Issue 3/2016

EBENEZER OPERATION EXODUS

C E L E B R A T I N G

SEEING ISRAEL THROUGH GOD’S EYES 2 5

Y E A R S

O F

A L I Y A H

1 9 9 1 – 2 0 1 6

‘Lift up your eyes round about and see … your sons will come from afar, and your daughters will be carried in the arms.’ ISAIAH 60:4

A Christian organisation helping the Jewish people return to Israel

SEEING ISRAEL THROUGH GOD’S EYES INTERNATIONAL

NIGEL WOODLEY CHAIRMAN OF EBENEZER NEW ZEALAND

‘O

ne of the agonising frustrations for me as a pastor over the years has been the inability of the Church to get to grips with Israel. When fellow Christians don’t have empathy or concern for Israel I take it personally—it hurts. I feel it. It is a dilemma I answer with prayer. A consistent prayer of mine for some time now has been: ‘Thank you, Lord, for removing the cataracts of replacement theology from the eyes of the Church so that she can now see the full light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ – part of that glorious knowledge being to the Jew first! (Romans 1:16) I like to keep my praying positive by declaring in it what I want to see happen, even though at present the reality may appear different. Circumstantial facts never change truth. But truth can change circumstantial facts. Jesus said to the Father, ‘your word is truth’ (John 17: 17). The fact may be that a portion of the Church is blind concerning Israel but the truth is that God gives sight to the blind and He answers the prayers of the righteous. The fact may be that people are telling us to shut up about Israel but the truth is that

God has commanded us in Jeremiah 31:10, “… proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’” In this way the truth of God’s Word triumphs over negative circumstantial facts. In fulfilling her global mission, the Church will never be able to see with clarity what she needs to see until she is granted the grace to see through God’s eyes. And although His vision is a panoramic view of an entire lost world for whom Christ died, yet foremost, at the very centre of this Godseeing eye, are the sheep of the House of Israel to whom Christ was sent first. The Jewish people are the apple of His eye! They are by no means the only concern before God; He cares for all people but the Jewish people have a prioritised place before Him.

The people of Israel are at the centre of God’s view of the world Yes, God’s vision for the world is broad and spans from horizon to horizon and to every nation, yet at the very centre of His panoramic view of the world you will find the people of Israel.

Front Cover: Gian Luca (Italy National Coordinator) and his wife helping a young family off the plane at Ben Gurion Airport. Used with permission: www.flickr.com/yeho/

2 | Ebenezer Operation Exodus

We read in the Scriptures: ‘When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel … He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye’ (Deuteronomy 32:8 & 10). In Romans 1:16 the apostle Paul says: ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.’ My point is: to see as God sees does not mean to see Israel only but it does mean to see with eyes that have Israel in her rightful place before Him. This is not an exclusive vision of Israel but a prioritised one. Whenever I pray now for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the world I first pray that it be poured out upon Israel. That’s the prioritised vision.

Such a vision may not necessarily demand greater quantity but it certainly demands priority. Making sure the baby is fed before the rest of the family is certainly not speaking of quantity but it does speak of priority. Our church’s mission is ‘To the Jew first, and also to the Gentile’ so priority for us also means the greater piece of the pie for the Israel-supporting ministries, especially Ebenezer. Once you have Israel in the right place, seeing her in the very centre of God’s vision, then the picture is no longer blurred but very clear. Your view is centred correctly. Let us seek to see Israel through God’s eyes.

Whenever we come to the distribution of mission funds in my own church we always settle our ‘account’ with Israel first (Romans 15:26-27). Once the ‘Israel’ portion has been allotted then we talk about apportioning the rest. That is prioritised vision.

Nigel has been Pastor of Flaxmere Christian Fellowship in Hastings, New Zealand since 1982. He is also the current NZ Chairman of Ebenezer Operation Exodus and author of Holocaust Exposed—the Biblical Account of the Jewish Tragedy, a book that explains the tragedy from the Biblical perspective.

Helping His People Home | 3

KEY WORDS Aliyah is the word for the immigration of Jewish people from the Diaspora to the Land of Israel. The word in Hebrew means ascent and is defined as ‘going up’ – progressing towards Jerusalem. Olim means Jewish immigrants to Israel – those making aliyah. In the singular, a male immigrant is called an oleh and a female immigrant an olah. Potential olim are those our teams contact and encourage to make aliyah.

