July Update

The month of July started with the basics of every month and one or two changes. Our Sunday meeting at Succat Hallel became a worship practice for our conference this coming week. Tuesday continued as our youth watch of Harp and Bowl. And Thursday nights we continued on the streets. As well as I (Stefan) had other practices 2 days a week for 2 other bands for the conference.

The first 2 Thursday nights of this month went very well. The first week we met a teenage couple from France and prophesied over them. The next week the people God brought to us were Arabs. Two of them hung around and were very open and listened. What I (Samantha) found interesting was when things broke open on the streets the first two weeks were to the Jew first and the third week God brought the Arabs (Gentiles).

We also had a staff retreat at the beginning of the month with Succat Hallel. We drove up to Acre to have a time of prayer on a boat at sea facing the Lebanese border. Rick (the founder of Succat Hallel) has been getting dreams and visions about praying protection over the waters concerning the surrounding nations and their behaviour towards Israel. So we went up to have a time of prayer over the water. I (Samantha) had been looking forward to this. I really felt it was right and good that we do this. But from the minute the boat started until we ate lunch on land I was sea sick. Pregnancy + boat ride... not good :-). We had our time of prayer on the boat and then a little more on land. Then we headed to Herzaliya for fun in the sea and then headed home. It was a good time to connect with people we don't see that often.

The following week was fun as we had the privilege of hosting and touring my (Stefan) sister and brother-in-law around Jerusalem. When we toured them around the Old City somehow we got lost on our way to the Holy Sepulchre. But when did eventually get there I (Samantha) had the privilege of explaining to some Muslim women what the site is and to let them know as a Christian that I don't believe the site has any special powers, but is a good historical site (to explain; the sepulchre is a site riddled by idolatry, a place that replaces the worship of God with the worship of relics. Unfortunately the old city is full of Christian places such as these where people bow to Mary and the saints instead of going straight to God through what the word clearly says Jesus came to give us the ability to do). After the Old City we went and celebrated both of our 2nd Anniversaries. Then in the middle of dinner we received a phone call from the Rick, the founder of Succat Hallel (more about that phone call a little later).

The rest of the week was filled with love. We had a wedding of one of my (Stefan) good friends. The morning of the Lord brought in the money for their gift. The next day we celebrated a friends engagement.

The last week of the month was the start of the ELAV Intensive. The first half of the week was prepping and Friday it stared. In the middle of the week I (Samantha) had my ultra sound to make sure all the baby's organs are developing properly, as well as we found out we are having a baby girl!

The Intensive started on Friday and went through Thursday Aug. 4th. (This is one reason this update is coming out now, we were extremely busy). The Intensive was great. It was an amazing time of learning and lots of worship. We went out on the streets 3 times and 2 people gave their lives to the Lord and another 2 are very close. Saturday and Sunday a group of Arabs from Nazareth joined us. It was a powerful week.

Now back to the phone call: so Rick, the founder of Succat Hallel called me (Stefan) to talk to me about something that had been a long time in prayer. He let me know that they've been praying and they felt that starting September 1st they needed to step out by faith and guarantee us with $1,000 a month to help move us into full time ministry with Succah Hallel. A few days later I met Rick and found out that since they prayed and heard the Lord and stepped out, the money for September had already come in. Wow! Glory be to God. This week I sat with my manager at King of Kings to talk to him about me quitting my job and moving into full time ministry with the House of Prayer. Amazingly he was delighted with what had come about in this process and told me that he had felt that this was right for us. He said he'd seen me working for King of Kings as janitor and knew that this door for full time ministry needed to open for us because that's where our hearts were drawing towards. So as of September 1st I will be done with my job and we will be full time with Succat Hallel. For more information about Succat Hallel visit www.jerusalempraise.com

The Lord had spoken to us about holding on as long as it took until He opened the door and now He did. So we walk into this new phase in our lives with our baby on the way with confidence in what He told us and also with an amazing gift from Abba. We get a bonus pay from my (Stefan) job for the years I worked at this job which will provide a financial pillow for this next season as we move into full time ministry.

Obviously we are aware that the $1,000 that we get through Succat Hallel and what is already coming in from you, our supporters, is a little bit short of our financial need per month, but we remain in a place of trusting Him that He will provide for us as He did until now. With that said, now to the practical. If you committed in November or December to support us monthly, now, we believe, is the time. We need around $300 more a month to meet all of our needs. We do understand what is going on in the world with the economy. The money form Succat Hallel in the past year would have had our rent covered but now because of the decline of the dollar we are in need of more. But still in all this we are witnessing God's faithfulness. The Elav Conference is tomorrow and we booked a room at an Inn, to be closer and more rested. We did not have the money, but we knew this is what God wanted. 1/3rd of the money came in and we kept praying for the other 2/3rds. The other night at dinner I was looking at a note that had been on our refrigerator for 2 months, and that night I saw behind the note a $100 bill. We open and close our refrigerator door every day and see it every day. We both never saw any money behind that note until this week. Now the price for the Inn is still not fully covered but we KNOW our God will provide for us. So I want to encourage you in your finances and in your giving if God has put it on your hearts to give. God is Faithful to provide.

