Septmeber 2009
September 2009
Dear friends,
"The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked."
Ps. 146:9
Summer holiday came to an end. The kids went back to school and Tisray (the first month of the Jewish calender) holiday is near. The highlight for our family during the summer was our son's Ori (my light in Hebrew) Bar mitzvah. The theme of the Bar mitzvah was LIGHT which was symbolized through little light bulbs. Our prayer for him is that he will truly be a light in this dark and getting darker world.
So much has happened in the last few months. A lot of babies were saved from abortion. We had the opportunity to help many mothers and babies with humanitarian aids and the shelter was active. We want to thank the Lord for His faithfulness and for his divine leading and guidance in all of the different branches of this ministry.
"God set the lonely in families He leads forth the prisoners with singing" ps. 68:6
The Shelter:
We now have two shelters. Sima who is working with us full time opened her home for the women as well. She received Sarit who is four and a half months pregnant into her home. Sarit has been homeless for almost two years. She has so far received help dealing with bureaucracy, intense counseling and a shelter. In order for Sima to be able to serve better we would like to ask you to pray for a larger house for her and her family. In the shelter in our home, we have taken Dafna, an Ethiopian Jew, in for a short time. Dafna is in her fifth month of pregnancy. Since she was fearful of her brother who threatened to kill her because of the pregnancy we had to think about another option of shelter for her. Praise God we found a good place for her outside of the central region of Israel. Since both got connected, Sarit and Dafna moved into a house together and are now settling into their new place. Please pray for a continual ministry in counseling and for salvation for them.
We now have two shelters. Sima who is working with us full time opened her home for the women as well. She received Sarit who is four and a half months pregnant into her home. Sarit has been homeless for almost two years. She has so far received help dealing with bureaucracy, intense counseling and a shelter. In order for Sima to be able to serve better we would like to ask you to pray for a larger house for her and her family. In the shelter in our home, we have taken Dafna, an Ethiopian Jew, in for a short time. Dafna is in her fifth month of pregnancy. Since she was fearful of her brother who threatened to kill her because of the pregnancy we had to think about another option of shelter for her. Praise God we found a good place for her outside of the central region of Israel. Since both got connected, Sarit and Dafna moved into a house together and are now settling into their new place. Please pray for a continual ministry in counseling and for salvation for them.
Recently we attended two very special occasions; a circumcision, and a wedding. Gila: her parents rejected her completely all through her pregnancy. A week before the birth there was reconciliation between Gila and her parents. We at Abundant Life were invited to the circumcision ceremony that took place in the yard of a family of Yemenite ethnical background. It was so special for us to see the different customs that they have, to eat the different flavors of food and to talk to the family that was wondering who we are in the framework of their daughter's life? Later on Gila called to thank us for all the help that she received during her time of great need.
The wedding:
For the first time in our lives that we saw a wedding where the bridegroom entered the Chuppah (canopy traditionally used in Jewish weddings) holding the baby in his hand and joining the bride into the Chuppah. We must admit that it was a very touching and unusual moment. While they had the ring exchange the Rabbi offered to hold the baby and this was another unusual sight. For us to see the couple entering the covenant of marriage and becoming a family with the baby was a blessing and a wonderful day of celebration.
For the first time in our lives that we saw a wedding where the bridegroom entered the Chuppah (canopy traditionally used in Jewish weddings) holding the baby in his hand and joining the bride into the Chuppah. We must admit that it was a very touching and unusual moment. While they had the ring exchange the Rabbi offered to hold the baby and this was another unusual sight. For us to see the couple entering the covenant of marriage and becoming a family with the baby was a blessing and a wonderful day of celebration.
God is so faithful to save many babies through counseling.
We are expecting 11 births in the coming months, one of which could happen any moment. Shirit is divorced and has two children. She is now expecting a third child. The father of the third child is an ex boyfriend who is now out of her life. When her ex husband found out about her pregnancy, he stopped paying her alimony for his children. Yet Shirit is now excited about the coming birth and is dealing with her ex husband through a court case. Please pray for Shirit; for a safe birth and for a breakthrough with her financial problems. Pray that she will continue to be open to the Gospel.
We are expecting 11 births in the coming months, one of which could happen any moment. Shirit is divorced and has two children. She is now expecting a third child. The father of the third child is an ex boyfriend who is now out of her life. When her ex husband found out about her pregnancy, he stopped paying her alimony for his children. Yet Shirit is now excited about the coming birth and is dealing with her ex husband through a court case. Please pray for Shirit; for a safe birth and for a breakthrough with her financial problems. Pray that she will continue to be open to the Gospel.
