BIB Admin

A word from BIB Co-Founder Dov Schwarz

Dear Blessing Israeli Believers Friends and Partners,

As we enter the New year of 2023 it is so important to remember in what season we find ourselves. We are in the season where the Lord is going to save a remnant in Israel! It is the time whereby our Savior Yeshua will return to take up His throne in Jerusalem—Oh Hallelujah!

Like other countries, today there is great sin in Israel. Just before this great revival and salvation comes to Israel our Savior has placed a great preserving influence in the Holy Land—the seed of righteousness—Israeli believers in Messiah Jesus! That is why we know that one of the best ways to bless Israel is Blessing Israeli Believers in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus)!

“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

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Prayer update from Pastor Oded and Sandy
Melech Hamlachim, King of Kings - Jerusalem

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2

After the most recent elections here, it seems that Netanyahu has made an amazing political “come back”. There are those who admire him to no end, but it must be understood that the coalition that he is weaving together is a very powerful religious right-wing one. This brings with it the sincere

possibility of immense persecution of believers here in Israel. Despite this, Netanyahu is merely a messenger meant to serve our people, and we are called to pray for him.

“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Genesis 28:15

And even so, we are certain and pray to our Father in heaven, that this promise given to Jacob on his journey to Haran would be realized not only in a physical return of the people of Israel to the Land, but that there would be a spiritual returning of our people to the Lord Yeshua. And that we would declare with one voice “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!”

In recent months we asked for prayer regarding the expansion of the congregational leadership team. One of the men in the congregation, who has already taken an active part in preaching and helping in the leadership of the community for a long time, expressed his willingness to officially join and be recognized as an elder. Three weeks ago we presented him to the community, an opportunity to give the congregants time to respond before we officially recognize him as an elder. Thank you for your prayers for our leadership team. Please continue to pray for the Lord to bring to our team those He is calling.

Please continue to pray for Oded’s health. He is in need of a real breakthrough with the pain in his back.

With much love, Oded & Sandy

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Thank you from Ima’s Goodies – He is Faithful

When I started this past year of 2022 many things were thrown at my way including the loss of my Mother, who was one of my biggest encouragers in this work among the Israeli Soldiers. I know she is cheering me on from Heaven.

I also knew that there were plenty of challenges and much work ahead of me, but as I walked through this year with so much happening I have felt the hand of God upon me in so many ways.

To those of you who have stood with us in this ministry and have given faithfully every month and those who gave when the Macedonian call went out that I needed Extra Financial help... I want to say THANK YOU. It has not gone beyond my attention of all your help and for this I am most grateful.

 

From all of us at Blessing Israeli Believers

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An Update from Aviv Ministry

Eduard’s story

Dear friends, today we would like to get you more closely acquainted with Eduard (manager of Aviv Center soup kitchen and leader of the work among new repatriates) and tell you how God called and prepared him to serve the Jewish immigrants and how through him the love of Christ touched many hearts.

Eduard was born and raised in Russia, and for a long time he heard nothing about Jews, except for the anti-Semitic idea that they were sly people who liked to profit from others. However, at the age of 19, he met his future wife, Victoria, who turned out to be Jewish. When Eduard had got to know her relatives and friends, he completely changed his mind about the Jewish people. He admired their values and their respect for family, work and national traditions.

Shortly after Eduard had become a believer in Christ, representatives of a Christian organization that helped Jews emigrate to Israel visited his church and offered him to join them. He hesitated at first, because, being a former drug addict, he thought about serving the addicted, but his pastor told him: "If even one of us serves the Jews, it will bring a great blessing to the whole church." Eduard also understood that the return of the Jews to Israel was actual fulfillment of Biblical prophecies, and decided to join this ministry.

Eduard’s task was to look for Jewish families, inform them of their right to return to Israel, help with paperwork and take them to the airport. Those who were not ready or could not emigrate received Eduard’s assistance with food and medicine, because it was a difficult time in the former USSR when many people lived in poverty. As a result of this ministry, over the next 8 years many Jews heard about Christ, dozens came to faith, and about 300 families left for Israel with Eduard’s help.

Eduard also built good relationships with Jewish communities, and especially with the one in his hometown. There were many lonely and elderly people in it, and Eduard and his believing friends helped them in every possible way. Initially, the Jews treated Eduard and his assistants with suspicion because they were Christians, but after some time, thanks to their good deeds, they won the trust and respect of the community.

