newsletter

Hag Shavuot Sameach!
Happy Pentecost!
June 5

Update from Ezra & Shulamite, Golan Heights:

We were blessed to present the Holocaust Survivors with a special gift commemorating “Victory in Europe Day” celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on May 8, 1945.

This was made possible by Blessing Israeli Believers and their generous donation. We want to thank all of you for your demonstration of God’s love and faithfulness for His people. That through this many have come to know the Lord as their personal Messiah. Please pray for the few who have not yet made this decision. Pray for their hearts to be open to receive Him.

Alon whose wife went to be with the LORD at the beginning of the year began praising the LORD during our praise time at his home. After a time of worship together Alon shared how the LORD led him and his wife to immigrate to Israel and intercede on behalf of the Land. Pray that we can get to know Alon better and for him to seek out fellowship and find a Congregation to call home. Pray for the personal decisions he is seeking of the LORD to direct him during this chapter of his life.

A special thank you to all our partners who through your support have made it possible for Blessing Israeli Believers to continue to help the believers in Israel bring the light of Yeshua to a needy generation.

In His service, Dov Schwarz

From our Administrative Team:

A note to our Blessing Israeli Believers partners who have graciously and generously supported this ministry for quite some time.

We wanted to bring to your attention that we recently had been advised by a CPA that it was necessary to add wording to the bottom of each of our newsletters stating:

While every effort will be made to apply your gift according to an indicated preference, if any, WT/Blessing Israeli Believers has complete discretion and control over the use of donated funds.

This may have caused some donors to think their gifts were not being distributed to their intended designation. This is absolutely not the case. We have since removed this wording. Please be at peace knowing your gifts will be applied as you have requested.

Please remember to pray for our Blessing Israeli Believers partners located in:

• Jerusalem
• Haifa
• Netanya
• Golan Heights
• Galilee
• Beer Sheva
• Tel Aviv
• Isifiya

From all of us at Blessing Israeli Believers, Thank you! We could not assist in meeting the needs of our believing partners in the land without your prayers and financial support.

Dear Blessing Israeli Believers Friends In The Nations,

For many years I have heard about this very special minister in Israel. His name is Dov Bikas. He has been serving our Messiah Yeshua in a very difficult ministry in Israel. They reach into the most sin infested cultures of Israel—street ministry, drug addicts, and prostitutes. We are thankful and blessed that Dov Bikas is now one of our Blessing Israeli Believers partners in Israel!

What he does is the real “roll up your sleeves” hard work of loving and trying to help those who are in the most desperate of circumstances. Dov also pastors a congregation in Israel. In this introduction to him—he is asking for prayer regarding a matter that is troubling their congregation as it is made up of Russian and Ukrainian disciples of Messiah Jesus. So, please meet Dov and Olga Bikas.

Many Blessings,
Dov Schwarz

A word from our new BIB Partner, Pastor Dov Bikas:

Dear praying friends and partners, shalom!
I would like to dedicate this month’s update not to our existing projects, but to certain ideas about the future of our church and ministry. But first I will say a few words about –

The war in Ukraine and its influence on our congregation
Even though I was born and spent my early childhood in Lithuania (which was also once part of the Soviet Union), today I truly mourn over what is happening between Russia and Ukraine. Olga and many members of our congregation have relatives and friends who are in the war zones or have become refugees that lost everything in one day.
When the war had just begun, I also immediately realized that in our and other Israeli congregations there would be conflicts between Russian-speaking believers – those who arrived from Ukraine and those who are from Russia. And so it happened indeed. Some believers took one side and some another, started arguing with each other and forgot about the unity the Lord is calling us to keep.

Please pray for the situation in Ukraine and for our and other Israeli congregations to focus more on practical help to the suffering and the refugees than on political debates.

Thank you for all your prayers and care and may God bless you all,

Dov and Olga Bikas

"For we are God’s masterpiece, created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good actions that God prepared long ago to be our way of life" (Eph 2:10)

Update & Prayer Requests from Ariel & Shayla, Haifa Israel

As the world watches in horror at the brutality and loss of innocent life taking place in the Ukraine, it can sometimes be difficult to see where God is in the midst of it all. But God is using what the enemy meant for total destruction to stir Ukrainians to seek Him like never before.

By God’s grace, our video about overcoming fear with Ukrainian subtitles has now reached 20 million views! Our sister in Ukraine who’s working with us, Inna, has been responding to thousands of comments, private messages, and phone calls – sharing the Gospel in more depth with these precious people, and sometimes even finding ways to connect them with people who can help them practically.

