Praises & Persecutions

Today we'd like to share someone else's adventure in Israel.  We've mentioned recently that we have a leader at our organization that went to Africa for several weeks by invitation.  He went to share with the churches there about Israel and the responsibility of the Church towards the Jewish people, the roots our of our faith as Christians and believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the people who gave to us the Holy Word of God - the Bible.

These people had begged for someone to come and speak to them from Israel.  Robbie was a Pastor in America for over 35 years, and had made several journeys to foreign countries - including to Africa.  Africa had always been close to his heart, but God began to pull Him and his wife in the direction of Israel.  They had come to Israel many, many times bringing tours to see the Land, but God was doing a new thing in them - a long term desire was being surfaced.  Earlier this year, Robbie resigned as senior pastor of his church and moved with his wife to Israel to volunteer long term as we are.  Never did he realize that the Father would bring Africa back to him so quickly, and to combine it with His plan for Israel.  

But after we had our conference this past spring, our organization began to get several invitations to go to Africa to teach the people about Israel. What Robbie found was that many in Africa have been taught replacement theology - which means they believe that the gentile Church has replaced Israel in all the promises that God made to the Jewish people.  There is a big difference in being included in the promise and replacing the original recipients.  Therefore, Robbie dealt with this wrong thinking at every meeting he spoke at almost daily for about 3 weeks.

When Robbie arrived in the Congo, he had the most amazing experience of the entire trip.  He was told in advance this would be a pastors meeting with about 250 pastors present.  Here is what God had planned when Robbie arrived: 300 pastors knelt to repent as the spiritual voice of the country of DR Congo.  There are 11 states in the Congo. There was one representative from each state that held the Congolese flag in the video. They wanted to repent in the presence of someone from Israel for their action of supporting Egypt during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. There were two Parliament members in attendance that personally came to Robbie asking for prayer and forgiveness. These same members promised to petition parliament to invite Israel to place an Israeli Embassy back in Kinshasa, there capital city.

Here is a link to a news report that aired in Africa (in French) during Robbie's visit.  Not only will this visit impact those present, but also those who saw the report.  It's less than 2 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waV_n3c8mnw&feature=em-share_video_user  

Jim and another friend picked Robbie up at the airport in Tel Aviv the night the sirens first went off in Jerusalem.  It was an honor to pick him up and bring him home safely to his wife in Jerusalem, especially with the current war operation in progress.

Then, we received a call from Robbie's wife on Sunday saying their car had been blown up!  They had let some friends borrow it for the weekend, and it was parked in Jerusalem less than one block off the main road that goes from Jerusalem to Bethlehem - Hevron Road.  It was parked at the beginning of an arab neighborhood, where it is generally safe.  Most people who've been here before are familiar with this road.  In fact we pass this intersection where the bombing occurred every day, and it's not too far from where Robbie lives either.


Witnesses heard the blast, and it's believed that some sort of bomb, or molotov cocktail as it's called here, was thrown into the car.  At first the insurance wasn't going to cover the incident because it was deemed a terrorist act (I believe it's not covered in America if it's a terrorist act either).  But, praise God, Robbie has since found out that it may be covered because it occurred during war time.


The attitude of this couple has been amazing.  Don't get us wrong, they were not happy when they found out they no longer had a car, but they were more shocked to realize that someone would do this - secondarily that it occurred to them. In fact, they sent an email out with the pictures showing their sense of humor saying, "We deeply regret that we can no longer loan our luxury green car to our friends since the terrorist borrowed it last."

Also, since arriving home, the following report shows an uprising in the Congo:

http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=292850 

We are grateful for Robbie's safe return home to Israel, and for what was accomplished through him in Africa.  God definitely has a plan for his people there, and in the Congo they believe it will now begin to be accomplished after their repentance concerning God's chosen people.

Robbie and his wife Tommie are a blessing and a joy to all they come in contact with and we are certainly blessed to have them as an integral part of our organization in Jerusalem.  They are good friends and devoted volunteers, and we are grateful to co-labor with them.

WE THANK YOU LORD

~ FOR THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO 

GIVE UP EVERYTHING FOR YOU ~

AND COUNT IT AS NOTHING