Upon returning to America...

Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision the people perish" (KJV). G-d has put a vision and an excitement in our hearts about the future ministry He has for us --starting a Messianic Discipleship Bible School with a three-fold focus:

1. Discipleship
2. Accredited Bible Teaching
3. Outreach to Israel, Including a Biblical Tour of the Land
 

After we returned to Israel last fall we felt that our season in Israel was coming to an end. We revisited a vision the L-rd had given Tom the previous spring about developing a dynamic school. With prayer, prophecy, and counsel throughout these last several months we've realized that the L-rd is opening the doors for us to make the Messianic Discipleship Bible School come to life upon our return to Kansas.

Starting a school is a natural progression in our life journey and calling. The experience and knowledge we've gained from our season in Jerusalem; our involvement in the Messianic movement; the dramatic story of our sons and subsequent testimony; and our gifts of teaching and discipling -- G-d has used all of these to prepare us "for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14). We realize we will be most effective back in our hometown utilizing the incredible support system that helped to sustain us and bring us through so many good and difficult times. Here is a brief overview of our vision:

As Billy Graham said, "Salvation is free but discipleship costs everything." At this time in history there is a great need for serious discipleship to prepare the body of Messiah for the great tribulations that are to come while emphasizing the importance of standing with Israel. The vision for the school is to have a holistic program that imparts into the students the foundations of the faith taught from a Biblically Hebraic worldview. We will focus on helping the students gain the tools necessary to walk out their faith in the real world, while unlocking and cultivating their spiritual gifts for the glory of the Kingdom.

The vision for the school also involves offering some of the Bible classes for academic credit (these classes will also be available to people outside of the discipleship program). This will allow the students the advantage of participating in the discipleship school but also receiving academic credit that can be applied toward an accredited degree. Rarely do Biblical academia and discipleship come together and yet this combination has the potential to dramatically impact the Kingdom of G-d.

We envision a multifaceted trip to Israel whereby the student will connect with and serve the local Messianic Jewish body AND also participate in a guided Biblical tour of the Holy Land. The L-rd has given us relationships with local Messianic believers which will allow us to plan opportunities to appropriately serve the Messianic Jews in Israel. Connecting the students with the Land itself brings the stories of the Bible to life and will forever enhance their relationship with the L-rd.

There will be different ways to become involved with the school -- as a full-time student, an evening class attendee, a prayer warrior, a financial partner, and as a host family to the incoming students. We hope you are as enthusiastic as we are about the vision the L-rd has for us. Just as moving to Jerusalem was only possible through prayers and financial support, we know that launching this school will require your continued prayers and financial support. We are pleased that many of our financial and prayer partners will reap the fruit of their labors through our teaching ministry and the planting of this school. 


 

 

 

All Joy & Peace

We rejoice in the things the Father has given us as we look to the close of 2013 -- new life, new friends, and new opportunities to share His love and truth with Israel and the Nations. Before we moved to Jerusalem we sold our home and our car, left our families and congregation for the sake of knowing Yeshua and making Him known and we can see His Hand in our lives. The blessing of living in Jerusalem for two years is priceless and the relationships and knowledge we've gained are eternal. Moving back to Kansas City means we have to start over, in a way, but with new eyes and new hearts. We're seeing how the L-rd wants to use the experiences and knowledge from our life in Jerusalem and our unique testimony, and are excited to use our gifts to teach, disciple and share the Good News of Yeshua . We seek your prayers to implement the vision that the L-rd has put into our hearts, for great success as Tom pursues his doctorate at King's University, and for His provision as we seek a new home, vehicle and all the necessities of reestablishing our life in Kansas City (which should be much easier than moving to the Middle East!).

As we step out in faith during this next season we ask that you will continue to partner with us. Please consider giving a one-time, year-end donation to help launch us into this next year. You can donate online by clicking here or mail checks to Tikkun International, PO Box 2997, Gaithersburg, MD 20886-2997. Include a separate note indicating your donation for Remember Jerusalem.

We look forward to seeing many of you again and rejoice that we get to share more meals and laughter with you. Until then, here's a brief look at some of the highlights we've experienced in the last year. Blessings to you, friends and supporters.

"Now may the G-d of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Romans 15:13

 

 

A New Season

Once we returned to Jerusalem in September we began praying into what the L-RD did during the five weeks we were in Kansas City. He powerfully provided the finances, through you, to keep us here through this semester. He partnered us with so many who share a heart for unification between Jew & Gentile through Yeshua and the importance of Israel.

