It's hard to believe that once again another month has past and new one is over. So it is time once again to share how life has been for the 3.5 of us. However, we will be going back a few months as we want to share some things that did not make it into last months letter.
October: Near the beginning of October we had a friend from the States come and stay with us for a month. She was a blessing in many ways. For example; while I (Stefan) had to be at work with Succat Hallel or taking care of things down town, she would be home with Samantha and Shirel, meaning that Samantha would have someone there most of the time I was gone. This was what you'd call a God moment. This friend who had been for the last few years in and out of hospitals, many times on her death bed and then supernaturally restored. God literally restored her broken organs in full view of the doctors who ran out of options, and all this with medical files to prove that she was dying one moment and well the next. Needless to say, would you ever give up an opportunity to have someone around that has seen God's supernatural favor in such a way as this? We wouldn't and we thank God for every moment we had to spend with her while she was here. Mid October we had a mandatory conference at Succat Hallel about Birthing Houses of Prayer. People involved in house of Prayer ministry from all over the middle east and some from the Mediterranean area gathered at Succat Hallel for a four day conference. The way Rick and Patti lead this conference is by sharing how God birthed Succat Hallel. It was good to hear the story and for all the staff members to be there and hear Rick and Patti's heart for Succat Hallel. During the conference days we also went in for our yearly interview at the Ministry of the Interior, and my (Samantha) visa was renewed. Then came a moment we've waited for a long time. Our dear friends, Momma Brenda and Pappa Aaron showed up. They've been precious spiritual parents to us and we were so glad God opened the financial door for things to fall into place for them to come and visit. We've not seen them for a very long time and it was a beautiful reunion. We were able to have a Shabbat meal together with them, Barbara who we already mentioned was staying with us and our dear friend Jillienne. That evening the Holy Spirit broke in and the communion with each other and Him was absolutely wonderful! At the end of the month Barbara took us and this same group from Jerusalem and friends from Bethlehem to the Dead Sea to celebrate one of the Arab ladies birthday. This was the first time I (Stefan) had the chance to meet this family from Bethlehem since they are not allowed to cross into Israel and I am not allowed to cross into Bethlehem which is Palestinian territory. It was a fun day. And this brings us to November.
November: November was full of surprises and blessings. We had a week to ourselves without any one else in our apartment, just our family. During that week we had something amazing happen, which encouraged us to know we are exactly where God wants us and showed us again that He is always faithful. No challenge of ours has ever been a worthy opponent for Him. We got a property tax for the end of the year from the municipality that added up to approximately 2700 shekels that had a twenty day dead line on it which we knew we couldn't pay. I (Stefan) was not a very happy camper that morning and this bill was put in my hand right before my noon worship watch. I had to force myself to step into a greater reality then our bill, which was that He said He would take care of us. During that watch someone approached me with an envelope containing 2000 shekels. He's teaching us to never doubt Him. He's so good. Then after the empty week Samantha's parents showed up for Shirel's birthday which was to take place on the 19th. They arrived at a very unusual time. The day they flew in was when the Gaza conflict erupted. And as you would know from news broadcasts, that was the week that Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem had missiles flying in for the first time since the 1st gulf war. That Friday our congregational meeting was interrupted as air raid sirens went off outside. We were used to hearing those before since drill sirens had gone off in the past in preparation for a real attack. That evening everyone in the meeting hall knew this was not a drill. Sure enough the radio updates confirmed that missiles had landed in the suburbs of Jerusalem. That week was a crash course for all of us to learn what it really means to walk in God's perfect love, loving those firing the missiles, loving our enemies and praying for those in extreme suffering. The reality is that when something like this conflict week happens, the residents of Gaza and the territories are hit worse than Israel, with many casualties, which was also the case this time. It is no secret that the Hamas is oppressing its people and in such times using them as human shields. If anything during conflicts like these it is so important that we cover our Arab brothers and sisters in prayer. Then came the 19th and Shirel turned 1. A happy first birthday it was, no question. And yes, the year did fly by. One day we brought her fresh from the hospital and the next day, she's 1. At the end of Samantha's parents stay we started again getting used to not having people around, just the three of us going on to the four of us.
December: This has with no doubt been a time of mixed feelings, bitter sweet you might say. Not being with family during this season is not the easiest. But we did with what we had and things have been a blessing. My (Stefan) parents flew and we were able to spend Christmas day with them. In Israel Christmas is not usually seen as a positive holiday, being a celebration of the birth of the Messiah during the wrong season, pagan roots and all that. Here people tend to be pickier about these things, but we go with this simple thing; He came! That should be the reason of celebration not just during the holiday season but all year around. And so we did, with my parents in town it was a sweet and delightful experience. What was also delightful was to have my dad here as I led worship and our congregation this past week. That truly was a first and I'm looking forward to more times like that in the future.
Things to pray for:
CDs and recording projects-
I (Stefan) already mentioned earlier that I'm working on a CD with some of my songs on it. There are a few things happening with that. We've had close to a month of Wednesday afternoon worship watches at Succat Hallel that took place before, during and after the Gaza conflict in which we went in, turned on the recording button on the sound system and some amazing things were birthed during those watches. I am currently working right now on finishing a CD project from those weeks. The amazing thing is the recordings of each week overlap. It's like God gave us a puzzle piece every week and now I've been piecing it together. I've found that as the sounds from every week overlap, it's been like putting together instruments for an orchestra. We recorded every week separately having no idea that things would overlap so perfectly. It's been a time of sitting in front of the computer and editing and piecing things together, adding in instruments where needed and all this as the Holy Spirit revealed where things needed to go and what sounds needed to be heard. We sense that this project needs to be released as soon as possible so I'm asking for prayer and grace with time to be able to finish this project. Then there is my own CD which I will need to get back to after I'm done. So I'd appreciate your prayers for this.
Finance-
First off, we want to thank everyone partnering with us financially. We appreciate and love you all. As we stand on the walls of our city watching for His return we are honored to have you standing with us. Things have been tight during the last couple of months due to moving into a larger apartment and of course every time God did intervene and we saw a breakthrough. In this season we are learning the reality of leaning on Him for provision.
In a week or so we will get an email out to you about partnering with us through the coming year. Please start praying as to how the Lord would want you to get involved.
Health-
We would say that neither of us escaped the winter cold this last month. Everything from coughing to stuffy noses. My (Stefan) dad flew in with a bad cold as well, so yes, pray for health. This had been a season cursed by peoples words as the season of the cold, flu and sickness. We want to change the game. It's time to walk in the health that He has for us.
Blessings to all and to all a Happy new Year
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