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October 2016 Ministry Update
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Shalom,
We are less than three weeks away from heading back to Jerusalem. We have our tickets purchased from Miami, FL back to Tel Aviv via Stockholm and Istanbul on November 1st arriving in Israel on the 3rd.
It has been an amazing year with over 11,000 road miles and 38,000 air miles traveled! We have covered a lot of territory and met so many wonderful brethren in the Lord! We wish we had more time to visit but we have to get back as we have commitments to honor and need to begin to prepare for life and ministry in Israel.
Visiting Churches
We have been very busy over the past month visiting churches as we made our way from the West all the way back to the East Coast. We had meetings outside of Wilmington and Rocky Mount, NC, Kingsport, TN, and Pensacola, Fl. We hope to have three more meetings before heading out on November 1. The Lord has blessed us greatly through many encouraging words, prayers and support. The scripture is clear, that as believers, we need each other and this has never been so evident as now when we are launching out in faith to move to a foreign world. One anothering and love are hallmarks of our Christian faith and what we have seen this year is nothing short of supernatural. By God's grace we hope to bring the love and encouragement with us to a land and a people that so desperately need to see our faith in action. John 13:35; James 2:8-26
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Enjoyed meeting up with Robert and Ashley as they were able to join us for church.
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Blessed by so many servants in the Lord...
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It's been a great blessing & honor to be able to impart the word and it being well received!
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Please pray for Pastor and Mrs. Slough as she is recovering in the nursing home from kidney problems.
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O
pportunities to share the gospel...
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Witnessing to the world through community involvement...
Our family had an amazing opportunity to bring the gospel to the community of Holly Ridge, NC. The brethren of Victory Baptist rented a table at the fire department community fundraiser. It gave us an interesting venue for friendship evangelism. The table was used to offer fresh baked goods with all of the proceeds going to the fire department. The fire department is a community service providing needed acts of mercy so there is no moral conflict in giving the donations to help the fire department. The most important part of the event is that our table made it clear it was a local congregation that had a heart to unashamedly impart the gospel. We gave out the gospel of John and the book of Romans along with other information. People came to us and inquired about why we were there and what information we had to give. At first I was skeptical about the value of being there; but it was amazing how many people were genuinely interested in discussing the gospel message. Even in the 'Bible Belt' there were many who had not heard the gospel and many hurting people who wanted to hear more. It was amazing how many nominal Catholics and other works based "religious" people we were able to talk to and have impactful conversations. We don't know how many, if any, came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, but this we do know, the seed was sown and the opportunity was given to hear the gospel. May God use this and other opportunities for all of us to give the gospel.
As we prepare to bring the gospel to a land that doesn't have a gospel witness on every corner and is highly skeptical of anything called "Christian" we need to show the love of Messiah in our hearts by working with the community to not only help with physical needs but most importantly with spiritual needs by bringing the whole gospel to a broken world. We have a close friend in Israel who is using a simple method of picking up trash to show love in action and by doing so it brings many opportunities for people to ask why they are doing what they are doing which ultimately gives an opportunity to give an answer for the hope that is within them (Gal 6:10; 1 Peter 3:15). It is our hope to work with organizations like this as well as use ideas we have learned along the way in order for the gospel to go forth and God to save some for His glory (1 Cor. 9:22).
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Saying goodbye and looking ahead...
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One of the most difficult things we have had to do to prepare for ministry to a foreign field is saying goodbye to so many friends and family. Besides leaving our extended family we are going to be leaving two sons and a daughter-in-law and grandchild not yet born behind. As hard as that is to do we know it is for the sake of the gospel and glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He first loved us that we now can love Him back even if that means being apart from our family for a time (Matt. 19:27-29).
As minor as it may seem, it was a very difficult decision we had to make in leaving our family dog and friend Oscar behind. Abby did what was best for Oscar by leaving him with Casey, Grandma and others as we discovered it would be too difficult for Oscar to get to Israel without a lot of potential risks to his health. We will miss our Maui mutt!
Less than three weeks to go before flying back we still have a great deal to do. By God's grace we have accomplished much towards all that needs to be done prior to our move. There are many things yet to do but we are learning to trust God for His provisions through faith and prayer.
- We still need to finalize the arrangement of the moving of our personal belongings from Maui. It is important for the well being of our family to have our personal belongings so all of us can feel a sense of home even if we are strangers and pilgrims.
- We praise God for providing a very practical and safe rental town-home that fits within the price point we hoped for.
- We are still working on a solution for a vehicle. The prices are about double what they are in America and there are not as many options to purchase a vehicle that is value priced. We have determined that we will need to wait until we get in country to purchase.
- Also, one of the most pressing things left to do is the sale of the RV.
A Special Toda Raba! (Thank You Very Much!)
We want to give a special thank you to all of you who have sacrificed to give us financial support. We take the responsibility very seriously and by God's grace we will do our very best to use all of the sacrificial gifts to the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. As faith-based servants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we are fully dependent on Him who meets all of our needs through wonderful brethren like those of you who have given to help us bring the gospel message to the nation of Israel. We are so very blessed and humbled -- Toda Raba!
Lord willing, our next update will be from Jerusalem!
Bl
essings,
Scott, Beth, Thomas, Abigail, David, Mark, Levi
לוי ,מארק ,דוד ,אביגיל ,תומאס ,ג'יין ,סקוט
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- Our most urgent prayer request is for Beth's Dad, Pastor Robert Gifford, as he continues to recover from his latest challenge with his heart. He had another heart attack but praise be to God that his defibrillator did it's job and God spared him. Pray that he fully recovers and is encouraged while he waits on the Lord.
- Pray we are able to finish all that we need to get done and that God will provide for all of our physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
- Pray for those we will have opportunity to minister the Word to that they may have prepared hearts to receive the gospel.
- Pray for peace and safety as we travel through a very volatile world.
- As Psalm 122:6 implores us: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem -- Sha’alu Shalom Yerushaliim
II Thess. 3:1-3 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
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To make a donation to our ministry please press here: IBJM On-Line Giving Link
or call IBJM at (423) 876-8150 or mail to IBJM PO Box 1386 Hixson,TN 37343 and mark support for Scott & Beth Friedman
***Please do not post any informa
tion on the internet***
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Copyright Scott Friedman | The Road to Emmaus | P | 808-280-1407 | Email | scott@rtemmaus.com
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