Back to Haifa

Hello everyone,
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Philippians 1:3-6,

On our last night of the conference, a group of our young people were returning from Nazareth to Haifa and had an accident trying to avoid a pig in the road (no comment). There were minor bruises but nothing too serious, although the car was seriously damaged by another one that was following too closely behind. Driving here is very dangerous and you must be an aggressive road warrior with eyes in the back of your head to get from A to B. There is no room for the faint of heart. It almost seems like more hands are on the car horns than on the steering wheels!

In addition, Pastor Suhail Saa'd, of the New Life Nazareth Church complained of chest pains and went to emergency. He was released yesterday. We entered into serious intercession and God was faithful. Yesterday we departed Nazareth after a wonderful meal with the Saa'd family of stuffed pumpkin, eggplant, small finger sized pizzas, cabbage salad, watermelon for dessert and strong coffee later. It was so delicious. Now we are back in Haifa.

Today is a day of rest for us, praise God, and outside activities will cease at sundown as Shabbat begins which will last all day tomorrow until sundown. I will preach again on Sunday evening at the Haifa Baptist Church on "Becoming A House of Prayer" from Mark 11:11-18. Church here is on Sunday evenings as it is also a work day. We will be going to Bethlehem on Monday or Tuesday which should be interesting since the political organization, Fatah, will also be holding their first conference in more than 20 years in Bethlehem as well. Please continue to pray for us. I can assure you from God's Word that every prayer, even if but a few words, are like sweet insense to our Lord, Rev. 5:8, 8:3 and have great impact.

We love and miss you all. Thank you for your encouragement. My lovely bride is doing wonderful and, as I have said before, has become a real hit with everyone. One visiting pastor from the states, who heard her from a distance teach the ladies, paid her one of the most gracious compliments she has ever received. I wouldn't want to be here without her. Our hosts, Pastor Philip and Violet Saa'd are a blessing to us and so gracious. God bless you all.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Don and Dorothy

Dependence On God For All Things

Hello everyone,
Our Conference ended at noon today, while you sleepy heads were still in dreamland. Yesterday Dorothy taught the ladies again on the importance of memorizing God's word. At the same time I taught the church leaders and some other pastors on True Discipleship from Mt. 28:19-20. I preached again last night on the simplicity of the Gospel message and plan of salvation. Because God desires everyone to repent and come to the knowledge of the truth, He has not made this salvation message difficult to understand, so man is without excuse.

Many came forward for prayer at the close of the service which ended about midnight. The people have no reluctance to ask God for help about everything. They also don't seem to worry about time, especially when it comes to worship. We have many testimonies to share with you later.

The evangelical Arab Christian community of believers are a beautiful example of faithful people. We will treasure this experience forever as our faith has increased by being here. As usually is the case, we came to bless but will leave having received the greater blessing. That strong, hot Arabic coffee and delicious pastries after service does not hurt either! May God bless the evangelical churches of Nazareth and Haifa and throughout this land. Tomorrow we explore the old area of Nazareth, the church of the Annunciation, the synagogue of Luke 4 and the cliff where they attempted to push Jesus off. Oh, foolish people! God bless.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Don and Dorothy

Making Disciples

Hello everyone,
I am writing this just after noon here, which means most of you are still asleep. So I will say good morning! I preached last night on being one in the Spirit. There is so much conflict in the land here among Christian groups, most of whom are nominal Christians at best. But there is a deeply committed movement among the evangelical Christian Arabs and they are having great success among the Muslims and nominal Christian Arabs, Greek Orthodox, Catholic, etc. I want to tell you something, these brothers here are literally putting their lives on the line for Jesus. They are heavily persecuted and lives are threatened but they continue in faith and are encouraged
to know that we love them and are interceding. Keep it up church!

The response last night was exciting as many came forward for salvation, healing and filling with the Holy Spirit. One older lady who was probably my age, said she wanted to receive Jesus as her Savior, be filled with the Holy Spirit and have her hearing restored in her left ear. I said to her, let's take first things first, and then God did all three!