In 2011, Eduard's family immigrated to Israel. Here he opened a rehab center for drug addicts almost right away, and later joined our Aviv Ministry. In addition to this work, he found families whom he once helped to immigrate to Israel and continued assisting them, while they started spreading the word about him among those who were just arriving in the country. Sometimes these new immigrants had no place to live, and Eduard would place them in his rehab center for short periods of time until a permanent housing could be found. Eduard also accompanied them to various authorities, helping them with documents and various bureaucratic issues. As a result, Eduard established very good connections with the city administration. As it turned out, all that was preparation for something bigger. In February this year, the war in Ukraine began, as well as the big wave of immigration to Israel from Ukraine and Russia. Israel tried very hard to accommodate and provide the newcomers with everything they needed, but they still faced bureaucracy and many other difficulties. In addition, most of them left their homes in a hurry, with almost nothing but a couple of bags.

Today, Eduard (besides his work in our Aviv Center and in his rehab), using all his years of experience and all his connections, serves the new immigrants with great love and often literally from sunrise to sunset. He helps them with documents, finding work and housing, with groceries, second hand clothes and furniture, etc. He wants to show them in every possible way that they are welcome in Israel, and arranges picnics, trips and other events for them. Thanks to all that, Eduard builds very good and close relationships with them and can naturally, both in word and deed, share the Gospel with many non-believing Jewish families. Please keep praying for Eduard, his team and all the immigrants he is in touch with, and please support this project if God puts it on your heart!

Also please keep interceding for all our workers and volunteers, for the visitors of Aviv Center and for all the residents of our Men's Rehab and of the Women's Shelter.

Thank you for your support and prayers that help us keep our projects going and growing!

Yours in the Lord,

Dov and Olga, and Aviv Ministry team

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An update from Ezra & Shulamite, Golan Heights

Praise & Prayer

Praise the Lord as many Jewish people from the Ukraine and Russia have immigrated either before or during the present war between their Countries.

Another one of these families is from Russia and has served the LORD for many years. Through Blessing Israeli Believers we were able to bless them with a financial gift to purchase furniture and household items.

They have asked us to convey their thankfulness and have asked for your prayer especially for their children that are suffering from a serious genetic disease.

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Thank you for your continued prayers and support for Blessing Israeli Believers! Your generous gifts make it so we are able to participate in the work the Lord is doing!

In His Service, Dov Schwarz

Update from Dov Bikas, Aviv Ministry, Tel Aviv

Anton’s Story

“On 1 June 2001, a Hamas-affiliated Islamist terrorist blew himself up outside the Dolphinarium discotheque on the beachfront in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 21 Israelis,16 of whom were teenagers. The majority of the victims were Israeli teenage girls, whose families had recently immigrated from the former Soviet Union.” (Wikipedia)

One of the teenagers who came to that discotheque was Anton. He accompanied two girls, his close friends, who were sisters, and both died before Anton's very eyes. Anton was wounded and survived only due to the fact that another girl, whom he also knew well and who was taller than him, took the brunt of the blow and also died.

Anton was only 16 then, and to this day he can hardly cope with the guilt that overwhelms him. He blames himself for inviting those two sisters to the disco, and also for surviving, while they did not. According to many experts, these feelings are very common among survivors of accidents and terrorist attacks.

The guilt haunted Anton so intensely, that at some point he started having suicidal thoughts. He was afraid of the usual methods of suicide, so he decided that he would commit it with the help of drugs. All his attempts, however, were unsuccessful. Several times he took very large doses and passed out, but each time he was found and rescued. Then he decided to overdose in a place where no one would look for him, but still someone found and saved him. After that incident Anton started seriously wondering if there was Someone who protected him - first during the terrorist attack, and then from dying as a result of overdoses.

We met Anton for the first time when he was about 20 years old. By that age he had already become a homeless and hopeless drug addict. He started coming to Aviv Center and during one of the Bible readings there he heard a call to repent and felt as if someone was literally pushing him to step forward! After Anton had prayed the sinner’s prayer, he could not hold back his tears…

For some time after that day Anton continued to abuse drugs, but he did feel God started changing him from the inside. At some point, Anton and his girlfriend, who later became his wife, came to his mother's house and asked her to close them in a room and not let them out until they had gone through the withdrawals.