June Update

The month of June, even though it had been as busy as our previous months this past season, did not have many things to it other than the usual schedule that goes on in our weeks which we normally inform you about, plus one more thing; I (Stefan) had and will continue to have band practice with a couple of groups that will be playing at the Elav conference in August.

Tuesday nights with the youth, which used to consist of worship in the beginning, a short message and then worship and intercession have now switched to a whole two hours of worship and intercession instead. This in relation with our street ministry and the Elav conference that is coming up. For anyone who is not aware of what the Elav conference is; it's a three day youth and young adult conference that will take place in Tel-Aviv from the 14th-16th of August. This was started out as the One Thing conference in 2007 and has now taken the Israeli name Elav, meaning 'Unto Him'. A conference designed to draw young people into a deeper passion for the Lord and a zeal for the house of prayer. So you know, God TV will be airing the conference LIVE. So stay tuned for that. We will make sure to send a short reminder right before for those interested to watch.

Thursday nights outreach has picked up a notch since we last mentioned it. We've been going out faithfully for a while but only recently we've seen something new happen. In the past two weeks God broke out in the supernatural on the street. We knew this was coming and the Lord had promised that if we were faithful in our part He would visit us. In the past two weeks we've seen a few people get prophetic words and one Jewish Orthodox young man get miraculously healed from stomach problems. The young man was informed that we would pray for him in the name of Yeshua and he agreed to be prayed for as long as this was not an inroad for conversion. He was astonished when he realized that he was healed, more so that Yeshua would do this for him. It was amusing to watch him trying to tell a friend that the Christians got him healed while his friend who was a little drunk was trying to tell him not to convert. Such is the atmosphere in the are where we minister. Drunks, people who are passed out on the floor because of too much alcohol, and among them the Lord walks in signs and wonders and a furious love that reaches into the darkest of places to deliver the oppressed, open prison doors and bring freedom and life to the lost.

So this is the month of June in a nutshell. Short and sweet and full of surprises from Heaven. Please keep as we mentioned, the Elav conference in your prayers. We've asked God if we could have testimonies from the streets before the conference and He was faithful to reveal His hand of love. Now join us as we pray and lift up these very crucial days from August 14-16. Some people are doing a 40 day fast for this conference. That's already started but if you feel led please join us in prayer and fasting for what God is about to release in Tel-Aviv in this season. We would also like to be able to stay at the near by hotel so that Samantha, who will be 5 1/2 months pregnant by then will have a cool place to sleep and nap if she needs to, so please join us in praying for the money for that to come in.

May Update

May started off full force. We had our first Dr. appointment for the baby. We found out the baby is about a week older then we thought. Then I (Samantha) rushed to a friends bridal shower. It was a blessing to be able to bless a young bride to be who has no family in Israel. I helped her organize and plan the wedding. So the next week was spent finishing the wedding organizing, celebrating the birth of the country I love and live in, and then pulling off a wedding. Just to give you a quick picture of the week, which with being pregnant I felt better for; Sunday and Monday we finished wedding details. Tuesday was Independence Day. Wednesday was another friend's wedding, as well as one last party for the bride and groom to be that same evening. Thursday was an all day event for our friends wedding of setting up, wedding and then tearing down. Then Friday and Saturday was the annual Pro Life Conference in Tel Aviv.

We both love Independence Day in Jerusalem. It goes from a somber day of remembering and grieving the lost soldiers that gave their lives for the country which started the previous night and then flings into independence day celebrations the next night. So Monday night, just as the ceremony for the beginning of the celebrations was ending on live TV we took off to join the huge celebration down town . The celebrations include circle dancing in one area while in other areas of town there are stages with live music and some famous musicians. You buy inflatable hammers and bats with the Israeli flag on them and hit each other. What is really common here though is the use of snow foam spray (shaving cream like). People buy these large spray cans and spray each other. In recent years the streets downtown would be white as after a snow storm from so much foam. The amazing thing is that it is not rude to bat and spray people you don't know. For that evening only, everyone is one big family and no one gets offended. You literally spend the evening together rejoicing as one in the fact that we have a nation we call our own. You also enjoy cotton candy and munchies from sale stands all over the street. And you hope you are able to catch the fireworks that you don't know when or where they are. We were on our walk home when the fireworks started and I sat down in the street and enjoyed the colorful light show, or to be more accurate, the part of it that made it above the one tall building in the way. Then Tuesday is a day of picnicking in parks and hanging out with family and friends.

