Shalom Friends,
In October I travelled to Israel as part of an FOI Relief solidarity visit and was able to gain important insights into many parts of Israeli life as they continue to be at war with Hamas and Hezbollah which are really Iran. I was anticipating a promised reprisal by Iran while in Israel but thankfully it didn’t materialise and praise God while I was there I never had any threatening moments and our trip went according to plan.
The situation for Israelis however is very different especially in the north of the country where the Galilee and cities such as Haifa, Nahariya and Akko along with the Lebanon border communities were all experiencing daily attacks from rockets and drones being fired from Lebanon. There have been some missiles coming further south into Tel Aviv but amazingly little damage and injury has occurred with most being intercepted or falling into open areas.
Over the past year through the Israel Relief, and Stand with Israel funds Friends of Israel has given NZD2.5m in aid and relief to various organisations in Israel thanks to the generosity of our donors. I had the privilege of seeing how those funds are being used and to meet many people who are so grateful for what we are doing. On behalf of them all, thank you.
If I could capture the heart of Israel right now, I would say it is still emotionally raw. Many are grieving, suffering from PTSD, angry, and still uncertain about where this conflict will go and whether it will end and when will the hostages be returned. I was able to go to what is now called Hostage square in Tel Aviv and stand shoulder to shoulder with at least a two thousand people who represent many more thousands around Israel maintaining vigils and protests and keeping the hope alive that the hostages will be returned alive.
I was also able to visit the Gaza periphery including the massacre sites of the Nova festival and other kibbutzim where Hamas killed many innocent people. The thundering sound of tank fire so close to where we were at the Nova site at Re’im was at times startling. There were hundreds of visitors there learning about what happened and seeing the memorials and reading the stories of those 364 mostly young lives cut down in such violent acts. For more insights and photos of my trip, CLICK HERE
While in Israel we received the news that President Trump was elected to office once again. This news was for the most part received very well in Israel based on his last term where he was very supportive of Israel and successfully initiated the resolute Abraham Accords peace agreement. It is interesting that I was able to fly to Israel very efficiently through Dubai and on to Tel Aviv as a direct result of those accords.
In New Zealand
I have been so encouraged to see the growing generosity in New Zealand over the past year with our support increasing over the last year enabling us to continue fulfilling what I believe is such an important ministry in these days in which we are living. The mission continues to remain steady financially and we give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness.
This year has had some personal health challenges for both Jo and I, but we are so thankful for the prayer and support we have received. What started out as a full year of ministry having been travelling in the North Island all of February where I was speaking and interviewing to fill our vacant ministry representative position suddenly came to a grinding halt as Jo suffered a debilitating knee injury requiring my care. Then in July having struggled all year with fatigue, I was forced to take some time out for rest. I was still able to complete several responsibilities including speaking at prophecy conferences in Sydney and Perth, managing our online and communications and assisting Cassy in our Auckland office. We are so thankful for Cassy who has been a great help handling our resource orders and the donations processing along with the many inquiries we receive each week.
Our search continues for a Ministry Representative based in New Zealand and in 2025 I will continue to serve the country with what I hope will be visits to areas I have not previously been. If you would be interested in having me visit, please be in touch.
It is my hope to see us resume tours to Israel towards the end of this year, but we also have potential for another solidarity visit earlier in the year for hose interested. With optimism that a Trump administration will hasten a resolution to the current conflict Israelis remain hopeful that tourism which represents 20-25% of the economy will rebound quickly. We hope to have details of our next tour available soon so if you’re interested you can pre-register here.
I want to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your support in 2024. We are so grateful the Lord has laid on your heart to support the vital work we are doing to proclaim biblical truth about Israel and Messiah and bring comfort to God’s chosen people.
We pray you will enjoy a blessed and safe Christmas and New Year’s season and Lord willing we look forward to connecting again in 2025.
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