Transcript
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,120
Hello, everyone. I'm Stephen Strang, and welcome to this special edition of the Strang Report
2
00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:20,580
podcast, giving you an update on what's happening in Israel with money that our viewers and
3
00:00:20,580 --> 00:00:25,680
listeners have contributed to our Bless Israel Fund through Christian Life Missions, our
4
00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:33,760
nonprofit partner. And we have a history of raising money for Israel going back many years.
5
00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:39,480
I've been a supporter of Israel personally my whole adult life. But certainly in the
6
00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:44,880
90s and early 2000s, we've raised a lot of money over the years. And I found these mementos
7
00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:52,380
on my wall. This is from the American Friends of McGendivid Adom. I hope I said that right.
8
00:00:52,380 --> 00:01:02,000
That's Hebrew for the Red Star of David. And we raised, as I recall, about $125,000 for
9
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:08,920
an ambulance. And they gave me this very nice plaque. We did this in 2005. And we told them
10
00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:14,200
that every penny would go to them. So we raised money for the ambulance. And then we got like
11
00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:20,040
$40,000 more that trickled in. So we went ahead and sent it to them. And they, I guess
12
00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:24,880
they bought another ambulance with other donors they had. And the following year, there was
13
00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:31,140
a second Lebanese war. You may remember that. And there was a lot of bombing and destruction
14
00:01:31,140 --> 00:01:37,320
in the northern part of Israel. And through Barry Siegel and Vision for Israel, we raised
15
00:01:37,320 --> 00:01:43,920
– I'm going from memory, somewhere between $75,000 and $100,000. And we raised it very,
16
00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:50,320
very quickly. And these people sent me this very nice plaque in Hebrew saying thank you.
17
00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,680
Only time I've ever gotten a citation like that in Hebrew. And then here we're doing
18
00:01:54,680 --> 00:02:04,600
it again. When October 7th happened and the terrorist group Hamas viciously attacked Israel
19
00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:10,800
and killed more Jewish people in one day than any time since the Holocaust. It was just
20
00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:16,120
horrible. So we reached out very, very quickly to several ministries that we knew and said,
21
00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:21,840
how can we help? And today we're going to get an update from these ministries. And they're
22
00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:28,360
ministries that I've known a long time. I'll start with Sue Perlman and Jews for Jesus,
23
00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:34,680
who is a well-known organization, of course. I knew the founder, Moish Rosen. I knew him
24
00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:42,760
personally. He was a great man, a great visionary. And I'm a personal supporter of Sue Perlman
25
00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:51,200
and have for many years. And a couple of years ago, I found out in conversation that the
26
00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:57,080
Jews for Jesus headquarters in Tel Aviv had no bomb shelter. And Christian Life Missions
27
00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:04,800
actually had a Bless Israel fund. We had amassed a small sum, $20,000 or $30,000 as I recall.
28
00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:10,680
And we were able to help them. It covered most of the cost, I guess, of constructing
29
00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:17,640
a bomb shelter. And when the war started, they actually sent us pictures of people that
30
00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:22,680
were able to run there for shelter. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. So we had this history. Barry
31
00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:27,000
Segal, as I mentioned, Vision for Israel, we helped them with the Second Lebanese War.
32
00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:32,640
And more recently, I've gotten to know some of the leadership in the Messianic Jewish
33
00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:40,120
Alliance of America who have a Joseph project. And I knew they were set up doing good works.
34
00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:44,880
And so what we did was you basically took the money that came in and sort of divided
35
00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:51,680
it. And the war is continuing. In fact, it's gone not only from the battlefield, but the
36
00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:58,360
war in public opinion in the media, which I hope we talk about. But I felt it was important
37
00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:03,920
to get an update. Because right at the end of the year, we're trying to raise more money.