The Pro Life Conference in Tel Aviv was very enlightening. I (Stefan) believe that for us at this time of expecting a baby it had a more personal impact on the issue. We found out that abortions in Israel are illegal but can be legalized if you can get a counsel to grant that your case is worthy of one. Also you can have an abortion in Israel up until the day before the child is born. And if there is any "problem" or "possible problem" with the fetus the mother and father are encouraged to abort the fetus. It was very sad to hear about the reality of abortion in the land. We had meetings about abortion, about the stories of babies rescued and we had times of prayer for the issue. We also went out and did two seiges, one on the boardwalk and one infront of the abortion clinic. Just to explain the term, "doing a siege"; we basically stand for as much time as is decided, normally not less then an hour. We stand in silence with a piece of red tape on our mouths which has the word life written on it, which represents the silence of the babies that can't cry out for themselves. It's not a demonstration, rather a place of standing in the gap for the unborn. I (Stefan) knew the next day when we went to do the siege at the clinic that God was loudly speaking to us that we were on the right track with His heart in what we were doing. Half way on our walk to the clinic we came across a bench which to our amazement had two pairs of little children shoes. They were just sitting there with no one to claim them. I pulled out my camera to take a picture because of the significance and my camera highlighted the shoes and automatically went to the "Human" setting for the picture. Yet, there was no human being in the frame! I took that as a sign for us from the Lord that He was saying, "Well done! You're on the right track. Keep doing what you're doing, I'm watching and listening. Cry out for My silent beloved ones." On our way back I pulled my camera out again for another shot of the shoes. Again the camera went for the "Human" setting. That was the last time it did. We were aware that what was done was in the Spirit. Even in the issue of abortion we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities in the heavens.

After that the month seemed to slow down, or at least go back to normal. As we wrote earlier we figured out what was missing for me (Samantha) to get health insurance and one of our pastors went with me to translate and I received my insurance. This was a major breakthrough since this would cut down the costs of Dr visits and medical test a gross amount. I was able to register for and get the insurance of the Dr we had already visited. It is a blessing to not have to pay for Dr visits.

We finally finished Mike Bickle's book The Seven Mandates of a Forerunner with the youth. So as of now we have gone out to the streets the last two Thursday nights. The first week was great. In my opinion (Samantha) it's because there was not much youth out and we were able to just hang out and worship. The vision is to create a Kingdom Culture among the lost, just be who we are in private out in public. I (Stefan) believe that as we do that we pull on Heaven and create an atmosphere of His presence where He comes and touches people. In past times we've seen people healed and deeply touched by the Lord. The second week was good too. Unlike the recent week though, there were way more kids on the street this time. We normally see kids as young as 14 and 15 get drunk, throw up, get into aimless fights and all kinds of trouble. A big prayer request is that as we as a group go out we would be focused on the streets. That we would be listening to Holy Spirit to know what to do and when. We are excited about being on the street. We need wisdom in how we act and what we portray. While believing for the supernatural realm of Heaven to penetrate our midst we want to be in step with what the Father is doing just as Jesus was. Even as He himself said, "The son can do nothing without the Father". It is so imperative that we are in fine tune with Him in this.

As usual we have been at Succat Hallel every week on Sundays and Tuesdays. We still enjoy the youth and young adult watches. God is definately moving and has captured the hearts of these few young and faithful. We are looking forward to the summer when more youth can come because school is out and they will have some extra time. The last Tuesday of the month Jon Mark asked me (Stefan) if I would like to share on what has been on my heart. It was a small crowd that night but it was very good. God's been speaking to me about repentance as not just turning from sin but out of the context of John in Revelation the first chapter, hearing the Lord and then turning to see the voice that spoke to him. In turning John saw Him and from that moment of seeing Him there was nothing that could distract John's focus. Interestingly turning is repentance. Repentance is realigning whatever is out of line so that we do not miss Him. It's crucial in this season that we get this and allow our lives to be in a daily pattern of turning toward Him. So that we do not just walk in purity from sin, but we also don't miss where He's going. We knew that last week this message of turning toward the Lord really hit home for those in the room. We wait now for God to show us what is on His heart, where He will go and what He will do so we can join with Him just like Jesus did.

March April Update

Hello.

We apologize that it's been two months since we wrote the last update. Our goal is to write an update for you every month but if with life getting as busy as it did for the last two months we at least try to get an update out every two months. March seems to have flown by. It was hard to keep up with all that happened and we didn't write much on the calendar to look back on. But since this is a two month update the highlights of March will do. We had the Bethel team come and minister at Succat Hallel. It was a very fruitful time. The second night we would say was one of the biggest nights. They had a healing service and many people were touched by God's love. Also many people with sickness or injuries were made well by the time they left that evening. However one of the healings that stood out to us and most likely to everyone who was there to witness it, there was an Arab young man there with his mother, both of them believers. Three months before prior to that meeting he was in a car accident. It's not clear whether it was his knee or his foot but he was unable to walk on it for the last three months. The head of Succat Hallel felt to approach him and the young man agreed to be prayed for. God's power and love touch his body and by the end of the night he was running around Succat Hallel. He and his mother were in tears. Many more healings happened during the week with the Bethel team. Other things that seemed to stand out, which is something they've seen happen at Bethel quite a lot is legs of people supernaturally growing out. People with one leg shorter than the other had their legs realigned by the hand of God. It is in some ways amusing to see the faces of people when that happens, the child like awe and wonder.

