Then she discovered a 26-day mission trip to Israel with OM.

As an industrial engineer, years ago Marcela offered her holidays to God. Instead of vacations, she goes on mission trips. “Every year, I plan the next mission trip. It’s not a sacrifice for me; it’s really a special thing in my relationship with God. I enjoy going on holidays, but I enjoy doing mission trips more,” Marcela said.

Marcela has been on mission trips to other provinces in Argentina, but this year she felt she was supposed to serve in a foreign country. Then she found out about a short-term trip to Israel with OM. She’d known about OM for about two years, having first heard about it at a summer camp in Cordoba. She saw an OM stand and got some literature for children, which she used at her ministry in children’s hospitals in Buenos Aires. So when she heard of the trip to Israel, this was her first choice.

Then the time came—to see her dream of going to Israel come true. But even better than a vacation, Marcela's trip allowed her to share the gospel in the very land where Jesus lived, died and rose again.

“It was so wonderful to be where Jesus was, where He lived.” Marcela remembered. She especially enjoyed being in places mentioned in the Bible. “I felt something very special there.”

Her team, made up of people from 10 different countries, mainly focused on evangelism. They had a lot of conversations, which was initially difficult for Marcela. “It was my first time sharing the gospel in English, and I didn’t remember it all at first. But I had wise leaders, who showed me a good way to do it, and I got to where I could do it on my own. It was weird at the beginning, I got scared sometimes, but it was really exciting at the same time.”

She was also surprised by being able to interact with both Jewish and Muslim people. “Before the trip, I only thought about Jewish people in Israel. I only pictured speaking with Jewish people, but during the trip I was able to talk with people from both religions, and that was a beautiful thing.”

One day, Marcela and a teammate met up with a woman named Farah*. They talked for over an hour, first about her studies, then about life, and finally religion. Farah told them that she didn’t consider herself a religious person, even though she practiced the traditions of her family, because culturally she is Muslim.

“She said she didn’t have a chance to choose her religion,” Marcela remembered. “Then she asked about our experiences, because she thought we didn’t have a choice, either. So we got to explain our faith: how one day we heard about Jesus and our lives changed. Then I shared my testimony with Farah about how I was born in a religious family, too. I told her about how as a child, I didn’t believe in God, but my grandmother always told me about Jesus. And one day, I felt alone and sad. I’d been betrayed by one of my best friends, and in that moment, I remembered everything my grandmother told me about Jesus. In that moment, I started a relationship with Him, and have never felt alone again.”

When she finished sharing her testimony, Marcela noticed Farah’s face changing. She agreed with them that there was a difference between a religion and a relationship with God. Marcela’s teammate offered to send her more information about Jesus, and Farah gave them her contact information. “I loved this conversation,” Marcela reflected, “because I could see how this lady could understand the difference, and I realised many Muslim people are searching for God, searching to live in a right way.”

Even though Marcela grew in her ability to share the gospel in English, one day God surprised her by leading her to an Argentinian woman—in Israel! Ana* only spoke Hebrew and Spanish. Marcela was able to talk with her about the gospel in her own language. “I was really happy,” Marcela shared, “because that day I needed to speak in Spanish with someone. I felt like that day was a gift of God. I was able to share with her about the gospel and Jesus. Ana told me she had two Messianic Jewish friends, and that she knew how difficult it was for one of her friends to become a Christian. This friend was from an Orthodox family, and it caused a big problem when she converted. She also knows what it means that Jesus is the Messiah; she knows what happens when someone accepts Christ. We were able to pray for her and give her a New Testament.”

Now back from her trip, Marcela says her time in Israel taught her complete dependence on God. “It was my first time sharing the gospel in English, and I also didn’t know anything about the culture. Everything was new for me. I learned to be more humble because I had to depend on God for everything.

In Argentina, because I know the language and culture, there have been times I could have relied on myself. But in Israel, I had nothing but Him. If I didn’t ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I didn’t have anything. I want to be humble like Jesus.”

As for future mission trips, Marcela is praying about where she will go next year. For now, she is focusing on sharing the gospel in her local community, in the children’s hospital and with her colleagues at work. Prayer has also become a huge ministry for her. “I like praying for Israel and I think it is part of the mission too—praying for others who are in other countries and provinces doing the will of God. I’m still in contact with workers from Israel, asking how I can pray for what God is doing there.”

Marcela might have returned from Israel, but her impact there continues.

*Name changed for security

Kristen Torres-Toro loves to tell stories about what God is doing in the world. She currently serves as the Field Communications Facilitator for OM Argentina.

As OM recently shifted its focus to starting new fellowships of believers, some of the OM ministry fields have found themselves searching for ways to realign their work with this new goal of seeing vibrant communities of Jesus followers among the least reached.

One such field is OM Israel, which despite ministering in Israel for over 50 years, has never before focused on church planting, explains OM Israel field worker Gershom*. Most of the field’s ministry thus far has included evangelistic literature distribution and conversations with strangers during public outreaches.

“The whole concept [of church planting] is foreign to us, and I don't think anyone on our field has had experience in this area, so even though we are all willing and dedicated to realignment, we really don't have a lot of knowledge on how to do this.”

As the field seeks to realign with OM’s new focus, its workers continue to learn how to better utilise their current ministries to reach the unreached. Two steps in the right direction, according to Gershom, include more strategic outreaches with short-term teams and an increased commitment to follow-up.

Short-term outreaches

One of the focus areas for short-term outreaches is the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel. The OM field hopes to see thriving fellowships of believers inside the valley.

Short-term teams can easily saturate many communities in and near the Jezreel Valley with the Gospel literature Gershom and his field provide.

“As far as literature distribution, that also is a step along the process. As an initial step, quite a few villages in the Jezreel Valley in the last two months [received literature],” Gershom notes.

He tells of one short-term team composed of over 20 teenagers who provided literature to every home in nine different communities throughout the valley during their one-month program. Another team from Korea also reached over 40 communities within 10 days in northern Israel.

“It's a big deal,” Gershom says, adding that other teams had also distributed literature to at least half a dozen more communities.

Follow-up

One problem the team has identified in recent months is the lack of staff to follow up with the communities who receive the literature. In recent months, however, people from the short-term outreach teams have felt called specifically to that task, and the field now has several applications for people wanting to join OM Israel “in the pipeline,” according to Gershom.

“I think the biggest recent excitement to us is just immediate follow-up. We have realised in the last month or two, we know we need to do it, we had people that needed to be followed up, [and] we had people we could call upon to do that. And it's happening." In fact, "one was a Jewish guy in northern Nazareth who was very open and asked for somebody to contact him who spoke good Hebrew, and we jumped on that,” Gershom recalls. “I think contact was made within two or three days by one of our field members. For us, it’s very encouraging because we’ve never really had that kind of response time.”

Partnering with local churches

Another method of improving follow up efforts involves working with local churches, many of whom already have a hope and a vision for planting daughter churches in the Jezreel Valley and other areas. While OM field workers have historically been actively engaged in local churches, according to Gershom, there has previously been little collaboration on how to combine efforts between OM and those churches to plant new fellowships among the least reached.

We want to be "talking with the leadership of the local congregations on a more strategic level about how specifically we can assist them,” Gershom explains. “Rather than reinvent the wheel, I think we need to work with them to ask how we can support the efforts that they already have underway.”

Training

While these methods have provided results in recent months, the field desires more training in church planting strategies. Gershom plans for more formal training within the next few years, desiring to maximise the team’s efficiency.

“We’re new at this, so we’re kind of stumbling as we go along, but we are very eager to learn, and we really want to see the end goal materialise, that is, new communities of Jesus followers established.”

*Name changed for security

OM Communications intern Jana Eller is a student studying journalism and missions and loves to see how God is moving among the nations. She is always up for spontaneous adventures and exploring new things.

The team bought four flowers and the store owner gave them a fifth flower for free.  As a gift, the team gave a New Testament and a tract to the shop owner.

The team proceeded down the street to give away the flowers in the community. One young woman, in astonishment, said no one had ever done that for her before. “Why are you doing this?”

The team explained about Jesus’ love that brought them to Israel, to this town, and to give this flower to her.

Other conversations were of varying lengths, but each of the five flowers found a grateful hand, produced a large grin and resulted in an opportunity to share about Jesus. Each person gladly received a tract or New Testament as well.

The flowers served as effective icebreakers to open conversations.

OM Israel: "We pray these flower recipients receive the Rose of Sharon, Jesus, as their Lord and Saviour."

During the Crusader era (1099 – 1291 AD), a church was established in the city, upon the remains of a more ancient church. The remains of this Crusader church can be seen today on the archeological mound outside the modern city. The OM Israel team explains, as far as they know, this was the last church to exist in Yoqne’am. Nearly 800 years have passed without a church in this city.

Since January 2016 OM Israel has focused on prayer and ministry in this city. According to the field leader, this city is strategic due to its modern population size, its location in the Jezreel Valley, and its historical and spiritual significance as a gateway city to the valley.

The just completed Hope of Israel program focused on several neighborhoods for door-to-door ministry in this Jewish city of Yoqne’am. The following is one story from that outreach.

Knock on the door

Answering a knock at his door, Baruch* opened it to find an American man and woman standing nervously before him. Dave and Beth were invited in and offerred a cold drink. 

As the two sat in Baruch's living room, his dog jumped all over Beth. The dog wouldn’t stop licking her face; yet this didn’t deter Beth. She recalled imagining the dog was saying, "Thank you for coming! My master needs you! Thank you!"

Baruch shared, "I have been depressed. Yesterday was the first day that I took a walk and prayed. And now here you are." Baruch shared how the visitors were an answer to his prayers.

Beth replied, "Yes. God sent us to you because He heard your prayer. He loves you very much and wants you to know the truth of His love."

Dave shared with Baruch how he had once been oppressed by alcohol, and how God gave him new life through Yeshua (Jesus).

Dave and Beth gave Baruch a New Testament and made plans to visit again.

*Name changed

Nazareth is a large city with a number of believers. However, the short-term team was then tasked to do ministry in a kibbutz where no believers live. 

Groups of two and three students walked the streets and prayed for open doors, both spiritually and literally. The group recalled, the sleepy hamlet seemed like a dead end for ministry and the planned open-air worship time appeared to be doomed. Team members remembered thinking, these inhabitants would not appreciate a noisy song fest. The visiting team was hesitant and unsure.

A local man with an in-charge attitude welcomed the group to sing in an open area. "It's no disturbance to us at all," he said. Meanwhile, an elderly couple cheerfully welcomed several team members into their home. They listened appreciatively as the students explained their love for Jesus, and how they wanted to bless this community.

This is just one of the 120 communities in the Jezreel Valley in need of engagement with people of faith in Jesus. OM Isreal leadership explained, it can seem daunting to find a way into a home, to the heart of one resident. Through the Zeal for Jezreel programme, OM Israel seeks for each valley resident to connect with a witness for Jesus. 

Pray for fruit of the ministry in this valley. OM Israel desires to see salvation through Jesus Christ come to those living in Jezreel, whether they are 93 years old or 9 years old.

"Our first visit to one of these villages was a good start. Six people talked with us about Jesus," he shared. 

He described one encounter in which a Muslim man, Ahmed*, seemed especially receptive. Ahmed is the head of his extended family. Ahmed cheerfully gave the visitors a tour of his house. The house was filled with all kinds of souvenirs, paintings and weapons he has acquired from many places in Israel over the last four decades.

On the second visit to Ahmed’s home it wasn't long before the talk turned to spiritual things. When asked what he thought about Jesus, Ahmed said that Jesus is the Son of God. This was not a typical answer for a Muslim! In fact, his grandfather was a Christian and there are other Christians among his relatives as well.

His understanding about Jesus took a significant turn a year ago. He visited America and met a woman who gave him a New Testament in Arabic. Ahmed was quite proud of this gift of a holy book, even though he wasn’t reading it yet.

On the first blank page in the Bible this woman wrote that she was praying for him to know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The two OM team members were telling Ahmed the same thing as the woman had shared, which he said completely amazed him!

The team members asked permission to pray for Ahmed before taking leave. As the team members prayed for him, Ahmed exclaimed, “Look! The hairs on my arms are standing up!” 

Ahmed explained he now desires to read the Bible every day to learn what’s inside the covers. The OM team members recalled, the encounter with Ahmed showed how God works through the faithful prayers of His people.

*Name changed

Please pray that Ahmed will faithfully read God's Word. Pray the relationships, words and the lifestyle of the OM ministry team in Israel will help Ahmed to understand and receive the salvation that is in Jesus.

Frequently these events attract the attention of local people passing by, who respond in a positive way to strangers playing music and singing in public places. 

A short-term team participating in the Hope of Israel programme was sent to a specific location to conduct a worship outing from Mt. Gilboa. However, the GPS coordinates they were given led to a closed military base. Not to be deterred, the team simply found an alternative site on the side of a fairly busy road. 