One young lady who has cancer and her mother contacted Inna after watching the video. During the conversation, she opened her heart to God and accepted the Messiah! Praise God! Now she has someone to rely on in this perilous time.

Another man, Yevhen, wrote from Kyiv, asking for help. He said he couldn’t stand the military nightmare and wanted to die. Inna prayed for him and he felt better. It turns out he’s Jewish! They’ve been in touch for more than two weeks, and have been writing back and forth on a daily basis – talking a lot about God, the Scriptures, and salvation. Yevhen realized his need for a Savior and began to pray and read the Bible and discuss the Word with Inna in more depth. Praise God for how He is shining His light even in the valley of the shadow of death! Just recently, Inna told us her city was fired upon and several rockets hit the local refinery. She said that the fire started consuming residential buildings and smoke was enveloping the area. Please pray with us for protection for her and all the people of Ukraine, and also for many more salvations!

Thank you for your prayers for Olga from the Ukraine and her children who are here in Haifa. They came to the congregation on Shabbat and had a wonderful time.

Afterwards she asked, “What does it mean to receive Yeshua into my heart?” Our Ukrainian-Israeli friend Ahuvyah and I had the privilege of sharing the whole Gospel with her, including what it really means to repent, trust in Jesus, Yeshua, and follow Him in every part of our life. Olga said now she understands what she needs to decide, and she needs more time to think about it. We encouraged her to read the Gospels and she said she would.

Olga also said that based on the last test, her son’s cancer isn’t spreading anymore, and was so grateful for our prayers. Please pray for complete healing for him, and that Olga and all the rest of the Ukrainians that we’re interacting with here in Haifa will decide to really give their lives to the Lord.

A Passover Note From BIB Co-Founder Dov Schwarz

Once again it is Passover/Unleavened Bread season (April 15-23). And we thought it most appropriate to remind our precious BIB partners of the Blood of the Lamb Messiah Yeshua. We are praying many Passover blessings upon you.

The First Passover
Having rejected the word from the LORD to let the children of Israel go from Egyptian bondage—Pharaoh experienced nine great plagues of devastating wrath upon his land and people. The tenth and final plague was on its way, which is where we pick up in Exodus…

Please notice: a pure and spotless lamb, kept four days, kill and eat the lamb with unleavened bread, “when I see the blood, I will passover you”, strike the wooden doorposts with the blood of the lamb.

“Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. (Exodus 12:1-3)

“Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts
and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.
Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” (Exodus 12:6-8)
“Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13)

Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.” (Exodus 12:21-22)

Certainly, the LORD did deliver the children of Israel from bondage. Later, in the New Covenant Scriptures we see the fulfillment of these things in the Lamb of God whom John the Baptist speaks of in the gospel according to the Apostle John:

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)

Four days before Passover the spotless/sinless Lamb of God comes down the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem on a white donkey. And, during that four days the religious leaders accuse and attempt to entrap the Lamb of God in His words—but they can’t because He truly is God the Son—the only begotten Son of God—the Passover Lamb!

Since the Exodus and up to today, the children of Israel in the Land and the diaspora in the nations remember that first Passover evening with a special Passover evening meal and telling of the LORD’s mighty hand in deliverance. It is called a Passover Seder. We see the most important Seder ever in Matthew 26.

“And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.” ’ ” (Matthew 26:18)

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28)

In that Passover season while lambs were being slaughtered in the Jerusalem Temple—the Lamb of God laid His beaten/broken body down upon the wooden cross. They then struck the wooden cross with the blood of the Lamb! And, the blood of the sinless Lamb spilled down that cross to pay for every time we have broken God’s laws. But, I have some very good news: Hallelujah—on the third day King Messiah Yeshua rose from the grave—and He is alive! And, He is alive in me—is He alive in you?

He then sent His Holy Spirit to live in we who have received Him as Savior and Lord! We who have applied the blood of the Lamb to the doorpost of our hearts have received Messiah Yeshua as our great Redeemer! The wrath of the LORD will Passover we who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb!

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children
of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
(John 1:12-13)

In this most special Passover season—may we be thankful and rejoicing that God’s wrath has passed over us. And please do also remember our Israeli Believing partners in the Promised Land during this special season. May your special love for our Savior be reflected by your love for His chosen people in the Holy Land.

Again, many Passover blessings,
Dov Schwarz

A word of encouragement from Ima’s Goodies:

PURIM this year falls on March 16th, this holiday is found in the Bible in the book of Esther chapter 9. Actually the whole book of Esther is about God working behind the scenes to save His people and Esther being in the right place at the right time because of God's providence. In verse 19 it tells of sending presents one to another, this is where the tradition of Mishlo'ach Manot (Purim Packages) comes from.

Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another. Esther 9:19

Sometimes when we are at our lowest point, someone comes along and gives us a boost up. Maybe it's an encouraging word or a smile, maybe even a home baked plate of goodies. The thing is, you never really know when you are giving something just how much the person on the receiving end needs this gift.

So now imagine if you will how much that encouragement and love can pull someone up higher, especially when they have been guarding and going up against the enemy all day long. This is the life of an Israeli Soldier. If you have served at all in the military you know what it's like getting a care package from home or even in a normal job when someone says…THANK YOU.

To spread a little bit of love and encouragement to these Israeli soldiers is just what the GREAT Physician prescribed. They are weary, torn down, spit upon, lonely, tired in spirit, and have curses shouted at them. These Israeli soldiers are in need of some TLC and THIS is just what we are planning to do this Purim Holiday. So Join with me as we prepare over 900 Mishlo'che Manot (Purim Packages) to give to our Israeli soldiers.
Each Army Unit that we have connections with will be receiving these Purim Packages. Each Israeli soldier will receive a Purim Package as well as a variety of snacks and drinks for their unit. Each Unit consists of anywhere from 60 to 150 IDF soldiers in a Unit. (the big green bags you see are filled with
Purim Packages). The Units we will be visiting are mainly in the Judea Samaria region. This area is a hotbed of terrorism, night-time activity with many drive by shootings and terrorist attacks.

Thank you for your prayers and support. Ima – Ima’s Goodies

Blessing Israeli Believers - Aliyah Praise and Worship

We at Blessing Israeli Believers are so thankful to be involved with a new project called Aliyah Praise and Worship. “Aliyah” literally means in Hebrew “to go up”. It is often used to speak of the Jewish people moving from the nations back to Israel in fulfillment of Bible Prophecy.

Yet, we have added a special BIB flavor to Aliyah! The Aliyah Praise and Worship program refers to Messianic Aliyah (a Jewish disciple of Messiah Jesus). And that is not all! It also refers to a Messianic Believer back in Israel who will be leading praise and worship in song and service to our great Messiah Yeshua! How is that for a great Blessing Israeli Believers blessing? Meet the first Aliyah Praise and Worship disciple in this program:

Shalom!
I am so very grateful to Blessing Israeli Believers and the “Aliyah Praise/Worship” project. By the grace of the L-rd and the support of BIB - Aliyah Praise/Worship, I am only a few days away from fulfilling my Aliyah (immigration to Israel.)

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing,
with everlasting joy on their heads. Isaiah 35:10

In Israel, I will be part of praise and worship teams and will also help lead worship in home groups. I will also be serving alongside of the heroic believers in the land who help destitute women escape from human trafficking.

Other service opportunities I will be involved with include: ministering to Holocaust survivors with free concerts and meals, serving local communities in soup kitchens and other humanitarian aid, and sharing the good news of Messiah Yeshua with Israelis in Hebrew and in English.

Thank you for your prayers and your financial support to this important ministry.

Blessings and Love,
Chava

Update from Pastor Oded Shoshani, Jerusalem

“Behold I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

In this new calendar year of 2022, we want to lift our gaze and thank the Lord who is continuing to do new things, bring salvation to His people, and building His kingdom. We also thank Him that even though it seems we are in a spiritual wilderness, He is the one who opens the way before us, and He is the one who strengthens us to walk in love, faith and hope.

Upcoming baptisms:
A young man in our congregation has been working with Oded to prepare for his immersion in water. We are so encouraged to see his heart towards the Lord and his desire to publicly declare his commitment and love for Yeshua. Please pray for him to be strengthened in the Lord leading up to this declaration.

His younger sister has also begun the preparation process as well. Please pray for her continued growth and deepening of her relationship with the Lord as she prepares.

With much love, Oded & Sandy Shoshani

Praise and Prayer from Ezra & Shulamite, Golan Heights
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…Matthew 28:19

This month we were able to come alongside Baruch, a believing immigrant and single father who lost his wife to cancer. He found himself unemployed as one of the effects of COVID here in Israel. Then he received notice from his landlord that he was being evicted because he had not paid his rent. Once we heard this we contacted him and his landlord to inform them that Blessing Israeli Believers would pay his rent so he and his daughter would not find themselves homeless in the middle of winter. By the grace of God Baruch will start at a new place of employment beginning in February!