I (Samantha) did another month of ulpan in March. There was some good review and then learning of new things. In March we also celebrated Purim, the Feast of Esther, I think of it as a cross between halloween (with the costumes) and May day (with the giving of baskets of goodies). Purim fell on a Sunday this year so we dressed up and went to our watch at Succat Hallel. Then we wandered around the streets down town and saw lots of funny costumes. I (Stefan) have to say that at one point in time the feast of Ester was one in which children, young people and adults used to dress up as characters from the story of Purim. However in the past years it had become very similar to a national halloween party with witches, goblins and other weird costumes. Therefore it was imperative that we as believers were on the street that night, in order to be salt and light in the darkness. On the side, a small fun fact especially for all you Americans... we discovered we can buy American style doughnuts on Ben Yehuda st. that night :-).

Then of course, a few days later we found out we are pregnant. That indeed was a day for both of us to remember.

And with all these things that happened we believe that the main thing for March was watching God just provide for us. Money was tight and then the cat had to go to the vet once again for the rest of her shots. Three or four times during that month people just stuck money in our hands. I (Stefan) feel that even more than just being provided for, what touches my heart is to know that we are where God wants and needs us and because we are in His perfect will, His favor showers down on us. Hallelujah, keep it coming Lord!

April; this month I (Samantha ) think just crept up and sprang upon us without warning. With April came Passover. Typically with this time comes spring cleaning in ones house to remove all the "hametz" (leaven). I had been looking forward to doing that this year since we are in a new place but the timing just wasn't right. I did not feel well enough to clean, with being pregnant and all. Then came passover evening. We went to a friend's house for the Seder meal, which is the the meal that Yeshua ate with His disciples before being betrayed and dying on the cross. The friends we joined have a small home group for young families with children that we have now started to attend every other week. The seder was good. It was kept tastefully short for the sake of the all the children there. Then we had six more days of the feast of unleavened bread. I don't know how many of you have eaten much matza at a time but it is not at all like eating bread. Since my stomach was already uncomfortable we decided that it was in my best interest to have bread in the house and I ate bread :-). Thankfully we are no longer under the law and we have a Savior who gives us grace.

We had a staff/volunteer dinner at Succat Hallel in which we normally say good bye to volunteers who've served for their three months of internship and welcome the new volunteers and interns that come from over seas. Those have always been a blessing. We also joined a Houses of Prayer dinner also held at Succat Hallel. This dinner involves people serving at the four different houses of prayer in Jerusalem. IE; Tom Hess's House of Prayer on the Mount of Olives, the Korean House of Prayer, the Pavilion Prayer Tower, and Succat Hallel. We enjoyed a meal together after which we spent time in worship and prayer, in specific addressing the recent turmoil in the Middle East. Two stories really stood out to us in this matter. On the same night a couple was saved they returned home to find their house lit up supernaturally. No lights, no candles. The Lord kept their house lit in this manner for a few weeks straight and neighbors came in to see this light and the couple would share how it was God lighting their house. Another significant story was that of a girl and the Jesus would visit her in the middle of the night and take her into visions and encounter in which He would teach her the Bible and in specific all the scriptures that had to do with God's heart for Israel. This was also something that lasted for a few weeks. God's moving mightily among the Arab neighboring countries and souls are being saved. Even the ones we're unable to reach, He still can. The pastoral leaders in the middle east said the prayer request they have is that the Lord would prepare them and continue to shake them, because the shakings have caused "religion" to crumple and true relationships with God to arise.

Please keep us in prayer in these areas; First off, that the pregnancy will continue with perfect health and no complications. We still need a breakthrough with health insurance for me (Samantha). Needless to say things are not that fast here. I (Stefan) have been working on some new music. While getting songs in the hands of people in the body here, to be used in worship meetings, I have songs that I would like to eventually see on CD. I ask for prayer for wisdom in how to go about with this. We need focus for Thursday nights, as we start to take the youth out on the streets, we need God's plan of how to outreach to the lost youth on the streets.

If you committed to support us monthly please do your best to be faithful in sending the money, we have a non tax deductible account with PayPal using this address. Checks can be mailed to Hearts in Mexico at 2385 Martinique Lane, Oxnard, CA 93035