At the time of this writing, it will be Simchat Torah, exactly two years according to the Jewish calendar—or 738 days in the Julian calendar—since 251 hostages were taken captive into Gaza. The final 20 living hostages have been released, many of whom are in serious medical condition. In exchange, Israel has released 250 terrorist ringleaders who have been serving life sentences for personally carrying out major terror attacks which brutally murdered multiple people including children, women, and the elderly—and an additional 1,700 Palestinian prisoners who have been serving lesser sentences for assault, attempted murder, rape, and other attacks against Israeli civilians.

A mix of great joy and great trepidation fills many hearts.

This life-altering exchange builds upon the tumult of hope and apprehension which saturated the past couple of weeks with the dawn of the new Jewish Year, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Amidst all this, we hear good reports from our ministry staff serving throughout Israel. They see the power of God’s Spirit calling people to spiritual freedom. Here are just a few of their stories.

Released to Live in Jesus

“Last month, we had the great joy of baptizing three people who openly confessed Yeshua as their Messiah! What a testimony of His faithfulness! Each one of them has a powerful story of redemption, and we rejoice with the angels over their decision. Also, our home group is also growing almost to the point of overflowing the capacity of our apartment. We see this as a clear sign that the Word of God is alive, and that hearts are still being touched and transformed, even as the world around us seems unstable.”

Thank the Lord with us for the newly baptized believers. Pray their faith will keep growing and their time with the Lord in His Word and prayer will be consistent. Pray for the Lord to guide us on how to provide more space and resources for those who come and are hungry for the Word.

Released to Reach Muslims

“When I left my car at the shop for repairs recently, I chatted with Ali (name changed) who dropped me off at home. I explained how Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, because Muslims like Ali believe Jesus only fainted on the cross. Ali wondered what bad things Jesus needed to die for. I asked him, ‘What about our thoughts?’ I told him that even if we look good on the outside, a perfect God cannot accept us without Jesus’ sacrifice. The next day when we walked into the car shop, Ali exclaimed, ‘Why are you always smiling?’ My wife explained it is because God wants to be part of our lives and to guide us in our daily decisions. She told him Jesus is key to relationship with God.”

Please pray for Ali and our continuing witness to him. Pray for Israeli Muslims—about 2 million or 20% of the population. Pray for God to use us and others to lovingly and boldly share Jesus with them so that they too may be saved.

Released to Care for the Weary

“My colleague and I delivered some supplies to a women’s army unit serving in a dangerous part of the country. They smiled so much—they were happy to know people care for them and are praying for them! There is a surge of young women serving in dangerous areas in combat roles. They want to protect the country. The war has caused an awakening of appreciation for the Land God gave the Jewish people, especially among youth and young adults, as written in Psalm 105:8–11.”

Pray for the women’s units who are bravely fighting for the right to live and have families in the ancient Jewish homeland. Pray for special mercies to rest upon them from the Father who never slumbers or sleeps, and for them to meet Him through Jesus.

Released to Sow Gospel Seeds

“You know how they say it takes effort not to share the gospel? That’s exactly where I’m at! Many of the guys in my [IDF] unit are religious, and I’ve been having constant conversations, connecting the dots about how Yeshua, Jesus, is the Messiah of Israel. Please pray for soft, open hearts.”

Pray for the hundreds of believers who continue to serve in IDF units in Gaza, near Lebanon, in the West Bank, and elsewhere around Israel. Pray for fruitful conversations about Messiah with their colleagues, and for divine protection, wisdom, and strength for all of them.

Released to Meet the Jewish Messiah

“Mara (name changed) visited Israel as a teenager and fell in love with the country. She knew back then that she would live here one day. She is twenty-four years old and made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) a little over a year ago. Her ancestry is Eastern European and her family religious background is Orthodox Judaism. But she always questioned the traditions, rules, and regulations, and her move to Israel only strengthened her desire to truly understand her Jewishness.

Our family met her last December during a Hanukkah party, and we slowly started to develop a relationship with Mara, which has grown into a calm but strong and assuring presence in her life ever since.

She worked online for a US company and lived a modest life while learning Hebrew and adjusting to the Israeli lifestyle. But one week she got very sick and could not work. Her US employer fired her with no notice and with back pay still not issued. Her family told her to come back home to the US, but her heart told her to stay despite the difficulties.

She began by asking us how we have managed to handle hard times in our lives and remain peaceful—a part of our interactions she had carefully observed. She often asked us questions about life and the Scriptures—and the questions kept on coming. We were always quick to listen, slow to answer, and always pointed her back to the Hebrew Scriptures for the answers. She would read the Scriptures we told her about, read more on her own, then continue to ask us the most amazingly deep questions about faith, Messiah, grace, and Jewish tradition.

Well, she has now accepted Messiah Jesus as her Savior!

What a blessing to be a part of her coming to faith. We didn’t shove Scripture verses at her or scare her with thoughts of eternal death if she did not come to faith. Instead, we encouraged her to read the Scriptures on her own and to be open to what she read. Even passages from the Talmud helped her to understand how God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. We were, to her, a safe place to explore her identity and to understand that becoming a believer in the Jewish Messiah is the most Jewish thing one can do!”

Please pray for Mara to continue to ask questions and go even deeper in the Scriptures as she grows in her faith. Pray also for us in our discipleship responsibilities.

Thank you for your prayers and support of our ministry here in Israel! Words cannot express our gratitude. Through you, the Lord makes it possible to reach people like Mara, Ali, and others wherever we go. May God reward you richly!