Soon into their worship time, a car of Israelis stopped to take photos. They inquired as to who these foreigners were standing on the side of the road and singing. This led to a conversation that ended with the Israeli couple inviting the team to visit them on their nearby kibbutz in the Jezreel Valley.

These worship times are designed for an audience of God. Yet, many times, these worship music sessions lead to conversations with curious onlookers.

Pray for these worship times to the audience of One to become witness events for the salvation of many.

Before the start of OM's leadership meetings in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) area, OM’s associate international director of field ministries explained the importance of Jesus’ words at the end of Matthew chapter 9.

“I live in a fairly rural agricultural area, and you see intense activity at harvest time,” he said. “That's true anywhere in the world. When it’s harvest time, they get everyone helping out. The farmer’s doing it, his wife’s helping him, the children are doing it. Maybe they skip school at times to help out. The neighbors will help out, the cousins, uncles, whoever.

“If you’re responsible for the field, but you’re not the owner, if you feel like you’re not going to get the harvest done in time, you go to the owner and say, ‘Look, we need more people.’ And the owner will provide more laborers to do that because if you don’t harvest the crops when it’s harvest time, the crops die and they rot.

“There’s a real sense of urgency to the harvest, and there’s a real sense of urgency to the words of Jesus.”

OM Israel

For OM Israel, now is the time to ask God, the owner of the field, for more workers to join a team reaching out to Arabs.

Over the last three years, Josh* and his wife, Andrea*, have focused on expanding ministry into Arab areas within Israel. Establishing partnerships with local churches, identifying potential areas and assembling training materials from across MENA have been essential preparation, Josh explained.

In regards to asking the owner of the harvest for more workers, “maybe God was waiting until the time when we were ready for all these people,” Josh suggested. “Before it would have been a lot harder. Now we are ready.”

 “Structurally, we are in a position where we can grow,” confirmed Mark*, the current field leader.

Exposure and experimentation

One of the ways to promote growth is getting the word out, Josh said.

“A lot of people who want to do Middle East Arab ministry don’t know what country they want to go to. They have a heart for the whole region,” Josh explained. However, they often don’t realise Israel is a potential field.

“The main thing is exposure…people have to know it’s an option,” he stated. “If you have a heart for this group of people, we know how to place you there. If you have a heart to see people come to Christ, we’ll give you what you need to see that happen,” Josh encouraged.

To test the waters in these areas and to connect Israel to the rest of MENA, for the past two years Josh has arranged assignments for the men’s OM MENA traveling team (MTT). Last year, the men visited a dozen Arab villages and passed out 3,000 pieces of literature. They also went to five cities in the West Bank. “Short-term, only a team like that could do it, who’s trained and knows the language,” Josh said.

In the future, though, Josh hopes to see long-termers, who are making “relationships that would produce disciples,” established in Arab areas across Israel. “These are places where nobody else is reaching,” he said. “[I want] us to leave a gospel presence in each one.”

Building capacity for a bigger team

OM Israel started outreach to Arabs in 1974, but by 2006, the last worker dedicated to the ministry had left. When Mark took on the field leader role in 2012, he was tasked with four mandates, one of which was to revive work among Arabs.

That goal in mind, in 2011, Mark contacted Josh and Andrea, still singles at that time who had individually expressed similar visions. Both immediately (independently) wanted to get involved.

Josh had started ministry in central Asia before moving to the Middle East to begin Arabic classes. “Mark knew me from those days,” he noted. “My heart has always been for the unreached, the completely unreached. That’s always been my main focus wherever I go.”

Andrea, too, “had a heart for the same thing,” Josh described. “She wanted to be in missions full-time. She had a heart for Arabs. We were friends going down the same path.”

Before they got engaged, Josh and Andrea each moved to Israel to begin serving there. As their relationship grew, so did OM’s work among Arabs. After their wedding in Israel, the couple pioneered ministry in a new city, partnering with a local church, and paved the way for more workers to join.

Today, “we’re getting a lot of new people to the field, a lot of new applications,” Josh stated. "But there’s still room to grow."

Check out opportunities to serve with OM Israel: https://www.omusa.org/go/long-term!

*Name changed

Nicole James is a writer for OM International, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

One day as he was working alongside one of his coworkers, Yossi received some news that caused him to blurt out, “Hallelujah!”

His co-worker said to him, “I didn’t know you were a Christian.”

“What do you mean?” asked Yossi.

“You said hallelujah. That’s a Christian word.”

“What are you talking about? Hallelujah is two Hebrew words. Hallel (praise) and Yah (God). It’s in the Tanak. There’s no word more Jewish than this one.”

Yossi was stunned that a native born Jewish Israeli could not know that the word hallelujah is a Hebrew word of praise. It showed how the average Israeli can know little about the Scriptures. 

Please pray for secular Israelis to learn the Scriptures, come to know the God of the Bible, and understand how the Scriptures point to Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah.

Last April, with a group of four short-term volunteers in town, Nathan set out on the normal route. The group reached the spot where Nathan usually turned around, so he stopped to pray. Unexpectedly, a woman came out of a nearby house and offered the group water. Nathan accepted her kind gesture, and she began talking to the group. Soon, she invited them to her house for tea.

The group sat in the courtyard outside the woman’s house. She brought her 82-year-old father outside to talk to the foreigners while she scurried in and out, serving them drinks. “He’s loving talking to us, and we’re loving talking to him,” Nathan remembered. Eager to introduce spiritual topics into the conversation, Nathan asked the man about his family. 

Suddenly, the man started crying, telling the group about his son, who had died three months earlier. Without warning, a woman on Nathan’s short-term team also began to cry. She and her husband had lost a child in the past year as well. The couple prayed for the man and his family, to comfort him, Nathan said. “The couple was very new to the work we do. [The conversation] really impacted them,” he said.

Their vulnerability also sparked deeper conversations. “We really made a connection immediately with this family,” Nathan said. In addition to grieving the loss of his son, the man also struggled with limited sight and problems with his legs that prevented him from walking. “We prayed for him, asked for healing for his legs, and talked about Jesus’ love for him,” Nathan explained. He told the man, “Jesus loves us. We’re followers of Him. He loves you and your family, and your hope is in Him.” When the group left that day, they gifted the man a New Testament in Arabic.

Over the next few months, Nathan continued to visit the man and his family, finding new segues into spiritual conversations. The man told Nathan his family were Muslims and loved God. Knowing Nathan was a Christian didn’t matter to him, however. “We’re all God’s children,” he mentioned to Nathan.

On one visit, Nathan found out the man’s diabetic wife couldn’t see, hear or walk and spent her days bedridden. “We prayed for her, that God would heal her,” Nathan said. Because of the family’s physical ailments, someone was always at home when Nathan came. In addition to discussing his health issues with Nathan, the man also shared his fear—fear for his family, fear for his life.

“I would tell him that with Jesus we have no reason to fear. We have eternal life. We have assurance, total assurance of salvation in Him and where we go when we die,” Nathan told him.

The last time Nathan visited the man, he left him with an audio Bible. “Especially for a man like him—he can’t really see that well—to be able to hear would be very powerful,” Nathan said. Too, he noticed that the man had displayed his first gift, the Arabic New Testament, openly in his house. “Whenever I would go, I would see it. The family members would see it, too,” Nathan said. “The hope is that even if he doesn’t [read it], other people in the family would.”

A month or so after delivering the audio Bible, Nathan went to follow up with the man and his family. However, unlike previous visits, when he knocked, no one answered. He tried again a month later, with the same result.

“It was a great encounter and a great opportunity to witness,” Nathan stated. “The prayer is that what we’ve left with them, both in conversations and literature, would continue to bear fruit.”

Having lived in their host country for two and a half years, Nathan and his wife said it’s generally easy to make relationships with locals, but the depth of their relationship with the old man and his family was unusual. “There are lots of opportunities to talk to people, and here, being foreigners, you get lots of attention,” Nathan noted. “It’s easy to talk about spiritual things in a certain sense.” However, it’s harder to go below the surface, he added: “The connection we formed with this family was really deep.”

Pray that this man and his family would come to know Jesus through Nathan’s testimony and the Word of God. In Israel, Christian workers can freely share and distribute literature, but few Muslims respond, Nathan explained. Pray that God would open hearts to the truth of His love and forgiveness.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

The nation of Israel is still unreached with the gospel, and practicing Christians in the country face a great amount of persecution. Among the eight million people living Israel, there are a variety of religions and beliefs—from Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem, to Muslims in Nazareth, to secular Christians in Tel Aviv, to even Druze and Bedouin. Because of the high influx of Christians drawn to the Holy Land for tourism, people often mistake the country as having a larger population of believers.

The true followers of Jesus who live in Israel often face spiritual opposition and social ostracism. Depending on the area where they live, some have a difficult time finding employment, or their children are discriminated against in the education systems.

The OM Israel Field Leader has narrowed his focus to one specific unreached area in Israel for the last few years. “If we look at the Jezreel Valley, our goal is not just for them to hear the gospel, but that they can be, in some fashion, brought together to worship and reproduce other disciples.”

The Jezreel Valley is located south of the Lower Galilee region and has a very limited number of believers. “In the 120 communities, there is only one small church as the one witness that we know of here,” the Field Leader said.

The establishment of vibrant communities of Jesus followers is what OM Israel believes will help grow the church. The main way that the long-term OMers in Israel are working towards this vision is by supporting local congregations in their area, especially if it is a community where there are few to no believers.

The OM Israel Field Leader explains that local believers appreciate the support that the long-term OMers provide and value their authentic fellowship.

“They are not looking for you to give them answers. They are looking to see that you will come alongside and pray with them and encourage them,” he said. “One of the big things is just to show them love and that we care for them. When we first came to our church we weren’t coming to do any leadership, we were there to attend. That in itself was precious.”

Team leader Lindsay* regularly attends an Arab congregation, and her dedication to the church has affected the members firsthand.

“It takes time. But the fact that I consistently went there, and they saw me every Sunday, was a testament and encouragement to them,” she said. “Even though I wasn’t doing anything, God was working and encouraging the church by me being present… To have someone that is a foreigner, [who] is really invested in your church and really wants to participate, is a huge deal,” she said.

Not only are local congregations encouraged by OM workers attending, but their fellowship can open up new opportunities for the gospel to reach other Israelis.

“We can provide the ability to encourage the local body to go out and evangelise… Many Jews already see Messianics as betraying their ethnicity and heritage by following Jesus. For a Messianic to go out and evangelise, they run a higher risk of being persecuted,” Lindsay said. “It’s good for us to encourage them to step outside of their comfort zone and be a part of the Great Commission.”

To the Field Leader, the work that OM does with the local congregations is necessary. “There are people who recognise too that Gentile believers play a huge role in the advancement of the Gospel here and the establishment of the church,” he said.

As OM in Israel looks forward, the team remains focused on working with established churches and desires to raise up more congregations among the unreached.

“We aren’t just looking for people to hear about Jesus. We want them to become part of a vibrant group of worshipping people,” he said.

For more information about the work of OM in Israel, or for opportunities to serve, check out our website here.

Jenny Oetzell is a cross-cultural journalism student from the US and recently completed a summer internship with OM Israel. She desires to use her passion for photography to tell people's stories and empower others to tell their own. Though God has given her a love for the Middle East, she is open and willing to go wherever He calls.

For some, God had placed Israel on their hearts for quite a while. Liz* decided to join the HOI summer team again after serving with OM Israel in the past. “I am back again, I guess, because I can’t let Israel go. I still have a burden for the Israelis and the Jews in particular. I just felt that I had to come back,” Liz said.

On the other hand, some team members had never been on a mission trip. Married couple Sarah* and Jake* took a week off from working in the US to share Jesus with the people of Israel and grow closer to the Lord together. “It was the first time for us as a couple to evangelise together,” Sarah said.

The team travelled around Israel for four weeks and did work such as literature distribution in Arab and Jewish communities, engaged in conversations with locals, worshipped in the streets, painted a church, and cleaned up a beach on the Sea of Galilee. In many of the cities the team partnered with a local ministry and served their needs.

Team member Ethan* appreciated this partnership. “It was really important that we could be mutually encouraged as we are coming in and hearing about their heart for the city, but also to encourage them by our willingness to say, ‘We love what you’re doing here and we want to be a part of it for a few days.’ I got a bigger understanding of God’s global church,” Ethan said.

Most of the outreach activities that involved interacting with Hebrew- and Arabic-speaking locals tested the boldness of the team. Not only were they pushed outside of their comfort zones, but also their language barriers. Laura*, from Taiwan, found it difficult to converse in English, since it is not her first language.

“I feel that sometimes when we go to the outreach and we need to talk to people, most of the time I cannot catch up quickly... This makes me feel frustrated when we are doing evangelism,” Laura said. She felt that she made the most impact when she passed out literature because she could give them the gospel without it getting lost in translation.

“When I am passing out the tracts, all I need to do is greet them and smile and give them the tracts. That makes me feel that I can still do something,” she said. “Most of the time we don’t have to speak much because God will do His work.”

