FRIENDS OF ISRAEL GIFT CATALOG | 2020–2021
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Friends of Israel G O S P E L M I N I S T RY
A NOTE FROM OUR DIRECTOR
DEAR FRIENDS, To say 2020 was an unusual year would be an understatement. A global pandemic knocked most of us off our regular routines, forcing us to take a step back and refocus on what matters most. Here at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, we have sensed the Lord’s presence throughout this unprecedented time. In some circumstances, our ministry efforts have had to slow down and pivot; but in many ways, our opportunities to serve both the Jewish and Christian communities worldwide have grown exponentially. Like you, we have had to move many of our regular, in-person activities to an online platform. I’ve “Zoomed” more than I ever thought possible! But I’ve been grateful for the way our ministry has stayed connected despite the circumstances. Today, I’m excited to offer you this online digital version of our annual FOI Gift Catalog. Not only will it give you an opportunity to read about all the incredible ways our workers serve across the globe, but it also will give you the opportunity to support financially the outreaches that speak to you most. With COVID-19 still present, our ministry always takes into consideration the best practices for keeping everyone safe and healthy. Would you do me a favor? As you read through the catalog, would you please pray for the health and safety of our workers who are serving throughout the world? We trust the Lord is working through every aspect of The Friends of Israel, and we are always grateful for the ways in which you help make this possible. Walking toward the Messiah, Jim Showers, DMin Executive Director/President 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 EASTERN EUROPE 8 WESTERN EUROPE 9 AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND 10 SOUTH AMERICA 12 ISRAEL 14 NORTH AMERICA
Contributions received toward ministries and projects shown in this Friends of Israel Gift Catalog will be applied as designated. Gifts received in excess of a specific need will be applied to similar ministry needs at the discretion of The Friends of Israel.
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EASTERN EUROPE
POLAND, RUSSIA, BELARUS, UKRAINE
Taking Courageous Steps of Faith Across the Ocean 4
CHILDREN’S SUMMER CAMPS Every summer, more than 200 Eastern European children arrive at one of our FOI Summer Camps in Poland where they experience firsthand the love of the Messiah. After long hours of travel through treacherous conditions, every child is welcomed with the warmth of our workers and volunteers. Many of these children have never heard of the sacrificial love God has for them, nor held their own copy of the Scriptures in their hands. In an effort to remove barriers for families who want their children to attend but cannot afford to send them, we offer every summer camp in Poland free of charge. Our camps create a safe place for children to connect with the hope-filled message from God’s precious Word—a message that could change an entire generation.
When you sponsor a child, you make it possible for him or her to enjoy daily activities while deepening their understanding of the goodness of God. Every child receives the gift of a new Bible, a new backpack, and new clothes. As children return home changed, parents witness for themselves the impact of the gospel. Your financial support pays for a child’s week at camp, visa paperwork, and costly transportation. But, most importantly, your investment in a child opens the door to a life forever transformed. Would you please sponsor a child today? You can send a child to camp for $300 or share the cost with someone. $300 sponsor a child $25 cost-sharing gift
CLOTHING AND SHOES FOR CHILDREN The political unrest in Eastern Europe remains a source of tension that keeps children from living free lives. When children suffer because of the unresolvable differences among those who are supposed to protect them—we all lose. Often families are taken from their homes and forced into temporary housing, leaving them with very few items of their own. You can help meet their most basic needs by making a gift that will supply clothing and shoes for Jewish families who need it most. $30 suggested gift GIVE NOW
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EASTERN EUROPEAN RELIEF Meeting urgent and practical needs is often the greatest way to show the love of Jesus. Our FOI workers in Eastern Europe hear story after story of Jewish friends who have faced catastrophic life events or upsetting medical conditions and lack the funds to take care of themselves. This relief fund meets the most practical needs by supplying necessary items such as stoves or heat for families who have none. The fund meets physical needs by supplying food, medications, and assisting those with insurmountable medical bills. Most importantly, this relief fund meets spiritual needs as, with every gift made, it offers a message of hope of the Messiah. Your support can meet a need that can change a life—here on Earth and for all eternity. $30 suggested gift GIVE NOW
LIVING BRIDGES Poland is a country that has a rich but tragic history connected to the nation of Israel. Many years after the Holocaust and the Communistic regime, anti-Semitism is still present. The church in Poland is teaching Replacement Theology, which does not see a future for Israel in God’s plan. Living Bridges is a response to that reality. It offers education for young people from Polish Protestant churches and prepares them for ministry with Jewish people. Opportunities include educational trips to Israel, conferences for believers from Poland and Eastern Europe where we study the role of Israel in God’s plan as it is presented in the Bible, and seminars on the history of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe where we bring together Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Polish, and Jewish youth to learn about the tragic history of the Holocaust. To help educate young Polish people and prepare them for ministry with Jewish people, please make a gift today. $30 suggested gift GIVE NOW
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HOLIDAY WITH THE BIBLE During a 10-day stay at a farm near Warsaw or Wisła in the mountains of Poland, Jewish attendees experience warm hospitality and life-changing Bible study. Our FOI workers team up with Polish Christians and Jewish people to study the Tanakh (the Old Testament) together in a relaxed setting. An 89-year-old Jewish woman from Ukraine read through the Psalms with the group and soaked up every minute of it. For many, it is the first time they’ve held a Bible in their hands. “I’ve never read the Bible before. I want to take it with me and read it.” Your gift to Holiday With the Bible makes this possible. $25 suggested gift GIVE NOW
“When people are open to God’s Word, when they want to listen about Him, then we know that this ministry is not in vain.”
