Massah Israel Outreach

Massah 2012 Countdown – 5 Weeks

Aaron T. — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:21:42 +0000

After months of hard work on the part of many people, we finally have our Massah team assembled… well, almost. We still have room for one more person, but I only have a few more days before I must start booking group flights. Today, the majority of the Massah 2012 team got approved, and we will begin purchasing flights, and making the other necessary arrangements for our team in the next few days. I can’t believe that we will be heading to New York in just a month for another summer of ministry! It hasn’t quite hit me yet, but I am beginning to get very excited for what God will do through us this summer in New York, Israel, and India. This summer we will be making a few big changes to the Massah program…. First, we will be spending nearly an entire week in New York at the front end of Massah for on-the-ground evangelism training and teambuilding, this is a change from the previous five summers…. Second, the biggest change of all, we will be staying in the Moishe Rosen Center in Florentin (Tel Aviv) instead of staying at Beit Immanuel in Yafo (Tel Aviv)… this is huge! We will have a lot more flexibility with the space, and will be able to do more events and outreaches. What a blessing! Third, we will be sending a small team to India for the duration of the summer in addition to sending the regular Massah team to India for the outreach. This is a really great opportunity to share the Gospel with Israelis, and is a big step forward for our outreach. Please pray for us!

As the program coordinator, I would encourage you to financially support the participants of this project! You can go to http://massahoutreach.org/support and choose a participant to get behind for the summer.

The End of a Beautiful Summer

Rose W. — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:21:22 +0000

We’ve all been home just over a week now from this summer’s Massah trip. It’s hard to describe being back. I was excited to come home. I missed my family and my friends. I missed familiar materialistic comforts. Everyday I think of the friends that I’ve made and will always remember, hopefully keeping in touch with them. Life is going on all around me, hectic as usual, but somehow it’s different coming back. The time in Israel and India went so fast. I find myself hoping and praying that I could rewind the last two and a half months over and over again. We saw and did so many things in such a short period of time that it all seems like a blur.

I discovered so many new things about me. I realized that I enjoy being independent. I realized that I love traveling to far away places. I learned that I am strong and courageous and I don’t have to be terrified or discouraged, because the Lord God is with me wherever I go, just as He has promised us in Joshua 1:9.

Yes, I still worry about the future. Who am I? Who is ROSE? What am I doing with my life? Who has He called me to be? It continues to be my struggle, waiting. I’m not always patient.

Please continue to keep me in your prayers. Coming away from this great trip I know that my purpose is to ultimately serve the Lord, but I’m still not quite sure how. What that looks like and the steps that I need to take to get there. Pray that I would have wisdom, discernment, and patience. Pray that I would be involved with the Jewish believing community here in San Francisco and that a passion would continue growing in my heart everyday to know, love, and fear the Lord.

Love Always,
Rose

thank you, Massah.

Christian B. — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 07:52:08 +0000

I’m finally home, and it feels GREAT to be home! It feels great to once again be in america, where there is actually clean tap water, streets do not smell of sewage and spices (well, the spices part of india’s streets i liked..), and its amazing to see family again!

I am overcome with thankfulness, gratefulness, and a sense of contentment in massah 2011. sure, there absolutely, undoubtedly, irrevocably, sufficiently were CHALLENGES. boy, there were challenges. But I have found that God really changed my heart on this trip, and through each challenge i faced on massah, i can now see a common lesson arise; Love because you are loved by God, forgive as you are forgiven by God, give hope and joy because you are given hope and joy by the Holy Spirit. hmm, what rich, amazing lessons and memories I take away from this summer experience. I am happy and honored to now be a part of Massah family and history, and feel more plugged in with Jews for Jesus, and have developed friendships that will flourish by God’s blessings.

thank you, Massah, thank you. you are a great program.

peace,

Christian Brown

India

Rose W. — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 17:27:08 +0000

We have been here in India now for almost two weeks. This country and I have a love/hate relationship. My body has not really adjusted as well as I would have liked it to. Many of our team, including myself have had ongoing stomach problems. “Delhi Belly,” they call it. Some are feeling better, while others are not. I have had stomach problems off and on and this week I unfortunately caught a nasty cold. These are the things that make me miss home.

