Shalom!

THANK YOU for your prayers and participation in helping to establish congregations for Yeshua within the House of Israel. As you may have already read at www.umjc.org, UMJC President Jamie Cowen and I had an exciting and fruitful trip to Israel last month.
 
We were invited to Israel by a Member of the Knesset (MK) who chairs the Social Welfare lobby. This group identifies humanitarian aid projects in Israel and helps bring together resources to accomplish them. As a result of some amazing developments in Israel and among believers in Yeshua around the world, the MK is now inviting Messianic Jewish groups to help with some of these projects. This means an opportunity for us to bless the people of Israel in Yeshua's name.

To listen to a recent report on our trip to Israel, click here:

The project that we are sponsoring is connected with an Israel Defence Force (IDF) base that trains Military Police. Officers and enlisted personnel on this base have made it a point to reach out to the 150 families of their fallen soldiers over the years. Just before Passover, they will present food baskets to these families, which we hope to provide. The baskets cost $100 each, and contain matzahs, Passover wine, vegetables, meat, fish, dessert, and trimmings.

The baskets obviously are a loving way to express honor and appreciation, and they also help financially, as many Israeli families are struggling just to keep food on the table during these difficult times. And it will be clear that the gift is coming from the Messianic Jewish community. 

If you find this project as compelling as I did, you can send your contribution to the UMJC main office.  Be sure to designate your check for the 'Knesset Project'. We need to purchase the baskets before Passover, so please send what you can right away.

 

You might ask why we are interested in helping with a project like this when there are so many needs among the Yeshua-believing community in Israel. The answer to that question goes back to 2003, when the UMJC brought one of the largest tours of the year to Israel. We also brought money that we had gathered at our offering for Shavuot, or Pentecost, which we shared both with the Messianic community and with one mainstream charity in Israel. This two-pronged approach was a powerful way to help worthy causes and to magnify the name of Yeshua.

This year, we will do the same. During Passover, right after the food baskets are distributed, we begin our annual Prayer Campaign themed "Two Loaves-One Lineage," to emphasize solidarity with Messianic believers in Israel. As the conclusion to seven weeks of prayer for the Messianic Jewish community, on Shavuot, June 1-3, we will receive an offering of "Two Loaves," based on Leviticus 23:15-17.

One "loaf" or half of the offering goes to help the UMJC continue to establish congregations for Yeshua within the House of Israel. The other "loaf" goes to the Messianic community in Israel, to support projects like these:

• A grant to help Yeshua-believing Israeli families who are undergoing harassment and intimidation because of their faith.
• A donation to a Messianic Jewish group working to advance civil rights and freedom of religion in Israel, especially on behalf of Messianic Jews.
• Messianic Jewish feeding programs for the poor in Jerusalem and Nazareth.
• A dental hygiene program for the Israeli Ethiopian community.

The Prayer Campaign begins after sundown on April 13 and concludes on Shavuot, June 1. You will be receiving a prayer guide in the mail shortly.

In the meantime, please consider sending a generous gift today to help provide Passover food baskets for the families of fallen IDF soldiers. This is a compelling project for many reasons:

1. It is a real mitzvah-an opportunity to do good for families in Israel at a time when they need our support. As Scripture says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15).
2. t builds an important relationship with mainstream Israeli society, which has great promise to benefit the cause of Yeshua there.
3. It provides a two-pronged channel of giving, along with the Shavuot offering that will be shared with the Messianic community in Israel. We are able to express solidarity with our fellow believers, and the love of Yeshua to the whole people of Israel.

Thank you for making all this possible through your support for the UMJC!

In Yeshua,

Russ Resnik
Executive Director