We were blessed to be able to sponsor a dinner to begin 2022 together with the Holocaust Survivors, which was held in one of the local community centers in our town. Through this dinner we were able to meet many new people. The very next day Shulamite was walking and met Rosa and invited her to our New Believers Study. Rosa was amazed as she said just today she was thinking that she would like to know more about God. Rosa started attending along with another new women who both knew about God but did not know about the Messiah. We are praising the LORD as through the study of His Word both have come to receive Yeshua, as their personal Messiah.

News from Ariel & Shayla, Haifa

Shalom Blessing Israeli Believers!

We’re so grateful for your prayers and support over the last year and all the wonderful things God did!

2021 will be forever marked in our hearts as a year of great breakthroughs for the Kingdom of God in Israel!
‍
We’d like to invite you to a few minutes of celebration as we thank God and thank you for making this possible, and as we share some of the magnificent things that have happened and the lives that have been saved!

New Immigrant, New Life in Jesus
The Gospel is spreading through our outreaches to the poor! In partnership with Carmel Congregation’s Hadar haCarmel, we’ve been visiting needy families in their homes, showing them God’s love practically, and sharing the Good News with them. Many of them were deeply touched, several were healed when we prayed for them in Yeshua’s name, and several made the decision to give their lives to the Lord.
One couple we visited had just immigrated to Israel, then Coronavirus hit, they discovered they were pregnant, and people had cheated the husband at his work. What a welcome to the country! After they shared their struggles, our team prayed for them. And we kept coming every month, listening, showing God’s love, praying with them, and sharing the Gospel. At a certain point the wife, Alexa, really understood her need for Jesus and what He had done for her. He captured her heart, and she gave her life to Him! When our team visited the next time, she was like a totally different person. She was full of joy, hope, and life! And the meaning of the Hebrew name they chose for their son is “Gift of God.”

Life to the Nations
God is not only transforming lives through the Gospel in Israel, but also around the world. Through our evangelistic pages in several other languages, just recently, people from Venezuela, India, and Kenya have come to faith in Jesus after watching our videos and speaking with our team!

Choosing Life on the Way to Abortion
Eight months ago we launched our Pro-Life and gospel Campaign, which in spite of some major struggles and attacks, God has taken beyond what seemed possible. Several social media giants took down our ads, trying to shut down our campaign, but after many of you fasted and prayed together with us, all of those ads were miraculously restored!

That wasn’t the only miracle! One of the women who was planning to abort chose life for her baby on the very day of her abortion committee meeting. Another chose life on the day her abortion was scheduled, and another woman spoke with us on the way to her actual abortion, but ultimately decided not to abort!

Please pray with us as we’re reorganizing the way we work on each kind of project – that God would grant wisdom, order, and anointing so we can become much more effective and produce may more evangelistic and pro-life videos and articles and see many more come to faith and choose life!

Many blessings in Messiah!

May this New Year be filled with the joy of the Lord as we thank Him for saving us and making a way for us! May He bless you with good health, good friends, and a good testimony in 2022!!

A Note From BIB Co-Founder,
Dov Schwarz

Well, 2022 certainly has begun (and I believe will continue) as a year of changes and opportunities.
I have some BIG news that is as surprising to me as anybody. I had prayed and yearned for twenty years to move to Israel. I was so happy to finally be there and could not have imagined that I would ever leave this side of heaven. Yet, that is exactly what our Messiah Yeshua has called my family to do.

In December of 2021, after much prayer, seeking the Lord, and hearing counsel from my closest prayer partners and friends, we moved back to Texas—the other Lone Star State! Please pray for me as I am still in a bit of shock. We love Texas, but I am still just a little overwhelmed. Our Heavenly Father keeps bringing three things before me that I will do my best to strongly consider.

One is rest and healing, in that like so many these days, we have been through so much running and doing in the midst of great shaking and changes—we just need some time to rest and restore.

Also, waiting on the Lord for us is so important as He re-directs our lives here in the States. This is an understatement to say, as resting and waiting do not come naturally to me. Yet, we know this is the way for us right now.

Finally, and also so very important: our Israeli believing partners need our love, prayers, and support more than ever. I strongly believe the Holy Spirit has shown me that I will be of greater service to our Savior Yeshua and our partners in Israel being stationed here in America than if we were to remain in Israel. My assignment will be to raise awareness and support for them as Israel is one of the most difficult countries in the world to navigate through this season of the birth pains—including the global virus.
Please join me in 2022 by Blessing Israeli Believers in Messiah Jesus!

In His service, Dov Schwarz

Be blessed with the following notes of appreciation from our BIB partners in Israel:

Renee’ & Gidon - Imas Goodies:

Shalom and Happy Hanukkah,

I wanted to write a little “Thank You" for the love gifts that you sent for Ima’s Goodies and the work among our IDF Soldiers. So much has happened these last few weeks and sometimes it's hard to keep up with everything.

