Ministry Report November 2020 – Preparing for a Difficult Winter
There is a Boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many? (Jn. 6:8)
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Messiah, Yeshua! (Phil 4:19)
Dear Friends of FZS,
Praise the Lord, I am back in Jerusalem after a long delay because of the lockdown. We are so blessed right now as we were officially given permission to open our doors to the public, as so many have been waiting to visit us since our last 2 containers arrived from Holland. One of the big compliments that we are hearing is that most of the clothing stores remain closed for months now and only aid centers like ours can open. We are so grateful for All that the Lord has provided for us to give even in these extremely difficult and trying times.
We have also begun preparing for a difficult winter ahead:
Winter has just arrived here in Jerusalem and with the dropping temperatures, the electric heaters and winter clothing are bought out of summer storage. It is important for us to be ready to meet the needs of those living in poverty and struggling to make ends meet.
According to the OECD, at the start of 2020, Israel had about 2.3 million residents living under the poverty line (including 1 million children) and 1.6 million living with food insecurity. Sadly, these numbers have significantly increased in recent months due to tens of thousands losing their income during Israel’s COVID crisis (Israel is currently faced with a 22.7% unemployment rate). Given the circumstances, it is expected to be an unusually challenging winter this year, particularly amongst the elderly.
In spite of a rather grim forecast, we are especially overjoyed that we can give them NEW winter clothing, shoes and bed linen as the Lord has provided. As you can see by the happy faces below, they are all very grateful for the help they have received. What a wonderful way to share the love of Yeshua in both Word and deed!
Thank you for your support to FZS in these very difficult and challenging times!
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A home lift was provided for Diana!
You may remember last May we introduced you to a 15-year-old physically challenged girl named Diana, who was diagnosed with a congenital diagnosis of CP (spasticity and dystonia). Diana cannot help herself and needs constant help (feeding, dressing, sitting, bathing). She does not know how to speak, but she understands most everything both in Russian and in Hebrew…
Diana with her parents Elena and Igor
In our report we were asking for help in providing a home lift/walker for mom and dad (Elana and Igor) because both of their backs were becoming injured by the constant heavy lifting as Diana continues to grow into an adult.
Well, Praise the Lord, an anonymous donor of FZS gave $5000 towards the purchase of a new body lift and walker from Denmark for Diana, and it has now been installed in their apartment. Elena and Igor send their love and thankfulness to all of us who prayed and for them and how God has provided through this special couple!
New body lift and walker for Diana
Upper Room Building Project almost finished
The Upper Room building project is almost complete, all that is left to do now is to finish the kitchen. We also had quite a shock after the last heavy rain when water started leaking into the new apartment. It turns out the taring is cracked and old, so redoing the roof at the FZS warehouse is also on the urgent to do list…
The Living Room
Kitchen plan – to start next week
Apartment work interrupted by an emergency roof leak
Seed Storage Update
We decided on a vacuum packing machine from Europe in order to pack the 5kg bricks of wheat seed for storage in our warehouse. The vacuum machine has a very strong Bosch pump which constitutes 95% of the machines work, instead of a cheaper no name version from China with far less PSI. We are trusting the Lord to provide us with much more seed for the coming crisis in which the bible warns us will be the “Time of Jacob’s trouble” for Israel just before Messiah returns (Math 24). We hope to be able to help feed as many as possible, Lord willing.
Seed storage in vacuum packed Aluminum Milar bags
Join Us Live on Shabbat
Every Friday night on Shabbat, at 6pm (Israel time) we invite you to join us live via ZOOM as we are currently going through the Book of Daniel. If anyone is interested to join our virtual congregational service, please contact Bradley at [email protected] for instructions.
Thank you very much for your faithful prayers and support for the work of the Lord here in Jerusalem! Please also be in prayer for all of the Lord’s provision in the different outreaches we are involved with!
May the LORD bless and keep you!
וישמרך יהוה יברכך
Bradley Antolovich
International Director