Grace Prayer Bulletin # 8

Grace Payer Ministry Bulletin #8

The following bulletin is taken form a letter received from Baruch and Bracha Maoz in Israel. I have edited it a little to bring the size down. He mentions in the first two paragraphs discipline and another restoration.

“The church has grown to some 260, with a crowd gathering in the parking area just outside the church, in which we place a loudspeaker every Sabbath. In many ways, this is very encouraging. It is a thrill to know that so many warm to an expository ministry of the word. But we cannot accommodate all those who wish to come and the body heat of those present is almost unbearable. We know of others who would like to attend the services, but who refrain from doing so because of the press of the crowd and the difficult physical burden of standing for 2 1/2 hours (for lack of room) and of having to sit in the summer sun, beating down upon them in the parking lot.

The Eldership is presently considering the possible recommendation of others to the Eldership and to the Deaconal ministry in preparation for the Annual General Meeting of the church in February. We wish to train as many as possible for these important tasks, because sooner or later we will need to divide into two or more congregations. The availability of competently trained men would be essential for such a step.

Publishing
HaGefen has just published in Russian the Grace Baptist Mission's abbreviated version of Calvin's Institutes and is seeking opportunity to produce similar such books in Russian. We have accomplished translators and editors and hope to be able to make some contribution in this way to the needs of the church in Russia. The campaign against restrictive legislation has resulted in many opportunities for witness and for the dissemination of our books. Interested parties from all over the country have called or written in, asking for further information. Of course, some of the responses have also been negative, but these are few and far between.

CWI has placed on us here the main part of the burden of finding our own support within the next 3 years or face a considerable reduction of the ministry. For this purpose, Eitan and Baruch will be travelling quite a bit in the course of the next few years. We are grateful to God for the dedicated, able and professional staff, trained and honed for the work over many years and would hate to lose any after investing so much in their training and coming to appreciate their dedication.

Providing the CWI Board of Management approves the move, Baruch is scheduled to step aside in August, handing over his managerial duties to Eitan whom CWI and Baruch have been grooming for some time now. Baruch's new role in CWI/HaGefen Israel is to be advisory. He will also provide some aid in editing as long as such is needed and assisting in representing the work. Thus will end 22 years of service with CWI at the helm of the work here. He will devote the rest of his time to the church he pastors, to writing and to completing the children's Bible project. He hopes to be enabled to write a Bible commentary, a systematic theology, a book on church order and various expository and devotional books. Baruch is at that stage of his life that most people describe as the "prime" and will therefore be seeking for ways to make as useful a contribution as he can while advising Eitan in his managerial role with CWI. It is important to understand that there is no breach, both the society and Baruch will simply be moving on.

Family
Avital is busy at her Masters degree in the Tel Aviv University while Eiran, her husband, has graduated with honours from the Technion. They maintain close relations with us, which we welcome very much. There is no sign of a spiritual awakening. Shlomit has been accepted as a student to Covenant College in Georgia, USA, where she expects to spend the next four years studying education. Right now she is working to the hilt to save up for her time in the States while bidding goodbye to her very many friends here. Tamar is completing her high school exams (matriculation), following which she plans to spend the summer months working at The Farm with Peter Parkinson of Leeds Reformed Baptist Church. In November she has to enlist to the army. The departure of our children will be a new stage in our lives. Jimmy, our dog, will remain with us, but we will need to relearn how to conduct our family life and to arrange our service to the church - no small matter to as close-knit a family as ours.

Thank you for your many prayers - please continue to pray for us, we need it.

Baruch and Bracha Maoz with Avital, Eiran, Shlomit and Tamar




The following is a message that Susan Straub has asked me to forward to you all.

-------------Forwarded Message-----------------

June 15, 1998

To our dear friends near and far...

There is so much to say one hardly knows where to begin.

I have started making a list and keeping a journal of this portion of our journey, but so many things have been done for us and on our behalf that it will fill several journals and take months to complete. However, let me send a genuine thank you to ALL of you who have sent cards, flowers, food, balloons, books, tapes of music, gifts, financial gifts, greetings, passages of scripture, poetry and encouraging phone calls. But most of all, thank you for praying for all of us in the Straub family. We value your prayers more than anything. Neither have we taken lightly the outpouring of love directed to us. I mentioned to one of our elders that we feel so unworthy of all this love and attention. His reply was a wise one. He said it is not a question of whether we are worthy but rather an opportunity for God's people to demonstrate their love and concern for one of their own. Indeed, we are humbled.

Many ask how we are doing. David's reply is usually the same, "I am comfortable, confused but better than I deserve." My response is, "I would not exchange this adventure for anything." While we all fear suffering in one form or another, we have found that suffering need not be feared. Yes, there is a bittersweet aspect to it, but I am convinced that this is NOT a parenthetical phase of our lives but rather this adventure is all part of the totality of God's master plan for the RBMS coordinator and his family.

If you pity us for being set aside, let me ask you to think again. Being confined to ones bedroom has opened many new avenues of ministry for both of us. No, we cannot see many people or accept all the phone calls that come in, but that does not mean you are all forgotten. Indeed, you are loved and prayed for harder now than ever before. What a travesty that it should take a life threatening disease to awaken us from our lethargy. In fact, as you pray for us and our needs, we are praying for you. We all share in this journey together and we are comforted with that thought.

On behalf of David and my sons, I once again thank each of you for all that you have done for us. We believe this trial is bringing the Reformed Christian community closer together through suffering, through prayer and through the faith and hope in our risen Savior. May God get the glory!!

Jehovah Ksidkenu,

---

WebSpawner Page Machine

Grace Prayer Ministry Homepage

Past Grace Prayer Bulletins