38
00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:10,940
We've raised about $135,000, as I recall. And we have a goal of 200,000. And we need
39
00:04:10,940 --> 00:04:18,760
a lot of people to give $5, $10, $25 would be a huge contribution. And I want you to
40
00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:24,680
hear how your money is being used. Because Christian Life Missions, and what we do at
41
00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:33,560
Charisma is kind of our nonprofit arm, it is 100% charitable, 100% ministry oriented,
42
00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:41,880
and it's really kind of crowd funder in a way that goes back many, many years with raising
43
00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:46,400
money. And there are a lot of other ministries and other crowd funders, but we're doing what
44
00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:52,440
we can with the platform we have and the influence we have to meet needs. And we usually look
45
00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:58,480
for needs that nobody else is helping or maybe ministries where the contributions we get
46
00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:03,480
really, really makes a difference. So let's get an update on what's happening. I just
47
00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:09,000
wanted to give that background. And, you know, in case you don't watch it all the way to
48
00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:16,640
the end, I wanted you to know that we need you to go to christianlifemissions.org. That's
49
00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:25,720
our website. It's christianlifemissions.org. And all this information will be there. We're
50
00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:30,200
going to be emailing, doing all this kind of stuff. But this was so important to me
51
00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:36,120
personally that I've dipped into my own pocket to give because I felt that the Lord wanted
52
00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:41,840
me to. And I know that the Lord is speaking to people who have a heart to help Israel
53
00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:47,440
and maybe don't know which ministry to trust. You can trust us. We have a long history,
54
00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:53,520
no controversy. We've been able to do a lot of good because we could do more together
55
00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:59,000
than we can do individually. So let me start with Sue Perlman, Jews for Jesus, who is joining
56
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:05,880
us from San Francisco. Thank you for getting up early to be on the podcast today and just
57
00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:13,400
give us an update on what is happening and your viewpoint as you see it through the eyes
58
00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:22,200
of the ministry of Jews for Jesus. Thank you, Steve. And thank you, supporters that are
59
00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:28,160
listening in. What you have given and what you might give as the end of the year approaches
60
00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:35,920
really makes a big difference. Jews for Jesus is the largest missionary agency in Israel
61
00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:44,320
today. We have over 50 full-time missionaries preaching the gospel. And Israel is a tough
62
00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:53,200
place. But in a sense, what has happened since October 7th has opened up hearts in a way
63
00:06:53,200 --> 00:07:00,360
that we've never seen before. People who would not talk to us before are requesting New Testaments.
64
00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:07,320
Your money has helped us to get those New Testaments into their hands. People are coming
65
00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:13,640
out and saying, how can we help? This is amazing to me. We have over a thousand volunteers
66
00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:20,080
a day, Steve, who are taking part in this effort with us. And more than half of them
67
00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:24,880
are unbelievers. And what was it that you did? I know that you are real good about sending
68
00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:31,920
information and I remember a picture, maybe we can find it, of a whole bunch of bags that
69
00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:36,920
were ready to be distributed. Apparently, it had food, stuffs and other things that
70
00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:45,360
people needed. Yes, we put together these grocery boxes, bags with the L'Recha stamp
71
00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:55,640
on them, which is our ministry name in places in Israel, Help Your Neighbor. And for $50,
72
00:07:55,640 --> 00:08:02,120
people could take one of these boxes and feed a whole family for a week. And there are so
73
00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:10,120
many displaced Israelis and Palestinians in Israel right now that we're able to get those
74
00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:18,440
boxes into people's hands. Over 3,000 boxes, one by one, delivered to people in the South,
75
00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:26,160
people at the hotels. We're actually working with a hotel in Jerusalem that is housing
76
00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:30,980
all these displaced people and we're running the children's program. So all these Israeli
77
00:08:30,980 --> 00:08:41,800
children are getting care from ministry people. We are going out with trucks on the weekend
78
00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:48,680
and doing barbecues at different units in the IDF. These are like very personal one-on-one
79
00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:55,520
things. We've got coffee trucks going out to the IDF soldiers. They're just being told
80
00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:02,440
we care and Christians care. And as we've talked to Israelis on the street about the
81
00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:06,440
fact that there are Christians here in the United States that love them and care for
82
00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:14,360
them, they're brought to tears because they see a lot of what's in the public media that
83
00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:20,000
is so hateful, not just to Israelis, but to the Jewish people as a whole. And we can make
84
00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:29,640
a difference as believers that what we have to bring is our substance financially, our
85
00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:37,640
prayers as well, and our continual care for Jewish people in the midst of a horrific,
86
00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:40,280
horrific war.
