May 2021 Newsletter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus, Shalom from Jerusalem,

I am writing this from my balcony from Jerusalem, which has a view of the Old City with the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives sitting before me, and I am thinking of where we are today…

Last night, in the middle of the night, my wife woke me up from sleep disturbed at what she was hearing. We heard many noises and fireworks being shot into the air, making much more noise than usual. For a moment it brought fear in our hearts, fear for all Israelis, as we see the situation escalating and affecting our daily lives and the relationships between Jews and Arabs in the Land.

It is easy to build but it is also easy to destroy, and the hard work and the lives that both Jews and Arabs have built for the past 10 and more, can easily become unhinged in moments of tension. I remember the story of Isaiah and Hezekiah, as the Lord promised Hezekiah that his city of Jerusalem will not fall to the Assyrians, and that his new relationship with the Babylonians will not bring him doom - but that he will prosper in this own time (and yet only 100 years later Babylon destroyed Jerusalem). How fragile is the peace of men!

In Isaiah 40 the Lord speaks showing them that He will be there, and that He will comfort them in those hard times,

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her that her warfare is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned,

That she has received front he Lord’s hand double for all her sins”

These words were given to comfort them, and to show them they will prosper and overcome those hard times that were behind them and before them. Hard times often have a purpose we do not understand.

I know the text is about Israel from the time of Isaiah but it surely is a reality today as the Lord is with us and He is the one who keeps us in such times.

We need prayer that this situation will lead His people to full repentance and believe in the Lord of Israel Yeshua Hamashiach!

My dad once said he is working for a peace plan in the middle east : it was giving out Bibles and preaching to others the gospel. Please pray for opportunities here in our neighbourhood, that the division that is here will not create a void between peoples but bring them closer, and more than that, but give way to a desire to seek true peace and friendship, one that that will lead to true faith, and the only true peace there can be in the middle east - which is through our Lord Messiah.

Our work at present is varied. Sensing the financial stress in the community around us, for several months now we started weekly food distribution, collecting donated fresh vegetables, and purchasing basic essentials to those in contact with us, both Jews and Arabs. The previous year brought much financial hardship and unemployment to many, and not just to those already in distress, but also to those with good jobs and businesses, who suddenly found themselves unemployed and unable to pay their bills, and businesses going bankrupt. People who normally do not go to food banks or receive help now needed a little helping hand. Our testimony in doing this is always important to us, and clear, we can only hope that our consistent faith both in word and deed shows some light to those who need it now.

Tensions in Israel between Arabs and Jews are very high at the moment, while a cease fire has just been announced, this war has thrown a sword in the mix and there is much distrust between communities. I live in a Jerusalem neighbourhood that is very mixed, and both Jews and Arabs are very suspicious and cautious of each other, with neighbours saying that some Arabs neighbours feel like the Jewish neighbors are out to get them, with Arab media and radio heightening the tensions. Social media does not always help stoke the fans of peace. Nationally we are seeing this arise in the mixed Israeli cities of Israel, the past year of Corona with its closures and restrictions and the fear kept a simmering lid tight, but we must remember that this is the middle east, and tensions will come and go, as long as this conflict exists. Our job is to share and be the peacemaker,as only God can change the hearts of men.

We continue with our outreach by word as well as deed. Whether we meet on the street, give out a Bible, talk Scripture, challenge viewpoints, dig into what the Bible and God says with a stranger…..our daily lives are inseparable from that goal. Friday outreaches in Tel Aviv still continue, our brother Kang has been faithful in working with the foreign workers and Israelis alike, giving out New Testaments in all languages. My own emphasis had been in building up the community of believers in Jerusalem and encouraging good teaching while reaching out to local Israelis both Jewish and Arab.

Our congregation was established in the early 90’s, starting from a group bible study. These were unique times, a huge influx of Soviet era Russian immigrants were immigrating to Israel, all thirsty for spiritual answers, and our congregation was full of young people seeking and searching, serious about the things of God. I was a child growing up then. Now that era has come full circle, their children have grown and that spiritual special urgency of that hour has gone. Our congregation has endured though it is now far smaller. We are looking to the future now and what we can built, there is a new urgency and need, good teaching, discipleship, solid clear testimony, Jerusalem is awash with all sorts of doctrinal agendas and goals, but the clear sold testimony of the Word itself has declined, obscured by both Jewish and Gentile dogmas. We need to get back to the basics and there are many growing up confused with what they hear. In the past year we have moved from our rented meeting place to our office, it seemed a prudent move financially and logistically, even with the nostalgia for the past. We have had to move several times before in the past, and have some fond memories of older places, we have left things open, seeking His will in our path. My father was always open to new doors, always opening and closing them, as long as the Gospel was central in all endeavors. Keep us in your prayers as we seek His will and provision.

A faithful soldier of ours has been Luda. Luda has been part of our congregation for as long as I can remember. A faithful woman of God, in the early days, and for years afterwards, she would regularly serve the congregation by her evangelistic tours, with their emphasis on showing how tradition and the actual events and words compare. In those days she would regularly take out groups of mostly agnostics and share the true Gospel. She is a faithful humble woman who has lived a modest life, she was always regularly willing to help in the congregation, serving with her hands as well as her words.

Not long ago Luda was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, and slowly it has become worse. Luda lives in a government independently living facility which has been pending closure for some years now as the property and land was bought out. And only a few months ago all residents were quickly notified that they had only a few months to leave. We knew this was coming but it will be traumatic for Luda, as her memory is fading and she needs supervision, any change in her environment will cause trauma in her mind. To that end we had been searching for solutions. In Israel government care facilities are very basic and not faith friendly especially for messianics. There exists in Haifa the only believing care home, it is attached to a good congregation, and all the staff are caring, thoughtful believers. We have been trying to get Luda used to the idea slowly, she is right now visiting the place. We have some money aside but we will also have to raise an entrance deposit of around fifty thousand shekels. We are in no doubt that this is the best place for Luda, please pray with us,especially that Luda will have peace of mind and understand that this is good for her; we can not force her, we have no legal standing there - and that we will be able to raise the amount needed.

I want to thank you all for your continuing support, as we do our best to walk this road that God has set before us. Ultimately, we know He knows our path, and that He is with us in our fight forward is our comfort and blessing.

Prayer Requests:

• For the fear that people living close to Gaza are experiencing now, having endured constant rockets launched at them:Ashkelon, Ashdod, Beersheva, and many other places near Gaza, with a range that almost reaches Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.(only once in JLM)

• Pray from those who fear their neighbours and fear leaving their homes.

• Pray for openness from the gospel

• I have attached another part of the Newsletter from our evangelism last month in April

• Peace of Jerusalem

• For our congregation and the future. For financial provision and wisdom

• For Luda- that God will be done, and Luda will have peace.

• For protection, wisdom and safety, while we serve Him in all we do.

May God encourage you all as you all walk this life of faith and trust wherever you are in this world. Thank you for praying for the true peace of Jerusalem.

Be Blessed.

Josh Simon

And all of us at Voice in the Wilderness

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We are spreading the Gospel in Israel and throughout the middle-east , to all peoples

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