After that, Anton’s life began to change. He went to church regularly, got married, found a good job and had two children. Life was great until, sadly, he started gradually moving away from God and drinking a little. As a result, he eventually became an alcoholic, divorced his wife and lost absolutely everything. During all those years I kept in touch with Anton. One day he called me and said that he no longer wanted to live like that. I told him: "Leave everything and come to our rehab center."

According to Anton, the most difficult part of his rehabilitation is restoring his relationship with God. I think that anyone who has ever fallen away from the Lord will understand that. Recently I have asked Anton: “What does our rehab center mean to you?” - and he replied: “It has become my home!”

Please pray for Anton and his full restoration!

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Update from Ariel & Shayla, Haifa

Battles and brokenness are all around us, but the beautiful thing is that the One who healed us is able to heal every broken heart.

What can you say to help an abused woman, embittered against God; or a man experiencing the horrors of war and loss; or a woman who, out of her own pain, is about to abort her child?

When the young Israeli Zahava* got married, she had no idea what she was getting into. Her husband was a religious Jewish man, and they had 10 children together. But unfortunately, her husband became violent toward her, she had to flee to a shelter for abused women, and ended up divorcing him.

One day she came across our Isaiah 53 video, and started an online conversation with our team member Steven. But at a certain point, the bitterness that was pent up inside her exploded: “God is not a God of justice, he is just like my ex-husband who is a controller…. My ex-husband and God are very good friends because they are both narcissists who love for everything to happen according to their own will. And now you say ‘only through Jesus can we be saved?’...There is no Messiah, no righteousness, and nobody that will save us. We are our own gods.”

“I'm sorry that’s what you experienced,” Steven empathized with her. “But the God you described is not my God and not the God of the Bible.” Steven shared his testimony of how God healed and comforted him, and how His grace is available to everyone through the Gospel. He continued, “God is offering you unconditional love. So turn to Him, ask Him if He exists and ask if Yeshua is the Messiah. God loves you, and He wants a relationship with you where He will heal you and give you peace and wholeness.”

We prayed for Zahava as a team, and we’re so grateful to you for all your prayers for salvation in Israel.

A week passed. Then suddenly we saw a public comment on our video: “What can I tell you, friends, you managed to convince me….” You can imagine our surprise when we saw it was from Zahava! Usually people never write that kind of thing publicly for all Israel to see – especially not someone who had been so adamantly against God just a week ago!

It turned out that after seeing our video and speaking with us, God brought another believer into her life who spoke with her more, and ultimately she realized that Yeshua truly is the Messiah and gave her life to Him! And she was very glad for us to connect her with local believers for discipleship!

More and more Israelis are starting to receive this revelation in the last few months:
• An ultra-Orthodox woman who read the New Testament and realized it is “the Word of the Living God”
• A Jewish Jehovah’s Witness policeman who spoke with us and realized that Jesus is indeed God – and surrendered his life to Him
• A man under house arrest who found our ad about “how to find atonement” then received Yeshua on the phone, and more.

Please pray that all the new believers would grow in the Lord and become disciples who make disciples.

Yom Teruah—The Day of Trumpets
(Traditionally called Rosh Hashanah)
Began Evening September 25

Yom Kippur—The Day of Atonement Evening October 4-5

Sukkot—The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles Evening October 9-16

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A word from Pastor Oded, King of Kings Jerusalem:

"...Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the Lord, which you proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts'." Leviticus 23:1-2

We are in the midst of the fall feasts of the Lord, a season of many traditions. It is also a time filled with a deep desire from our people to draw near to God. Hosea 10:12 says "...it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers His righteousness on you." During this season of His feasts, we expect that the Lord will awaken all believers in Yeshua to seek Him. We also pray that His merciful righteousness would awaken all of our people.

In this season we wait for…

"My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever."
Ezekiel 37:24-25

Let's continue to pray in Yeshua's name for the people of Israel and together declare "Maranatha!"

Please keep in prayer:

Leadership Team
Please continue to pray with us over our Leadership Team. In the last two weeks, another man has joined the team (until this point in time the team was one elder and myself). He brought with him a spirit of energy and excitement to carry out what the Lord has called us to. Please pray with us that the Lord will continue to strengthen and encourage the Leadership Team, as well as that the entire congregation would grow in the Lord Yeshua.

