Well, it has been quiet the start to 2013. However God has been good and here is what happened in the last two months. To start off we would like to let you know that we are having a baby boy! Aaron Eleazar will most likely be born around the 23rd of March, unless he decides to come earlier like Shirel did. January started off with a Hebrew Arabic Worship Concert at Shemen Sasson. I (Stefan) was involved with the worship team for that night. It was especially nice to have my parents show up for that evening. Followed shortly there after by a snow day. It had been rainy and cold all week and then late Wednesday night it started to snow. By Thursday morning we would say there was anywhere from 3-6 inches of fluffy white snow on the ground. It so warmed my (Samantha's) heart. I had just written the week before that I wanted to see snow this year. We ate breakfast as a family and then got dressed and went out and played in the snow. It took Shirel a while to get used to it but she enjoyed it. By the afternoon it was all slushy and by Friday you could barely tell it had snowed.
Then followed by the elections. Congratulations Benjamin Netaniyahu, for another term! I (Stefan) was able as an Israeli to go vote for this man, whom many prayed for and believe it is right that he is in office as Prime Minister. Why the big hoopla about that? Netanyahu is the first PMs that we have ever heard of that started a bible study at his home and is extremely open to the world of the Lord being released to him through prophetic people in the body of Christ. We found out during the Monday morning watch at Succat Hallel that he was going to go to a late Christmas party where he would meet some people that Rick and Patti know, who would have the opportunity to prophecy over him and speak into his life. The Word says that the heart of the king is in the Lord's hand, and it is so right that Netanyahu is so open to the input of believers who walk in the power of God in such a way.
I (Stefan) started leading worship at Succat Hallel Monday evenings for the teaching watch from 7-9pm. That is both good and different since I’m used to usually just having a few people in the room or sometimes none, where as Monday nights are usually full, and it's good when more than just a few come together to worship and agree together in prayer.
February came with something that we've been dealing with much more now since we moved into our new apartment. The finance or the lack thereof. A squeeze that started mid January and got us even sometimes wondering if we could continue in full time ministry. With my (Samantha) birthday coming up and our congregational retreat, not to mention the daily life needs, we were tied down to limited spending. We had received an electric bill with an amount that came with a blow. During winter time it is common for electricity to skyrocket, and we knew we needed a miracle for this 300 dollar bill. We had to trust that God would provide for the food on our table for the coming days and weeks. The crunch is still not over, but things happened that remind us that Daddy didn't stick us in this field of the Kingdom to fail and die. He had more than enough to take care of us. I (Stefan) had to remind myself of this endlessly, we both did. I was walking downtown one Sunday and I ran into an Israeli brother from our congregation who slipped me a bill. This friend has been faithful to support us with his five dollars a week. It's so unbelievable how much a difference five dollars can make. That evening we were not going to be able to buy what we needed for dinner, and then came this friend. In one way, we are glad that God provides for the smallest needs, and in another way we are so happy to see that, here is one Israeli that had received the revelation of giving in the Kingdom of God and financial partnership, of investing on a normal basis into the House of Prayer and into the lives of those whose job it is to stand on the walls of the city watching day and night for the coming of the King. Then came a blessing in this area that left us with our jaws dropped in awe and wonder. Even though this update is about January and February and this miracle happened this month, we would still like to let you know about it because it was too huge a surprise to keep until the next update. However, we will keep you at the edge of yourseats until we get to that.
Now let’s take a short break from finance and provision and move on to a fun piece of news; We would imagine that those of you with facebook have ran across some pictures we have posted of cakes that look, how should we say... Different :-) For whatever reason, we've started making cakes. Some for friends and others for events. I (Samantha) love baking and I (Stefan) love decorating, sculpting and the whole artistic side of designing. The latest piece we had done was a cake to celebrate Succat Hallel's 13th birthday. I (Stefan) will admit that I got a little sneaky and made Samantha a birthday cake for her belated birthday party which she loved. We are also now in consultation with a couple of our friends who are getting married, who have seen our work and would like us to make their wedding cake. (However, they are going with another friend who can do it for free, we could only do it for cost.) Needles to say, as Paul had his tent making business this could become something that we do on a regular basis. We've observed people's reactions and to see the smiles and joy that these pieces of art bring to them, it's just priceless. Will this take off as a business? We don't entirely know, but we do know that there is an element of creativity that God is releasing in this hour and season, in baking and food as well as in music, art, dance, poetry, song writing. And speaking of that, the CD that we mentioned about earlier that was recorded live is now been completed, with all song tracks in place. All that is left is getting the CD cover made and that is on its way. And we are planning to have the music tracks set online for people to download. We will let you know as soon as we have it up and running.
We would also like to let you know, for those who have not been aware of this, you can visit www.succathallel.com and that way keep in tune with what is happening in our sphere. They also have an app for iphones, ipads, and the like, you can also get it for andriods it's a like little bit harder to find but if you want we can get you the steps to find it.
Now for the surprise that we mentioned before. There was an offering taken last Monday for us at Succat Hallel that left us dumbfounded and with our hearts refilled with a new dose of faith. The offering added up to over 1,000 dollars which really helped with the crunch and we are able to breathe now. It was such a blessing, also because the money that I (Samantha) received as birthday gifts from family had to go to paying bills and utilities and now I was able to have my birthday gifts and enjoy them. And of course, our fridge is once again full, no empty bare shelves and God is proving once again to us that He has not forgotten to take care of His kids.
In conclusion here are some ways you can pray for us;
*Finance- We know this one comes up in every newsletter but it is a challenge as we have already mentioned and a place where we're believing for God to break through. We had asked earlier and feel we need to revisit the question. Would you pray and see how God would have you stand with us, whether prayerfully or financially. At this moment we are aware that only a few on our mailing list support us financially and we want to honor and thank you for being faithful in that every month. We would however ask that you would consider sowing financially into us with a one time offering or with monthly support as we minister here full time. Two weeks ago when we had the financial miracle happen, I (Stefan) observed how a room full of people each put in a small amount which added to over 4,000 N.I.S, around 1,100 U.S.D. The same way, if the 80 people on our mailing list (who don't give) gave 5 or 10 dollars a month, we would be easily looking at $400-$800 a month that would help cover expenses here. So please pray about it and let us know how the Lord would have you stand with us. (Part of the reason the crunch came is that when we moved the dollar shekel exchange was higher [$1 = 4shekels and now $1 = 3.6shekels] and our property tax increased 20% in 2013.)
*Cake Business- We've been feeling as we mentioned earlier that we need to start a small family side business with the cake making. This is something we both love doing and it puts joy and smiles on peoples faces every time we bring our cakes in. Pray that we know how to move along with this and that God would place His kiss and blessing on this.
*Aaron Eleazar- As we approach the big day and the upcoming birth, pray that all goes well. Aaron will be the first child in my (Stefan) immediate family that undergoes circumcision and a Jewish boy born into the line of Israel according to the law given by God to Abraham. See, the way things are done here is that friends and family come together and witness and the child gets his name on the 8th day of his life. Here in Jerusalem we have been blessed with a Moel who will do this for Messianic believers. It is rare to find a Jewish Orthodox man who is willing to look beyond what we believe and still do this for us. Pray that God provides us with the money we need to pay the Moel who will perform the circumcision.
Blessing and Love from Jerusalem,
Stefan, Samantha, Shirel, and (soon to make his appearance) Aaron