JOY FOR HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS UKRAINE

VADIM RABOCHIY EASTERN EUROPEAN REGIONAL DIRECTOR

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e have been helping Holocaust survivors in Ukraine for 20 years through our humanitarian aid programme, distributing food parcels and medicines they are unable to afford to buy. We offered them free trips to visit Israel when we ran our aliyah sailings from Odessa, Ukraine, to Haifa during the 1990s. Every year, in fact, we run a very special project, named by God’s command in Isaiah 40:1 to ‘Comfort, comfort my people’, when we demonstrate our love and care towards those who survived the Nazi ghettos and concentration camps. It is so touching when we hear these elderly people tell us that they were very honoured not just by the food parcels we brought to them, but most of all by visiting them in their homes.This is why every year we invite our Christian brothers and sisters from the local churches to join us in visiting Holocaust survivors and also sites where massacres of Jewish people took place during World War II.

Elderly Jewish people such as these are touched by our love when we visit with them food parcels.

keep going. Every time we visit them they express their gratitude for that. Because of advanced age and poor health, largely due to what they suffered, it is very rare that a Holocaust survivor makes aliyah. So it is cause for great rejoicing when it happens! This recently happened to husband and wife Vladimir and Irina, both Holocaust survivors. They had previously met Ebenezer people a number of times so when they made the decision to move to Israel it was to us that they turned to help them make aliyah. It was a great joy and privilege to pay for their foreign passports and to take them to the airport for their flight to Tel Aviv. We are so grateful to the Lord for this special couple and pray that they will enjoy happy years in Israel.

We support a small Jewish community in Uman, Ukraine, to enable them to run a soup kitchen for Holocaust survivors who are too weak to cook for themselves. Through this we encourage them to

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We need your ongoing financial support to enable us to continue to run the humanitarian aid programme effectively.

‘NO’ BECAME ‘YES’! ‘

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we do,’ his mother replied. ‘I have my birth certificate. I’ll go and get it.’

nless you respond to God’s call to return to the land of your fathers you will one day have to give an account of your reluctance to your children and grandchildren,’ I said to Slava and his mother.

Slava’s expression changed, showing his disappointment that his mother had revealed this important fact. There was no point now in him trying to deny it. Instead he started to give all kinds of reasons why they could not make aliyah; ‘My wife has to look after her sick mother. And we are happy here anyway.’

I had met with Slava many times before and on each occasion had stressed the importance of considering God’s call to move to Israel. But each time he had resisted, denying that he was Jewish and declaring he didn’t have any papers. ‘They are all kept by my mother,’ he said. One day I was back in Dnepropetrovsk, where they lived, and it seemed that God arranged for me to meet his mother. ‘Don’t mention anything to her about Israel,’ Slava requested. I gave him no promise and went to his mother’s flat. We were chatting over a cup of tea when she suddenly said that her father was Jewish. ‘Oh,’ Slava retorted, ‘That’s true, but we don’t have the papers to prove it.’ ‘What! Of course

I looked at them both and firmly pointed out their responsibility to their children and grandchildren to make sure they had the best future possible in the land God was calling them to. I left them and a few days later heard from Slava’s mother. ‘We shall start preparing everything. We are ready to go. Will you help us?’ I was overjoyed. It was an answer to prayer!

UKRAINE

YANYA UKRAINE TEAM

‘Certainly,’ I said. Slava, his mother and the whole family applied to the Israeli consul. They left Ukraine as winter approached and are now living in the land of their forefathers. We are so thrilled!

So glad they went to Israel!

Helping His People Home | 5

EXPERIENCING GOD’S FAITHFULNESS UKRAINE

YANYA UKRAINE TEAM

Top: © PA Photos in collaboration with Sword Magazine Right: Making aliyah was the real solution!

KAZAKHSTAN

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isters Nina and Yulia were forced to flee from their homes with their children because of the fighting in eastern Ukraine and leave virtually everything behind. They only managed to take nappies and documents with them, as they had to carry the younger children. After walking many kilometres a passing driver stopped and took them to Kharkov, where relatives of their father lived. This relief was short because they were made to feel unwelcome. To their joy, however, we found them longer-term accommodation and assisted them with food. Then we talked to them about a permanent solution: making aliyah. They were eager to go to Israel and we gave them the help they needed in gathering their documents to submit to the Israeli Consul. There was great joy when they were granted Israeli visas. We took them

HELPING SIX BOYS

A

sharp knock on the door announced to the six boys and their parents that we had arrived! Because they were very poor they were so grateful for what we had brought them – including sweets for the children as well as much-needed food parcels. ZHANSOLU KAZAKHSTAN LEADER

Right: One of these boys wants to study in Israel. We pray that the whole family will make aliyah.

to the airport for their flight to Tel Aviv. Tears of joy and appreciation welled up in their eyes for all the help we had given them. God is faithful to His promises!

also the words from the prophets that we shared, explaining God’s call to move to the land He had promised His people.