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WESTERN EUROPE FRANCE, GERMANY, UK
WESTERN EUROPEAN AID As our FOI teams in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom pursue relationships with Jewish friends, they constantly hear stories of those who are desperate for help, many too poor to cover their own expenses and needs. In an effort to show love to our Jewish friends and Holocaust survivors, we offer relief and hope to those we can reach. Your gift today will help support our FOI team as they seek to minister to those in need with both a practical gift and the healing message of the Messiah. $30 suggested gift GIVE NOW
PUBLICATIONS TRANSLATION Understanding culture, tradition, and the intricacy of language helps us communicate effectively and reach people where they are. FOI produces theologically sound and biblically encouraging literature year round in an effort to uniquely reach others for Christ. To ensure our books, Bible studies, and magazine, Israel My Glory, are useful for the edification of believers and non-believers, we offer our publications for both evangelism and discipleship worldwide. Help us give our French, German, Polish, and Russian friends an opportunity to read solid, biblical teaching in their own language. $20 suggested gift GIVE NOW
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AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND AID Regrettably, all across the world, both biblically sound teaching and the belief in God’s great plan for Israel are drifting among believers and non-believers alike. In Australia and New Zealand, a collective belief is rising that God no longer views Israel as the apple of His eye, and has been replaced by today’s modern church. Our FOI team is working to lovingly combat this confusion by tackling tough issues in as many churches as will welcome them. Costs for travel increase daily, as opportunities arise for our team to go and affirm God’s view of Israel and powerful plan for its future. Please support the sharing of the gospel and biblically sound teaching to those who have been turned off to God’s plan as stated in His Word. $30 suggested gift GIVE NOW
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SOUTH AMERICA
ARGENTINA CLINIC Approximately 200,000 Jewish people live in Argentina, most of them in Buenos Aires. Whether atheists or believers, Jewish or Gentile, people who need medical attention turn to our medical clinic for help. FOI team member Dr. Juan Espinoza shared, “As it is said, there are no atheists in foxholes.” “Doctor, during our first consultation you told us that the first step towards health recovery is the understanding of our actual state. Without knowing what is wrong within us, it is not possible to get a cure” — clinic patient. While meeting medical needs nonstop, the clinic has a unique opportunity to share the love of Jesus with each and every person who walks through their doors. Offering a daily Bible study, the team of doctors and nurses testify that the Messiah is the ultimate, eternal cure.