The first week was tough. My team was in Dharmsala and while we were able to talk to many Israelis about Y’shua, I think that they were less open to the gospel and more open to friendship. This week so far has been really good though evangelism wise. I hung out in a pretty popular place called,”Dylan’s” (they have the most wonderful everything there.) and was able to speak to many Israelis about who Y’shua is and about why I believe He is the Messiah. Yesterday was a pretty awesome day for me. I talked to an Israeli Atheist and while he thinks that the Bible and everything in it, including Y’shua are just stories, I was able to share with him Isaiah 53 and John 3:16. It was amazing and felt so right to be able to strike up a conversation and be bold while sharing my faith.

Please keep the many Israelis that we have met and spoken to in your prayers. You can also continue to pray for our team for good health and safety as we travel by bus to our other destinations.

Internet cafe is closing up, so good night for now.

Love,

Rose

On the road again

Rebekah P. — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:48:48 +0000

So after a nice break of a couple of days and being back together as a large group, we are now in our second teams and our second phase of ministry here in India has begun. My team of Trankie, Lizzy, Hannah, and Amy, and I are reading Colossians together and have been really struck by the care that Paul expresses for the believers in Colossae who he never even got to meet. We are prayerful that God will teach us how to care for the people he puts in our path here in India.

We still have almost two weeks left here in India, but home seems to be quickly approaching as well. I am enjoying my time in India much more than I was anticipating. The ministry is great, the food agrees with my system, and baggy pants are super comfortable. What’s not to love? Please be praying for me that as I begin to think about going home that I would be faithful to the work that God has set before my hands with TODAY and that I would be open to seeing how he would use the things I have learned in India to help me share who he is with the people he has placed around me at home.

Whoa.india!

Christian B. — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:04:40 +0000

Whoa. India.real time, real Life. I’m sitting in a cafe called the lazy dog, in old manali with my friend jeremiah, reflecting on the past week or so we’ve been in india.

I went with part of group to parvati valley, which is an amazing valley in the himalayan foothills–I’m talking I could see the start of the himalayas from the guest house in kheerganga. Kheerganga was amazing because of the abundant, fruitful conversations we had with israelis there. The hikes were hard–even though I consider myself an avid hiker, those hikes up to kalga and kheerganga definitely have me a run for my money ha. One of the most special parts of the parvati trip was growing closer to God. Im so very thankful to have had little to none distractions like internet, loud noise, etc. up there. Amazing. Relaxing. Again, I must reflect on the conversations and interactions I had with israeli travelers. God blessed our team with health and conversations and unity. Good stuff. India. Wow. I could POSSIBLY see myself coming back to the country and back to himachal pradesh. Thank God for Massah. Thank God for grace, happiness, life.

Rain Rain Go Away

Rebekah P. — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:14:41 +0000

The weather today is making it really hard to believe that just over a week ago we were in the heat and drought of Tel Aviv. It has been pouring essentially all day and there are clouds so thick that we can’t see the mountains that are immediately surrounding our small village. We spent a good part of the day in a coffee shop, but so did every other tourist because when it rains where we are there really is not anything else to do. We have been very fortunate that for the most part the rain has come overnight and today is the first day that we have actually had to deal with being out in the wetness and yuck.
Today is basically our last day in our 1st small teams. We will all be together again hopefully by noon tomorrow. I am really looking forward to being able to hear what God has been doing all over the north of India among our teams and to be able to rejoice together.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to be able to go to church with a friend of ours here. It was amazing to be able to worship with people and the only thing we have in common is Jesus. It was just a wonderful reminder of the unity that is found in the body of Messiah that doesn’t exist anywhere else. Please keep praying for us, that God would give us boldness in our witness and that he would be continuing to sustain our immune systems. I’m really enjoying our time here in India which has definitely come as a surprise, but I can tell already that I will be sad to leave when the time comes. Please pray that we would use our time here effectively and that we would be good stewards of each interaction and opportunity we have to share the hope that is in us!

Week 7: Messege to Melissa M, but will use as a blog for everyone (saving time and rupees)

