Hello again from Netanya! We awoke to another gorgeous day and it only got brighter as we experienced our first tour day in Israel.
In Matthew 25:31-40, Jesus reminds us that we are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in the stranger, cloth the naked, and visit the sick and those imprisoned. Then adds this:
Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.
Our morning began just that way as we packed food bags to give to precious elderly people at a local senior center here in Natanya. After packing those bags, we were blessed to deliver them to a predominately Russian-speaking group, some of whom were Holocaust survivors or children of those who were. Below is our group at work preparing bags of food, as well as our “group photo” with our new friends at the senior center.
Some shared harrowing stories of the Holocaust. To fully grasp the hatred some have for the Jewish people, you need to hear their stories in their own words (through translators, of course!) In the first short clip below, our guide, Yoyakim, is translating from Hebrew into English. In the second, Angelina (from One for Israel) is translating Russian to English.
Afterward, there were many hugs and tears as we literally bonded with beautiful people with whom we could not even directly communicate. However, the love of Jesus isn’t bound by language and doesn’t even need words, only willing vessels to pour it out on others. We were so privileged to be the hands and feet of Jesus to “the least of these.” It was an incredibly moving experience.
After prolonged goodbyes, we made our way to One for Israel where we heard from so many of the staff, including Dr Erez Soref (president of OFI), Dr Seth Postel (a highly-acclaimed theologian) and others who work diligently spreading the truth of God’s Word, reaching both Jews and Arabs with the gospel of Yeshua (Jesus).
After hearing from them, we were invited to enjoy lunch with the entire staff who generously gave of their time to interact with us and welcome us to One for Israel. The shawarma was wonderful and the conversations were stimulating. What a joy to engage with Jewish believers in Jesus!
One for Israel’s tagline is “The best way to bless Israel is with Jesus.” Whether Jew or Arab, that is their mission and they are extremely committed to it. BTW – The tour we are on is coordinated by One for Israel. If you don’t know about the work they do, please check out the One for Israel website.
The day didn’t end there, but I’m out of time for now. Check back later for a recap of the rest of our day!
Shalom for now!
Looking for the Blessed Hope 
ohh, thank you!!!!the visit, and your recording, of the holocaust survivors…so amaing. once on a tour, to a sr. citizens place of holocaust survivors, one spoke that the day they celebrate has to do with russia, not with regular WW2 end date. really appreciate your efforts. oh, wish i were there!!! but i cannot be, so i thank God i have been in israel, and my last trip with you! your group was so blessed to hear erez soref and seth postel. i met erez soref on a tour by michael card for folks who had already been to israel one time. the tour guide was awful, EXCEPT he took us to One for Israel. none of us had ever heard of it before. we were fascinated. and dr. soref stayed on longer with us. the check-mark for me with one for israel is that dr. soref KNEW vladimir pikman whom we know, and hosted even for 8 days with his family. he was saved in an outpouring of the holy spirit among jews living in kiev in 1992!!!! he was like a flame of fire when we first heard him in our church at the time, very small chuch. vladimir is with chosen people ministries, and he teaches back and forth at dallas theological seminary.he had the first messianic church in berlin, of all places!!! pretty huge group of messianic churches in germany, europe.and God used vladimir hugely for His Kingdom. love, praying,shirley mitchell