I went out to six different groups of soldiers for Hanukkah, and was able to pass out traditional Sufganyot (doughnuts) and other home baked goodies, snacks and drinks to our soldiers. We served over 1000 IDF soldiers in the last few weeks, all thanks to your donations for Hanukkah.

At one stage my house looked like I was living in a snack factory storage unit as we had so much snacks and drinks in our big hallway. We were very happy that as the holiday came around we were able to bless our soldiers with some refreshment.

We pray that you are well and healthy back in your countries. We will soon finish up Hanukkah and head into the Christmas season and we are thankful for the Light...that shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

Thank you once again, May you be blessed in this season
Renee and Gidon Shmuel

Ezra & Shulamite – Golan Heights

It is hard to believe that 2021 is coming to a close and we are so thankful for all of you who have stood with us through your prayers and support. You have enabled us to bless people such as Carl who is a Holocaust Survivor who came to faith in Israel. Carl fell from his bed and broke his arm as he suffers from dementia. Through your generous donations we were able to provide him with a bed with retractable railings so he can sleep safely.

We are also able to continue food distribution for the Holocaust Survivors in our community. This is a great blessing as food prices continue to rise every month here in Israel.

Praise & Prayer

Relationships are being established through simple acts of kindness such as visiting people in their homes.

We were able to cerebrate Ida’s birthday and bring her flowers and share the Good News. It was amazing to learn that it was also her 60th anniversary with her husband Vladimir.

Everything in this update was made possible through Blessing Israeli Believers generosity and all of your prayers. Please continue to pray that many people in our community will come to receive Yeshua as their personal Messiah.

Happy Hanukkah!
November 28 – December 6

Update from Oded Shoshani,
King of Kings Jerusalem:

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:4-5

This time of the year is so special! Not only is the air filled with the sweet scent of sufganiyot (donuts), but the nights are full of light. During Hanukkah, families light the candles together, and then place the Hanukkiah in their windows so the light is seen. One of the reasons for this is to share the light with all who pass by. We see this echoed in Yeshua’s words. He said:

“You are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Yeshua came from the Father, as the Light of the world, and called us to be as He is. As the Body of Messiah we celebrate the arrival of this Light into the world. We remember the miracles that He has done for His people and for each of us individually. As we are drawn together gazing upon Yeshua and His light, we shine together into the uncomprehending darkness declaring with all that is in us “in Your light we see light.”

With much love, Oded & Sandy

Update from Ariel & Shayla, Haifa:

Shalom Blessing Israeli Believers!

Thank you for your prayers for the new evangelistic street interviews - our last outing was quite amazing!

We set up a sign saying “Does God exist? If so, who is He? Let’s talk!” in a very public area. Not only did we get some great interviews on camera, but our team had numerous conversations about the Lord with many others who came by. But it wasn’t without opposition. In the middle of the first interview, a man who was listening in started to get very upset, then started cursing viciously and threatened to kill all of us! Surely the enemy of our souls wasn’t happy with the Gospel spreading on the streets of Israel!

A Muslim man, Ibrahim, talked with us next. When we asked for proof that Islam is true, he couldn’t give any,
and after a while, he admitted on camera that the Muslim way of salvation by good works that cancel your need for a punishment is neither just nor logical. We then shared the whole Gospel with him!

When we asked our final interviewee, a lawyer, if she believes God exists, she said, “I believe it’s not all by coincidence,” but she wasn’t sure if God exists or if the Bible is true. So we talked about how the Tanakh (Old
Testament) had prophesied 2,700 years ahead of time how the people of Israel would be scattered then regathered to their land, how they’d reestablish their nation, revive the Hebrew language, be attacked by many nations yet still survive, etc. We said, “Did you ever consider that if everything isn’t a coincidence, the opposite of “coincidence” is “planned”? Wouldn’t that mean there’s Someone who planned it all?”

She was very open, and after sharing how Yeshua fulfilled the Messianic prophecies, died for our sins, then rose again, she asked with genuine interest, “So Yeshua’s the Messiah?” She later said of Him, “He’s a wonderful person.” We gave her a New Testament at the end of the interview!

For most of the last 2,000 years, the vast majority of Jewish people have strongly rejected Yeshua and been unwilling to even consider His Messiahship. For a Jewish lawyer to show such genuine interest in Yeshua on camera is a testimony to how God is answering your prayers and bringing us closer to the day when “All Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26)! Hallelujah!

