Dear Family & Friends,

It is a great joy to be part of the work that the King is doing in Israel. We are grateful for the opportunities that we have had in these last two months to touch the lives of people and influence them for the glory of our Triune God.

 To all the People

Over the recent year or two, Israel has had an influx of Sudanese refugees, who have risked their lives to escape the war and bloodshed in Sudan. They have gone through harrowing experiences, and many have lost members of their families. The children have spent so much time on the run that they lack basic schooling. Their mother tongue is Arabic, yet they hardly read in Arabic. Now, in Israel, they are learning to communicate in Hebrew and have been attending Israeli schools where they learn to read Hebrew.

Some congregations, especially one in the south, have been influential in the lives of these refugees particularly among the youth. Many of these have expressed a deep desire to learn the scriptures, yet cannot read them in their mother tongue. Their level of Hebrew is also not equal to reading the scriptures in its original masoretic text. Through an initiative of some young people and with the cooperation of two churches, HaGefen Publishing was able to provide them with 15 sets (45 books) of The Testimony. The books were received with great joy.

This is a new frontier that we are «conquering» as we see these Sudanese children, both Christian and Muslim, sitting together to study the Word of God. This is exactly the goal of this ongoing project, to make the word of God readable to all people, be they Israelis, new immigrants or sojourners in the land. We have received many letters from them, featured here on the side bar.

 Evangelistic Campaign

During April, May and June, there will be a countrywide evangelistic campaign in Russian. Advertisements will be posted in all possible types of media including radio, newspapers, and billboards. HaGefen has produced a Russian book of testimonies for this campaign, and all who wish will receive a free copy with a CD.

A large room in the HaGefen offices has been equipped with four extra telephone lines, and will serve as a call-in centre for the duration of this campaign, with volunteers manning the phones from morning to night. A similar campaign is planned for the autumn in Hebrew, for which a Hebrew book is being prepared. HaGefen has been asked to coordinate the Hebrew campaign, including the various advertisements in the media. Many congregations are involved in these campaigns, which will compass the larger cities. The publishing of the book is part of the campaign as well. Our people today, more than ever before, are in need of God’s message of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation with Christ.

Please pray that the Lord will use these campaigns and other activities to draw people to Himself. Pray also for wisdom and godly counsel for those who are manning the phones, and for those who will be visiting the people personally.

Susan's Update

We are thankful for the fact that Susan is back at the office and catching up with a mound of paper work. This has been a challenging trial for her and her family and we praise God that they have come through it victoriously.

Publishing Projects

In the last two months we have been working on finalizing three of our projects.

The Russian testimonial book is now at the printers, just before the Passover festival. Joel & Amos by Baruch Maoz is in the printers hand and Immanuel, a bible-story book for primary-school children, is finally ready for the printer, and will be available for the Sabbath School teachers’ seminar run by the Caspari Center (David serves on the board of this ministry). Let’s Study the Gospel of Mark and the children’s catechism have been formatted and designed, and are now being proofread.

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss, and Let's Study II Peter and Jude, are now being edited. We are completing the translation of the seventh chapter of Matthew Henry’s commentary on the Gospel of John. This book will be published in two volumes: the first with chapters 1-10, and the second with the rest of the book. This project is done in cooperation with the Netherlands Reformed Congregations.

Deputation

 Immediately after Passover, from April 17th to May 5th, David will be travelling to the UK, the USA and Canada. He has a full itinerary with many meetings in different churches and organizations. This trip is part of our ongoing relationship with our partners and supporters and we hope to develop new relationships as well.

Home Front

In the beginning of April David's older brother was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was operated on last Wednesday and though the surgery went well, they were not able to remove all the tumor. The doctor said that it was large and aggressive and it was sent for a biopsy. He has very high blood pressure and has lost his ability to speak. The family is staying by his bed around the clock, with both David and Eti helping in the Rota. We pray for his complete recovery, but above all for his salvation.

We have been busy with guests from different cities and countries. It is a joy to see God's people and to witness what the Lord is doing in various parts of his world. This year Eti has been busier than ever with her studies, was there are far more reading and writing assignments. After this semester she has one more year to go before graduation.

Next year Maayan will go up to the middle school and probably will be taking extra curriculum Math lessons through a local university. We are excited about this, though not very thrilled to see our girl go into the middle school. Hadas participated in a musical production that was put out by various congregations in the country. There was much preparation. She had two parts in the play, and did very well, objectively speaking! Meidan is developing some of his motorical skills.

Our Praises and Prayers:

Praise God for:

• The many opportunities to serve the local body in the land
• The many projects that have been completed
• The amazing work of evangelism that is going on in the country

Pray for:

• Salvation for David’s brother and his recovery from the tumor
• Evangelism efforts and HaGefen’s involvement in the national endeavor
• Financial stability for the work