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Be Part of the Miracle of Light

November 19, 2024

“When He [Jesus] saw the crowds, He was deeply moved with compassion for them, because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36 ISV).

Back in Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) time, Israel was overrun by the Roman occupation, and just like today, in political turmoil and drawn into a war she never wanted. Today, the Jewish state is the target of surrounding enemy states, while Jewish communities worldwide are targets of fast-growing antisemitism, causing many Jewish people to flee to Israel in spite of the raging hostilities.
Amid all the pain of war, Israel is also facing the rising global food costs, resulting in increasingly more families who find it hard to put food on their tables.

As the body of Jesus on earth, we as Christians from around the world see the plight of our Jewish brothers and sisters, and our hearts are deeply moved with compassion for them. But not only are our hearts moved in prayer; we also take action.

At Bridges for Peace, we distribute food every working day from our Jerusalem Assistance Center to provide for Holocaust survivors, displaced families, Christian Arabs, children and the elderly who fall between the cracks of a busy world. But the Lord is not too busy to see their needs and care, and He calls us to reach out with His compassion and provide the food they desperately need.

The Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023, directly targeted many of the communities we assist in the south of Israel, shaking them to the core. Because we already work in those communities to provide food and have over the years established contacts on the ground, we were able to respond quickly with aid. Bridges for Peace could move fast to provide food to families in need within hours. More than a year later, we have not stopped. We continue to answer the call to support the communities in southern Israel—and wherever else there are Israelis in need.

Our Israel Operations Director recently shared with me how he and his wife explained to their four daughters that there are children in Israel who don’t have enough food to eat. They could not believe it and asked what they could do to help. Some time later, they came running to their parents holding a homemade piggybank. The young ladies told their parents they want to start saving some of their own money to give to the Bridges for Peace Food project. They know their dad works every day to help feed the needy in Israel, but this was the first time they really understood why he serves there and want to get involved.

These precious children don’t have much money to give, but they have big hearts that move them to do something to help when they see a need. Their selfless nature reminds me of the boy with the loaves and fish we read about in John 6:9. He gave what little he had, and Jesus used that to feed the hungry multitude that had come to hear Him in the Galilee.

I share this story with you because this month, our focus is on our Food project.

Every month, Bridges for Peace provides food for over 24,000 needy Israelis. We can only do this with your support. We are funded 100% by generous Christian donors from around the world, and your support is making a life-changing difference for thousands of people that otherwise fall through the cracks.

We assist single mothers who work hard but are barely able to pay the rent and utilities. We provide food for the kitchen of a drug rehab center. We supply soup kitchens and community centers where social workers hand out our food parcels to the needy of that community. We offer lunches to children from poverty stricken families in schools.

Food is a very basic need, and the fact that we can help provide that basic need has compelled me to keepserving for the past 20 years. That’s also why I am reaching out to you today—because I know you have a big heart and will give whatever you can. Together, we will believe that just as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish to feed the multitude, our offerings too will be multiplied to feed the needy in Israel.

As we embrace the Light that came into the world because of God’s great compassion for all humanity—His Son, born in a manger right here in Israel, in the little town of Bethlehem, to be the Light for all mankind—let us also embrace His earthly family, the Jewish people, with all the love and light we can give.

Blessings from Israel,

Rev. Peter J. Fast

International CEO

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