87
00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:46,560
Well that's very exciting and we do need to show the love of Jesus in an unselfish way,
88
00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:54,200
which you're doing. I remember when we did the ambulance, the organization asked me,
89
00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,720
you know, did they want Christian life missions on the side? Did they want charisma on the
90
00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:05,600
side? I said no, just put from Christian friends in the United States. I wanted them to know
91
00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:11,680
that there were Christian friends who loved them and, you know, it wasn't about branding
92
00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:18,960
or anything else. Most of what we raise for different ministries is one time, but I encourage
93
00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:24,000
people to either give through Christian life missions, help us hit that goal of 200,000,
94
00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:29,600
or to give directly to Jews for Jesus, especially if you have a heart to continue to give on
95
00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:36,640
an ongoing basis. So Sue, tell people your website and how people could support you personally
96
00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:39,800
or support Jews for Jesus.
97
00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:48,000
It's a very easy website to remember. It's the words, Jews for Jesus, altogether.org,
98
00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:54,680
Jews for Jesus.org. If you go on that site, you'll be brought to some information about
99
00:10:54,680 --> 00:10:59,360
what's happening in Israel, but what's happening around the world and reaching people. You
100
00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:05,160
know, we're fighting a war on two fronts right now. We have Israel and we have Ukraine and
101
00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:13,240
we have missionaries in both places that are proclaiming the gospel in a very difficult
102
00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:23,640
environment. But the war is bad for Israel, but it is also good for the gospel. A strange
103
00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:24,640
combination.
104
00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:30,560
Well, it seems that when things are really difficult, that's when people call out to
105
00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:39,040
God. And so that's a good report. Thank you. And as I said earlier, I personally support
106
00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:46,760
Jews for Jesus because I believe in what they're doing. So let's move to the Joseph Project.
107
00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:54,160
You know, I didn't ask you ahead of time. We're going to talk to Hank Rich, who is over
108
00:11:54,160 --> 00:12:00,840
the Joseph Project, and I'm assuming that it's after Joseph in the book of Genesis,
109
00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:07,400
isn't it? It helps store up things. I know that you have a couple of semi trucks and
110
00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:14,360
you distribute, you have quite a network that you distribute to before October 7th. And
111
00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,600
just bring us up to date on what's happening now.
112
00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:25,000
Yeah, my pleasure. And again, to Charisma Steve, we want to thank you also for your
113
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:34,320
generous gift. We, unlike Jews for Jesus, we are primarily a humanitarian aid organization.
114
00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:43,000
We're an Israeli nonprofit set up in Israel about 23 years ago. And we operate a very
115
00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:50,680
large warehouse in Bet Shemesh, probably about 20 miles from Jerusalem, 30 miles from Tel
116
00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:58,840
Aviv. And we've been distributing humanitarian aid throughout Israel for 23 years. So when
117
00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:09,720
this horrific incident happened on October 7th, we were there. Someone mentioned to us,
118
00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:15,280
you know, that warehouse was built, that fleet of trucks was there, that warehouse was filled
119
00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:25,000
with humanitarian aid for just a time as this. Unfortunately, October 7th, as you said, was
120
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:33,840
probably the single worst day in the history of Israel. Probably in the history of Israel.