Many blessings in Messiah!
Ariel & Shayla

Update from Ezra & Shulamite, Golan Heights:

Prayer & Praise

Thank you for supporting the ministry to the Holocaust Survivors. Many have come to faith but there are still some who need to have their names written in the Book of Life.

Israel has finally opened its border to individual tourists after being closed for 20 months. Please pray the borders would remain open and we would hold our Spring 2022 Program.

Pray for the meetings to the young Israeli adults, that they would be equipped for the ministry. Truly the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.

We are also encouraged and excited in all the new Bible Studies here in the Golan Heights and Galilee. Our Congregation continues to hold our 5 weekly Bible studies plus a new meeting that has started in our home. This meeting is for young soldiers (security no pics) and those who have finished their military service. They join our family for dinner then we have a Bible study where we are seeking to teach them how to study the Bible, followed with Bible trivia games.

Our new work in the Galilee is up to 40 people in attendance. I am also one of 5 elders that teach a men’s study on rotation near the Lebanese border and was blessed to teach Malachi 2:10-17

All for His Name’s Sake, Ezra & Shulamite

In the past, Blessing Israeli Believers has come alongside this Israeli believing family. Here is an update of their situation. Please be in prayer for Eldad’s health and the family’s financial situation. The Lord always has a plan, we need to be obedient and faithful to follow His direction for our lives. If you feel the leading of the Holy Spirit to join us in the practical needs for this family, please do as He leads, and note “Sagi Family” in your giving.

Dear Blessing Israeli Believers,

It is with a very sad but thankful heart that I am sending you our family and business update. We are aware that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced millions of small businesses across the globe to close their doors. We are amazed and so thankful that our small business survived 2020! We give praise and thanks to Yeshua for Blessing Israeli Believers, for blessing our family with much-needed financial aid during the Coronavirus pandemic for a few months. Your generous support enabled us to provide for our family during the crisis.

However, we are facing new challenges in 2021. Our whole family contracted Covid-19 in August. Praise the Lord that our 5 children and I recovered. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has caused further damage to Eldad’s immune system and nervous system. He is experiencing such debilitating pain that he has been unable to work for the past 3 months, and we have been forced to close our small business, Lily-Pops. After much prayer and discussion, we have decided that this is in the best interest of Eldad’s health.

At the start of October, we reached out to Blessing Israeli Believers explaining our very difficult situation, we didn’t have money to pay our rent or to buy groceries. They immediately blessed us with funds to purchase groceries. It is truly amazing how God always shows up at the last minute. When we think that the world around us is falling apart, He shows up, reminding us that He has always been and is always there right beside us…all we must do is ask in prayer, obey, and trust in His plan for our lives.

On behalf of my family, thank you so very, very much for always walking with us, for praying for us and for loving us as your family in Yeshua. Thank you for supporting Blessing Israeli Believers, your kindness and generosity has touched our lives in so many ways!

We thank God for His Goodness and His provision and for using everyone at BIB and BIB’s supporters for reaching out and blessing our family.

In Messiah’s Joy,
Helen and Eldad and family

Update from Pastor Oded and Sandy Shoshani, King of Kings Hebrew Congregation

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13

During this time, corona continues to affect all walks of life, causing global instability that also affects us all personally. The response to this is an awakening of our instinct for self-preservation. As believers we are challenged to swim against the current, both personally and communally, and bring the love of the Lord to those around us, who already know our Messiah and those who don’t yet.
Let’s pray together that the Lord will give us wisdom and practical understanding to know how to navigate this time in a way that will bring glory and honor to His name and spread His love to a world so desperately in need of it.

Thanksgiving and Prayer Requests
Two adult children of a fairly new believer in our congregation very recently came to faith following the devastation of their lives after their parents divorce some years ago and living a culture of drugs. They have begun this journey of maturing and spiritual growth and the road ahead of them is long. Their father was shocked by their decision, and as a result he has been spurred forward to continue to grow in faith and deepen his relationship with the Lord. Please pray for the two children and their father to grow in the Lord, and for their mother who still is not a believer to know her Messiah.

Sharing the Love of God
We had the privilege to attend a Sukkot gathering along with a number of non-believers. The purpose of this time was to share the love of God. Oded presented the plan of salvation and the truth of Messiah in a clear and thought provoking manner. There was a lot of interest and people asked very deep and meaningful questions. Please pray that their hearts would be soft, and that the seeds sown would grow and bring much fruit!

Baptism & Sukkot
Oded and Sandy hosted an “open sukkah” at home for the congregation. It was a blessing to be together outdoors and rejoice together with food, fellowship and many deep and meaningful conversations. While we gathered in the sukkah, another of the newer believers in our midst was baptized in our backyard pool! What a blessing to hear her testify about who Yeshua is in her life, and how she wants to continue to walk closely with Him on a daily basis.