Children's Program
For the last few months we have requested prayer for someone to take over the Children's Program. Only after the previous woman completed her time with us and moved away, did the Lord open the heart of another young mother in the congregation to fill this role. We are delighted to share that she is doing amazing work filled with passion, love and faith. Please continue to pray that the program would develop, be strengthened and bless many children.

With Much Love, Oded & Sandy

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Praise & Prayer from Ezra & Shulamite, Golan Heights

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations... Matthew 28:19

Praise the Lord for Blessing Israeli Believers who enable us to continue our monthly food program for the Holocaust Survivors in our Community.

Pray for the few who are seeking to know if Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel to come to faith.

Pray for our Fall 2022 Study Tour Israel Discipleship Program scheduled to start next week. This is a 3 month program which immerses the participants into the Word, the Land and Culture of Israel.

Pray that each participant will draw closer to the Lord and for a spirit of unity.

We were blessed to host an American Immigrant family for a week as they sought the Lord concerning moving to Northern Israel. During their stay in our facility we met one of their friends who have now expressed the desire for their family to join the new Hebrew/English Fellowship a team of us are starting in our Community.

Please pray for this new work as others have also expressed their desire to attend. Pray for anointed clear teaching of the Word, anointed worship, and a spirit of unity among everyone in attendance. Pray for the LORD to build the house so that we do not labor in vain.

In His service, Ezra & Shulamite

A Note From Co-Founder Dov Schwarz

The Fig Tree Continues To Put Forth Leaves

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.”
(Matthew 24:42)

Many signs that point to Messiah Yeshua’s return to Jerusalem are leaping off the pages of the Bible! Yet, at the center of those signs, around which the others orbit, is the Fig Tree, which is Israel (Joel 1:6,7). After living in Israel this “Fig Tree” parable is so much more understandable.

Like many Israelis we had a fig tree in our front yard. Fig trees put forth leaves with no fruit in the springtime. This tells us that summer is near when the figs show up on the branch. So it is with Israel in that “the Fig Tree” has become a nation again having been physically birthed in these modern times (leaves but no fruit).

What is the only way to have the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) is the way, the truth, and the life and nobody comes to the Father—and receives the Holy Spirit new birth—but by Messiah Jesus (John 14:6, John 3:3, John 7:39)!

The LORD’s prophetic plan is to bring Israel back from the nations and physically re-birth the Promised Land. He has and is doing that right now as He continues to bring Jewish people back to their homeland. They are coming in from Ukraine, North America, France, England, South America, all over the world! Next, through the seven-year tribulation He will bring forth a surviving remnant that will all be saved as Israel is collectively born again!

“For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.”
(Ezekiel 36:24-28)

“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”
(Romans 11:25-27)

Though national revival—the eternal fruitful summer—does not come until the physical return of Messiah Jesus to Jerusalem, still an earlier remnant of grace has been receiving Messiah since His resurrection so many years ago (Romans 11:5). Until then, please join us in praying for and supporting our precious Israeli believing partners who are reaching Israelis today with His gospel and discipleship!

In His service, Dov Schwarz

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Update from our BIB Partner Dov Bikas, Aviv Ministry

Sergei’s Story: One day a neighbor asked me if I wanted to sell the van he had seen in my parking lot. I explained that the van was not mine, but belonged to our rehabilitation center. When the neighbor heard about the latter, he got very interested and asked if we could get one of his employees, whom he valued very much, into our rehab program. This is how Sergei came to us.

Sergei was born in the Soviet Union, grew up without a father and lived with his mother in a neighborhood full of criminals and drug addicts. The mother worked a lot, so Sergei was brought up by the street that supplied very problematic role models. He started drinking and smoking very early, committed various petty crimes, and by the age of 14 had already become a drug addict.

Still, Sergei had another very interesting hobby. The father of one of his teenage friends was a believer. His son used to steal from him sheets of handwritten parts of the Bible and read them regularly with Sergei and other guys in a basement. Here you need to understand that it was back in those days when communists were still persecuting Christians, and Bibles were not available, so the believers copied them by hand. Sergei liked reading the Bible. Ever since he could remember, he had always believed in God. His faith, of course, was very primitive, but it was still faith.