Even though we anticipated being here in Israel for several more years, we both felt that we were to pray and ask the L-RD if He wanted us to stay beyond February.

In asking this question we prayed into many factors, not just finances, in our desire to do His will. We were both in agreement that we desired to serve more. While we definitely serve here in different capacities, Tom is limited because of the amount of time required for his studies. The language barrier also prevents us from serving more within the Messianic Jewish body. At some level, we feel we have come to a crossroads as to whether to begin a very serious modern Hebrew language study program or move on to a new season as the L-RD leads.

Through much prayer, wrestling, and affirmation from our spiritual authorities and the Holy Spirit, He showed us that this season in Israel is coming to an end. And He has even begun to put an excitement in our hearts for the next step in our journey. In coming to this unexpected decision, we reviewed our main goals for being in Israel:

1. Connect with and serve the Messianic community in order to join the Gentile body with the Messianic body here in Israel
2. Study the Bible in its original context to bring more depth to Tom's teaching gifting
3. Learn Biblical Hebrew to strengthen Tom's gift for teaching

He has graciously allowed us to achieve these goals in the 21 months we've lived here and we've gained so much more. But the obvious question is, What about Tom's PhD if you leave Israel?

The academic experience here has proven invaluable -- both inside and outside of the classroom. Tom's calling is to teach, and he is eager to share more about everything that the L-RD has shown him through his studies and living here in the Holy Land. The plan is to continue his doctoral studies at The King’s University (founded by Jack Hayford) in Dallas, Texas. The degree is a Doctorate of Ministry in Messianic Jewish Leadership/Studies and is the only program of its kind.

We believe this is a perfect fit for us. The program is designed for people to continue in their full-time ministry positions while also pursuing a doctoral degree. Therefore, it is set up so that you only come to the campus three times per year (9 days at a time). This is very exciting for us because it will allow us to be in full-time ministry/teaching while also pursuing the doctoral degree.

We plan to return to Kansas City after this semester, in the early Spring, and the L-rd has begun giving us vision for this next step in our ministry. We once again ask for your prayers for our lives and specifically our future ministry. We desire to continue teaching the message that G-d's heart for the Nations is rooted in Israel and because of our experiences in Israel He has equipped us to be able to impart that message in a unique way. We are thankful and excited for the leading hand of the Holy Spirit and have confidence that He is leading us into this new and exciting season.

We value your partnership and will share more details in the coming months and look forward to seeing you again in America! We pray you'll continue to partner with us as we share the message: Remember Jerusalem.

Here or There?

It goes without saying that celebrating the holidays in Israel is exciting and unique. For the last month our grocery store has carried sufganiot, donuts, and I bought several Hanukkah presents and our candles at this same grocery store. We have giant Hanukkah menorahs on all of the round-abouts and our neighbors set their family menorahs out on the ledge for all to see. The holidays feel completely different here, mostly because they actually feel like something, at a national level.

While visiting the Temple Institute (with the PBlakes) I bought Cassidy a dreidel. Once we got it home I took a closer look and realized it's an Israel-specific dreidel. A dreidel has four sides and each side has a letter on it, and some jewels if you have a fancy one like Cassidy. The four letters stand for the phrase,  "נס גדול היה שם", Nes Gadol Hayah Sham – "a great miracle happened there". The ש stands for "there" but the one we have doesn't have a ש. Instead it has the letter פ because it stands for "here".  A great miracle happened here. And that is really fun, even if means you have to put money in the pot during the dreidel game.

Our Israeli dreidel and our American dreidel

Life in the First Century

We visited Nazareth Village once again while Paul, Lauren and Noah were in town. The recreation of first century life on an actual vineyard is always interesting, no matter how many times we've visited. Here you can see how they collected water and cooked. As someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen it looks doable, but definitely hard.

The Study of the Word as Worship

"Judaism considers the study of Torah as the most sublime kind of worship, a way of meeting God, of breaking through the barrier separating the Absolute from the contingent and relative. Human intellectual engagement in the exploration of God's word, thought and law is a great religious experience, an activity bordering on the miraculous, a paradoxical bridge spanning the chasm that separates the world of vanity and infinity. The preoccupation of the intellect with the Torah is a sort of identification with divine thought, the realization of man's longing for companionship with God."
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik

October 6th

We obviously feel it's very important to pray for Israel, and specifically Jerusalem. But did you know that there are people all over the world who feel this same way? They've taken Psalm 122:6 to heart and have implemented an international day of prayer for the Holy City. Here's a video and link to help you understand what they're doing and why.