Another Home Group
Praise God another home group has opened in a new area of Jerusalem. It took six months of prayer and much encouragement for that to happen. Please pray that this group, along with the other groups, would continue to meet. Pray that there would be an open and secure atmosphere and that the participants would grow deeper in the love of the Lord and in faith.

With much love,
Oded & Sandy

Update from Janet in Haifa:

Good morning from Israel, "Blessing Israeli Believers"!

Again, I thank you so much for your sacrifices and generosity of support to help each one of us whom God has called to live and work for His good pleasure in Israel. (Oh my gosh, this November I will actually have lived and served in Israel HALF OF MY LIFE!!! 33 years!!! Wow, where does the time GO??!!) Life is expensive here, and wages and pensions are not nearly enough to make ends meet. Your help is truly powerful!!!

I continue to work at Ebenezer Home for believing, born again Jews and Arabs. I enjoy some very lively and anointed fellowship with everyone there. I have come to notice that no one who works or lives there remains the same! Every staff member, every volunteer who comes and goes, every resident, we are all deeply changed by the work of God in our lives! I have come to understand that God uses this place as a "potters wheel" for each one of us! I have grown spiritually so much in the last 3 and a half years working at EH, and my character trimmed, hammered, burnished and polished. I am amazed that I am not at all the same person I was when I began there, and we all impact each others lives in powerful ways!

We are in the middle of a rapid building upgrade by order of Home Front Command, by putting in strengthening steel beams and new doors in various doorways in case of bomb blast or earthquake. It would seem our governing bodies find these threats so imminent that re-licensing will be based on these upgrades! yikes!

Well, again, thank you all profoundly, and God bless all of you individually in your own personal needs and requests! Please pray for my Jewish husband to have a personal revelation of Yeshua, the true Jewish Messiah and that he would have a personal relationship with Him! Time is running out FAST!!! The Lord's coming for His Bride is imminent!!

I hope to see you all soon together with Him in the air!!
Amen!!
Even so, come Lord Yeshua!!

Update from Ezra & Shulamite in the Golan:

It is always a blessed time when we gather together with the Holocaust Survivors. In light of all their questions about the different events happening around the world today Pastor Dov taught from Matthew chapter 24. It was an eye open experience for all in attendance followed by a time of questions and discussion.

Praise & Prayer
We want to introduce you to Shulamite’s aunt Asiah who was the first family member to immigrate to Israel. Shulamite’s mother, Esther was 8 & Asiah was 11 years old when these two young girls were separated from their family during the Holocaust. They survived by living in the forest and being taken in by local people. Needless to say they suffered many difficulties. We were privileged to have Esther live with us until her passing a few years ago and now we are privileged to have Asiah live with us. She will be 92 on Sept. 1, please pray for her.

Update from Ariel & Shayla in Haifa:

Jewish man from Jerusalem received His King
Samuel* from Jerusalem contacted us recently and said that after reading about Yeshua online he began to believe in Him, even though he didn’t fully know how to explain why yet.
Our team member Daniel asked if he had already prayed to repent of his sins and receive Yeshua as his Messiah and Lord. He hadn’t yet, but said he would like to right now!
He had some holes in his understanding of the Scriptures, the Messiah, and the Gospel, so Daniel and Eliel shared more with him. He said he was hungry to learn more and that these truths filled his heart. He really wants to grow, and was excited to receive a New Testament and connect with a local pastor for discipleship.
His wife and family still are not believers, so please pray for courage for him to stand in his new faith, and that he and his whole household would be saved!

Ultra-Orthodox Jew with extremist ties interested in Yeshua
Mordechai*, an ultra-Orthodox Jew from a very religious neighborhood started talking with us about Yeshua in March.
After some great conversations about the Gospel with several of us he wrote, “How I long to be in touch with you regularly! But I can’t because I can’t let my wife know that I’m interested in the New Testament and Yeshua. So I’m going to delete all of our chats each time so that she won’t see it.”
But his desire to know the truth won’t let him stop pursuing Yeshua. So just a few days ago, he asked, “Where in my religious village can I get a New Testament? I need a small one that I can hide. Tell me where, and I’ll go get it immediately!” So we connected him with a pastor in a nearby town and 40 minutes later he was already there, met the pastor, and received the New Testament!
Later, we sent him a link to a worship song that was recorded at a Messianic conference. He asked in response, “Wait, was that the event where ultra-Orthodox extremists beat up the Messianic Jews?”
When we responded that it was, he sent a picture, showing that one of his own family members was part of the extremists group that was physically assaulting followers of Yeshua! He said, “If I were to just become secular, my family could accept it. But if I say I believe in Yeshua, they could destroy me!”
Please pray that especially as Mordechai reads the Scriptures, God would continue to reveal His Son to him, and that he would make the courageous decision to follow Yeshua no matter what the cost.

