Before the fall of the Shah’s regime in 1978, since I was an Israeli citizen I was asked by the Israeli authorities to be ready to leave the country, in case the political situation would get worse. In the 1973 war in Israel, known as the ‘Yom Kippur’ war, my uncle lost his nephew in tragic circumstances. For many months we had no news of him, as he was first considered Prisoner of War, and later Missing in Action. Only after some months we received the news that he had been killed in the Golan Heights in the first days of the war. This event had such an impact on my uncle and aunt, that they decided that they would do all that they could, so that I would not have to join the military, since in Israel it is mandatory.
At the age of 16 I ended up by myself halfway across the world in San Diego, California. Through the ministry of the Navigators and some faithful friends God took hold of me, and I was converted, and later baptized. After finishing high school, I continued into university and graduated from San Diego State University majoring in computers and business administration.
Upon graduation I went back to Israel to fulfill my mandatory military duties. However, not as a combat soldier but working in the field of computers. My uncle and aunt's wish was realized! Later I became an officer in the Israeli military and rose to the rank of Major. Though I was planning to become a career officer in the military and retire with a pension at the age of 42, God had a different plan. Upon my call to become an elder in the Grace & Truth Christian assembly, I was given the choice to either leave the military or resign my Eldership. Both my wife and I prayed and thought through the two choices and only one of the two made sense to us. I left the military; but in the sovereignty of God I began to work the following week in the same base as a civilian, with twice the salary!
As a civilian I continued to work in various positions both as systems analyst and project manager. At the same time, I continued to serve the church as an Elder and as the chairman of the Building Fund. In addition I was asked to be the chairman of the local board of Hagefen Publishing. God in his goodness gave my wife and me many opportunities to serve.
In the second date with my future wife I told her two things – first the five points of Calvinism, where she had no idea what I was talking about, and secondly that I don’t know when or how, but I planned one day to study at Westminster seminary in California. In God’s sovereign plan, it took us 11 years before the desire and the dream could be realized! Three years ago my wife and I quit our jobs, took our savings and a few suitcases and moved half way across the world to study at Westminster Seminary.
While studying at the seminary, I had the privilege of working as an intern in New Life Presbyterian church, the same church where I was baptized almost two decades ago. This provided me and my family with great training and experience, and has in many ways prepared us for the work of the ministry. We are thankful for this great opportunity of hands-on training and growing.
Our time in the Seminary as well as the training that I received, and together with many friendships that we were able to develop, helped us greatly to grow in our walk. In May 2005 I graduated from Westminster and the Institute of the Reformed Baptist Studies (IRBS). We are thankful that this part of our lives, being students and living a student’s life style has come to an end.
In April of 2005, I accepted the post of the Israel Field Director with Christian Witness to Israel (CWI). I have been familiar with the work, since I was the chairman of the local body, and it is dear and near to my heart. We believe that through many circumstances, God has prepared us for the task before us. While I will be working as CWI Field Director, at the same time I will also continue to serve as an Elder of Grace and Truth congregation.
OnJuly 5th we left the USA to come back home to restart our lives and to begin the work of ministry to which God has called us. We are grateful for the three wonderful years that we had in the USA. In many ways it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us as a family. And now we look forward to doing the work that the Lord has prepared for us among our people, and to serve in advancing the Kingdom of God among the people of Israel.
David Zadok |
