light of Christian history.
Last weekend we were blessed to baptize three young men in their late teens and early twenties. We gathered as a congregation at the local beach for the baptism and it was a very blessed time. One other decided to wait a little longer due to his family threatening to kick him out of the house if he gets baptized. Following Yeshua in Israel can come at a steep price.
Two of these young men have been growing in the Lord for a couple of years through a mutual friend from school. The other two are new believers and we’ve shared their stories below..
“Y” questioned God’s existence and began to search the Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) to find a deeper faith. In his search he came across Messianic websites, and spent many months on his own listening to messages. It soon became clear to him that he needed a congregation, so he Googled and found Kerem-El. He has been coming to meetings and discipleship classes faithfully.
“O” begun believing in Yeshua about three years ago but didn’t know that there were other Jewish believers in Yeshua in Israel. As he was searching for political articles online, he stumbled on to Messianic platforms. He went through a season of unbearable mental torment but one night he cried out to Yeshua and immediately the torment lifted. After this encounter he immediately believed in Yeshua, knowing him to be his savior. Since then he has been alone with online teachings, and about a month ago he started coming to the congregation. He also has faithfully been coming to Shabbat meetings and discipleship classes.
Please pray for these young men as they take this brave stand for the Lord, and especially for the young man who postponed the baptism for now.
PRAYER REQUESTS
– Baptisms and new believers: Praise the Lord for the new believers who were baptized. Please pray for their protection and growth in the Lord. Please also pray for the young man who is suffering from his family as he navigates the situation with them. Pray the revelation of Messiah for them.
– Deacons: New deacons have stepped up and are in the process of learning the work that needs to be done. Please pray for grace and wisdom for them during this time.
– Pastoral Team: Pray for the leadership team as they seek the Lord’s will for the future, and for more laborers to join the work.
– War: We praise the Lord for the recent hostage releases. Continue to pray the remaining hostages will be released back home to their loved ones. That those alive will not be lost.
– Reservists: Many are now being called up for additional rounds of service. Pray for those in our congregation who are and will be in active duty in the coming months, and for their wives and children who remain at home.
