“Dear Jewish Friend…” A New Initiative
The Lord has been showing up in multiple new ways over the past several months. Not only are we enjoying following his direction, but in the process we are growing individually, and as a ministry team. It seems as though every week we are getting new ideas, making new plans, and seeing more results.
We labor intensively to engage the church and individual gentile believers with the Jewish community. We do what we do for the sake of the gospel to the Jewish people.
“Righteous Gentiles” have a place of honor, a garden with trees and plaques, at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. Some who were not Jewish, loved Jewish people enough to risk their own lives to save them from Nazi death camps. Engaging you who love Israel and the Jewish people with Israel and the Jewish people is vitally important to us. We’re seeing fruit.
During the early spring, while connecting with secular Jewish organizations, we asked a local Jewish nursing home how we might serve them during this tough time. It might seem simplistic to just wish people well during the ongoing worldwide pandemic. But, that’s what we have been doing. Sometimes the simplest ideas become the most effective!
The nursing home shared that their residents and staff were very isolated and lonely in lockdown, and it would mean so much for them to receive cards and letters of encouragement. We sent out a request to you for letters for the elderly Jewish community. We were floored by the response.
The Purpose of “Dear Jewish Friend...”
We started the “Dear Jewish Friend” campaign because we love Jewish people. We saw a need, and we wanted to reach out and meet it with kindness. We also wanted to give the Christian community an opportunity to participate!
Jesus was Jewish, and he came to the Jewish people. When he spoke the following words in Matthew 25, the contextual focus is on the Jewish people:
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Like Jesus and Paul, our ministry goes to the Jewish people first. We know that blessing them blesses the Lord. By sharing notes and words of encouragement and love during this difficult time in life, we showered Jewish elderly in nursing homes with words of life and pictures of hope!
The Response to “Dear Jewish Friend...”
We were overwhelmed by the response that we received! From professional calligraphy to scrawled crayon drawings, our mailbox was overflowing with love for the Jewish community!
To everyone who participated: thank you!!! Here are a just few of our favorites:
Dear Jewish friend,
God is teaching me more and more regarding how special you are to him. that makes you special to me as well. I am delighted to send you this greeting to let you know I am praying for. Remember that God loves you and I do too. Linda T
Dear Jewish friend,
My mama said this is a blessing given to you: the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. My name is Annabelle and I am 5 years old.
Hi Jewish friend,
We love to learn about and celebrate your culture in our home. We are praying for you today that your heart will be encouraged. We pray that your life will be filled with joy and love in this season.
The B. family
Dear Jewish friend,
To whoever receives this, quarantine may be hard, but keep going! Things will get better and you can do it!
Sincerely, Elan, age 13
Dear Jewish friend,
I hope this finds you in good health and spirits. This is a really hard time for everyone right now, but I include your health and happiness in my nightly prayers. Joyce R.
Hi Jewish friend,
I love to learn about your culture. I am praying for you. I hope you don’t feel lonely. Ella, 7 years old
Dear Jewish friend,
May these preserved flowers remind you of the everlasting love being sent your way. Praying for your peace and contentment. Bonnie
We delivered the cards a few weeks ago and the nursing home representative was so grateful. She said that the cards would be placed throughout several neighboring Jewish nursing homes, and would be read aloud to residents who could not read themselves.
The Future of “Dear Jewish Friend...”
Acts of kindness build a bridge of love and trust. We hope that the connection we have made, and are continuing to make, will help provide an opening in the future for the Gospel.
We will be doing another round of “Dear Jewish Friend” at Hanukkah, to be announced in the Fall. Stay tuned!