Throughout the trip, the most fruitful conversations happened when the team went to a public area and sat down to worship the Lord. Team leader Marcus* understands the importance of worshipping God publically in times of expectation.

“When it comes to the outreaches there has already been a [victory] won and ground softened,” he said.

On the first night the team was together, the group headed to the beach in Haifa to worship and give out literature. Though at first hesitant, they decided to go even though their time would be limited and they were exhausted from travelling. Within a short time of being there, a man, drawn by the music, asked the team what they were doing and revealed that he was looking for a saviour. After talking with a few people, he learnt who Jesus was and prayed to receive Christ. Everyone was excited to see fruit on the first day of the HOI outreach.

Over the next four weeks of the outreach, each member of the HOI team learnt how God is working in Israel through the people they met and the conversations they had. Team members could personally experience God in unique ways as they stepped outside of their comfort zone, overcame language barriers, and had their perspectives challenged regarding the people of Israel. Marcus stated that one of the goals for the HOI outreach was for the team to return home encouraged.

“It’s like you are taking a little bit of light from Israel and bringing it to the other nations,” he said.

OM’s next Hope of Israel outreach takes place in January 2017. For more information, visit our website here.

Jenny Oetzell is a cross-cultural journalism student from the US and recently completed a summer internship with OM Israel. She desires to use her passion for photography to tell people's stories and empower others to tell their own. Though God has given her a love for the Middle East, she is open and willing to go wherever He calls.

The drivers opened their windows and hesitantly took the booklet offered to them. They glanced at the title, flipped through the first few pages, and asked, “What's this?” to which the OMer replied, “Hadia!” which means “a gift” in Arabic. Immediately, the driver exclaimed, “Oh! Hadia! Thank you!” and drove off before the line of cars began to honk.

Over and over, the Hope of Israel outreach team had similar experiences while passing out literature on streets around the country. The majority of Jews and Arabs offered a tract gladly received it.

A tract, usually in the form of a pamphlet or small booklet, is designed to quickly convey the Gospel message to the reader. In a country such as Israel, where multiple languages are spoken, tracts can be a helpful tool to overcoming a language barrier that could inhibit someone from hearing about Jesus.

The OM Israel Field Leader understands that tracts can leave a longer-lasting impact than just a conversation. “The idea is that we cannot stay, but a tract, or something written, will last. We can give out more [tracts], and more people can hear or read about Jesus, than through a personal witness,” he said.

The tracts that OM uses in Israel are created by local pastors and ministries. Because of this, OM has an opportunity to partner with a local ministry that has insight to the people in that city. The tracts are written in the dialects of the area, and are written about subjects and issues that are relevant to those specific people. On the tract, the reader can find the contact information for a congregation in the area if they have more questions or want to start attending a church.

Tracts are useful in a country that is not completely open to hearing about Jesus because there are many different ways to distribute them. They can be left at a bus stop, on a park bench or in mailboxes. “I used to put tracts in the magazines in doctors’ offices—places where people will see it, and it’s their own choice to pick it up,” the field leader explained.

The use of tracts has been part of OM’s ministry since its beginning in 1957. But how well do they still work today? The OM Israel Field Leader has seen the effectiveness of tracts firsthand. He explains that every time a group from OM passes out about 10,000 tracts in Tel Aviv, the local congregations receive about four phone calls in response. After enough people call, a Bible study is started for the new believers. While it might not seem like a lot, in a country of around 20,000 believers, the responses to tracts is significant.

The parable of the lost sheep that Jesus tells the Pharisees is a reminder of how much the Lord values individuals. “…‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:6-7; ESV).

Though handing a pamphlet to someone does not take a much work, it takes a lot of faith. Since interactions with people can be brief, the team trusts that God will use the tracts to work in people’s lives.

Pray with OM Israel that the tracts distributed this summer will speak powerfully to those who received them, and that the message of the gospel would spread to all areas of the country.

Jenny Oetzell is a cross-cultural journalism student from the US and recently completed a summer internship with OM Israel. She desires to use her passion for photography to tell people's stories and empower others to tell their own. Though God has given her a love for the Middle East, she is willing to go wherever He calls.

This year, five dancers from Incarnate were sent to Israel for their placement. This is their story.

When dancers Kati, Dayi, Sara Y., Martha and Sarah B. arrived in Italy to participate in OM Arts International’s Incarnate programme, they had no idea that their journey would lead them to Israel. The girls were overwhelmed with shock and excitement when they found out they’d be using their gift of dance in the Holy Land. 

Once they arrived, the dancers jumped right into ministry.

“During our four weeks, we used various forms of dance in ministry,” Martha explained. “We had the opportunity to dance during a Passover dinner for a Messianic congregation, we performed in a hospital and several nursing homes, and used our dance as a form of intercessory prayer for the nation,” she continued.

Although the venues and styles of dance varied, one thing remained the same: dance always spoke louder than words.

Hope and light

As they travelled to different cities throughout the country, the group of dancers would find a high place in the cities and pray over the land and the people. When they were dancing, people would often approach them and ask them what they were doing.

“We used these opportunities to share the message of the gospel with them and bless them,” Martha said.

One day while they were dancing, a Muslim woman approached the girls and began asking what they were doing, where they were from and why they were in Israel. She told them that when she saw them dancing she felt such a light, hope and peace within her. The woman wanted to know what it all meant. She approached Kati, and invited her to go and drink a cup of coffee.

“While we were having coffee together this woman started to ask more questions,” Kati remembered. “She told me she had been dancing at home when nobody else was there watching. That really impacted me,” she said.

“I knew that this was the moment to talk to her about Jesus,” Kati continued.

She told the woman about Jesus and His love for her, and the woman listened but wasn’t ready to make a decision.

“She’s so close to finding Jesus!,” Kati said. “I’m praying that at least a seed was planted. It’s up to God to make the seed grow and produce faith.”

Testimonies touch hearts

While they were in Nazareth, the dancers visited a hospital and performed for some of the psychiatric patients. The hospital staff thought that the dance might lift the patients’ spirits.

The first time the team visited the hospital, Sara Y. felt God telling her to show the patients a specific dance she choreographed during her time at Incarnate.

“I really didn’t want to do that dance,” Sara Y. said. “They didn’t have enough space and it felt so awkward. This dance wasn’t a part of the plan our team had discussed before we came to the hospital, so I just said no and didn’t do the dance.”

The next day, the hospital staff asked the dancers to share their life’s stories with the patients. At that moment, Sara Y. felt convicted to share the dance that God had prompted her to share the day before.

“The dance is called ‘Chair Woman’ and it tells the story of my life,” Sara Y. explained. “The movements tell the story of how God helped me overcome darkness in my life.”

After Sara Y. performed her dance, the group of dancers asked the patients to tell them about their lives. In response, the dancers improvised choreography to tell the stories of the patients lives.

While they were presenting the improvised dances, Sara Y. saw one of the nurses crying. Later on, the nurse told her how special the time was for the patients and how she saw God working through their dancing to impact the lives of the patients.

“It was such a special time for me because I followed how God was leading me and I saw how the Holy Spirit was working in the hearts of the patients,” Sara Y. said fondly.

Teaching locals to use expressive movement

In Jerusalem the dancers were able to visit a centre that houses cardiac patients and families of children who are awaiting heart surgery. The people who reside in the centre come from many of the surrounding countries in the Middle East because Israel is known in the region for having better doctors.

Since these people are far away from home, they are separated from their communities, their friends, family and their routines. They don’t have much to do besides waiting to go into surgery, or waiting for loved ones to recover.

In an effort to bring joy to these often-distraught families, the dancers were asked to spend some time with them and teach them about dance.

“We got to teach them how movement can tell a story when words can’t express the emotions they’re feeling,” Martha said. “We also had the opportunity to perform some of our routines, dance around with the kids and pray over all of the people who came to join us.”

The girls shared their testimonies and told of the good works God has done in their lives. Despite the many different ethnic and religious backgrounds that were present in the group, the dancers were able to openly share the gospel and were received with open arms and open hearts. They were able to make connections with the women and children who attended, despite the language barrier.

“They couldn’t really speak English and I couldn’t speak their language, but, their smiles, hugs, and just the motions of ‘I’m praying for you,’ really spoke louder than words could have. Even though language could have been a barrier, movement and showing feelings through movement really translated. It really touched their hearts.” Martha said.

“Our team left that day feeling lighter and more inspired. It was such a blessing to spend time with them and encourage them,” she expressed.

Mockers in Tiberias

One day in Tiberias, the dancers were performing a piece that portrays the act of taking communion. The choreography included movements that symbolized eating the bread of life and drinking the wine, in remembrance of how Jesus sacrificed His body to save us. The dancers encouraged the onlookers to join them in the symbolic movements and experience partaking communion in a new way.

While they were dancing, a group of young men began to mock them. The girls simply ignored the mockers and felt God telling them to continue dancing.

Even though the boys had joined in the dance and were repeating the movements, they continued to ask the girls, “Why are you dancing? Why do you bother?”

As they continued to dance, the girls began to pray for those who didn’t understand. They prayed that the movements would convey the glory of God’s goodness.

“We kept dancing because we knew the power this choreography has,” Dayi said. “We were praying that God would speak to them through dreams so they would understand. We prayed that He would break their chains of bondage!”

After they were finished dancing, Sarah B. had an opportunity to talk with the guys who were mocking and discovered that they were not believers. She explained the meaning behind the movement, prayed that God would use the dance to minister to them and also for their salvation.

Releasing joy at the Jaffa Gate

On their last day of ministry, the group was dancing prayers of intercession at the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. It was mid-morning, and they met up with a local group of Israeli dancers who do traditional dances to Messianic songs with the purpose of drawing people in and sharing the gospel through song and dance.

“They don’t preach the gospel in the traditional sense, but, they allow the joy of the gospel to speak through them and through the dance. All the songs spoke about Jesus being the Messiah,” Sarah B. explained. “As we danced with them, we invited the people passing by to join in the dances.”

While they were dancing, a young Jewish boy stopped to watch. Sarah B. recalls the mesmerized look on his face as he gazed upon the group of dancers. She stepped out of the circle to invite him to join in the dance, but he declined. So, she stayed and chatted with him.

Within 30 seconds, he started asking her about Jesus and she was able to share the full gospel with him. For more than an hour, the young boy spoke with Sarah B. and continued to ask her questions about feeling God’s presence, hearing God’s voice, the law, Jesus being the fulfillment of what the Passover represented, and why God had to become flesh.

“It was only because we were there dancing, interceding through our dance and releasing joy and the Holy Spirit through our movement,” Sarah B. said. “If it weren’t for the dancing, he never would have stopped and that conversation never would have happened.”

The work isn’t finished yet

Although the team of dancers has now returned home, they explained that the work they started in Israel isn’t finished yet. The team believes the work they did during their four weeks of outreach planted many seeds of faith in the hearts of Israelis. The full-time missionaries who live in Israel will be following up with the people the dancers connected with, and continuing to share the message of the gospel with them.

Please pray for the Holy Spirit to move through the nation of Israel for more locals to come to faith in Jesus Christ. Pray for the OM workers in Israel to speak openly about the gospel and have the opportunity to disciple new believers.

Lauren O'Shea is a journalist from the United States. She is a communications intern for OM Middle East North Africa and is dedicated to telling the world what God is doing through global missions and the arts.

I was visiting Jerusalem with a friend of mine during Passover, and we stayed in an inexpensive hostel. One morning while having breakfast, a girl sitting across the table caught my attention and we started talking. I was very surprised to find out that she is Jewish and she was also visiting Jerusalem as a tourist. Usually, most who stay at hostels are foreigners.

As it was the time to celebrate Passover, I asked her if she was religious (meaning, she practices her Jewish faith). She responded by asking me the same question. I grasped the chance to tell her I am a believer in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah. This woman was very interested in knowing more about my belief and even asked if I go to church. Immediately I invited her to attend the Sabbath service at a nearby fellowship. Amazingly, she wanted to come with us and even suggested we hang out together the whole day.

The next morning, we met for breakfast. I thought she wouldn't show up, but there she was, even if 10 minutes late. Unfortunately, due to the Passover holiday, the church didn't have a service that morning, but we still had the day before us. We walked to the Western Wall, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Mount of Olives. As we walked I shared the whole gospel of Jesus Christ with her and she was very positive about it. Prayerfully, the seed of the gospel has been planted in her heart.

The seed of the gospel has been sown. Pray for this young woman and for the OM workers living in Israel.  

*Name changed

“What is troubling you?” the Arab pastor asked.

The clerk explained, “I am upset with God because my daughter was diagnosed with cancer. Aren't we, the Jews, God's chosen people? Why would He allow me, as a Jew, to see my daughter suffer? I just don’t understand.”

According to the OM Israel Field Leader: "Jews have suffered much over the centuries. They have endured dispersion, pogroms (organized massacres, especially of Jews) and even the Holocaust,” It is a common complaint, if God is real and if the Jews are the chosen people, then why do the Jewish people seem to suffer the most? This is an important question for believers to know how to answer in a way that reaches deep into the soul."

