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Ministry Report June 2020 – When it’s Time to Pray

When it’s Time to Pray

Sometimes, the best thing we can do when faced with difficult circumstances beyond our own control is just to stop and pray! This week we received a note from one of our longtime supporters that just broke my heart. The message is very simply worded that gets right to the point…“I need help now.”

His words just jumped off the page for me and I knew this brother needed more than just pity or nice words of comfort in response, he needed prayer – prayer for a divine breakthrough in his urgent situation! And then I realized that so many of us are in this same situation as he is to one degree or another. So many of us are suffering due to the unseen pressures placed upon us as a result of this pandemic quarantine and the political destabilization we are facing as a nation being expressed through rioting…

What I have come to understand is that prayer is not just a few minute monologue of sending a wish list to God once or twice a day, but rather a surrendered person’s life that is lived as a prayer unto God…

So in this newsletter we are asking you to please pray!

– Please Pray for our brother in Arizona who wrote the note.

-Pray for all those who have lost their jobs and who are experiencing stress in family situations and for those dealing with depression and sense of hopelessness.

-Pray that these very trying times will lead people to more repentance and a genuine turning back to the Lord with humility and sincerity.

– Pray for The United States of America to return to its biblical foundations expressed in the Constitution and that evil and chaos will not prosper.

– Pray for FZS, that the Lord would continue to bring needy Olim to us and for opportunities to share His love!

– Pray for Dima from our congregation who is battling cancer.

– Pray for our warehouse shelves to continually be supplied with good aid to distribute to the needy.

Thank you very much!
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much!

Olim are back at our FZS Distribution Center

Now that the Corona quarantine has been slightly lifted in Israel, a steady flow of Olim are once again visiting our FZS distribution center in Jerusalem. They come to us from all over Israel for help and assistance with the necessities needed to try and make ends meet. It is our joy and privilege to have direct contact with these Olim again, after such a long time of being shut in their homes. PTL we have many opportunities to share His love both through giving and our testimony as believers at our center. Here are a few recent pictures of the first Olim who came to us for help…

We were also recently blessed with a donation to specifically distribute Passover gift boxes for 40 additional families in Jerusalem. The gift boxes will include: Matzah, grape juice, tuna, oil, rice and other savories, which we will start delivering next week during Passover. We will then continue our home delivery ministry after Passover ends with fresh bread supplied from the bakery next door to our distribution center.

Finally, we wanted to introduce to you a very special girl with very special needs…

Please meet Diana Urikh who along with her parents recently came to us for help.

Igor and Elena explained to us that their daughter, Diana was born with a congenital diagnosis of CP (spasticity and dystonia). The family immigrated to Israel from the Ukraine in 2011 and now live in Jerusalem. Diana goes to a school for children with special needs.

“Diana cannot help herself and completely depends on the assistance of her parents and social workers (feeding, dressing, sitting, bathing). She does not know how to speak, but she understands everything both in Russian and in Hebrew. She can explain what she wants. She underwent several operations – eliminating strabismus, installing a baclofen pump and installing DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation). Diana is a very curious girl and she loves to learn and try new things. She has a good sense of humor and she always reacts to jokes.

Diana cannot walk without outside support, but she really loves it. At school, they put her in a special lift and she walks in it. We would like to install the same device at our home, but the Ministry of Health does not cover it financially, and we ourselves cannot pay for it.”

Elena (mother) works full time with Diana and is not able to bring in the extra income needed for this home walking device. Thus they have come to us at FZS requesting financial assistance for this in home walker for $5000.

Perhaps one of you would have it in your heart to help? Please email me Bradley at: [email protected]

Large wave of Jewish immigration expected in 2021 (This is why FZS is here!)

Immigration minister says Jewish State expects arrival of some 90,000 immigrants in 2021, compared to 35,463 in 2019; immigration agencies ask for additional funding to accommodate demand.

Like thousands of other French Jews, Dan Bocobza had for years been contemplating Aliyah, or immigration to Israel, but when coronavirus hit France, he decided to make his move. “France’s mismanagement of COVID-19 played a role, but above all, it was feeling that suddenly the doors were closed,” said Bocobza, an entrepreneur and father-of-seven.

Many Jews around the world have long felt that Israel would always be a sanctuary if things at home went bad. Some have moved because of anti-Semitism or economic crises, others because of their religious or Zionist ideologies. But now the sudden realization they would not always be able to enter Israel as non-citizens have pushed some to opt for Aliyah.

“We always considered leaving for Israel, but the crisis created a new situation of not being able to travel,” Bocobza said by telephone from France. “That was a real blow to me.” (Ynet)

Thank you very much for your faithful prayers and faithful support!

Bradley Antolovich,
International Director