Inside we got to know this large family. Alexander was 17, Yuri 15, Gregory 12, Valery 10, Evgheny six, and the youngest, Veacheslav, only two. The older ones all seemed to be good at something, whether it was music, dance or art. The lovely thing about these boys was that they were modest, not boastful; and they had dreams. Alexander wanted to go to Israel to study. The matriarch of the family, Maya, expressed her thanks for the food and

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Please pray for this family and many others like them to respond to the call to make aliyah.

SOLVING ELENA’S PROBLEM E

home town. She was deeply grateful for our support and after the ‘paperwork’ problem had been rectified, she and her daughter began their aliyah journey once more, this time without any problems. Their new life in the land God had promised them had truly begun.

lena couldn’t believe what was happening. The Passport Control official stopped her. It appeared there was something amiss with her daughter’s documents. Elena had flown from Yekaterinburg without any problems and she and her daughter were transferring in Moscow onto their aliyah flight to Tel Aviv. Now their journey came to an abrupt end and they were refused boarding. Elena was devastated and was escorted onto a return flight to Yekaterinburg. Our team in Moscow found out about the problem several hours later.

RUSSIA

ANATOLY URALS TEAM

Two of our helpers met Elena and her daughter when they arrived back in Yekaterinburg. Elena was clearly upset so they comforted her before helping them onto a bus back to their

Top: Used with permission: www.flickr.com/thawt/

GOD’S WHEELCHAIR GIFT!

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e were visiting a Jewish family in Khabarovsk and noticed a man lying on a bed, unable to get up. Yakov had not walked for ten years. It was becoming difficult for his wife Ida to look after him and she didn’t know how she could carry on as she herself had health issues. Yakov’s primary need was for a wheelchair but the couple could not afford one.

Their plight touched us and we were determined to do our utmost to help. But we didn’t know where we could obtain a wheelchair. Then one day after the usual morning prayer time in the office we felt led to share the need with our church. Amazingly, we were told that they had a spare wheelchair and gave it to us as a gift for Yakov. It was a wonderful answer to prayer!

RUSSIA

KONSTANTIN & ALYONA KHABAROVSK LEADERS

Prayer answered: Yakov with wheelchair.

Helping His People Home | 7

THE LIGHT DAWNS! BRAZIL

CARLOS DOS SANTOS BRAZIL NATIONAL COORDINATOR

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he phone rang. It was Mr Yemtob, a French Jew who lived in Búzios, a city in Rio de Janeiro state. He was in trouble. He had come to Brazil in 2010 to open his own business with savings accumulated from many years of work in Europe, but the economic and political situation in the country caused the loss of all his investment. Ninety per cent of family members had made aliyah from France and the crisis made him start thinking of making aliyah too, with his wife and two daughters.

He came to us for help after finding out through a French cousin that Operation Exodus operated in Brazil. We verified his documents (as did the Jewish Agency for Israel) and helped them with the aliyah process. Today they are living in Israel, happily beginning their new life in the city of Netanya.

Happily beginning a new life: Mr Yemtob and family.

NETHERLANDS

MORE NEED OUR HELP

I RICHARD A. ZEVENHUIZEN NETHERLANDS NATIONAL COORDINATOR

n the past year we have seen more willingness among Jewish people to make aliyah from the Netherlands.

stayed dry for two hours – the time we needed to load! As soon as we had closed and sealed the container door down came the rain again. Praise the Lord for His provision!

Although most Dutch Jews are very assimilated and feel safe, some are getting very concerned that the situation in the world has become more like the years before the Second World War. So we are now getting regular requests for help, mainly with organising, packing and loading sea containers to send their household belongings to Israel. One day we had arranged for a lorry to arrive with a container to come at 11 am. It was raining and as we waited we prayed for dry weather during the loading. The lorry was half an hour late but the rain had stopped. It

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FACT FILE ųų There are approximately 52,000 Dutch Jews living in the Netherlands. ųų 10,000 of them have Israeli passports. ųų The majority live in the Amsterdam region. ųų 104,000 Dutch Jews died in the Holocaust.