As for the local Arab pastor, he told the clerk that God allows these things to happen in order to bring His people back to Himself. God is full of wisdom and His plan is perfect, he continued. In the Scriptures (Romans 8), it is written that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He explained the love of God through the story of Jesus, and how she can have a right relationship with God through Him.

When the pastor finished, he asked if he could pray for her in the name of Jesus. She accepted, and he prayed for the woman and her daughter.

Please pray for this woman's daughter to receive healing and for the family to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Pray for wisdom for the OM team in Israel to know how to address other questions like these in the future.

After 15 minutes of talking, the university student explained that he had to leave for an appointment, but said, “It’s good what you are doing. You should tell others about Jesus.” He gave them his phone number and one of the team members plans to follow up with him. 

The team reflected on the meeting, sharing that while door-to-door evangelism may not be comfortable, each outreach is finding at least one divine conversation like this in the home of an Israeli.

Moreover, this outreach is being done in English. Because of the many new immigrants, opportunities are plentiful to visit the homes of those who speak Russian, German, French or other languages.

OM Israel's Field Leader explains, "It is an answer to prayer that doors open so readily to speak about Jesus."

The first event was a rebuke during a study of the Book of Jeremiah in her religious education class. After going through the book, the teacher avoided the passage in Jeremiah 31, where God said he was going to make a new covenant with Israel.

"Why did you skip this? What is this new covenant?" the girl asked. She was told angrily not to ask such questions. That only inspired her to dig further, which soon led to her read about the new covenant in the New Testament.

The second incident involved a close friend who was killed in a terrorist attack on a bus. The friend and her family were Christians. She was moved by the witness of the family and the Gospel message at the funeral. This stirred and challenged to come to faith in Yeshua (Jesus), eventually leading to the pivotal event of her baptism.

“This testimony of a changed life shows it is in the darkness that the light shines the brightest,” said the leader of OM’s work in Israel.

Pray for good to come from terrible events. Pray for salvation through Jesus Christ for individuals and families in the land of Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

The summer of 2014 brought rockets. The autumn of 2015 was a trade of rockets for knives.

The recent stabbings within Israel arise out of an idea that Israel has changed the status quo policy (since 1967) of prayer activity on the Temple Mount, a site revered by both Jews and Muslims. In particular, the assumption is Jews are now allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. However, the deliberate incitement is not concerned with fact. 

In the case of nurse Marike Veldman (Netherlands) serving with a Christian children's ministry in Israel, a typical bus ride last month in the capitol turned into a near-death experience. Two men killed several people on her bus, and one of the men turned the knife on her. She escaped with her life, but the wounds are especially painful, given that ironically her life has been devoted to caring for poor and disadvantaged Arab children. You can read more about this story here.

If not for a God who can take lemons and make lemonade, all would appear to be hopeless. But God takes bitter things to make something sweet. There is much hope to have for Israel!

Serving in Israel is not for the faint-hearted. It's for the Lion-hearted (that is, the Lion of Judah).

"So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up." – Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

Pray for those who minister for Jesus. Especially pray for those who live in Jerusalem, where the current conflict is the most severe.

During his first trip to Israel, almost two years ago, Ronald came alongside Amir*, a long-term OM worker. The two men struck up a conversation with a woman who worked at a gift shop. Ronald discussed spiritual things with Ahuva* and they gave her a New Testament.

This conversation resonated with Ronald afterwards, and since then he prayed for Ahuva, hoping that he would see her again someday to continue the conversation.

When he visited Israel again, Amir and Ronald decided to stop by the gift shop to see Ahuva. They were not sure if she even worked at the store anymore, and if she did, if she would remember meeting them.

When they arrived, they learnt from an employee that Ahuva no longer worked there, but instead worked at another location. The employee then told Ronald and Amir that he could call her and they could talk to her over the phone.

He called her and Amir explained who they were and asked if she remembered them. She said she did and was very touched that they would want to meet her again. She invited Ronald and Amir to come see her the next day, which they did.

They talked together for almost an hour. Amir asked if she had read the New Testament they had given her, and she said she had read a little. Ahuva is a secular Jew and explained she didn't have much interest in talking about spiritual things. But she was touched by Ronald and Amir's faith in God and their love for the people in Israel.

Ronald and Amir gave her another New Testament and she placed it at her work desk. Please pray the love of Jesus she saw in Ronald and Amir will cause her to be interested to read more about Him in the New Testament.

*Name changed

Ronald and Amir* wanted to follow up with a man named Netanel* they had met on Ronald's first trip to Israel, almost two years ago, at a kibbutz. Ronald had felt this was the best spiritual conversation they had had during that trip, and they had given Netanel a book of John to read.

When they arrived at the kibbutz this time, they searched for Netanel for quite a while but weren't able to locate him. In the end, they were not able to find him; however, God opened up another spiritual encounter through their searching.

They asked a 90-year old woman named Dinah* if she knew Netanel, and she said she didn't really remember him. They continued to talk, and Ronald and Amir explained why they wanted to see Netanel again: they had talked about God with him and wanted to follow up on the conversation. They then asked Dinah how long she had lived on the kibbutz. She said she had lived there for 70 years, including during the war in 1948 when it was destroyed.

Ronald and Amir were amazed to hear her tell stories from so many years ago. She explained how she longed for peace but didn't think it would ever happen. She shared she didn't even think God could bring peace to the land.

Ronald and Amir told her that, thankfully, God has said in His Word there will be peace in the land one day. But, they explained, this peace will only happen when Jesus comes back. He is the true Messiah of the Jewish people and of the entire world.

They talked about how the Old Testament had predicted Jesus and the New Testament explained his life and the salvation He brings to all who believe in Him. They gave Dinah a New Testament and a tract explaining how Isaiah 52 and 53 predicted Jesus and his sacrifice. Dinah exclaimed that she wished she could have the faith they have.

Pray she will have this faith she desires.

*Name changed

On Saturday, our local congregation of believers held a baptism at the river for a girl who has been volunteering at a community for the mentally handicapped. After arriving in Israel she became convicted she should get baptised as an adult believer. My wife was asked to hold baptism classes for the girl, which she did over the past couple of months.

During the baptismal ceremony, I noticed a number of Jews looking on, so I went to talk with them. Sure enough, one woman asked me what we were doing. She was especially interested to know why the service was in Hebrew (translated into English). I explained there are native-born Israelis in our midst, as well as foreigners; we all believe Yeshua is the Messiah, and that we meet weekly as a Hebrew-speaking congregation.

She asked about the meaning of baptism. I explained the death and burial symbolism of baptism. A second reason is repentance. A third reason is that just as a bride prepares herself for her bridegroom, so also do we in a symbolic act prepare ourselves for the Messiah as our bridegroom.

I didn’t even have to finish the explanation. She understood exactly what I was saying! In Judaism, a week before the wedding, the bride will go to the mikvah (closely akin to a baptismal pool) and dip herself in the water. She is preparing herself for her husband-to-be. 

After the event was over I wanted to give her a portion of the Gospel, but she said she is a religious Jew and is not allowed to receive anything on the Sabbath.

Please pray for this woman to receive insight into the true meaning of baptism and the true identity of the Messiah.

Ronald was introduced to a couple whose grandson was in the hospital. The grandson, Benjamin*, suffered from a large tumour in his head that was non-cancerous but had caused him paralysis and put him in a coma for several months.

During the visit, the couple cried as they talked about their grandson. Ronald, and the long-term OM worker with him, prayed that Jesus would heal the boy and bless the family. They shared with the grandparents that Jesus healed many people when he walked the lands of Israel 2,000 years ago, and that He is still alive today and healing people.

The couple expressed thankfulness, grateful for the compassion. However, after the visit Ronald and the OM workers heard nothing from the couple for two weeks.

Then, unexpectedly, the grandmother called. Excitedly, she explained that on the same day they had prayed, Benjamin had woken from the coma. Overjoyed, the OM workers told her they would visit the next day.

During the follow-up visit, the grandmother explained that she had waited two weeks to share the news because she didn't know what to make of what had happened. She said that hospital staff who had worked there for 30 years had never seen anything like it.

The grandparents praised God as the visitors shared that Jesus had healed Benjamin, and that Jesus wanted a relationship with them. The grandmother was open to hearing about Jesus and was still trying to make sense of the events. The grandfather said he was not a religious person, but that this had impacted him greatly.

The visitors ended with prayer, thanking Jesus and praying that Benjamin would be healed from his tumour and paralysis.

Pray that God will bring full healing to Benjamin and will continue to work in this family’s life, leading them to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

*Name changed

Ronaldo and the team first met with the rabbi on the Sabbath. They attended the synagogue for the Sabbath service and were invited over to the rabbi’s house for the traditional Kabbalat Shabbat meal.  

“It was amazing,” said Ronaldo. “They were very hospitable.” They discussed a variety of topics while feasting on food.

The rabbi invited Ronaldo to return later for a group Torah study with other Jewish rabbis. Ronaldo was eager to continue the relationship, so he agreed to attend.

Ronaldo remembered, “They were studying about faith; what does the Bible say about faith? Everything sounded like Hebrews 11:1 to me.” Ronaldo then quoted Hebrews 11:1 to the group: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (NIV).

The rabbi replied, “Wow, that is so beautiful. Can you repeat it again so that we can all learn it?”

“Yeah, sure, I can repeat it,” said Ronaldo, and then the rest of the group repeated it after him.

Later, Ronaldo and the rabbi talked privately. “You know I’m a Christian, right?” asked Ronaldo.

“Yes, I know,” answered the rabbi.

“I would like to pray for you, but this time I would like to pray in the name of Jesus,” said Ronaldo.

“It is fine for me, you can pray for me,” said the rabbi, so Ronaldo prayed for him.

Ronaldo and another friend from the team returned a third time to visit the rabbi. This time they stayed at his house. At one point, they talked about Jewish mysticism.

“I hope that I do not offend you,” said Ronaldo. “What do you think about us, as Christians, who believe that Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies about the Messiah?”

“When the Messiah comes, if it is Jesus, I will accept it,” said the rabbi. “If it was him all along, then I will accept it.”

“Well, why not now?” replied Ronaldo.

The rabbi began a long explanation of how Jesus didn’t free Israel, how the temple was destroyed, and how he doesn’t believe that the Messiah will claim to be God. He was not offended by the question, however. In fact, he said he was happy to discuss such matters in friendship and amity.

While the rabbi has not yet accepted the authority of Jesus in his life, he is surrounded by the Word of God and by several Christian friends. Please pray for him and other Jewish leaders in Israel to find the Saviour.

*Name changed

Before the outreach began, several members of the team felt spiritual resistance.

“Half of the day, I was sad, and I think it was a spiritual battle,” remembered Lillian*. "But once we started singing the first song, my sadness was gone, and I was joyful.”

“When we did the worship, you could 'see' the spiritual tension,” said Thomas*. “I felt insecurity. There were some spirits trying to discourage and stop this [outreach]. In the end, there was a spiritual breakthrough. When you worship and praise God it will have an influence in the spiritual level, and it will also prepare the ground spiritually for easier outreach."

Gradually, a small audience gathered. The team performed a gospel-centred silent drama, in which the main character finds that sports, music and human love leave her unfulfilled and broken-hearted. In the end, an unnamed character teaches her to pray and heals her broken heart. The audience watched and commented on the actions of the performers during the drama.

Afterwards, David* talked with some of the audience members. They understood the drama well, even guessing that the character at the end, who heals the girl's heart, represents Jesus.

David continued talking with Amir*, a young Muslim man who stayed to chat long after most of his friends had left. When they discussed prayer, Amir said he fasts but doesn't pray. David asked him what he would ask God, if he did pray. Amir explained that if he did pray, he would ask for protection for his family, and for healing for his brother.

Meanwhile, Melanie* talked with two other audience members. "They are from a Christian background, but now they are far away from God," she recalled. "They said it is hard to get back to God because of their lives. We had a lot of conversation with them, and I could share my testimony and share why it is so important to me to do what we are doing.

"They were there for a long time," continued Melanie. "At least for 40 minutes they were there with us. I think there was something inside of them that wanted to change, to take the right path. But the worldly life…is a battle inside of them.”

Melanie hopes that their conversation would help them “to see that for us it is not boring to be Christians. You can be Christian and live a full life.”

While the other members of the group were singing, Vivian* talked with an older man who owned a nearby shop. He told her he was unhappy, which reminded her that they had brought a tract called “Where is happiness?” with them. She brought it to him and he said he would read it.

Please pray Amir discovers the God who hears and answers prayer. Pray that the shopkeeper experiences the joy of the Lord in his life. Pray for the two individuals who are far away from God to return, like the prodigal son, and find acceptance with the Father.

*Name changed

George*, the local Arab pastor who organised the outreach to the village stopped the van in front of the bridge to pray before plunging into the maze of busy, chaotic streets.

