Shannah Tovah!

One year ago, Jacob's Hope had their first event in Israel, a food distribution for Rosh HaShannah in Karmiel, where we gave away bags of food to feed over 60 families in need. This year in Karmiel, we gave away bags of food to over 200 families in need for Rosh HaShannah, in Ashdod we gave food to another 50 families in need and in Tel Aviv another 30 families in need.

In addition to giving away bags of food, we have been able to work with the Joseph Project in Israel to give away clothing and household goods to these needy families in Ashdod and Tel Aviv.

On September 2, 2010, Jacob's Hope along with Convoy of Hope, delivered our first first 40 foot container of humanitarian aid to Israel. Items such as clothing, shoes, diapers and medical supplies to help hundreds of needy people in the land.

In Addition to the three centers we already have open, we are committed to opening at least three more centers in the next year. We are currently looking at places in Jerusalem, Ma'alot, Eilat and Ashkelon.

The Thunder Rolls...

The Jacob's Hope team is in Israel, and we're making noise. Saturday August 28 we had a food distribution in Karmiel, along with Rivers of Living Water, where we were able to give bags of food to over 200 needy Russian Israeli families. While we were there the team was able to make new contacts in Israel and Ukraine, and plan new projects with the leadership from Rivers of Living Water, to help even more needy Jewish people.

On Tuesday we were able to join some of our Associates on a trip to Sderot and Ashkelon. It was heartbreaking to see the 500 used missile casings that landed in Sderot in the last year, knowing that this has been a quiet year. In years past, over 100 missiles have been shot at this small town, within one kilometer of Gaza, in a single day.

We visited the Sderot Indoor Rec Center, located in a large bomb shelter, that was built by the Jewish National Fund. Again, it was heartbreaking to see children having to play in a bomb shelter because the playgrounds outside are unsafe. I cannot imagine having to raise my own children in those conditions.

In Ashkelon we visited the Barzilai Medical Center. Since new, longer-range missiles are now being smuggled into Gaza, this Hospital is vulnerable to attack. During times of heavy rocket fire, most of the Hospital has to be evacuated. However, due to funds raised by John Hagee Ministries and The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, a new Cardiac Department was built and a new sheltered emergency room is being built at this facility.

Although Jacob's Hope has not been involved with raising funds for these particular projects, we think it's important for our supports to know about some of the great work other organizations are doing in Israel and that we are always looking to partner with other organizations doing humanitarian work in the Land.

More about the rest of our work this week and future projects coming soon, in our next post...

The Quiet Before the Storm

Other than buying a new air conditioner for our Ashdod store front, all has been quiet as we reach the middle of the summer. I am continuing to pay bills and work on the never ending legal issues in Israel while our distribution centers in Ashdod and Tel Aviv are continuing to give out food and clothing, and our center in Karmiel is handing out food bags every other month to 200 families. However, we are looking to make a splash at the end of August as Jacob's Hope is shipping its first container to Israel. Jeff Friedman, head of Jacob's of Hope World Missions, is coming to Israel with a few of our new members and supporters. We are hoping to film some of the activity at our distribution centers, as well the unloading of the container so you all can get a look at everything we are doing. Also, for the first time since we opened our center in Tel Aviv, we are looking to expand our activity in Israel, thanks to the generous support you all continue to give, even in these tough times.

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.

A Growing Need

On March 20, about a week before Passover, Rivers of Living Water held a special event to give food to 147 needy families in Karmiel. Although we had hoped to provide these families with items that were kosher for Passover, the expense of these items, in combination with the growing number of families looking for support, exceeded our budget. However, we were able to provide all of these families with bags of food, along with twelve additional Ethiopian families that we delivered the bags to. Originally, we had planned to distribute food on a monthly basis, but we now have close to 200 needy families who we have been able to sign-up for aid. Unitl we can increase our funding, or help get these families other sources of income, we will have to cut back our events to once every other month. However, many hearts are opening up as we continue to provide aid. These families want to know more about the people that are showing they care about them when no one else does.

2009 to 2010 Pictures

An Unofficial Opening

Last week, on February 21, Agape held one final work day in order to open their humanitarian aid center, a joint effort with Tikvat Yacov. Everything was cleaned, new shelves were built, old shelves were extended, clothes were unpacked, folded and neatly placed on shelves and food bags were prepared for distribution.


This week, on February 28, Agape, in partnership with Tikvat Yacov, unofficially opened their doors to the public. So what is an "unofficial opening?" That simply means that next month we will be having an official grand-opening event, but that we aren't going to wait that long to open our doors and help those in need. Tonight, we had a small gathering of those involved in opening the center to pray over the new manager and volunteers as well as say "thank you" to all those who put in their time and effort to make our work in Tel Aviv a reality.


With that being said, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the donors, workers and volunteers who are still Stateside that have helped to make Tikvat Yacov a success in Israel, now with two fully operational humanitarian centers. May the Lord bless you as you have blessed Israel!