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Food Prices Increase 20%

December 1, 2007

Nargia is elderly and blind. She cannot afford to take the bus to our food bank, so she walks a long distance to receive a bag of food.

Guy is a street minstrel; donations he receives on the street are not enough to cover his basic nutrition needs. The food he receives from Bridges for Peace may be the difference between life and death.

Rena, a Spanish-speaking lady, found herself homeless after her husband died and her stepchildren threw her out of her home. She was in desperate need. Our compassionate staff helped her find a place to live, cleaned it, painted it, found used furniture (mostly discarded by others), repaired a refrigerator, and found her a stove. They took up a collection to pay her grocery bill. When the store owner found out that Christians had raised the money, he was so amazed at such compassion that he wrote off the balance. Rena cleans houses for US $4 an hour, which doesn’t begin to cover her monthly costs, so we now bless her with food twice a month.

A widow in Dimona, a desert city where many are chronically poor, is in her 60s and has no work. She and her son struggle to pay their monthly bills. They feel blessed to receive food from Bridges for Peace.

A new immigrant family from South America found the adjustment to a new land difficult. They have three children and have received food from us for three years. Eli, the father, now has a job as a chefs assistant in a yeshivah (religious school). He only makes enough to pay for their apartment and utilities, but is happy to have work.

These are only a few of the more than 20,000 people who receive assistance from Bridges for Peace each month. We do our best to stretch the food budget. Even though the food parcels are moderate in size, many of the recipients share them with family members and friends. It hurts our hearts to see people with such great needs and to know that so many more are hurting just as deeply.

In September, as our senior team worldwide waited on the Lord in prayer, He impressed on our hearts again that He raised up Bridges for Peace to feed the people of Israel food, while we feed the Church with the truth from Israel. How our hearts long to meet the needs of the Jewish people and to shower them with food and the assurance that God loves them enough to send volunteers from 14 countries around the world to show them His merciful and loving character.

At a time when the Bridges for Peace Food Bank is needed more than ever, we are impacted by the same price increases. Our food budget, which purchased 50 tons of food per month until just recently, now only purchases 45 tons. To give you an idea of the impact of the higher costs, 12 tons of food now costs US $30,000 or US $2,500 for one ton. Earlier this year, we told you that to give 12 tons of food (one ton a month) would cost US $25,000.

We Need to Give More, Not Less

These increases hit us at a difficult time when the Lord has impressed on us the importance of feeding the people of Israel and told us to prepare for a time of crisis. We are ready to start stocking our new warehouse facility in the North. We cannot wait until the crisis is upon us—then it will be too late. We believe that we are to give more food in the name of the Lord, not less. So, we are calling out to God to meet the needs. We are asking Him to multiply the food. He has given me this Scripture: “I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations” (Ezekiel 36:30, NASB).

Recently, best-selling author Joel C. Rosenberg endorsed the mission of Bridges for Peace, encouraging the audience to give to our food projects. He said that Bridges for Peace is a Matthew 25 ministry. In this passage, Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. ‘Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:34–40, NASB).

Will you join us, as those the King identifies as “righteous,” by feeding the people of Israel, the natural brothers of our Lord Yeshua? Your gift can make their eyes bright with grateful tears. Your gift will bring smiles to their faces. Your gift will communicate God’s love and care for them. Your gift, distributed by Christian volunteers in the name of the Lord, will make a difference for the Lord and His kingdom. Let’s be Matthew 25 Christians and bless the brothers of Yeshua. Please pray about giving a generous gift this month.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

Rebecca J. Brimmer
International President and CEO