Dorothy taught her first class to the ladies, and will teach again tonight before I preach again. She did so well and the women just love her. Tonight I am preaching on Core Convictions of the Christian Faith and will minister the healing grace of God. Acts 4:29-32 is being answered.
Thank you all for you continuing prayers. God is using you. God bless.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Don and Dorothy

God Has Not Given Up On Nazareth

Hello everyone,
I believe the power of your prayers were evident as I preached last night. My message was "Come and See" from Jn. 1:46 and Lk. 4:16-21. The text centers on Nazareth, not only as the boyhood home of Jesus but His identification with that village throughout His ministry, even after His death (Acts 22:6-8). It was in Nazareth that he experienced His first rejection and His first death threat. After He left Nazareth, apparently He never returned and the village was labeled as a place of great unbelief (Mk. 6:6). But Jesus never rejected Nazareth as He did other villages where He did great works and miracles (Mt. 11:20-24).

My conclusion? Jesus has not forgotten or given up on Nazareth, it will be restored as a place where Jesus is welcomed and they will believe again. Well, the next day two pastors from Nazareth (there are only four evangelical churches here) came up to me and thanked me for that revelation. They were discouraged because of the huge Muslim population and difficult ministry. Now they said they have been energized to continue and expand their efforts. Isn't God amazing? Thank you for your support. We are doing well and the worship at the conference is wonderful! God bless.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Don and Dorothy

In Haifa

Hello everyone,
What a beautiful day in Haifa, Israel. We are spending the day with our hosts, Pastor Philip and Violet Saa'd. What wonderful people that we are learning from about the history and culture of Christian Evangelical Arabs in Israel. We had a long flight, with little sleep but we caught up last night and are staying at a very nice Christian hotel called Beit Shalom (House of Peace). The land of Israel is beautiful and Haifa is like a mini-San Francisco. We have been discussing theology all morning (that's what pastors do, you know). I am scheduled to preach tomorrow evening in Nazareth. Thank you for your prayers. Please read Acts 4:29-32 and pray that prayer with us. We are expecting great and marvelous things to happen here. God is a God of surprises. Come and see (John 1:46). That's why we're here I believe. God bless.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Don and Dorothy

We're Off To Israel

Hello all,
We are on our way to Israel! Thank you for your prayers on our behalf and for the Haifa Baptist Church and their pastor Philip Saa'd and his wife Violet. Our trip by air from start to finish will be about 19 hours. Wow! The space shuttle Discovery is the only faster way to get there but those tickets were more than we could afford but thanks to the generosity of the body of Christ, our expenses have been met.

This is what I believe the Lord spoke to our hearts this week as we prepare for the conference in Nazareth. It's from Isaiah 12:4-6: "In that day you will say: 'Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you." Now that's a great word and I believe a reading from Philippians 2:8-11, tells us how to do that. God's blessings to you all.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Don and Dorothy

Israel Trip

Dear friends in Christ,
As many of you may know, Dorothy and I will be leaving next week for Israel to teach, by invitation, at the annual conference of the Haifa Baptist Church, to be held in Nazareth, July 26-29. The conference will include both Messianic Jews, Arab Christians and Muslim background believers (MBBs), as well as unbelievers in the predominantly Palestinian town where Jesus "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Lk. 2:52). What an honor to be included in such a venue. May God receive all of the glory!

As we prepare and study to bring God's Word in a meaningful way to a different culture, we realize our inadequacies for such a task. We also realize how desperately we need prayer support. To that end we invite you to pray for us, especially throughout the dates of our stay in Israel, July 23-August 6. Please be our intercessors with the Holy One of Israel that He will pour out His Spirit upon these meetings and that many will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, as well as keep us safe. We have chosen the words of the Apostle Paul's letter to the Colossians as a prayer guide:

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ . . . Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. — Col. 4:3-4

Please let us know that you will stand with us in prayer, as we'd love to keep you posted on what God is doing as the day for our departure grows closer and especially while we are in the Holy Land. It will bring us great comfort knowing that you have become a co-laborer with us at this important time. Thank you and God bless you all.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Don and Dorothy