THE FEASTS OF THE LORD & BLESSING ISRAELI BELIEVERS
Dov Schwarz, Co-Founder Blessing Israeli Believers

The Fall Feasts are upon us, which gives us an opportunity to remember two very important faith realities:

1) The Spring and Summer Feasts have been fulfilled in Messiah Jesus!
2) He will most certainly fulfill the Fall Feasts as well!

But what does this mean—that He will fulfill the Fall Feasts? It is so important to understand what the Apostle Paul told the predominantly Gentile church in Colossae. He explained to them that the Feasts of the LORD were an important shadow of the One who would come and fulfill them with great significance!

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
(Colossians 2:16,17)

The Spring Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Shavuot (Pentecost) are fulfilled at the Cross and the Resurrection of our sinless Savior Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). And, then His resurrection and the baptism of the Holy Spirit birthing the New Covenant body of Messiah wrap up the Spring and Summer.

So then, how will He fulfill the Fall Feasts? Traditionally, the Jewish people celebrate Rosh Hashanah—the head of the year. But actually (Biblically) it is “Yom Teruah” the Day of Blowing Trumpets, followed by the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and then Tabernacles (Succot).

The signs are all around us that not only is the season of Fall Feasts upon us like at other times, but that their final fulfillment in Messiah Jesus is upon us at any time! The catching away of the saints, the Lord’s return to cleanse Israel of sin and bring national revival to the Land and people, and that King Yeshua will be reigning upon the throne of David in Jerusalem are all upon us as well! Here are some chapters in scripture where you can look into these things for yourself.

Leviticus 23 ~ 1 Thessalonians 4 ~ 1 Corinthians 15 ~ Hebrews 7-9
~ Revelation 19

This actually leads to the second portion of our letter—Blessing Israeli Believers!

The Bible speaks of a time when the prophetic fulfillment of the Covenant promises to Israel will begin to leap off the pages of the Bible into the events of that prophetic generation. Folks that time is NOW! When I learned the Scriptures pertaining to the Israeli Believers in Messiah Jesus I could not watch any longer—I had to move to Israel and be one!

I was so very excited to learn of the revived ministry of the Apostle Paul that was extinct for over 1800 years! In Romans 15 Paul speaks of the responsibility of the churches in the nations to help the poor Israeli Believers in Jerusalem. Since 135AD there was no Israel until 1948. Yet, in 1948 the covenant name “Israel” was restored and once again there are Israeli followers of Messiah Jesus in the Promised Land! Do you see? Paul’s ministry is back as there are now Israeli Believers in Messiah Jesus who, like in Paul’s day, need and should receive help from churches in the nations. Since the gospel came from Israel (spiritual) it is the duty of those in the nations to help them with material things (physical help).

But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. (Romans 15:25-27)

Every month precious saints from the nations, by grace and mercy, help to prayerfully and financially support our BIB partners here in Israel. Our Co-Founder John McTernan and myself, by grace and mercy, fulfill our monthly commitments to help precious Israeli Believers in Messiah Jesus according to this principle given by Apostle Paul.

Here are just some of many examples:
Jerusalem: Israeli ministry couple monthly financial help, poor saints in Messianic Congregation distributed by Pastor Oded Shoshani, financial help to family with nine children.
Haifa: Evangelistic family monthly support, Elderly pensioner in Haifa monthly support to stay in Messianic retirement home.
Netanya: Holocaust survivors and poor and needy food distribution.
Golan Heights: Benevolent giving to the poor and needy and Holocaust survivors.
Galilee: Schwarz family and oversight of BIB, financially helping a single mother monthly.

The End Times fulfillment of Israeli Believers is that they/we are a preserving influence until Israel receives Yeshua (Jesus) as Lord! The Lord’s prophetic plan is to first physically birth Israel and then in the midst of great sin and lost-ness nationally revive Israel upon His return. Israeli Believers in Messiah Jesus are a “seed” of righteousness preserving the Land and People of Israel during this brief window until the coming of the Lord!

Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved. For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.” And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.” (Romans 9:27-29)

Thanks to all of you who are participating in this Apostolic, Prophetic, End Times Ministry!

And as we say in Israel…

Hag Sameach! - Happy Holidays!