At the age of 16, Sergei saw a vision, in which Jesus was calling him to Himself. Since then, as Sergei recalls, he began to gradually change, or, to be precise, something inside him did: outwardly, he still remained the same criminal and drug addict, but something in his heart started strongly opposing this way of life, he did not enjoy it anymore… When Sergei had turned 20, he began to periodically attend a church and one day he met a friend there, who once was a drug addict too, but then became a believer and a manager of a rehab center. Sergei asked if he could start a rehab program there and soon he fully dedicated his life to God. For the next ten years, he was very active in the ministry and participated in everything he could. All he wanted was to serve God. Sergei also really wanted to grow, so he finished a Bible Institute and participated in many other Christian programs and seminars.

Then, sadly, Sergei fell and returned to drugs, and kept struggling with this problem for the next 20 years, but without any long-term success. In this condition, Sergei came to our Rehab Center, and he has been living with us for 4 months already. Recently I have asked Sergei what our Rehab means to him. He replied: “It is my family”. I also asked him what had changed since he came to us, and he said: “I have got the will to live again”.

Let's pray together for Sergei!

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New Immigrants: Eduard keeps working with new immigrants, and more and more people hear about him and turn to him and his helpers for assistance. Recently he organized two seminars on the history of Israel (Biblical and modern), which were attended by more than a dozen new immigrants. They liked these meetings and got very interested in the topic. When Eduard tells the immigrants various facts about ancient Israel, many ask: “Where have you read about all these things?” Such questions give Eduard a great opportunity to hand them a Bible! Please pray for all the families he is in touch with.

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

Dov and Olga Bikas and Aviv Ministry team

A Note From Co-Founder Dov Schwarz

Just like there were special women of faith in the Elohim (God) of Israel in times past, certainly the Lord has women with the same kind of faith in Israel today! They are Israeli believers in Messiah Yeshua—two of whom are giving updates in this letter. Aren’t you encouraged that our Savior is the same yesterday, today, and forever?

Both of these precious ladies are serving our Savior in Israel during this critical generation. It is a time of shaking, sifting, and uncertainty. Yet, with unwavering faith they are joyfully standing in the midst of this turbulence with confidence in the Captain of our Faith. Be blessed and encouraged as you read—and in your spirit even hear—from Sandy of Israel Pro-Life and Chava from our Blessing Israeli Believers Aliyah Praise and Worship Project.

In His service, Dov Schwarz

Praise & Prayer updates from our BIB Partners:

Update from our Aliyah Praise & Worship Ministry

Shalom from Israel!!! I’m writing to thank you so very much for supporting me through your prayers and your donations to Blessing Israeli Believers/ Praise & Worship - Aliyah project! My apologies that this letter is coming to you so slowly. Getting settled here in Israel took a bit more doing than I expected.

Praise G-d, it is going very well here. I am seeing G-d’s hand move so often here on behalf of His people, Israel! Hallelujah!!! I have been involved with several concerts for Shoah (Holocaust) Survivors with Alyosha and Jody Ryabinov and other ministries in various towns including Zichron Ya’akov, Nof HaGalil, Cesarea, and Haifa. I have had the privilege to lead or co-lead worship at least once a week here in Zichron Ya’akov and in other Israel locations. I was honored to get to play the opening worship set with Carolyn Hyde for a Women’s Conference near Nazareth. I had the honor to have played a praise and worship concert in Jerusalem with the Ruth Fazal, the renown composer and violinist/pianist/vocalist.

Also I have had the extreme pleasure of meeting weekly with my friend, Joshua Aaron to help him work out “guitary things”. Joshua is such an anointed worship leader with a global platform for Yeshua, and to be able to support his work in this way is a huge blessing for me.

The L-rd has even opened a door for me to minister to certain “pre-believers” through the vehicle of jazz music. To sum this up, it’s been a very busy three months since I got here!!! I am so grateful that you helped make this possible by your prayers and support! From the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much!!! Todah Rabah!!!!

May the L-rd continue to bless you and keep you in His grace, provision, and protection.

Blessings and love from Israel, Chava

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A Word from Sandy,
Be’ad Chaim – Israel ProLife

One of our mothers who is a foreign worker received baby furniture and a monthly gift card to purchase baby essentials through our Operation Moses Project. Deeply grateful, she sent this note:

“I’ve been in this country for 11 years and no one has ever helped me. I still can’t believe your amuta (nonprofit) is doing this.”

Her note brought tears to my eyes because foreign workers are often “unseen” or looked down upon in our society. Like the babies in the womb who are “unseen” and are sadly considered merely “bunches of cells” and “objectified”, foreign workers, refugees, the poor, young girls on the streets and many others on the “fringes” of society are invisible to other people.

