While the darkness of death and destruction has pervaded Israel since the conflict with Hamas began, a light still shines. And what hope it brings Israelis to see God healing bodies and souls through SGA-supported rehabilitation centers like one directed by Pastor Wilhelm!

From the report below, you can see how the outreach effort Wilhelm’s team began last fall—providing food and other emergency relief supplies to neighbors, as well as displaced Israelis—will now become a permanent part of the rehabilitation center’s services. It’s an opportunity to reach even more hurting people with the Gospel and to help them grow spiritually.

Dear Ministry Partners,

Warmest greeting to you all! Here are our most recent news and prayer requests.

Ashkelon Ministry–The Day After

These days Israeli politicians, among other things, wrestle with the question of the “day after the war”—how it is going to look like and what decisions should be made about it. In a similar way, we too are thinking about the “day after,” which in the case of our war relief efforts in Ashkelon, has already arrived. The war continues, but the rocket attacks on the city have become very rare, and Ashkelon is returning to a more or less normal life. What should we do next then?

Thanks to God and to your donations, during these three months we have been able to help a lot of people (about 800 families) and to build close relationships with them. On the one hand, we could finish the project now and say good-bye to everyone, but on the other hand, we value these connections and do not want to lose them. Besides, most of these people are immigrants, single mothers, the elderly and the disabled who live below the poverty line and, sadly, in the near future their financial situation is about to get worse, since because of the war we are expecting the prices and taxes to keep rising.

Therefore, we have decided that in 2024 we will be turning our short-term war relief initiative into an ongoing humanitarian project. This work is not cheap and requires a lot of effort, but it also has many advantages. For example, when you give someone a tract on the street, there is very little chance that you will ever meet this person again. And here we have a large group of people we can visit on a regular basis, bring them food and keep sharing the Gospel with them. And we do believe this work has a beautiful potential. In Ofakim—another nearby city where we have been doing food distributions—a weekly Bible study group has already been created. Please pray for all the people we are in touch with both in Ashkelon and Ofakim.

Two Graduations from the Rehab

We praise the Lord that one of our rehabilitants, Mikhael, has just finished the program successfully, left the Rehab Center to live independently and even restored a good relationship with his wife. He keeps attending the Shabbat services of our congregation. Please pray that he keeps making good progress and grows spiritually.

Also pray for another rehabilitant, Noam, who came to us four months ago. He has gotten better, has found a job and wants to rent an apartment and leave the rehab center. We are concerned about him, since after only four months in rehab, it will be a real challenge for Alexander to remain sober and strong. On the bright side, he says he wants to keep attending our church and rehab meetings, so we will be able to keep in touch with him.

*Name changed to protect identity.