121
00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:38,640
I mean, the Holocaust happened prior to the formation of the state of Israel. But since
122
00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:49,600
October 7th, we have distributed over 415 truckloads of humanitarian aid all throughout
123
00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:59,000
Israel to about 115 distribution points. Millions of dollars of aid has gone out already. And
124
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:05,680
you spoke earlier about the money that you have given. We have a budget every year. And
125
00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:12,160
that budget did not include October 7th. We were out every day with our trucks, distributing
126
00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:19,760
to other NGOs, governmental organizations, messianic congregations, churches, doing our
127
00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:27,600
everyday distribution. So all of the money that has come in from October 7th has really
128
00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:37,720
enabled us to really just do more than we ever have in the past in any 10 week period.
129
00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:47,680
We have distributed thousands and thousands of boxes of groceries. We have distributed,
130
00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:54,400
I don't even know how many, hundreds and hundreds of pounds of clothing, brand new clothing,
131
00:14:54,400 --> 00:15:00,040
bedding, field mattresses for soldiers. We work with Samaritan's Purse. We're Samaritan's
132
00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:08,120
Purse importer of record in Israel for the last six, seven years, distributing hundreds
133
00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:13,080
and hundreds of thousands of, I think you may be familiar with Operation Christmas Child.
134
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:20,160
Yes, of course. Well, they chose the Joseph Project to be their importer of record. We
135
00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:27,200
warehouse and distribute. And during this conflict, we were able to distribute, I don't
136
00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:34,520
even know how many thousands of toys to bomb shelters all throughout Israel. We also work
137
00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:43,240
with hospitals in Israel, supplying medical aid, medical supplies. Most recently, we have
138
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:49,400
a container on route with specially designed wheelchairs. So we are really in the humanitarian
139
00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:58,600
aid business. That's what we do. We receive aid from all corners of the world, from wonderful
140
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:06,000
believers in Asia, Europe, and America. And we also have a domestic program, Steve, in
141
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:13,800
which we partner with over 100 Israeli corporations that donate humanitarian aid in through the
142
00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:22,720
Joseph Project. I was approached in 2018 by a gentleman who was one of the managers of
143
00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:28,840
the National Food Bank, an organization called Leket. And he came to me and he said, Hank,
144
00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:34,760
you are missing a big opportunity in Israel. We understand from our work, and we had worked
145
00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:41,160
with Leket, that you import humanitarian aid from around the world. He told me that there
146
00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:50,720
are many, many companies in Israel that would love to give to the work of supplying to those
147
00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:57,320
in need. But he said there's no single address in Israel where these companies can give.
148
00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:03,000
It'll be warehoused, it'll be distributed. And really got to what I think I spent most
149
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:07,640
of my life in business to one of the most difficult parts in any business is that last
150
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:17,600
mile. And we brought him on as a consultant. He now works full time. And since 2018, he
151
00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:25,440
has built relationships with over 100 Israeli corporations that are now donating humanitarian
152
00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:32,200
aid. So we import from around the world. We receive a lot of aid from within Israel. We
153
00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:37,560
have a warehouse, and we have six trucks on the road right now. And those trucks were
154
00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:47,760
made possible by donors like yourself. So it's a very difficult situation. We worked,
155
00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:55,320
and probably in tandem with Sue, with J4J over at the Baptist Village, where a lot of
156
00:17:55,320 --> 00:18:01,880
ministries collaborated together. What happened on October 7th, Steve, was well beyond what
157
00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:10,640
any single ministry could handle. So we worked in tandem with J4J, with Firm, with Barry,
158
00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:17,380
Leklecha Nativa, and formed what we call the Emergency Village, but it was actually the
159
00:18:17,380 --> 00:18:23,320
Baptist Village. And a lot of aid went in there, and we had volunteers from all over
160
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:33,280
the world come and package and help distribute. We opened up our warehouse to everyone, not
161
00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:38,760
just our trucks. We had people coming in with cars, with vans, with pickup trucks. We have
162
00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:46,180
film of all different organizations coming into our facility. So all of this was made
163
00:18:46,180 --> 00:18:54,600
possible by people like yourself, Steve, because our budget did not plan. No one planned for
164
00:18:54,600 --> 00:19:03,120
October 7th. So it's all the additional funds that came in that enabled us to make these
165
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:09,280
distributions. And we're probably on the road doing five to 10 a day. So we're up over 400
166
00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:17,240
truckloads, as I said, about 115 distribution points. We also help relocate two schools
167
00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:23,920
that were in the Gaza envelope with our trucks, completely relocate schools into a safe area.