Yet God sees each one as precious in His sight. God has His eye on the little sparrow and cares greatly for the people whom He has lovingly created in His image. Our goal at Be’ad Chaim is that every person, no matter what their situation, knows that they are valuable, whether it be the preborn child still in the womb, the poor, the needy, the destitute, or those who are rich in finances but broken in spirit. Our goal is to love all in need and to help them in a practical way. Thank you for your part in showing God’s love, for we are “compelled by the love of God.” May He fill your hearts with His love.

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We have renewed our bus advertisements for another quarter, expanding our advertising to the side or rear of 330 buses across the country. The sign offers help to anyone in a crisis pregnancy or who has experienced reproductive loss.

Blessings, Sandy

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Update from Ezra & Shulamite in the Golan Heights

Shirel, a young Israeli who found herself pregnant and alone, yet she was not alone as she found herself surrounded by Believers. Through the love, assistance and encouragement by the local Kehilah she is seeking to learn about Yeshua.

She is attending the weekly Bible Studies and spending time in fellowship even on weekends in the park. Last month her vehicle broke down and she was no longer able to attend. We received out to her on behalf of Blessing Israeli Believers and offered to cover the expense to have her vehicle repaired. Now Shirel is back in fellowship and thankful for God’s provision given through all of you.

Praise & Prayer

Our 3-month Spring 2022 Study Tour Israel Discipleship Program was a great blessing for all those that completed the program.

• Pray for all those signed up to attend our Fall 2022 Program.
• Pray for the new Hebrew speaking Fellowship team in the Golan Heights.
• Pray for the continuing ministry of the Russian Speaking Fellowship in the Golan.
• Pray for all the Holocaust Survivors in our community to receive Yeshua as their personal Messiah.
• Pray for our family, continued unity, anointing, vision, and strength to minister.

All for His Name’s Sake,
Ezra & Shulamite

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Update from Pastor Oded,
Melech Hamlachim, Jerusalem

Dear Blessing Israeli Believers Friends,

We are so grateful for your faithful support. Because of your generosity, we were able to bless 13 families in our congregation with food cards that helped cover their expenses during the Passover holiday. Passover over here is a big celebration of our God's greatness, and the Israeli way to celebrate is always with family and food!

One of these families was a single mother of four who's been through a lot these past years. She also has a physical condition that keeps her from getting out of her house much. Thanks to this support she was able to celebrate the holiday feast with her children beside her. What a joy!

Many blessings to you,
Oded Shoshani

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Update from Ariel & Shayla in Haifa

We hit the streets as a team the day after Israeli Independence Day to share the Gospel. We had opportunities to share the full Gospel with quite a few people, share testimonies, read Scriptures together with seekers, and the Lord gave several words of knowledge that opened up hearts as well.

Orthodox Jews, secular Jews, and even some lesbians heard the Good News! We had some excellent conversations where people started to realize that God had promised the return of the Jewish people to Israel and the re-establishment of the state ahead of time in the Hebrew Bible and is fulfilling it right before our eyes! One lady was so interested as she heard this that she paid for an extension for her parking so she could hear more! We told her, “The best part is actually just beginning now. God said that the reason He brought us back was to remove our heart of stone, give us a heart of flesh, and a real relationship with Him, (Ezekiel 36:24-28).” She responded, “Wow, we need that.” We then were able to share the Gospel with her and she was clearly touched.

Please Pray with us:
• For a crucial Israeli Supreme Court decision regarding abortion – The court will be deciding very soon on a petition from our partners at Be’ad Chaim to end abortion in Israel from 24 weeks and onward (it is currently legal until birth). We’ve been saturating the Israeli public with our pro-life videos in the hopes that hearts and minds will be changed and that ultimately abortion will become illegal. Please pray that our courts will do what is just and at least take the first step toward protecting innocent lives.
• For more salvations amongst Jews and Arabs in Israel – that the Father would draw them (John 6:44), the Spirit would convict them, (John 16:8-11) and the Son would reveal His beauty and glory to all Israel. (Isaiah 4:2) Whether it be through our online evangelism, street evangelism, or any other way, our heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they would be saved! (Romans 10:1)

Many Blessings in Messiah! Ariel & Shayla

Hag Shavuot Sameach!
Happy Pentecost!
June 5

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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.

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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

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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

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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)

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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