February Letter

Dear friends, beloved coworkers of the Harvest, shalom to you!

I am profoundly grateful for your love, your prayers, your partnership in the work of the Kingdom! At a risk of being misunderstood as careless or lacking spiritual discernment, I have to say that I am also deeply grateful for the season we are living in. I find it a privilege to be chosen to be alive at a time as this.

It’s certainly is a very uncomfortable privilege and it will most probably get even more difficult, but nevertheless. For most of my life in the Lord my prayer has been “Even so, come!” and I see Yeshua’s soon return becoming more real, more apparent today than ever before. Even more than ever I am holding on to the Blessed Hope of seeing Yeshua face to face and being transformed in His glory.

More than ever guarding my hope becoming very intentional purpose of my daily life. I am focusing on things that are life-giving, that encourage and increase the hope in me, on things that speak of His work of preparation in this suffering, troubled, shaking world. I trust that this little message will bring encouragement to you, my friends.

The next part of the message is from a dear friend and ministry partner Jeanie G.:

In Spring 2020 the streams in the desert flowed and the Negev bloomed with carpets of wildflowers and meadows the likes of which had not been seen here for the last 30 years. Looking back on calamitous corona year 2020, our lush spring seems like a sign of what would surprisingly become a wildly fruitful year for Streams in the Desert. It has been a memorable and pivotal time, where upheaval, pressure, lockdowns and restrictions compelled us to think out of the box and find innovative ways to stay connected with our moms and our kids. We became more prayerful and the Lord has led us each step of the way.

Our work with the youth and young children was radically altered due to the size limitations on group gatherings. We had to cancel our weekly meetings with the younger children, but Oxana was able to visit them often in their homes, and send them daily ideas for home school, English lessons, and craft ideas. Our ability to gather our youth was severely curtailed by the corona crises, but we were able to organize a few small successful outings (according to restrictions and between lockdowns, of course). We couldn’t continue our monthly clubs, or the annual Passover hike, or our popular summer camp, where 70 or so enthusiastic youth would gather and have life changing encounters with the Lord. Nevertheless we saw several of our kids commit themselves to Him in deeper ways.

Our ability to teach and disciple the single mothers has increased, as we were able to gather them regularly on Zoom. Our staff members visited them at home, creating face-to-face (mask-to-mask) opportunities to offer support, encouragement, and prayer, along with distribution of food vouchers.

At this time Streams in the Desert assists 42 single moms. Out of these, several suffer with debilitating chronic diseases, one is battling an aggressive, life threatening cancer, and many are embroiled in a myriad of other complex and persistent life problems. (Those who receive prayer updates will be aware of more details on those situations.) We carry these women and their families close to our hearts and have become a lifeline to them as never before. All honor to our amazing staff, to Marianna, Oxana, Anna P., and Anna K., who tirelessly and faithfully serve these moms and kids, walking side-by-side with them, day after day, crises after crises. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous; The Lords right hand has done mighty things! (Psalm 118:15)

We may have been locked down in our “tents” much of this past year, but our spirits can never be locked down, and our love cannot be chained. We are glad and we greatly rejoice in our God for his faithfulness, guidance, and abundance of provision. In addition to the enriching of interpersonal connections, we are delighted to report that was this our first year of financial stability!

To God be the honor and glory
for the wonderful things He has done!

Jeanie [for Marianna and the team]

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