Praying for boldness

The van was filled with a team of seven: Pastor George, four foreigners and two local church members. One of the church members, Mary*, a believer for only a few years, has a passion and a special gifting for evangelism. Anthony*, another church member, was nervous, as he had not been on many outreaches before. The team prayed that God would grant boldness to share the Gospel.

Upon entering the city, the team noticed there seemed to be a significant number of men standing around or sitting in groups and talking. According to George, this town suffers from many social, economic and spiritual problems. Though it was mid-morning on a Monday, it seemed many people did not have work.

George prayed, asking the Holy Spirit to lead them to the right house, the right family. After a few lefts and rights, the team chose a house and maneuvered the awkwardly large van into the small courtyard.

As the team piled out of the vehicle, George began chatting with the man of the house. Gradually, the rest of the family members appeared, and they invited the group into their sitting room.

The man of the house and George discussed Islam and Christianity, but an unfortunate phone call interrupted their conversation. Mary took the opportunity to share about Jesus with the women. When the man finished his phone call and returned, Anthony led the conversation, without any trace of fear or nervousness.

In the end, the team blessed the family with food packets and a New Testament before climbing into the van and continuing the journey.

Drawing a crowd

Next, the team drove to a small town square. They parked the van and greeted those who gathered. Since the team included native Arabic speakers, conversation was no problem. While they talked, those not yet fluent in Arabic prayed for the Holy Spirit to move in people’s hearts.

One young man announced he was to be married that week. The group congratulated him and prayed for blessings on his marriage.

From a nearby house, Muslim women peered out the door. Mary and the women visited with them while the men conversed outside.

Praying for healing

After the women finished their conversation, the group visited Fadi* and his family. Fadi has a problem with one of his feet, so he walks with crutches. The group sat, drank Coca-Cola and shared with him and his wife about Jesus, the one who heals. He and his family were very receptive and accepted New Testaments and copies of the Jesus film.

As they drove away, Fadi and his wife stood in front of the gate to their house to wave goodbye, New Testaments in one hand and big smiles on their faces. 

A final home visit proved to be special for the team. The father explained that he had married at age 16 and now has 12 children. George shared verses from the Sermon on the Mount and talked about the way of salvation. The family shared that two of their daughters suffer from mental challenges. As the team prayed for the girls, the father was moved to tears.

God answered the team’s prayers, giving boldness to share openly about the Gospel and granting many open doors and receptive audiences.

Pray for the social, economic and spiritual needs of this village. Pray that a life-giving church would be planted in their midst, and that the truth of the Gospel would transform the community.

*Name changed

"I didn't come here to stay in this flat for six weeks," Scott* thought to himself. He had traveled to Israel to work with the OM team over the summer and had spent the first week of his time doing some spring cleaning around the flat.  

Please join Scott in praying for this volunteer from Greenpeace, who claimed to be an atheist. May he read the Gospel he was given and discover the Word that was with God at the creation of our beautiful world.

Over a year and a half earlier, Jonah*, an OM worker in Israel, headed out the door after attending his congregation's Shabbat service. Just as he reached the exit, someone introduced him to Levi*, a first-time visitor to the congregation.

Levi was full of questions about what he had just experienced in the service, so Jonah stayed to talk with him. After a half hour of earnest discussion, Jonah could tell that Levi still wanted to hear more. 

Like many Jews in Israel, Levi had been born and raised in a religiously observant family. He had heard about God ever since his early childhood, but the truth about Jesus, the Messiah, had never been explained to him. He had never read any of the New Testament, and what he had heard at the worship service that morning had piqued his curiosity.

Realising that they had much more to discuss, Jonah invited Levi to lunch at a nearby restaurant. "For at least three hours we talked about Jesus,” recalls Jonah. “Then we prayed... and he started praying!"

For the next few months, Jonah and Levi talked two or three times each week, and Jonah noticed that his new friend was getting "more and more thirsty to know about God." 

When Jonah first read Isaiah 53 to Levi and explained that the prophecy concerns Jesus, Levi began to cry, saying, "I can't believe that this is written in the Old Testament. How come our people don’t know about this?"

After reading from Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 late one evening, Levi indicated that he wanted to become a believer. "At midnight in my room, on his knees, he prayed to receive Jesus," remembers Jonah.

For Levi, it was only the beginning. "He was eager to grow spiritually," says Jonah, "to know how to know God's will and how to hear God's voice, the voice of the Holy Spirit."

Jonah connected him with a congregation of Jewish believers, and Levi has stated that he now feels like part of the family there. 

Levi had been in Jerusalem many times in his life but had never seen the sites pertaining to Jesus, such as the Garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room and the Garden Tomb. Before understanding who Jesus really is, he had never been interested to see such places. But now, due to his faith in Jesus, Levi discovered a new desire to see these historical sites. 

A few months ago, Jonah and Levi went together to the Judean wilderness, and Levi was baptised in the Jordan River. After the baptism, Jonah and Levi headed to Jerusalem to see some of the sites he had never before visited.

It was there, on the Via Dolorosa, at the spot where many believe Jesus stumbled while carrying His cross, that Levi was overcome by emotion. He knelt on the city street and wept.

For Jonah, the scene reminded him of the passage in Zechariah in which God says, "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son" (Zech. 12:10; NIV).

"Then, I understood what it means for a Jew to come to receive Jesus," says Jonah. It truly is a remarkable and beautiful occasion! 

Please pray for Levi to continue growing in his faith in Jesus and to receive encouragement and fellowship from his local congregation.

*Name changed

OM Israel workers Megan* and Chloe* started a women’s Bible study and invited several foreign exchange students to participate. Hope*, a student from Taiwan, enjoys thinking about complex and spiritual topics, so she agreed to come to the first Bible study meeting.

For the first lesson, the group discussed God’s creation and the way He views women. Afterwards they asked Hope what she thought of the topic, and she said she is “trying to think in a Christian way.”

Recently, Hope stayed over at Megan's place. They discussed Hope’s relationship with her boyfriend, and Megan shared with her how God listens to prayer.

Hope asked, “God really answers our prayer?” She had assumed prayer was just a way people expressed their emotions, for she never really believed that God existed. How could a God who does not exist hear or answer prayers?

The next morning, Megan woke early and found Hope sitting in the living room.

“What are you doing here?” asked Megan. 

“I’m praying,” replied Hope. When Megan asked what she was praying for, Hope indicated that she was praying about her relationship with her boyfriend. “I asked God to talk with my boyfriend and change [his actions],” she said, “but God didn’t answer my prayer!”

“Who knows?” Megan replied, “Maybe He spoke to your boyfriend already!”

A few hours later, Hope excitedly shared with Megan and Chloe, “God really answered my prayer! My boyfriend had a dream and he suddenly changed!”

Chloe and Megan rejoiced in this unexpected blessing. This is just the beginning for Hope. Please pray that she would continue to study the Bible and accept Jesus as her Saviour and King.   

*Name changed

He had a little trouble with his bags as he got on and off the train, but several helpful Israelis came to his assistance, which gave him an opportunity to share about his faith.

As Scott exited the train and started for the gate, a railway attendant helped him with his suitcases. "He was very friendly," says Scott, "so I gave him a pin."

Scott had brought small pins from his home country to give to people he met along the way. The pins give him a way to introduce himself, tell where he is from, and explain why he is visiting Israel.

Scott arrived at the train station a little past noon. Eliyana* from the OM team had arranged to meet him at the station, so he sat down inside to wait. Meanwhile, Eliyana was waiting outside, in the parking lot. 

She assumed Scott would come outside to get picked up, and he assumed she would come inside to find him! 

Hours passed, and Scott used the time in the train station to continue talking with Daniel*, the railway assistant who had helped him with his bags. "We talked about how prophecy was fulfilled," says Scott. "I was trying to link the Old Testament and the New Testament."

As Scott pointed out pertinent chapters and verses, Daniel aggressively responded with different passages, but as Scott recalls, "The Lord was with me there because passages of Scripture were coming to mind. Daniel would say something with a lot of assurance and boldness, and I could come back with passages that answered what he was saying."

Daniel was happy to chat with Scott. Though he claimed to be a practicing, religious Jew, he spoke also about his interest in drugs and partying, as well as living free and at peace.

"He had to go help other people," remembers Scott, "but he always came back...and he ended up calling me amigo (friend) because I knew a little bit of Spanish and he knew a little bit of Spanish."

In the end, Scott and Eliyana did manage to find each other, over three hours after he had arrived at the station. As Scott thinks back on the miscommunication, he says, "This is a blessing because I was able to talk to this guy all of this time." 

Miscommunication happens. Occasionally these mistakes can cost time and energy. But through listening to God and looking for His fingerprints on each situation, great opportunities can emerge, opportunities that could have never been expected. 

It was a sweltering afternoon in Israel, so the invitation was a welcome one. Walking from home to home, offering Christian love and literature, is no easy task in this hilly city. 

Mary* and Julia* accepted and followed the young Muslim woman to her family’s home. Though she did not accept the literature they had tried to give to her, they hoped to share from the Bible in some fashion with the rest of the family.

Dinner was still several hours away, as observant Muslims do not break the day-long fast until nightfall during the month of Ramadan. Mary and Julia couldn’t stay for the meal that evening, but they did have a chance to talk with the mother of the family.

Julia plainly stated, “We came from a different country to tell you about Jesus,” and they presented the family with a DVD of the Jesus film and a Bible. 

While they were eager to share the Gospel and discuss spiritual matters, the mother had other priorities. As Mary recalls, “The mom was more curious about what kind of food I liked because she was already thinking about what to prepare for us the next day.”

Arab hospitality

Mary returned for a second visit with Elizabeth,* her roommate. Julia could not come this time, as the OM Hope of Israel summer team had moved on to a different location. 

Both Mary and Elizabeth came to Israel for a six-week college internship in partnership with the OM team in the area. They lived in a majority Arab context and had many opportunities to serve the church and the community. 

They had joined up with the Hope of Israel summer team for an afternoon of door-to-door outreach and were glad to have the chance to follow up with this Muslim family. 

During their second visit to the family’s home, Mary and Elizabeth watched the mother cook traditional Arab dishes. She even gave them a recipe for bread dough, though her measurements were not very precise: a big spoon of this, a little spoon of that, a drinking glass full of these, and a kilo of flour (the one constant). 

“We talked about the World Cup, as that was the day after Brazil epically lost,” says Elizabeth. 

“Miserably lost,” corrects Mary.

They quickly discovered that most members of the family spoke very little English, but they tried to communicate using the translator on a smart phone! When conversation grew too exhausting, they turned on the television and watched Syrian soap operas together.

The father of the house

A few days later, the same family invited Mary and Elizabeth back for another evening of food and conversation. 

This time the father of the house was present. Since he works at a restaurant in a major city, he often has to spend several days a week away from his family.

Mary and Elizabeth quickly noticed the father’s gracious, loving air. “He kept picking up his kids randomly and kissing them and hugging them and sending them back on their way and showing obvious affection for his children… and they obviously loved him,” remembers Elizabeth.

Excitedly, he showed his guests around the home. He had big plans for expanding the house and making it nicer for his family. “He kept saying, ‘Slowly, slowly – lots of money, but little by little,’” recalls Mary.

With the children, Mary and Elizabeth talked about school and their favourite subjects. “The younger son got out his English book and he started reading me the stories in English,” says Elizabeth.
 
The daughter, who had originally invited them over for dinner, is eager to pursue photography, though she faces difficulty in finding a job in this field. “I want to do photography, but it’s going to be really hard,” she admitted.

As it turns out, the father was the best English speaker of the family. “He also liked to mix the two languages,” remembers Mary. This made for some interesting conversations! 

Mary and Elizabeth opened up the Arabic Bible they had given the family and encouraged the father to read a passage. He read all of John 17 out loud. They turned to John 3:16 next, and he read that as well.

“He really enjoyed talking about Muslims and Christians loving each other,” says Mary, “and how we really are just the same, and in heaven there will be Muslims and Christians and Jesus and no politics.” 

Worried that he didn’t fully understand the crucial differences between the two faiths, Mary insisted, “If Jesus didn’t die on the cross then Christians won’t be in heaven.” Unfortunately, a phone call interrupted this critical conversation, but Mary hopes that the father will continue thinking about what she said.

The first night they had taken a taxi back to their house, but when the father found out how much they had paid for the fare, he insisted on driving them home.

“The dad basically called us daughters,” says Mary.

While no member of the family made a profession of faith in Jesus, they now have a copy of the Scriptures in their language and have spent several evenings in conversation with believers. Please pray that they remember the things Mary and Elizabeth shared with them, and pray that God guides them to the truth as revealed in the Bible.

*Name changed

Partway through the tour, the group spent a night at a hotel. After dinner, Scott headed back to his room to relax but found the door locked. His roommate, who had the only key, was nowhere to be found. 

"God has taught me that when something unexpected happens, to give thanks and to know He is in control," says Scott. “Usually something good happens out of it."

"I felt led to go outside," he recalls. "I saw the driver downstairs, and I decided to see if I could talk about the Lord with him."