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MEDICAL CARE Every day, three doctors and several nurses work tirelessly to meet the needs of every patient who walks into their clinic. Most days this means treating almost 100 people who are desperate for medical attention. Your gift of $50 will cover one day’s costs for medical care and supplies for one patient. How many patients can you help today? $50 suggested gift GIVE NOW
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT Excellent medical equipment is required to run a clinic as well as our FOI team does. This requires much-needed financial support. In an effort to invest in necessary items such as ultrasound machines, heart monitors, and oxygen machines, your gift of $25 would go a long way. $25 suggested gift GIVE NOW
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ISRAEL
ISRAEL RELIEF FUND Despite the rapid growth of Israel’s economy and the strength of the Israeli shekel, the existential threat to the safety of Israel remains. Israeli resources are dedicated to the protection and defense of its 9 million people; however nearly 1.8 million Israelis live below the poverty line. It is estimated that 2 of 5 children are hungry victims of Israel’s untold poverty crisis. When you give to the Israel Relief Fund, you partner with other believers in saving lives on the ground. You provide shelter from missiles and bombs; feed, clothe, and educate those most marginalized; save heartbeats from abortion; rescue people from drug addiction and prostitution; and supply first responders. Your gift today will go directly toward providing physical, emotional, and spiritual relief for those who need it most, ministering through Christian compassion. $50 suggested gift GIVE NOW 12
ISRAELI SUMMER CAMPS For many Israeli children, the best week of their year is a week at summer Bible camp. A time full of fun and biblical teaching with their peers, many Jewish children remember most the feeling of safety—a welcome change from their everyday lives. The congregants of our local assemblies take young people to summer camp every year, but you make it possible for those children to go. Many families cannot afford to send their children to camp, but a gift of $140 sponsors an Israeli child to attend this life-changing week. Can you help send an Israeli child to camp this summer? $140 sponsor a child $25 cost-sharing gift GIVE NOW
ISRAELI MUSIC AND ARTS As you walk through the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem, the sounds of Jewish music fill your ears, providing a natural lift to your spirit and skip in your step. Music has always been an important and healing part of the Jewish culture, yet Israeli families often cannot afford to send their children to music school. As a way to meet this heartfelt need, our assembly in Jerusalem now offers an affordable music school for Jewish children and adults. You can help provide music lessons for those who would greatly benefit from such an encouraging, nourishing activity. $25 suggested gift
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ISRAELI SOLDIERS MINISTRY It is our privilege to support the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of Israeli soldiers of Christian faith and those with questions. Military service in Israel is compulsory, and all 18-year-olds are automatically enrolled in the Israel Defense Forces. Following their 2–3 year service, it is common for these young adults to take a gap year trip abroad before heading to university. In Australia and New Zealand, our FOI team of workers run backpacking ministries and the Meet at the Mountain program that provides meals, comfortable beds, and showers to Israeli soldiers during their time of travel. This tangible demonstration of Christian love is frequently the first time our Israeli friends are warmly welcomed into a Christian home. In Israel, we shore-up young believers entering and enduring the military so that their testimony bears the light of Christ amid a secular and stressful environment. Your gift and prayers will make hospitality and hope possible to those defending Israel. $50 gift supports ministry to Israeli soldiers GIVE NOW
ALIYAH RETURN FUND All Jewish people—no matter where they were born—have a right to return to their homeland of Israel. The act of making aliyah (the immigration of Jewish people to Israel) is an emotional, empowering act for many individuals and families who long to go home. FOI has partnered with The Jewish Agency for Israel, an organization that helps make a way for every Jewish person who wants to make aliyah. The agency prepares each person for his or her trip, funds the one-way travel to Israel, and helps acclimate every individual and family into the land of their birthright. Your gift will help our Jewish friends fulfill their lifelong dream to return to the Jewish homeland. $2,000 to sponsor an olim “immigrant” $50 cost-sharing gift GIVE NOW 13
NORTH AMERICA
Taking Courageous Steps of Faith At Home
ORIGINS It’s never been more important than now to invest in teaching young adults about God’s incredible plan for Israel. One of the most effective ways to do that is through our ORIGINS outreach trip to Israel, where young people from all across America come together to serve the Jewish people. From cleaning toilets to replacing air filters to serving meals in the cafeteria, our team humbly serves at a major hospital near Tel Aviv. This immersive experience ingrains the significance of the Jewish people into the hearts of our workers. They see for themselves how important it is to serve those who are so important to the heart of God. ORIGINS (Our Resolve Is Giving Israel Never-ending Support) is a unique opportunity to open the eyes of our young adults—the new generation to carry the torch—to be friends of Israel. Please help sponsor a young adult to send him or her on this life-changing trip. $1,999 sponsor a young adult $50 cost-sharing gift