168
00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:31,480
So we are a humanitarian aid organization. That's what we were set up to do for such
169
00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:37,280
a time as this. People asked me just this past week or so, what is the number one need
170
00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:44,440
today? And right now, the number one need is warm clothing. As Sue mentioned, so many
171
00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:52,600
thousands, really hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from the south
172
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:57,920
and the north. And a lot of them left with nothing. So we're now getting into the colder
173
00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:05,080
months. We're doing a winter clothing drive. And we're trying to raise as much money as
174
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:11,920
we can for warm jackets, sweaters, long underwear, heavy socks, and shoes for people that were
175
00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:19,400
driven out of their homes with nothing. The need for food continues. We just did an event
176
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:27,560
with Public Health Association, where we distributed in one day 1,100 boxes of food. And we have
177
00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:33,320
a food program that's a little bit different than some others. It was developed by a nutritionist.
178
00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:40,040
It's a healthy food program where all the ingredients in these boxes are healthy. And
179
00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:47,560
we also then do workshops around Israel to teach people how to use healthy ingredients.
180
00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:51,560
If you don't understand how to use them, a lot of people, oh, they're too expensive.
181
00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:57,160
Where do I get them? It's very simple. So we're not only giving out food, but we're
182
00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:05,120
teaching. We're giving recipes on how to utilize the food. So it's like instead of just giving
183
00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:10,600
a man a fish and feeding him for a day, you're teaching them to fish in a manner of speaking.
184
00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:15,880
And I'm aware of the ministry and the humanitarian nature and the infrastructure that you had,
185
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:22,160
which is very important. You know, what you describe is a lot like convoy of hope in this
186
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:28,800
country, Operation Blessing, some of those ministries, and you've got to have an infrastructure.
187
00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:34,400
And while there's no need to get into the politics, you know, there are parts of the
188
00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:40,640
Israeli government that make it difficult for believers in Yeshua to operate. There
189
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:45,440
are some who would like to make it illegal. And so even getting things across the border,
190
00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:52,440
and you mentioned that Franklin Graham and so forth, you know, there's a lot of hoops
191
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:56,080
that you have to jump through just to get something across the border. And if you're
192
00:21:56,080 --> 00:22:04,400
able to help other ministries, I mean, that is an enormous benefit, you know, in lots
193
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:09,440
and lots of ways. So I tip my hat to you.
