6/15/09

Dear Friedman family friends,

We pray that you have been enjoying the Lord's blessings this year. It is hard to believe that half of 2009 is already over. As usual it has been too long since we have communicated so let me try to catch you up on what we have been doing and the projects we are now involved with.

I spent 5 weeks in Ethiopia teaching in the Addis Ababa Bible College. My students had never really been taught about the Jewish people and the biblical responsibility we have toward them. At the end of the class many students came forward and repented of anti-Semitism. They said they would do their best to love the 80,000 Jewish people in Ethiopia and teach other Christians to do the same. At the end of the semester I took a bus load of Christian students to the local Jewish community for a meeting. I was told that this had never happened before. The Jewish people of Ethiopia have lived in fear for so long, I believe that we made a beginning in improving the relationship between the Jewish and Christian communities.

I also worked with the leaders of the Jewish community prioritizing their needs. We have helped to begin an agricultural center for the Jewish community. We purchased 1,000 chickens which will provide jobs for 23 families and fund other projects in the community. The second phase is a small dairy. I am raising funds for this part of the project now. We have also started a job training center which will provide job skills in hair dressing, tailoring, masonry and plumbing. Because of your generosity many Jewish people will be able to earn a decent living. We have also been approved to take a health care ministry team into Ethiopia in May of 2010. This will be the first time an Assembly of God health care team has targeted a Jewish community. If you are a medical professional please pray about being a part of this exciting opportunity.

We have begun an outreach to the Jewish community of Simferopol Ukraine. Every Jewish family is in the process of receiving a food parcel and the Gospel. It is wonderful to see how a little compassion towards needy people softens their hearts to the Messiah. When every family has been reached we will hold an outreach event and invite the entire community.

I will be leaving for Israel June 30th. As you know, this is a very difficult time for the nation of Israel. Fear and uncertainty about the future is commonplace. What a wonderful time to begin reaching out with the love, peace and security that the Messiah brings. We will be working with a medical clinic in the Northern part of the country to help them minister to the Russian Jewish immigrants. We are expecting to open at least one humanitarian aid center and we are also working on bringing containers of humanitarian aid into the country as well. The prospects for doing this are looking very good. Please pray for all of these efforts in the land of Israel.

As you can see the rest of this year is going to be very busy. Please pray for health, strength, wisdom and finances to accomplish all that God has set before us to do. There is an open door and with God's help we are stepping through. Please pray for Vixie and the kids as the long separations take a toll on all of us.

On the home front, Matt & Sara are gearing up for the Summer outreaches and youth camps with Jews for Jesus. They will also be heading to Israel to do outreach there. Jesse has been promoted to Petty Officer and earned his naval warfare wings as well. He finishes his second deployment to the Persian Gulf in six weeks. Bethany was just accepted in the Philadelphia Dance Company summer internship program. Only 35 girls were accepted out of 200 who applied. We just returned from Philadelphia and Adam's high school graduation. Elisa is spending a good part of the summer with friends in Philly and she will be flying home alone for the first time. When she gets back she will prepare for her learners permit test. Jed is preparing hard for his bar mitzvah at Beth Emanuel in Philadelphia on August 8th. Do I sound like a proud dad? You bet I am!

Vixie again is the glue that holds the whole thing together. She traveled for 2 days to get to the graduation and then cooked all day for the party. She made the best matzoh ball soup you have ever tasted, for 100 people!

Perhaps God has laid one of the projects we have mentioned on your heart, if so please help us to reach more and more Jewish people around the world. All funds that come in now go directly to these and other projects.

If you have not already done so, please send your email address to Jacobshope.com, so we can send out more frequent electronic newsletters. Welcome to all of our new supporters and friends as well. It seems that more and more people are finding out about what we are doing and the response is growing. Thank you for being a part of this end time prophetic outreach to the Jewish people around the world. We could not do it without you.

For the lost sheep of the house of Israel,

Jeff, Vixie, Matt, Sara, Jesse, Bethany, Adam, Elisa, Jedidiah