4/20/10

Dear Friends of the Friedman family and Jacob’s Hope,

Grace and shalom in the wonderful name of our Messiah Y’shua.

The first quarter of 2010 is now history and it has been a busy and productive time. I spent five weeks in Ethiopia teaching at the Bible College. One of my students preached in his church to a thousand people, explaining the importance of blessing the Jewish people. The leadership and the people responded positively to his message. All of the students came away from the classes with a better perspective of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. I had the opportunity to speak to several large congregations as well as the only Messianic congregation in the country. These beautiful Jewish people are desperate for more information and teaching on being Jewish and believing in the Messiah.

We are working with the leadership of the Assemblies of God in Ethiopia to do a formal assessment of the needs of the Jewish community around the country. When this assessment is complete, we will have a better picture of the needs and be able to meet these needs in a more efficient manner. I will let you know when the assessment is complete and about the projects we will undertake. The dates for the health care team to the Jewish community in Ethiopia have been changed to January 28th thru February 7th 2011. If you are interested in being part of this team please contact the Health Care Ministries of the Assemblies of God at logistics@healthcareministries.org.

On my way home from Ethiopia I stopped for four days in Poland. I spoke at two churches and did a daylong seminar for about 200 people. These wonderful Polish believers are eager to learn more about the roots of the faith and how they can be a blessing to Israel.

After a week at home, I was on the road again. I spoke to a large congregation in Poughkeepsie, New York. The next week I was with another large congregation in Kissimmee, Florida. Both of these congregations opened their hearts to the message and to the Jewish people around the world. I thank God for churches and Pastors like these all over the country.

The work in Israel continues. The three humanitarian aid centers are being fully funded and touching the lives of thousands of Jewish people. This week we have sent out a mailing to 10,000 Assemblies of God churches. Please pray that there will be a great response to this appeal so we can open more centers in Israel.

I met with the leaders of Convoy of Hope and they are excited about partnering with us in Israel. A large donation came in for a project in Israel. Jacob’s Hope will match this donation and we are working with another ministry to match both donations. We will let you know how this develops. Also there is a firm commitment to help Jacob’s Hope get the first ever Assemblies of God container full of material support to needy people in Israel.

On the home front, Matt & Sara have just completed their Messiah in the Passover tour and are taking a well deserved rest. Jesse continues at Temple University and has launched a new business. Bethany graduates from University of the Arts in May and we will be going to Philadelphia for the graduation. Adam continues in Auto tech school and working. Elisa continues in her dance classes and is doing really well in school. She just cut off her long curly hair, now it is short curly hair and she looks all grown up. Jed is looking forward to playing on a home school football team this year. If you remember, last year he was injured several times, but he is bigger and stronger now. He also helps me when I travel, keeping me awake and running the book table. Vixie now has 12 students signed up for her Classical Conversations class in the Fall. She loves teaching this class and is excited to have this many students. There is also the possibility of another class as well.

To all of you who are making the dream of Jacob’s Hope a reality, thank you. We love and appreciate you more than words can say. You are changing the lives of Jewish people around the world!

For Jacob’s children,

The Friedmans

Jeff, Vixie, Matt, Sara, Jesse, Bethany, Adam, Elisa, and Jed