Scott and the driver chatted for a short time, but the driver had to leave to greet a friend who was just arriving in town. Still feeling God had something else planned for the evening, Scott tried to speak with several other people, but language barriers or lack of interest kept them from meaningful spiritual conversations.

At that point, an older man and woman came outside. Scott greeted them and discovered that they spoke English. They were both involved with another tour group but were willing to talk.

"I started asking spiritual questions," says Scott. "Daniel* was very opinionated, but he gave me the chance to explain."

As the conversation progressed, it became apparent to Scott that both of them were very critical of organised religion. Daniel and Christine* were repulsed by the hypocrisy they see in all the world’s religions.

Scott shared, "In the end, it is not what they do with the religion that matters; it's what they do with Jesus Christ... A lot of people rely on their religion, but in the Day of Judgment, He will say, 'Away from me, I never knew you.'"

When they continued to protest, Scott insisted, "You cannot blame your disbelief by looking at others, because Jesus was perfect. He was not a hypocrite and He never let anyone down and He always told the truth."

Christine exclaimed, "It's impossible to honour the Lord the way the Bible tells us to."

"Yes, humanly speaking," replied Scott, "but with the Holy Spirit it is possible, even if we will fail at times. We have the power that resurrected Jesus. We have that power to live a life that honours Him."

Scott spent over an hour talking with Daniel and Christine. "It was an unexpected blessing. He respected everything that I said," says Scott. 

All this came from a missing hotel key and a willingness to let God lead.

How many Christian tourists visit Israel every year? How much of a difference could we make if we were intentional about sharing the Gospel of Jesus with everyone we meet in the Holy Land? We have a great opportunity in the land of Israel, let us make sure we are "making the best use of the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16 ESV).

*Name changed

I have been involved in many types of ministry throughout the years: large outreach events, street evangelism, serving in the local congregation, youth work and ministering to women and single mothers.  

But I have to say that the most ordinary and simple ministry, yet at the same time the most exciting and mysterious one, happens when the Lord uses us through our everyday lives and relationships.  

This is when we are often unaware that we are even doing ministry, and we can miss what the Lord desires to use us for if our eyes are not on Him. It is the intersection of the mundane and the profound, and only the Lord really knows what is happening in the hearts and minds of the people that He brings across our path.

Conversation in the elevator

I want to share about one of these everyday relationships that started about five years ago. We had just moved into a new apartment after returning from a year of home assignment. As we were going down the elevator I was chatting in English with one of my daughters when another woman in the elevator, Sara*, started a conversation with me.

Sara had just made aliya (immigrated) to Israel from New York the month before with her husband, Jacob*, and their three daughters. She invited my daughter and me up for a play date and a cup of coffee.

I could tell by her conservative dress that Sara, like most of the English-speaking new immigrants in our city, was a religiously observant Jew. One of the first questions she asked me as the girls ran off to play was, “Why did you choose to immigrate to Israel?”

This is not an unusual question, but for a non-Jewish believer in Jesus who has lived for eight years in Israel, it was both a great opening to share the Gospel and a relationship-defining question.

I have found that religious Jewish Americans in Israel generally do not look favourably on Christians living in Israel. They are all too aware that believers in Jesus share about their faith, and they do not want to have to deal with Jesus here in Israel.

I dove head first into an explanation of how I had not actually made aliya because I could not, since I was not Jewish. I shared how I had originally come to Israel thinking that we would stay a few years to learn from and support the community of Jewish people who believe in Jesus as their Messiah and Saviour as I do. After three years my husband and I had grown to love Israel and the people and stayed.

She was definitely shocked, but also intrigued. She had experienced first-hand that leaving one’s country and family behind to come to Israel, even as a Jewish woman, was a very difficult process. Though she might not have been happy to know that I was a Christian living in Israel, she told me that she could not argue with the fact that I was very clearly acting on my faith and what I believed about God.

Occasional interruptions 

After this first encounter we would get together sometimes, and Jacob and my husband also became friends. One way or another our conversations would always come back to faith and God because Sara was on a spiritual journey.

She shared with me that she had come to Israel hoping to find the purpose and fulfilment that she felt was missing in her life in New York. As time went on, I could see she was becoming more disappointed, as she was not really finding what she longed for.

Sara and Jacob would occasionally ask us for help in things that only a non-Jew could do. For example, one Shabbat evening, as we were in the middle of our family meal with guests, Jacob knocked on our door.

He was sorry to disturb us, but he had a big problem. He had parked his car in such a way that his father-in-law, who is in a wheel chair, could not get into their house for Shabbat (Sabbath) meal after the synagogue service. It was after sundown on Shabbat and, according to the religious law, he could not drive the car to move it.

Our willingness to be interrupted in the middle of our meal and move the car spoke to him and the whole family.

Then on Rosh Hashanah, one of the most holy Jewish holidays, their new kitten jumped from an 11th floor balcony … but lived! His daughters were very upset, and they wanted to take the kitten to the vet. But they were not allowed to use the telephone or drive on the High Holy Day so they came to us for help.

We called the vet and were the go-between for them. Through this family crisis and other things Jacob personally shared with my husband, we were able to share of God’s personal love and care for him and his family.

Naming of a child

Jacob and Sara invited us to the naming ceremony party after the birth of their fourth daughter. Sara shared about the significance of the name they had chosen for her, and how they later realised it was even found in the Torah the week of her birth.

I asked which story, and Jacob could not remember the details. Sara said, “Just tell her whatever you remember from the portion, Jacob, and she will know which story because she really knows God’s Word.”

From Jacob’s small hint, I did know and she laughed in embarrassment at how I, a Gentile, knew the Tenach (the Old Testament) better than she did. To be honest, as she said this I had a very hard time trying to reconcile her statement with the interactions that we had had over the years.

How had she come to that conclusion? I was again reminded that we really have no idea how God is using us to be salt and light, in the midst of a dark world that is hungry and searching for life and light. As we faithfully seek Him, love Him and others and open our mouths to bear witness to Him, He draws people to Himself.

One year later

A year ago their family moved to another city, which is about an hour’s drive from us. I have to admit I felt disappointment at the fact that I had not yet seen her come to faith in her Messiah.

But with God we never know what is in store. Last summer, I was at the local swimming pool, and I met Sara, as she had travelled to our city to visit other friends. Two months later I bumped into her at the mall when she was shopping with another friend. Just a month ago, after our family had moved to another apartment across our city, I ran across her at the park right next to our house.

She had come to a friend’s daughter’s birthday party. I was in shock that she was here again, a third time! I was quietly asking the Lord, “What are you doing? What do I say in the midst of this crowded park and kids running around us?”

I knew our meeting could not be by chance, yet I did not know what to do. As I was sitting next to her, she turned to me and said, “You know, this is only the third time I have been back here since I moved, and I just realised that I have seen you every time.”

She knew there was significance. I believe God was organising our meetings.

I am now looking forward to when God will arrange our next surprise encounter. God’s plan and purpose is not always clear, but we can trust the outcome to Him and enjoy the journey He is taking us on for His glory.

*Name changed

Divine appointment 

Megan*, an OM worker in northern Israel, experienced a divine appointment as she and a friend were relaxing on the beach. After a long day of sightseeing, they had decided to spend some time on the shore of the Mediterranean. 

As they watched the sun descend over the water Megan and her friend, who is not yet a believer, discussed spiritual matters.  

Then Megan noticed a father and his young son who were heading out to the water, dressed to go diving. From a distance, their mother was standing and watching. 

Megan felt that the scene was just right for a photograph, so she took a few shots of the family. 

When the father and son returned from the water, she approached and showed them the pictures she had taken. They chatted for a few minutes, and the family invited Megan and her friend to their house for tea. 

Unique situation 

As they talked, Megan realised they were a very unique family. The husband has a Jewish mother and an Arab father. The wife grew up in a Muslim home, but at the age of 18 she decided she no longer wanted to be associated with any religion. 

They have not rejected the concept of God, however. Both still claim to believe in one God, who created people and does not judge them based on skin colour or ethnicity. "What is important is inside of you," they argued. "What you believe, and the message that you bring out." 

The family insisted that what is most important in God's eyes about the land of Israel is that the people live at peace with each other. 

As the evening progressed, Megan also shared her beliefs. "I could talk to them quite comfortably," she remembers. "I don't need to hide anything. I can share about my faith confidently." 

The family invited Megan to come back to their home for another visit. Megan is amazed at how God orchestrated the evening. 

Please pray that Megan will be able to visit the family again and continue to be a faithful testimony for the Lord in northern Israel. 

*Name changed

For the holidays, they organised a trip to Jerusalem and Bethlehem with a group of Chinese friends, some of whom are not yet believers. As many important events in the life of Jesus took place in these locations, Megan and Chloe had opportunities to tell their friends about the true narrative of the redemption story.

As believers, Megan and Chloe share a much deeper understanding of the true meaning of these biblical sites. While the nation of Israel continues to celebrate God’s provision of the Old Testament Passover Lamb, believers can share the good news that God has provided the world with a perfect Passover Lamb in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son.

While standing in the very town where Jesus was born, Megan and Chloe shared about the importance of the virgin birth. Later, they discussed prophecies about the Messiah in the place Jesus fulfilled those prophecies. When they explained the crucifixion of Jesus, they walked in the street through which He may have carried His cross.

In the Garden Tomb, possibly the very place Jesus showed His power over death itself through His resurrection, Chloe and Megan invited their friends to open their hearts to know and receive the truth.

Even though not all of their friends are believers yet, they were willing to listen attentively and respectfully to the stories Megan and Chloe told. Two of these friends even expressed interested in joining them for a women’s Bible study!

Near the end of the trip, Chloe found a Chinese gospel booklet explaining the differences between Christianity and other religions, like Buddism and Taoism. She gave it to one of her Buddhist friends and was pleased to notice him carefully reading it.

Chloe and Megan ask for prayer that “the Lord will continue to soften and flourish the hearts of the non-believers; that they will have a desire to seek the truth, will continue to come to the Chinese fellowship and will experience the truth that Jesus is alive!” 

In the centre of a city park, a group of believers recently set up a table of Bibles and Christian literature, hoping to spread the love of Jesus through the gift of free books. Liam* and Lucy*, two OM workers, joined a local pastor for this outreach.

On Saturday evenings, the park overflows with laughing groups of people taking a break after a long week of work.

After arriving and surveying the scene, the local pastor guided the group on a walk around the perimeter of the park, praying for God to open hearts and remove obstacles to the Gospel.

Then, the group set up the table, put out the books, and waited. At first, people seemed reluctant to approach the table. After a few awkward minutes of standing in one place, the pastor encouraged the members of the group to take books in hand and “go do the work”.

Fadi*, a new believer who had been baptised just one week prior, headed towards the scattered groups of people and emphatically stated, “Jesus loves you, and you, and you. Do you love Jesus?” 

Jamal*, who had also been baptised the previous week, encountered several drug addicts, who declined Bibles. They claimed that because of their sins and mistakes, there was no hope for them. As a former drug addict whose life has been transformed by Jesus, Jamal ardently stated that with Jesus it is possible to come clean.

“To see these two new believers sharing their faith with such boldness was very special,” recalls Liam. “They had no reluctance, no fear.”

The pastor challenged Liam, Jamal and Fadi to walk around the block and find people who spoke Chinese. Initially, Liam had doubts. Would they really find Chinese speakers in the middle of Israel?

As it turns out, the pastor was right! Liam was further surprised to notice that almost every Chinese person he approached with a New Testament willingly took it, once they saw that it was written in their native tongue. They seemed pleasantly surprised that someone would go to the trouble of finding a book in their own language to give them.

As they walked past a street-corner butcher shop, Liam noticed that many of the workers seemed to be of Asian descent. As he gingerly offered them a New Testament, displaying the pages so they could see the words inside, Jamal yelled “China?”

Liam feared that such a blunt statement would prove offensive, but his fears were quickly allayed. The workers laughed, dropped what they were doing and came over to receive the gift – even beckoning for more New Testaments!

Back at the literature table, Liam noticed a young Jewish man approach and silently inspect the books, then walk away briskly. Liam feared he had been offended by what he saw. But a few minutes later, the young man returned to the table and resolutely grabbed one copy of every book in Hebrew he could find.

Just before the group packed to leave, an Arab man who was working in the park walked by, stopped in front of the table and asked if he could have a book. He was beaming with excitement as he left a few minutes later with a new copy of the New Testament for himself and an illustrated book of Bible stories for his children.

Many of those who received New Testaments immediately began reading and discussing the book with their friends. Please pray that those who received literature would understand what they read. Pray for continued outreaches in this park to bear fruit for the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

*Name changed

With a stretch of restaurants and tourist attractions lining the seashore, the promenade is a busy place where both foreigners and Israelis mingle and relax in the cool of the evening. The group’s music attracted a large crowd without encountering any noticeable resistance.

Since 2011, Gersham has challenged every group that works with him to do some kind of public outreach on the promenade. These groups have done a variety of activities: acrobatics, sports, games, music, dance, drama, and even spray-painting of cosmic scenes on canvas. The teams use all of these diverse activities as a way to create opportunities to share the Gospel with their audience.