The story of Tali touched us deeply. Tali has already had two abortions that have left her traumatized. When we met her, all that she could talk about was the nightmare of the two abortions. As Tali planned her second abortion she ran away five times from different hospitals not willing to go through the trauma all over again. The fifth time the nurse ran after her outside to set a date for the abortion. Tali agreed and followed through with the abortion. Immediately thereafter, she began to have nightmares of a couple who were holding a child but the child was dead. Now Tali is pregnant again. Through our counseling, Tali understand that she suffers from post abortion syndrome. When she went to the doctor, he suggested that she have an abortion. Tali looked at him and said, "How can you offer to kill my baby when you made a vow to save life and not to kill?" When she left the doctor's room she stopped at the waiting room and talked with the young women there, pleading with them not to choose abortion. She gave them the hotline number to call. Tali has become a fighter for life. Please pray that she will have wisdom with the baby, either to give the baby for adoption or to raise the baby herslef
OUTREACHES:
A group of us went to Madonna's concert in Tel-Aviv to hand out our cards which includes the hotline number. There were about 60,000 people present at the concert. Families with their young children went as well. A local phone company paid for all their workers to go to the concert. People from the middle class socio economic group attended all the way to the upper class. Since we heard that Madonna will perform in Israel we were very concern because of the negative influence she brings. The outreach was very good. We could see where the Israelis are and we were able to pray right there for them.
A group of us went to Madonna's concert in Tel-Aviv to hand out our cards which includes the hotline number. There were about 60,000 people present at the concert. Families with their young children went as well. A local phone company paid for all their workers to go to the concert. People from the middle class socio economic group attended all the way to the upper class. Since we heard that Madonna will perform in Israel we were very concern because of the negative influence she brings. The outreach was very good. We could see where the Israelis are and we were able to pray right there for them.
Six months ago Ishai did an outreach in the city of Rishon Letzion. One woman who is a mother received the pamphlet and after reading it she decided to keep it in case one of her daughters would need it. Her daughter, Miriam, became pregnant and her mother and father called us for counseling. It was a long process taking many conversations and calls until the decision to keep the baby was made. Praise God the parents will help their daughter and support her through pregnancy and birth. As far as the boyfriend is concerned, he keeps himself out of the picture and does not want to take any responsibility. Please pray a blessing to come forth upon this family for choosing life and for being such a support to their daughter.
South of Tel Aviv outreach:
There are now four of us women traveling regularly to south Tel Aviv to minister to women who are in prostitution. We thank the Lord for raising volunteers that are interested to be part of such an emotionally demanding outreach. The police are trying to clean the area up, closing in on a lot of brothels and locating the drug dealers and drug centers. Our only concern is that if the problem is not treated, it will rise in another place. We want to thank the Lord that after a whole year of outreach in that area, we could pull the first woman from out of her difficult situation. We were able to lay hands on and pray for many of the women. We have seen 6 babies saved from abortion in that area. Many others are receiving humanitarian aid and we are going soon to bless twins that were born to a refugee from Eritrea there. We are going to disciple a Jewish, Israeli young woman who accepted the Lord and wants to learn about Him. Please pray for guidance for us in this outreach and for the Lord to continue to touch whoever He wants us to meet.
There are now four of us women traveling regularly to south Tel Aviv to minister to women who are in prostitution. We thank the Lord for raising volunteers that are interested to be part of such an emotionally demanding outreach. The police are trying to clean the area up, closing in on a lot of brothels and locating the drug dealers and drug centers. Our only concern is that if the problem is not treated, it will rise in another place. We want to thank the Lord that after a whole year of outreach in that area, we could pull the first woman from out of her difficult situation. We were able to lay hands on and pray for many of the women. We have seen 6 babies saved from abortion in that area. Many others are receiving humanitarian aid and we are going soon to bless twins that were born to a refugee from Eritrea there. We are going to disciple a Jewish, Israeli young woman who accepted the Lord and wants to learn about Him. Please pray for guidance for us in this outreach and for the Lord to continue to touch whoever He wants us to meet.
We want to thank all of you for your faithful support to us and for remembering the ministry and us as a family in your prayers.
We bless each one of you with abundant blessing from the Lord.
In His love,
Anat & Ishai Brenner