FLYING HOME FROM ITALY G

od has opened a door for Ebenezer Italy to help with aliyah. I am so grateful for what He is doing in our ministry, especially in allowing us to express this practical love to the Jewish people. The dedication of our team was underlined by the enthusiastic turnout for the aliyah flight from Rome on 19 July. It was an early start but we were able to give the 20 olim a hearty send-off. Much laughter and joy filled the air, which helped those in the party who were clearly feeling nervous and apprehensive about making aliyah. Our encouraging words and warm smiles soon had them feeling at ease. Joining us at this farewell ceremony were the president of the Jewish Community of Rome, representatives of the Jewish Agency and Keren Hayesod and our wonderful local volunteers, including the Young Adults team who did a wonderful job in helping the families by assisting them in the days prior to their departure for Israel.

What impressed me most was the response by intercessors worldwide to an urgent request to pray for five-year-old Moran, who was struck down with high fever. The little girl’s mum, Valentina (who sadly lost her husband several year ago), was in anguish and asked for help. Praise the Lord for answering all our cries, for Moran recovered in time for the flight and she, Valentina and her brother David were able to happily fly off to new life in the land of their forefathers! I travelled with them. We had a welcoming ceremony on arrival at Ben Gurion airport, Tel Aviv where I spoke to these new citizens of Israel on behalf of Ebenezer, especially telling them that it was a day that saw the fulfilment of many prayers. A special thanks goes to all of you who helped to make it possible by your support.

ITALY

GIAN LUCA MOROTTI ITALY NATIONAL DIRECTOR

Ebenezer Italy is now ready to help bring home more olim as the Lord fulfils His Word to gather His scattered people back to their true homeland.

Our Italy team helped to make it a memorable aliyah flight from Rome. Left: Valentina with her children David and Moran.

Helping His People Home | 9

THE ETERNAL AND LIVING WORD PRAYER

‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ John 1:1 ‘Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.’ Genesis 1:3 ‘Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.’ Psalm 119:89

ALISON EASTWOOD PRAYER TEAM

‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.’ Matthew 24:35

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e who was, and is, and is to come, the everlasting, is our sure rock of help. He is our life, for Jesus said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). In the wilderness Satan tried to tempt Him and each time Jesus responded, ‘It is written’. Satan can’t prevail against us when we know God’s Word and stand on it. Let’s submit to the authority of His holy Word, abide in His Word, put on the full armour of God and take up the sword of the Spirit each day (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:10-18).

Aliyah is the goal of our praying!

Word. When He quickens His Word to our hearts as we wait on Him and we declare and pray it through, it brings life, strength and victory. As we faithfully watch and pray, His promises and purposes will be fulfilled in His way and His timing (Galatians 6:9). Thank you, Lord, that your Word gives light and understanding, and that it is truth (Psalm 119:130; John 17:17). Please pray and declare: ųų Lord, please illumine your Word to your Church to see their call to assist aliyah (Isaiah 49:22; 60:9-12). ųų As we share your Word with the Jewish people, Lord, may it bring light and life. ųų May all those making aliyah in the coming days and weeks be planted in the land and be fruitful (Jeremiah 32:41). ųų Thank you, Lord, that as we go forward we have the assurance that your Word is a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). May we be sensitive and obedient to it.

He is watching over His Word to fulfil it (Jeremiah 1:12). To pray in line with God's will (1 John 5:14-15), we need to know His

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BREAKING NEW GROUND T

he leadership of Ebenezer Operation Exodus Asia-Pacific asked my sister, Katie, and I to go to Taiwan after receiving an invitation to speak to the churches hungry to hear about Israel and aliyah. We were thrilled to make the first visit of the ministry to that land! We praise the Lord for the organising skills and hard work of Jennifer, who had been our translator for a group of 14 Taiwanese on the Engage: Israel 2015 tour. She arranged a marvellous schedule in Taiwan, enabling us to visit four cities to speak in churches and share at Bible studies. One of the places was Kaohsiung, where the Israel tour group came from, so we were much blessed by meeting up with them again.

meetings were in that age bracket. This was really encouraging to see; perhaps they were intrigued by what we two young Australians had to say about Israel! We marvelled at how the Lord brought us into contact with various people. We felt as though He was joining up links of a chain that would stay well connected for His kingdom purposes. Clearly He is building His network throughout the nations! We saw that when the Lord wants people’s paths to cross He guides their steps and opens up the way! We are excited to see Christians in Taiwan continuing to join in the work of Ebenezer Operation Exodus and support aliyah in prayer.