Sounds of worship

As the group began playing music, they noticed an Orthodox Jew watching them from a distance. The onlooker was carrying a guitar, and he seemed to be watching the group with curiosity. Encouraged by this, Daniel* approached the stranger and struck up a conversation.

Ariel* introduced himself to Daniel and explained that he had just bought the guitar a week ago and only knew one chord. Seeing the group playing music together had piqued his curiosity, so he had stopped to watch.

He asked about the group: where they were from and why they were there. Ariel said he noticed something about the group that was different, something that was special.

Sermon on the Mount 

Daniel felt that Ariel was sincerely interested, so he pulled out a Bible and began pointing out relevant verses. A few minutes later he got out a New Testament in Hebrew and turned to the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Matthew.

Ariel shared that he comes to the promenade often, searching for God. He is very religious and participates in a youth movement within Orthodox Judaism, but he still feels there must be more to the story than what he has been told.

Several times as they talked, Ariel exclaimed, “This is really speaking to me! I’ve never heard this before.”

A few minutes later, three believers walked by the group. One of the three was also carrying a guitar, so they sat down, pulled out their guitar, and joined in with the worship.

Ariel was struck by the uniqueness of the situation, and he asked Daniel who the newcomers were.

Daniel replied “I’ve never seen them before.” This gave him a chance to explain how as believers we are unified, even if we don’t know one another.

As Daniel and he were reading the Scriptures together on a nearby park bench, another two believers approached and noticed the open Bible. They pointed at Ariel and stated emphatically, “We are praying for you,” then walked away.

Ariel was stunned. He asked Daniel where the two had come from, and Daniel shrugged and replied, “I assume God sent them.”

Daniel and Ariel talked for over two hours, and by the end of their time together, Ariel had tears in his eyes. He has been looking for a relationship with God for a long time, and in his words, “This is it!”

In fact, during the course of their conversation, he became so enamoured by the Sermon on the Mount that he began preaching it back to Daniel! Daniel gave him the Hebrew Bible, in which are stored the priceless treasures of God’s redemptive story.

Before even arriving in Israel, Daniel had received a strong impression that he would encounter a significant person with whom he was to share about the Gospel without reservation. He has no doubt that this religious man is exactly the one God intended for him to meet!

The way God divinely choreographed the evening definitely made an impression on Ariel. 

Please pray that Ariel’s search for God will lead him to the truth.

*Name changed

Prayer walks offer an opportunity to ask the Lord to bless specific families and houses, and they often result in open doors for sharing the good news.

On this particular day, Bishara, a local Arab pastor, led the group down a busy thoroughfare in Nazareth. After walking and praying silently for about 10 minutes, Sarah* turned around and pointed to a side street they had just passed.

“Can we go up that way?” she asked.

Bishara nodded, and the group turned back and headed in the direction she had pointed. After going around a corner and up a short hill, the small road ended abruptly. The group stood in the shade of a tall house for a moment to pray, then turned to go back the way they had come.

As they turned, Robert* noticed an Arab family chatting in their front yard. He decided to approach, offering a New Testament as a gift. The family accepted the gift happily and invited Robert and Liam inside the house for Easter cakes and tea.

The rest of the group continued walking while the men chatted with the friendly Greek Orthodox family. As they continued walking, Sarah and Cassie* felt pulled toward a specific house on the street. A small girl waved to them from a window of the house, then several daughters came out into the front and welcomed them into the veranda.

After a tour of the house, they sat Sarah and Cassie down on patio couches and began serving them coffee, treats and juices. Sarah and Cassie speak no Arabic, and the family members spoke very little English, but everyone laughed and gestured with gusto.

By the time Robert and Liam caught up with the rest of the group, Bishara had also joined the lively conversation, acting as an unofficial translator. Though they were from a Muslim background, the family allowed Bishara to pray for them, and they have shown an interest in reconnecting later: they are even willing to meet at the church to visit!

Sarah explained later what led her to choose that particular road. After the group had passed by the street, she felt the peace in her heart disappear. Understanding that God was leading her toward the street, she obeyed Him and asked the group to turn back.

Sarah and Cassie were eager to give this family a New Testament, but the right moment never came. However, they both feel a deep sense of peace about the encounter.

God led the team down that road on that particular day for a reason. If He wants that family to have a New Testament, they know He will make sure they do. Unexpected blessings often occur when we allow the Lord to direct our steps. 

*Name changed

On the first day of the outreach, Gersham sent the team to a hill on the northern edge of the city to worship and pray over the area. Yet, the road to the top of the hill ended abruptly in a deep ravine. Undaunted, the group chose to scale the slope on foot. They took a deep breath, grabbed a guitar and some songbooks and began the hike. At the top, they worshipped under the shade of a solitary tree. 

Visiting villages

After grabbing lunch, the team headed to a cluster of Arab villages and markets. Gersham told the team he believed God would provide at least one meaningful conversation in each town. As foreseen, the members of the team found someone willing to talk in every place they visited. They even exchanged phone numbers with several people who wanted to meet again later.

As they travelled, a team member noticed some Arab women working in a field just off the main road. Lucy* and Christine* descended the hill and greeted the women with smiles and broken Arabic. They then presented the ladies with gospel literature. The ladies received the literature with gladness and responded by giving Lucy and Christine a fresh bunch of radishes!

Heading north  

Two team members chatted with a worker at a hotel in the hopes of learning more about the religious and demographic make-up of a northern city. He was polite, and when asked about his religion, he replied, “I am Jewish,” and quickly added, “but I don’t believe in all those stories.”  

Before leaving, they gave him a book containing a compilation of testimonies of men and women in the Galilee region who have come to faith in Jesus.

Conversations on a kibbutz

The following morning, the team visited two kibbutzim, hoping to engage people in spiritual conversation. The kibbutzim of Israel began as communal farms, and they have played a major role in the formation of the Israeli identity. A fairly secular, humanistic spirit is often prevalent in these areas, and residents of kibbutzim are generally more open to discussing different faiths and ideologies.

Amir* and Christine talked for over an hour with a Jewish man whose parents had helped to found one of the early kibbutzim. The man was non-religious and boasted that the only time he had ever set foot in a synagogue was for his son’s Bar Mitzvah. Before leaving, Amir placed literature on the table. Despite his lack of interest in spiritual matters, the man admitted, “I can tell you really take your faith seriously; you really believe in it.”

One Arabic Bible

Later that day, the team set up a book table in a busy area to offer free Christian literature. Though many people walked by the table, no one took any books. Somewhat discouraged, the team prepared to pack up the table and leave. Before they left, however, one man stopped and asked if they had any Bibles in Arabic. Unfortunately, they had not brought any, but the man left his address and phone number, and they promised to find someone who could provide him with such a book.  

Later in the week, they stopped by the address he had given and personally delivered the Arabic Bible. He was surprised they would take the time to deliver the book in person.

In the course of the week, the team also visited a local hospital, help organise a stockpile of gospel literature and sing worship songs at a senior citizens facility. 

Participating in this outreach was no ordinary week, and each day proved different and challenging for the team. Despite the obstacles, God faithfully provided the team with many open doors throughout the week.

*Name changed

Contact your local OM office about joining the OM Hope of Israel summer outreach team!

Joy admits feeling frustrated at that moment. She asks God, “Why did I get in this rain and walk all the way down this hill only to turn around and walk all the way back up...with no food for the next day and a half?” 

A few steps later, God answers her question. Joy notices a woman struggling with a baby stroller: with one hand the woman is trying to keep the stroller from rolling down the hill, while she scrapes mud off the jammed wheels with a stick in her other hand. Moreover, it is still raining.

“We just prayed the day before for opportunities to reach out to people,” reflects Joy. Here in front of her is an opportunity; there is no mistaking that fact. Without stopping to consider how the woman will react, Joy approaches and offers her help. She holds the stroller steady, which frees up the beleaguered mother so that she can finally clear the wheels.

“We started talking, and she was amazed that someone would randomly come off the street and come by her side to help,” says Joy. Soon they discover that they are the same age, and they live a mere two blocks from each other. As they walk home, the woman exchanges contact information with Joy and insists that they should get together for coffee sometime.

“I realised that this was why God had provided that opportunity,” says Joy. “If the store hadn’t been closed, I would never have met Julia* that day.”

The story continues when they meet later at a local cafe, and Julia tells Joy more about herself. “She has a very shattered past, a very broken home,” says Joy. “But she’s incredibly intelligent: she speaks five languages and she had no problem telling me that I am the only person she knows of that only speaks one language. It’s very humbling.”

Julia’s situation is not too bleak for God to redeem. As their friendship grows, Joy is praying for “an opportunity to really show her that Christ is her hope.”

Joy and Julia plan to get together again soon for coffee and conversation.

Pray for Joy to introduce Julia to the best friend anyone can have: the Lord Jesus.

*Name changed

Caleb, an OM worker in Israel, intended to take a more observational role in the recent camp for young Israeli believers. But as the weekend progressed, he quickly shifted into a more active role: clearing tables, setting out chairs, serving in the food line, and being an all-around helpful person.

Camp leaders were prepared for the 200 who pre-registered for the camp, but when the dust cleared on the first day, they realised an extra 60 unannounced campers had arrived.

This unexpected surplus resulted in “scrambling and emergency trips to the store,” remembers Caleb. But everyone got plenty to eat and the weekend’s events passed smoothly.

Followers of Jesus are often the minority in their social and professional spheres in Israel, but for at least this one weekend these youth had the chance to let down their guard and enjoy being around like-minded souls.

“It was amazing to see youth that are excited and happy and genuine to be around each other,” says Caleb. Israel can be a very tense place, and many believers find that they are always being judged or scrutinised by their society.

“I can only imagine how hard that has got to be sometimes to be the odd man out, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Caleb explains, “especially in your own country and your own culture.”

It is hard to overstate the importance of a camp like this, as over 200 young Israelis received a much-needed opportunity to openly worship the Lord Jesus, hear lectures on biblical topics and spend time in a safe and welcoming environment.  

Many of the attendees came with their congregational youth groups. After the camp-wide lectures, each of these groups splintered off and discussed what they were learning. This gave them an opportunity to go deeper with their close friends and mentally prepare for daily life outside of camp.

“The challenge for these kids was to take this mountain-top experience of being at camp and apply it to life when it does get hard and it becomes almost a chore to continue to take the high road,” says Caleb.

Camps of this size take place in Israel multiple times a year, and a variety of smaller, more focused camps occur between the larger gatherings. Giving believing youth the opportunity to enjoy fellowship, to be open and honest with each other, and to hear from wise mentors is absolutely crucial to the discipleship in the land of Israel.

Please pray that camps like this will continue to bless the young generation of believers, and for the youth who attend to apply what they learn at camp in their daily lives.

*Name changed

For Gersham*, an OM Israel team member serving in this biblical land, it all begins with worship. For over seven years, Gersham has pursued a specific vision of worshipping God in public places in Israel. But this strategy was not birthed overnight.

“It was born out of frustration,” explains Gersham. “We had been with OM already for about two years and had tried lots of different things, but we hadn’t yet found our groove."

Gersham and his wife did evangelism in the street, distributed literature to households, hosted evangelistic parties in their home and attempted to reach out to the attendees of local New Age festivals. Despite all their labour, they still felt like they were missing something.  

“We were overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge to somehow bring the gospel to the half million people of [this region],” he admits.  

Our eyes are on you

During this time of uncertainty, a guest speaker at their local congregation preached a message on 2 Chronicles 20, a chapter in which three powerful armies simultaneously attack the kingdom of Judah.

King Jehoshaphat gathers the people of Judah together and publicly prays, admitting to God that he has no power to defeat his enemies. He finishes his prayer by telling the Lord, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12; ESV).    

“From that I realised that it is okay to admit that you don’t know what you are doing,” explains Gersham. “In fact, it’s a good place to start. The key is to keep your eyes on God, and He will show you what to do.”  

As he studied 2 Chronicles 20, Gersham noticed another startling fact: “The whole rest of that account is all about worship, and it really took me by storm because I’m not a musician, I’m not a worship leader, and I don’t know much about this category of activity in the believer’s life.”  

Despite his lack of expertise, Gersham gathered help from his local congregation and began intentionally circling the region with praise and worship. As they neared the completion of their first circle, God showed Gersham that a major city nearby was to become their real focus.  

Circling the stronghold

“I’ve been here for about 20 years, and when we get close to this city, that’s when the hair on the back of my neck starts to stand up,” admits Gersham. “There’s something very intense about that place."

Teams are often confronted by a spirit of fear when they do literature distribution and outreach in the city, and throughout the years several people have received threats while working there. According to Gersham, “It is serious work and the opposition is very serious, both in the physical realm and in the spiritual realm.”

“We came to realise that [this city] is a very important, strategic city in Judaism,” explains Gersham. “In fact, it is the heart of Rabbinic Judaism.”

