Dear friend of the Jewish people,
I’m writing to you again from Israel during what have been some very tough days. Over the past two days, Israelis have endured Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes that have killed and severely injured people, and destroyed buildings in downtown Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan.
Let me share what we have experienced so that you can better understand what Israelis—and our Chosen People Ministries staff—are going through. At 12:30 at night, sirens pierced the darkness. A loudspeaker commanded us to move quickly. We all had to get out of bed and rush down to what served as our bomb shelter—actually a hot, concrete parking garage with over 100 people packed inside who were stressed, woken from sleep, facing real danger. But I was so proud of our group. While others around us were understandably shaken, so many of our faithful supporters had smiles on their faces and remained calm in the face of danger and difficulty.
A few hours later, another siren. Back to the shelter. This time, something beautiful happened that I will never forget. There were about a dozen young Israeli soldiers in the garage with us. Several people from our tour began speaking with these soldiers, sharing wonderful testimonies about Jesus and the peace you can have in difficult situations through the Prince of Peace, the Messiah.
During another one of the sirens, I noticed a lovely couple dressed in white. I had seen them at the hotel earlier—they were supposed to get married yesterday, but their wedding was called off due to the attacks. They had managed only a very private ceremony
One of our Australian tour members saw the bride starting to cry. She learned there had been no dancing, no celebration, no party. So our tour member gathered some others from our group and said to the young woman, “Let’s dance together.” And there, in that bomb shelter, they began to dance. Others joined in traditional Jewish circle dances. It became an incredible time of joy in the middle of tremendous isolation, difficulty, and threat. The bride was so grateful. Everyone was hugging and embracing. They knew we were believers, and it was such a wonderful testimony of hope in dark times.
This is what ministry looks like during crisis. This is how we “pray for the peace of Jerusalem”—not just with words, but with presence, with joy, with the peace that only comes from knowing the Prince of Peace (Psalm 122:6).
Please continue to pray for…
…the peace of Jerusalem and tranquility of soul for all who dwell in Israel,
…our twenty-five staff members in Israel who continue serving during these dangerous days, and
…opportunities like this to share Messiah’s love in the midst of fear.
We live in very serious days. It is a good time to know and trust the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, who is the Prince of Peace.
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