YOUNG ADULTS

NIKI STUCKEN YOUNG ADULTS TEAM

One of that group, and an enthusiastic supporter of Israel and the work of aliyah, was Pastor Timothy Chen. During a prayer meeting in Kaohsiung he invited young adults with a heart for Israel to step forward and publicly bring this desire before the Lord. He then asked Katie and me to pray over them. It was one of the highlights of our visit. Although the trip was not specifically to minister to young adults, it turned out that many of those who attended the

Taiwanese Christians were hungry to learn about Israel and aliyah.

Helping His People Home | 11

JUST WHAT THEY NEEDED! ISRAEL

a ‘helping hand’ and we were overjoyed to bless this young couple in word and deed.

‘They shall walk after the Lord. He will roar like a lion. When He roars, then His sons shall come trembling from the west.’ Hosea 11:10

To our delight, they sent us another email after that:

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ave and Channa, a young American Jewish couple, apparently heard the ‘roar’ and made aliyah. Then came the challenges.

IRIS GOLDMAN JERUSALEM OFFICE

We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts; we truly appreciate the support that you give new immigrants to Israel. The food parcel and blankets you provided us were very useful. A little bit of help goes a long way, and we appreciate it. Thank you again. Kindest regards, Dave and Channa.

We received an email from Dave saying they had moved to Israel and and ‘are hoping to stay’ but ‘financially things are a bit difficult’. He was contacting us to ‘find out if there was anything that you could do to lend a helping hand’.

We praise and thank the Lord God of Israel for giving us wonderful opportunities to assist Jewish people to settle successfully in their land.

We promptly replied, asking for more details. Dave responded by saying, ‘We make just about enough, but everything is tight … I'm hopeful that things will get better and that this is only temporary.’ We assured Dave and Channa that things would certainly improve and encouraged them by pointing out that they were actually doing quite well, considering that it was only their first year in Israel. We invited them to visit our office to receive a food parcel and other assistance. ‘That would be amazing,’ Dave replied.

Right: Dave and Channa – ‘A little help goes a long way’

Since Channa was studying at college, Dave came on his own to the office. He told us that they actually met here in Israel, got married and then returned to their homeland to fulfil their hopes and dreams. Dave was very grateful to find

Please pray for all of the new olim who arrived this summer. May the Lord ‘make an everlasting covenant with them …“rejoice over them to do them good, and … assuredly plant them in this land, with all [His] heart and with all [His] soul”’ (Jeremiah 32:40-41).

Find more information & to view the promo film: www.engage-israel.org

(*excl. flights & some lunches. Price subject to change)

Ebenezer Operation Exodus Asia Pacific Level 2, 39 Leighton Place Hornsby NSW 2077 Australia HP | Whatsapp +61 418 219 440 [email protected] www.eoeaspac.org

Ebenezer Emergency Fund New Zealand P.O. Box 5319, Terrace End Palmerston North 4441 Phone: + 64 (0) 6 3574883 [email protected] www.eoeaspac.org

Operation Exodus Canada c/o 135 Strathcona Ave. N. Hamilton, ON L8R 3C2, Canada

Operation Exodus USA PO Box 568 Lancaster NY 14086

Phone: 905 527-4070 [email protected] www.operationexodus.ca

Phone: 716 681 6300 [email protected] www.operationexodususa.org

Operation Exodus South Africa PO Box 61887, Vaalpark, 1948 South Africa Phone: +27 169 711 766 [email protected] www.operation-exodus.org

Ebenezer Operation Exodus International & UK Office PO Box 9103, Bournemouth BH1 9DA, UK +44 (0) 1202 294455 [email protected] www.operation-exodus.org

Our vision is to be servants and intercessors of the Lord, to help the Jewish people return to the land of Israel from all the nations and to proclaim God’s Kingdom purposes for their return. All articles in this publication Copyright © Ebenezer Emergency Fund International August 2016. Operation Exodus is the operational part of Ebenezer Emergency Fund International. Started in 1991 with just three people, it now has representatives in 50 countries worldwide.