It was in this city that the Sanhedrin, or Jewish Council, was re-established after the destruction of the temple. The oral law of Judaism was written down for the first time there. This body of literature, the Talmud, is held by many Jews to be equal in authority with the written Word of God.  

With this in mind, Gersham began to centre the circle of worship on a tower near the centre of the city, visible from a distance in every direction. At a distance of about 15 kilometres (about 10 miles) from the tower, he drew a circle on his map, and then looked for prominent or historical places at which they could worship.  

“For the last seven years we have been trying to complete this work, though not completely understanding it, and in the summer of 2012 we had release from the Lord that we had, in fact, completed the outer circle of worship and praise around the city,” says Gersham.

But God is not finished with this project. “Almost immediately we felt the impression that we should move in closer to the city and continue with the same thing,” explains Gersham. In obedience to the Lord’s leading, Gersham drew another circle and began the process again.

By people of strange lips

In the last few years, Gersham has used more short-term teams from abroad to accomplish the vision for circling the city with praise and worship.  

“All these groups the Lord is bringing from overseas are part of his strategy for reaching people, specifically through strangers,” says Gersham. He sees these foreign teams as a fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy that “… by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the Lord will speak to this people” (Isaiah 28:11, ESV).  

“It seems to be picking up in intensity,” says Gersham. “In the last three or four years, the amount of groups coming to work with us has tripled. We don’t look for them. We don’t recruit. They just find us.”

With the help of short-term teams, Gersham has almost completed the inner circle of worship, which is located only a few kilometres from the city centre. “Of course, I can’t tell you what’s after that,” he says, “but I think the Lord is going to give us release to engage in open public worship inside the city.”  

In fact, a team from Hawaii, US, actually did some worship in the city just a few weeks ago. According to Gersham, “There was no opposition and people were actually quite curious why these people were singing on the streets.”

How can you get involved?

Gersham is looking to purchase more musical instruments to broaden the range of the worship teams, and donations can be sent specifically toward this goal. 

Furthermore, Gersham explains, “I would love to see people come who are really experienced with worship as outreach, that they enjoy worshipping the Lord in public but [also] know how to engage with strangers and present gospel truth. Then the programme could move from a pre-evangelistic strategy to an evangelistic method.”

If you are interested in partnering with this outreach or contributing to the ministry of OM Israel, please contact your local OM office.

*Name changed

Kate met Sydney* at school, and the two of them got along well and helped each other with classwork. Sydney is a fairly typical young European student: a carefree woman who is involved in some of the things of the world. She needs Jesus no more or less than anyone else.   

“As we started to get to know one another, she was genuinely shocked by me,” remarks Kate. “She had never met anyone her age who believes in Jesus sincerely, someone who knows what her faith means, someone who would actively obey Jesus and seek Him and love Him.”

God provided an opportunity for Kate to share with another classmate about some of the miracles she has experienced in her own life. When she finished the stories, her classmate, who is not a believer, remarked, “If you tell everyone these stories, they will all believe in Jesus!”

Later that week, Kate's classmate asked her to tell Sydney about the stories. Kate was nervous about how Sydney would react. The opportunity was too good to miss, however, “So I bit the bullet and told her. She got really quiet, and then we left it at that,” Kate said.

A week later, Sydney confessed to Kate, “I’ve still been thinking about your stories.” She then started asking more questions, which opened the door for more spiritually in-depth conversations.  

A few months later, while the two of them were eating together, Sydney abruptly looked at Kate and asked, “Will you teach me the Bible?”  

Since then, Kate and Sydney have met weekly to discuss the Scriptures. In fact, Sydney has even gone so far as to say, “I believe, but I want to know what I am believing in.”

But there is another layer to this story: Joshua*, Sydney’s boyfriend, is a religious Jew, and Sydney is also studying his faith in case they decide to marry.

“Joshua was getting nervous about what I was teaching her,” says Kate, “so he sat in on a few of our lessons.” He was shocked to discover that Kate understood his faith even better than he. “I was teaching him about Judaism and Christianity and the Tanakh, and he loved it,” laughs Kate.  

The author of Hebrews tells us, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12; ESV). Pray that this verse will prove true in the lives of Sydney and her boyfriend – that the Word of God will bring them new life.  

*Name changed 

"People who would not consider themselves religious often find it easier to talk about theological topics during the holidays," observes Liam. "After all, an international celebration commemorating the birth of Jesus provides a perfectly logical segue into a discussion of the purpose and meaning of His first coming."

In mid-December, Lucy took the initiative and invited Gerhard, a German friend, over to their apartment, hoping to have just such a discussion. Earlier in the month Gerhard had complained to Lucy that he could not find a proper oven for cookie baking. Fortunately, Liam and Lucy’s apartment has a perfectly suitable oven.

As Gerhard expertly mixed the ingredients and pounded the dough into shape, they freely discussed a variety of topics. Without any prompting from Liam or Lucy, the conversation abruptly became more theological, as Gerhard began to share about his beliefs in a higher being.  

Though he is not yet a believer in the divinity of Jesus, Gerhard does feel certain that there is a higher power at work in the universe. He says this belief sets him apart from most of his peers in eastern Germany. According to Gerhard, the Communist regime that once ruled his part of the country almost completely eradicated the concept of God through their emphasis on the need to find meaning in life through work and accomplishments.  

Gerhard argues that Communism’s materialistic perspective on the world is not satisfactory. However, he has not yet embraced the truth that the “higher being” is the God who has revealed Himself in the Bible.  

In Gerhard’s eyes, mankind is progressively improving itself as people begin to make wiser and less primitive decisions. Due to this belief, he does not see humanity as a fallen society in need of God’s divine intervention.  

After listening to Gerhard’s opinions, Liam shared the story of redemptive history, from the fall of mankind to the Messiah’s atoning death and resurrection. Gerhard paid careful attention, asking occasional pertinent questions and allowing Liam the freedom to complete his explanation.

“What a blessing that was,” remarks Liam, “to be able to share God’s story of salvation in such a friendly and non-confrontational way.”   

After the cookies were pulled out of the oven and taste-tested for quality, Lucy gave Gerhard a New Testament with parallel translations in Arabic and English. Since he is studying Arabic at the university, Gerhard gladly accepted this gift.

Please pray that he will read the New Testament, think about Liam’s explanation of human history, and encounter the one true God.

*Names changed

Despite the prime location in a tourist area and the notable attempts at welcoming more customers, the owners of this particular café have a hard time attracting business. The staff at the café probably hand out more brochures than anyone in the city.

Liam and Lucy have struck up an informal friendship with Nick, one of the servers. Nick is always open to conversation, and since the café is never very busy, they often have an opportunity to talk.

On this visit, Liam and Lucy wanted to give Nick a gift: a New Testament in his native language, Russian. As they neared the café, they spotted his cheerful smile and his neatly groomed beard.

Liam recalls, "We didn't know for sure if he would remember us, or how we would make sure we get a table in his section, but these potential problems turned out to be non-issues.”

Nick approached Liam and Lucy, asked how their studies were going and showed them to a table on the roof.

When Liam presented the New Testament, Nick seemed very pleased, especially when he noticed it was in Russian. He asked what kind of book it was, and Liam shared that it is a book that gives life. Nick even pointed out the note inside from Liam and Lucy on which they had written their contact information.

Liam reflects, "It’s only one New Testament. It’s only one Russian waiter. It’s only eternal life and death."

Please pray that Nick would read the New Testament and that he would contact Liam and Lucy so that their friendship would expand. Pray that the story of Jesus transforms the lives of Nick and his co-workers.

*Name changed

Before the programme began, OM Israel team members Rachel* and Chloe* prayed the team would demonstrate unity, despite the diverse backgrounds of the participants.

This year’s Hope of Israel team was made up of people from “all different countries, all different languages, all different personality types, and ages 18 to 65. Yet, the team was completely unified,” recalls Rachel.

At the first team prayer meeting, a member of the group pleaded with God to give them unity, and Rachel realised she was watching God answer her prayer right in front of her eyes.

Besides doing outreaches throughout the country, the group spent two weeks helping with children's camps.

A partnering children's ministry has an open door from the local community to host summer camps for the children in the area, which provided the group an opportunity tell young people from Jesus’ home country about the Messiah.

This year’s team was so motivated that they organised outreach on their own after working all day at the camp. Rachel nods as she remembers their enthusiasm, “I called them 'addicted to evangelism'.”

During the events, the team noticed God began stirring the youth in the area to become more excited about reaching out to their community. Several local believers even expressed a desire to join the Hope of Israel team next summer.

Pray that the Lord would open doors for these local believers to be involved in ministry, and that the seeds of faith planted at the camps would bear fruit in the lives of the children who participated.

If you are interested in joining a Hope of Israel programme in the winter or summer, please contact the OM office in your country.

*Name changed

When we went to the Tiberius promenade to do street worship ministry, our team was feeling some nervousness due to the opposition we had experienced the previous day.

During dinner, one Orthodox Jew found out we were the group giving out tracts. He took a dirty cloth from the restroom and threw it at one of our team members.

He then complained to the restaurant owner, who was also an Orthodox Jew, that he was entertaining Christian evangelists at his restaurant. Fortunately, we had already finished eating and were about to leave.

With the memory of this incident fresh in my mind, I walked past the store owners who rejected tracts from us and onto the promenade, looking for a suitable spot to start our little worship ministry.

I prayed in my heart that the Lord would make us sound like angels and make our voices heard, even though we were only four-strong. As we started to sing, the fear vanished.

One of us went out to share gospel tracts while the other three sang. I thank God no one came up to scold us or try to force us to leave. The worst we saw were grim faces, but many people still took tracts from us.

When it was my turn to distribute the tracts, I did my best to smile. An Orthodox Jew with a black kippah walked past and I (feeling a little bolder now) gave him a tract. After he glanced at the literature, he handed it back to me with a stern face.

To my surprise, his friend, also wearing a black kippah, gave me a smile. I was so encouraged! He knew I was a Christian doing evangelism work, but he didn't mind. Then I approached another Jewish man and gave him a tract. He took it and then stood at the railings by the sea to listen to us sing.

I went up to him to speak to him about Yeshua, but he didn't understand English. We tried speaking to him in Hebrew, but he did not understand.

By the providence of God, one of our team members spoke Spanish—a language the man understood! He told us he was enamoured by our singing. Praise God! I know that it was not our voices that were beautiful, but God's Spirit that was convicting and ministering to his heart.

Please pray that the Lord will soften the hearts of the people in and around Tiberius so they will receive the gospel message with joy and gladness. Specifically, pray for the salvation of the men who received literature and enjoyed listening to the music on the promenade.

The situation seemed hopeless. Then she met Suzan* who stood up in church and advertised her course as available to all women who would come and experience the real life-changing power of God in their everyday situations.

Suzan serves with OM in Israel. She has been heading up a small team running a ministry for single mothers for more than 10 years. Over the years, the content and style has evolved but the core principles are essentially the same. Using the image of the tabernacle as a point of reference, she runs an annual five-month course for women in the church. While the main focus of the ministry is on believers, it is not exclusive. Some women who attend the course find God for the first time.

The programme invites ladies to choose the biggest obstacle in their life and tackle it. Be it forgiveness, prejudice, debt or depression, the ministry focuses on having a right relationship with God and this being the centre and beginning for healing. The ministry sees many women set free from victim mentalities and cycles of destructive behaviour, through recognising their sin and then handing it over to God. There is a strong emphasis on Scripture, and the principle of being washed with the Word of God is taken seriously with participants encouraged to research the Scriptures regarding their area of difficulty.

Harriet, along with 30 other women, started the course together. Over five months, Harriet was taken through the steps and came to face the reality that she was harbouring unforgiveness and bitterness toward her husband. The Lord convicted her of her sin and bought healing and the ability to let go.

After the course, Harriet was at home awaiting her husband’s return from a trip. He got back and exploded at her; it seemed all the work had been for nothing. But that night Harriet was determined not to hold onto the pain of unmet expectations and to forgive. The following morning, for the first time in four years, Harriet's husband approached her and apologised for his unfair behaviour. Without having to say a word, the transformation in Harriet was evident enough that her husband was able to see his own fault rather than hers.

Suzan has seen the transforming power of God working in the lives of many individuals to change their outlook on life, relationships and self-image. The programme looks to find the root of circumstantial and behavioural problems. Over a decade of experience, Suzan has realised that the root comes back to incorrect belief about the nature of God. A paradigm shift takes place in the lives of these women, particularly when they learn how to forgive. Suzan says it is a wonder to see. During the five months of the course, their lives are completely changed and their relationship with God and others has improved.

While Harriet and her husband still have a long road ahead of them, they have turned a corner in their lives together. They are far more effective in marriage and ministry than ever before.

*Names changed

Ben is an enthusiast photographer, blogger and writer. He loves listening to, experiencing and then sharing stories about what God is doing. He is currently on a six-week communications internship in the Middle East and is excited to see and hear what the Lord is doing in this region of the world.