Dear Family & Friends,
It is a great privilege for us to be co-working with you in the cause of the Gospel among the Jewish people here in the land of Israel. In the last few weeks we were able to produce five new books, and conduct seminars in different cities in Israel.
In the past months we have published six books in various fields. This brings us to a total of 17 books over the last two years, and over 82,000 copies. We have received positive feedback from many readers, including from the secular community, and are thankful to the Lord that our efforts are not in vain (Psalms 127:1-2).
Susan's update
We are grateful for your prayers for Susan as she went through her first rounds of chemo-biotherapy. The results have been positive, but her oncologist has recommended three more months of chemo-biotherapy treatment, beginning in November. She is much weaker this time. Please pray that she will be able to cope with all she is going through and that the Lord will strengthen her and the family.
Old Books
Recently I have been reading John's Piper’s book, Contending for Our All: Defending Truth and Treasuring Christ in the Lives of Athanasius, John Owen, and J. Gresham Machen. The book is the fourth in the Swans are not Silent series. In the preface Piper writes about the importance of books and in particular the old books. He quotes C. S. Lewis who advised his readers, in particular the "amateur" reader, to read books that have stood the test of time. He also advised to read at least one old book for every new one. I wholeheartedly recommend Piper’s book and the reading of books from earlier centuries. It is amazing how much depth is in them, and how relevant they are to our lives, here and now in the 21st Century.
In October HaGefen published the first modern Hebrew version of the Heidelberg Catechism. The Hebrew title is One and Only Comfort. Since this "old book" has never before been used in Israel we held a one day seminar to introduce it together with our Dutch brethren who underwrote the project. David, who translated the catechism, gave a lecture introducing the book. He has also written a preface to the book and Dr. Robert Godfrey, the President of Westminster Seminary in California, wrote the introduction.
Book and Seminar
Tedd Tripp, author of Shepherding a Child’s Heart, recently published in both Hebrew and in Russian, came to Israel in November with his wife Margy to teach on biblical parenting. Initially we planned three seminars but due to the demand we ended up with five seminars from Dan to Beersheba! Both Tedd and Margy did a wonderful job in unfolding biblical truth and in providing counsel to the many parents who had private conversations with them during the breaks. The day-long seminars were well attended, with people coming from Eilat in the south to Nazareth in the north, both Arab and Jewish. The response to the teaching and the demand for the books, in Hebrew, Russian, English and Spanish, confirmed our belief that the believing body in Israel is in great need of biblical teaching and counsel on raising their children for the Lord and living a godly family life. We were encouraged to see the hunger for sound biblical teaching, and the willingness to travel long distances and take a day off work to attend the seminars. Please pray that the teaching and the books will have lasting influence in the lives of the parents and in raising the next generations. In the coming year we hope to conduct other seminars on various subjects.
CWI Tour with a Difference
While conducting the parenting seminars, we were involved with a group of 26 people from Singapore who visited the Holy Land with a CWI “Tour With a Difference”. The difference was that they saw not only historical sites with their ancient stones and walls, but also the living stones. Each evening a local pastor or church leader gave a lecture about Israel and the church in Israel as well as the work of CWI and CWI Israel, HaGefen Publishing. The highlight, according to our visitors, was the children's choir of Grace and Truth congregation. The children sang in Hebrew and English and people shared their testimonies. Dr. Alfred Yeo led the tour and has worked very hard this past year in planning and organizing it. We are very grateful for all his efforts to make this possible. Sarah Chan, a CWI UK worker in London, attended the tour and helped with the logistics. That same month, David spoke to a tour group from San Diego. We expect next November to have a similar tour from London. We hope in this way to encourage a love for Israel and the Jewish people, and a desire to partner with us in bringing the Gospel to our nation.
Deputation
At the end of November David traveled to London, Edinburg and Amsterdam for a series of meetings. On Sunday he was privileged to preach in a Chinese church in London. He has been asked to return to conduct a seminar on Jewish festivals.
Home Front
Eti has a heavy study load at her MA Counseling course, with more papers to write and submit. It is a challenge, in particular with the flow of guests to our home. She enjoys the studies and finds them helpful and practical. She already has "clients"!
Maayan and Hadas are enjoying school, though studies are more challenging for Hadas. Both of them are involved with the Grace & Truth children’s choir and had their first international performance with the CWI Tour With a Difference from Singapore! Meidan is growing fast, at times too fast, and the signs of rebellion are seen clearly in his attitude and behavior. The rod has been putting in overtime!
As our pastor, Baruch Maoz, is retiring at the end of this month, David and the other Elders are taking on increasing responsibilities in the church. David has been asked to serve as chairman of the Elders board until the new pastor is able to take over.
The planning and the setup of Christian schools in the land has moved into higher gear. A non-profit association has been established for the purpose of planting a Christian school in the center of Israel, with David serving on the board of seven.
Our Praises and Prayers:
Praise God for:
• The successful seminars held by Dr. Tedd and Margy Tripp.
• Those who have heard the Gospel in the past few months.
• The six books published in the last four months.
Pray for:
• Strength for Susan as she goes through a second round of chemotherapy treatments, and full recovery.
• The projects and activities planned for 2009.
• Financial stability in the challenging global crisis. |