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HOLOCAUST CARE FUND Our hearts should ache for the few Holocaust survivors who remain, but this heartache should move us into action. As these aging survivors continue to grow in years, we can still serve them with the love of the Messiah in many ways. We can show care by supplying funds to help pay for electric bills, medical care and supplies, food, and transportation. Please join us in helping serve Holocaust survivors until the very end. Their history is trampled with horrific acts; may we be a blessing and offer the hope of Christ as a testimony of redemption in their final days. $25 suggested gift GIVE NOW
HESED Due to an overwhelming response to our ORIGINS trip, we were delighted to offer a similar outreach opportunity for adults. This volunteer trip is designed to give adults an opportunity to serve the Jewish people. The group works hard at non-medical tasks in a hospital right outside of Tel Aviv. Hesed (meaning “lovingkindness” in Hebrew) makes a way for volunteers from the United States, Canada, and Australia to show a practical act that speaks volumes to the Jewish people. “Why do you come to serve us here when you could be on a cruise in the Mediterranean?” they ask. “Because we love Jesus and He loves you, too.” Please help send someone to show the love of the Messiah to the Jewish people. It transforms lives for everyone. $3,895 sponsor a team member $50 cost-sharing gift GIVE NOW 15
NORTH AMERICAN OUTREACH One of the most integral parts of the FOI ministry that is always in motion, but that you may never see in its fullest capacity, is our widespread team of Bible teachers and church representatives who are filling their calendars with speaking opportunities all across North America. As humble servants, these Bible teachers go into churches and proclaim the truth of God’s Word, His work and, ultimately, His plan for Israel. Our FOI team makes every effort to reach as many people as possible by edifying believers about end-times prophecy and ministering to those who do not know the Lord. It’s a busy job! Many of them lack the time it takes to raise the money required to fund the opportunities that are transforming lives. You can help fill the gap and provide support for our North American workers as well as much-needed training. Your support enables our team to teach biblical truth to those who have never known or have lost sight of God’s plan and future for Israel. Please make a gift today. $25 suggested gift to North American workers GIVE NOW
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ELDERLY CARE FUND Oh, the stories they can tell! Spending time with elderly Jewish people is a blessing for both the elderly person and our FOI workers who have the opportunity to slow down, stop, and listen. Unique friendships have been formed as our workers minister to such a precious group of people. By supplying medicine, transportation, holiday baskets filled with delicious goodies, or simply the gift of time, we are able to show our Jewish friendsthe love of the Messiah and to share the Good News with them. Please help provide life-giving support through medicines, food, and love to our elderly Jewish friends worldwide. $25 suggested gift GIVE NOW
THANK GOD FOR ISRAEL DAY One of the best solutions for people, political parties, religions, or countries who adamantly oppose one another is to find common ground. Common ground enables all of us to see beyond our differences and embrace our similarities—exactly what our Thank God for Israel Day is designed to do. An opportunity to build bridges between the Jewish community and Christian community, rabbis and pastors come together to support Israel together. A day full of guest speakers, special music, and overall encouraging community, these important events are a special way to connect people who may not otherwise ever be connected. Please help support our Thank God for Israel Days throughout the year. $30 suggested gift
HOLIDAY BASKETS A small gesture of love can go a long way. Every year, our FOI team handdelivers holiday baskets to our Jewish friends. Delighted to receive a basket full of delicious and thoughtful goodies, the recipients are often overwhelmed by this sheer act of kindness. This special time is often filled with taking a moment to talk and share how the love of the Messiah is what compels us to remember our Jewish friends during their important holiday seasons. You can help provide baskets, by making a gift today. $25 suggested gift GIVE NOW
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UNIVERSITY OUTREACH Instead of feeling defeated by the spiritual climate we are up against in this day and age, FOI chooses to proactively work toward spreading the truth and love of the Messiah. On today’s college campuses it is easy to believe that it’s only an uphill battle. Students are denying Christ in an effort to express themselves, which ultimately, without Christ, will only hurt them. This is why our FOI workers are taking on the college campus mentality by making students aware of God’s truth. By meeting them right where they are, our workers are organizing pro-Israel clubs and educating Christian students about God’s plan for Israel. They’re opening their homes for Bible studies and prayerfully seeking to lead young people to Christ. Please help share hope on college campuses nationwide and build a bridge of hope from an anti-God mentality to one that is desperate for His never-ending love. $30 suggested gift GIVE NOW 18
MISSION LAUNCH INITIATIVE One of the most encouraging gifts from God comes every time He sends a new worker to FOI. To find someone with an impassioned love for God, His Word, the Jewish people, and God’s redemptive plan for Israel in the future encourages us to keep going. However, every new worker has to raise funds to support the ministry he or she is called to do at The Friends of Israel. This is a time-consuming task that can often delay the urgent work of spreading the Good News that so desperately needs to be done. To make this transition time easier for our new workers, we have a newly created Mission Launch Initiative (MLI), where you can give a gift that goes directly toward getting a new worker off the ground, helping them reach their financial goals, and serving as encouragement as they get started. $50 suggested gift GIVE NOW
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Friends of Israel G O S P E L M I N I S T RY Building bridges. Bringing hope.
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