Galina, Mother of Eight

Woman with child at a center

Shalom Rav (Much Peace),

We would like to thank everyone who works at Jacob's Hope, those at the distribution center and those who donate.  I have a large family, eight children.  Only my husband works while I take care of the children.  We have received clothing, food, furniture and more from the Jacob's Hope distribution center.  The money we save on these items allows us to use the money my husband earns to pay our rent, utilities and other necessities.

Thank you for all that you do!

Galina

The Compassion Team is responsible for all of Jacob's Hope's projects in Israel, but they are funded independently of Jacob's Hope.  Without their guidance and hard work, many of the opportunities we have to work with local congregations and municipalities would not be available.  It is important to us to have their oversight on the ground.  They are currently raising support for a second term in Israel, but we can't afford to have the work we began together in Israel be interrupted in order for them to return to the States for an extended period of time (to raise the support they need to live there).  Please prayerfully consider supporting this family directly at https://giving.ag.org so they can continue with this important work we have started together.

Moving forward with our Eighth Project

Packing Bags for Distribution

As many of you may have deduced, Jacob's Hope has an eighth project in Israel. We have joined with "Love for the Needy," our partners in K'far Saba, to begin a food distribution in the city of Hadera.  Love for the Needy distributes bags of food to 17 families in Hadera and Jacob's Hope currently is supplementing these bags with "food vouchers" that can be used at a local grocery store to buy meat, fish and fresh produce. Additionally, we are working with a local congregation to find a small storefront we can rent, where we will be able to make clothing and household items available to the 12,000 people in this city living below the poverty line.  The total population of Hadera is 77,000, 99% Jewish and other non-Arab, and has a significant number of immigrants from Ethiopia.  

Last week I was able to help put together the bags for distribution and joined a small group to deliver some of these bags. We were invited in to the home of a Russian-speaking woman who's children were adults, but are not in the position to assist their mother financially.  This woman was being visited by her sister when we entered with the bags of food.  Although their Hebrew was still basic, we were able to communicate our concern for her welfare. Her sister sat and watched us quietly as we asked this women about her needs and offered to pray for her physical aliments. After we prayed, I looked up at the sister and saw she was crying. She was very touched and appreciative of the love and concern we showed for her sister. It means so much to these families to see that someone cares, and it gives them hope.

Article in Russian Israeli Paper

The following article was written in a Russian Israeli newspaper regarding the Backpack distribution we did in Ma'alot:

Article Title:  On August 9^th @ “Tabernacle of David for all Nations” a Children’s Charitable Event Took Place

Especially in the beginning of a new school year, no small amount of expenses are needed for supplies.  This is especially no joking matter regarding basic essentials for those who have two or more children in their family. Therefore any assistance is in this matter makes a real difference in the family budget.

Thanks to an organization called “Jacob’s Hope”, children ages 6 to 13 received beautiful backpacks that included an assortment of school supplies.

The organizers of the event met with the parents and their children at 6:00 P.M.  With excitement of the event’s opening, the meeting hall quickly overflowed where they met together. Joyfully, approximately 80 children received their anticipated gifts.  Funds were provided by offerings from the USA by those who love and bless Israel.

__________

In each bag we had actually included a card which read; "Funds were provided by Christians from the USA who love and want to bless Israel." The newspaper decided to leave out the word "Christian."

School Supply Initiative

Our compassion center in K’far Saba recently reached out to the absorption center in Ashkelon where a number of Ethiopians have arrived in recent months. Absorption centers help new immigrants get on their feet in Israel, often providing temporary housing and Hebrew classes as well as other forms of assistance.

Our partners, “Love to the Needy,” was able to provide backpacks and school materials to the children of these new immigrant families in Ashkelon.  In the coming months, we are looking to contribute to this initiative, helping needy families in Ashdod, K’far Saba and Maalot, by providing school bags, notebooks and writing tools to ensure their financial needs do not hinder their children’s education. The compassion we are able to share with these needy people is not only making an impression on them, but also on those who work in agencies, like the absorption centers and municipalities, who work with those in need.

The following was compiled from two letters sent to our partners Love to the Needy, from the Ashkelon absorption center.

To those who give through Jacob’s Hope, love to the needy:

Immigrant families living in Ashkelon came to Israel from Ethiopia in recent months. Most of these families are large families living on assistance from the Ministry of Absorption. These families are facing many economic difficulties: buying medicines, compulsory education, rent and payments, electricity, water and gas, food and clothing while supporting their families that remain in Ethiopia...

...We thank you heartily and welcome this initiative and the substantial donation - school bags, notebooks and writing tools. Everything was distributed to children for the opening of academic year and you made these families very glad. It is very difficult dealing with immigration and adjusting to life in Israel.

Thank you for caring and for your involvement in the community.

Ashkelon Absorption Center

How Can You Help?