Hannah K. — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 09:35:14 +0000

Hi Melissa!!!
I have not gotten sick but Buccie is very sick. This is day 4 with not being able to keep things in his stomach. Isaac and Shaina are doing thier best to keep him hydrated. Shania talked to ger dad and we gave him a natural remedy medicine. He seemed like he was improving yesterday, but he threw up a lot last night. Keep us in prayer. Rebecca was sick with a fevor but is fine now. We have talked to over 30 people here in our area. Its so much easier in India than in Isreal. Yesterday I had the opprotunity to share my testimony with a small congregation of Indian believers. We had invited a Jewish woman from LA CA in her late 30s that we had met in our location. Before she said she was an athiest, but after the service she gave us reason to belive that God is working on her heart and giving her reason to criticaly consider what shes has taken from the service and those sharing with her. We have been spending time with many Isrealies and playing music with them and have been reading the Tozer book “The Pursuit of God” and doing worship in the evenings. Mornings we drink Chai/coffee/Lem Honey ginger tea and eat a cookie or two while sharing the gosple and the testimonies of what God has done in our life in our favorite coffee place. All the teams will reunite again. Im excited to see everyone. Jerimiah has dreds, Molly has 6 braids and 2 loo loos and im thinking of getting a pair of loo loos myself. We miss you very much! You were right about the animals here and the people. Its hard to watch so much suffering. I wont go into it because Ill probably start crying just typing about it. It just aches my heart so much to see so much suffering and cant do anything about it. However, God is bigger than my worries and all the suffering in the world. I trust him. This morning I shared the gosple with two israelis. Their names are Reuben and Etie. Reuben I talked with longer. I offered them a Brit Chadesha (New Test), but they seemed unintrested. However, they seemed intrested in playing music with us later. Be praying for them that God would open their hearts and God would continue to use us in displaying His glory. How are your puppies? How is Jhan? Is it hot there. Monsoon season has come in so its been raining for 3 days. I thought I missed the rain in Isreal hah! Im so done with it now. Molly has has had a bit of deli belly but not too serious. Jer and I are working hard to stay healthy. Im going to use this messege as a blog btw to save rupees since I have only so many. I love you too and we have thought about you and eveyone else often. That was what my devotion was on. Remembering those who are still on the team and who are back home and keeping them informed aka you, Jhan, Remmie, Rachelle, micha, j4j, our nods, and loved ones and those who daily pray for us. Anyway I love you and should go. Ill continue to keep you updated as best as I can! Love you!

Thank you again to everyone who is praying for us here. We have not forgotten about you and continue to remember you and remember your contributions to this trip. We will continue to share the gosple! and glorify God here in India! Thanks for praying and keeping up with us!

Indiupdate

Isaac B. — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:10:42 +0000

We are now several days into the India portion of Massah, and there is a lot to be thankful for! My team of 7 people has shared the gospel with many Israelis in just a few days. We are continually amazed at the divine appointments that God has for us each day. Please pray that we would have continued interactions with those we have met so far, and that they would be open to speaking about the gospel.

There is a group of 6 or 7 Israelis staying in the rooms below us at our guest house, and we had a fun time playing music with them last night, and sharing with them about our faith in Yeshua. We had the opportunity to pray for one of them named Imbal who is feeling sick. Please pray for her healing and that God would get the glory for it!
Additionally, we have 2 members of our team who have been ill for a couple days now. Please pray for their healing and that they would not be discouraged by this.

Thank you so much for being here with us in your prayers! As one of our team members shared the other day, Paul thanks the Philippians for “sharing his trouble” even though they are not physically with him (Phil 4:14). We are very conscious of and uplifted by your prayers, and we are extremely grateful. Thank you again!

In our Messiah,

Isaac

Foggy and slanted…

Rebekah P. — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:00:35 +0000

The last couple of days have been pretty crazy and there has been a lot of travel. On Sunday we left Tel Aviv and flew to Germany and then on to India. We were in Delhi for about 12 hours before splitting up into our teams and heading to three different locations in the north. Our bus ride took 16 hours and we are really grateful to be settled into a guest house for the next week. The bus ride was not too bad and was through the night so we were able to sleep at least in short bursts. At one point the suspension on the bus did have some problems and so in the misty early morning we changed from our tilty bus to a new one and that was a great relief. The weather here is such a welcome change from the heat of Israel and it is even chilly enough that I have had on long sleeves today.

Our health seems to be good but we are all road weary and will be happy to sleep tonight. Please be praying for our team: Isaac, Shaina, Molly, Jeremiah, Hannah, and Bucci–that we would be faithful to boldly share the hope that is in us and to introduce people to Jesus. It is pretty amazing to be in India and even more amazing that we come with words not about ourselves, but about who we are in Jesus. You can also pray for me, the plane and bus ride back to back was pretty hard on my body and I’m feeling crankier than usual. Please pray that I would rest in the strength of the Lord and trust him with my physical well being.

It’s amazing to be able to sit in an internet cafe in India and ask for prayer from our believing community all over the world. I think it’s really allowing me to understand the greater body of Messiah in a new way, so thank you so much for your part in that! Shalom for now from the north!