We still need to raise another $1,000 in monthly commitments in order to reach the modest budget that was set for our living expenses in Israel. Please pray about making a monthly financial commitment so we can continue to do this work in Israel.  

Click here to make a financial commitment to our work in Israel.

New Year

There is rarely either fun or glory in administrative work, nor is there much that one is able to share about it, but this has been the bulk of our work here in Israel as we prepare for bigger things. Much of our time in 2011 has been used preparing for 2012; getting the financial and legal papers needed, looking for a location for the Hope Center, raising the funds still needed so that we can remain in Israel, looking for partners for self-sustaining projects and continuing the work we have already started here.

Let's start by catching up on the events of 2011. We opened up two new centers, in Kiryat Shmona (Northern Israel) and Kefar Saba (Central Israel) to bring us to a total of 6 centers. We had several additional holiday events including Passover meals in Karmiel, Maalot and Akko. We made a trip to the States to raise funds and visit close friends and family. While there I attended funeral services for my Grandfather. We gave out blankets to 300 needy families during the High Holy days with Agape Ministries in Tel Aviv. Our children's Bible Club grew from 10 children to 21, and moved from our home to the facilities of a Russian-Speaking congregation in Hadera. We moved the location of our store front in Maalot, much to pleasure of our manager, since the old location had a leaky roof that was destroying the clothing. We hosted a tour group from the Assmblies of God which included the Director of International Ministries and Leadership from the Penn-Del District. We also had a special Chanukah outreach in Karmiel where many elderly Russians are coming to faith.

Although I lost my secular job here in Israel during the summer, the timing seems to have been heaven sent. It allowed me to pack our house before joining the rest of my family in the States as our previous landlords had raised our rent by close to 10%. It has also allowed my wife and I to dedicate ourselves full-time to Tikvat Yacov as the ministry is gearing up for future growth. Unfortunately, this means there is an increased urgency to raise the funds needed to support our family as this is now our only income. Please note that funds donated directly to Jacob's Hope go to support ministries around the world. To support our family in Israel, donations must be made directly to our account at Assemblies of God (click link here).

We are already on the look out to open a seventh compassion center in 2012 as well as laying the ground work for the Hope center and starting a self-sustaining ministry. As always, we will share more information as we work out the details.

Ashdod

I had been planning a trip to Ashdod on May 31, but when I found out about the Floatilla ships that were being redirected to Ashdod, I was a little hesitant to go. However, after I was assured, by my friends in Ashdod, that this would not affect my visit, I continued as planned. Currently, our distribution center in Ashdod is only giving out clothing because the congregation that we are working with there is giving out food at another location. They are able to give food to over 600 families, including Holocaust survivors and single mothers. Although they are able to do a great work at that location, it is still not enough, and they are not able to help many families in need. Because of the relatively low cost involved with running the center at this location I was able to give them money on the spot to start giving food away at our location as well. The number of families we will be able to help won't be anyway near the number of families being helped at their other location, but we will be helping those families that often get overlooked; families with short-term needs and families that are still in the process of signing-up for government aid (everything takes time in Israel, nothing happens quickly).
Meanwhile, I have been busy trying to take care of the administrative nightmare that is running a non-profit in Israel. Please pray that God's hand will be in the legal and administrative processes of this organization so that we are able to accomplish what He has appointed for us at this time.

The Work Continues

On Saturday, October 10, 2009, Tikvat Yacov, along with, and through the efforts of Rivers of Living Water in Karmiel, was able to distribute another 90 bags of food to families in need. It is truly amazing to see exactly how much food is required to produce these 90 bags. We had 5 shopping carts overloaded with cases of pasta, tomato sauce, corn, oil, tuna, sugar, soup, crackers and tea.

Although we have been purchasing this food, at a discount, from a local supermarket, Irene Friedman, from Rivers of Living Water, has secured the services of a food distributor so that we will be able to acquire even more food to distribute as we continue our efforts in Karmiel.

In addition to our work in Karmiel, we are in the process of securing a humanitarian aid center in Eliat, where there are a large number of single mothers and new immigrants, who have been attracted to the area by the low cost of living and employment opportunities in the Hotel industry.

There have also been a number of other opportunities for Tikvat Yacov to open additional centers in Ashdod, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, but we have been limited by the amount of funding available. We have meetings scheduled in these three cities to determine how we can best provide in these areas with the limited resources we currently have available.

Partnership with "Rivers Of Living Water"

Tikvat Yacov, Jacob's Hope in Israel, is partnering with Rivers of Living Water in Karmiel, Israel, in order to distribute food to families in need. We will have a special kick-off event a week before Rosh HaShannah, the Jewish New Year. The event is currently scheduled for September 12th at 6 PM (moved up from the 19th), and will include some presentations by Rivers of Living Water before handing out 50 to 100 bags of food. Each family will receive one bag of food, including flour, sugar, rice and other non-perishable staples.