194
00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:14,640
One thing I would like to say, Steve, we just brought in three containers in the last week
195
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:23,600
from convoy of hope just arrived in our warehouse within the past week. That's one of the things
196
00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:32,480
that we didn't realize it in the beginning. But after 23 years of importing humanitarian
197
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:40,880
aid, we can say and agree it is difficult. And more and more ministries. Look, I was
198
00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:47,120
very surprised, Steve, when Samaritan's Purse called us. Let's be honest, we're not a Samaritan's
199
00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:53,920
Purse. They are one of the largest humanitarian aid organizations on earth. And they were
200
00:22:53,920 --> 00:23:00,720
calling the Joseph project because they wanted to start bringing in toys for children about
201
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:08,800
seven years ago. convoy of hope, as I said, just sent three, we've we've acted also besides
202
00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:17,040
ourselves, we've acted as a logistics organization for ministries, who not because of ignorance,
203
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:27,600
but just don't know how difficult it can be to import into Israel. It's not easy. So there
204
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:34,080
are many facets of the Joseph project facets. And we thank you, because your additional
205
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:41,360
money has really helped us and helped so many so many people within Israel, through our
206
00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:46,960
organization through Jews for Jesus, and many others. Look, Barry Siegel and I play golf
207
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:53,280
together. And we're very good friends. When Barry was opening up his millennial center,
208
00:23:54,080 --> 00:24:01,600
like most construction efforts, things, more money took a long time and we stored a lot of
209
00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:08,160
all of Barry's product in our warehouse for months while he was getting ready to open up
210
00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:13,200
that beautiful center and Maudine. I've been there many times. I remember when he first
211
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:18,480
put the shovel in the ground, it was nothing but dirt. And then here 10 plus years later,
212
00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:28,640
you know, it's so we're all friends. October 7 has brought us all together, much closer,
213
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:33,600
I think, as ministries than we ever have before. And we want to continue to partner with you in
214
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:40,640
the time we have left. I want to give each of you the last word for the Joseph project in Jews for
215
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:46,880
Jesus. Give a last word and tell people how they can support you directly if they like to. Or of
216
00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:55,840
course, they can give through christianlifemissions.org as well. Well, ours is ours like Susan's is very
217
00:24:55,840 --> 00:25:04,240
simple. It's josephproject.org one word josephproject.org and that is our website.
218
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:14,000
And that's the way you can support us. And they can of course find out more on your website about
219
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:23,040
specific things that you're doing. And we'll be on there. There's lots of video testimonies. So
220
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:31,360
yeah, that that would be the best place to go for us. Great. And Sue? I want your viewers to know
221
00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:41,200
that we are working with 1000 volunteers a day, half of whom are not believers, to get
222
00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:50,800
care packages out to share what we as believers can give to minister to, whether it's to displace
223
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:58,800
people or the IDF soldiers that we're working with. And your help makes that possible. We're so
224
00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:07,280
grateful to God for you. I mentioned to Steve earlier, personally, but I wanted to tell you all
225
00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:16,320
a survey that recently came out asking Christians what influenced them the most about what's
226
00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:22,960
happening in Israel. They responded by saying 44% said it was the media, what they're hearing in the
227
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:32,640
media. Only 17% said the Bible. I know you are all Bible believing Christians and that you love
228
00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:41,200
the Lord. And if you love what he says in his word about Israel, you don't have to question all this,
229
00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:49,120
some of this craziness that's going on in the media today. You need to just take your heart and give
230
00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:56,400
to what God is doing to uphold his people, the Jewish people, and those Palestinians that are also
231
00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:05,440
victims in many ways of what's going on. Pray for them all, but pray also with your wallet.
232
00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:11,840
Give to make this happen in Israel today. We need that. That's a very interesting way. Pray with
233
00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:17,600
your wallet. Well, I'm back with Barry Siegel, who I've known a long, long time with Vision for
234
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:25,440
Israel, and we've worked together in lots of ways. And this is the very nice plaque that he gave when
235
00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:32,400
we worked with him in 2007 with the Second Lebanese War. We were able to respond immediately
236
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:41,440
with some donations. And I actually have the English on the back, so I know what it says.
237
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:47,280
And so when this happened on October 7th, I knew to reach out to Barry immediately because I know
238
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:52,400
that you have so much credibility and actually your ministry has grown a great deal. So with the
239
00:27:52,400 --> 00:28:00,640
money that we sent, how did, how are you able to use it to really impact people? Well, we find
240
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:06,880
through the work of Vision for Israel and working together with you all, it's so critical that we're
241
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:13,840
face to face with the recipients and that we're able to meet their needs in a tailor-made way.
242
00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:20,960
Because it's useless to just dump things on a street corner. It's more effective and impactful
243
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:26,800
in the lives of people if we can provide exactly what they need to the best of our ability and to
244
00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:34,480
the provisions that we have. And so we've been doing a lot for soldiers, for medics and first
245
00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:42,480
responders in the field, for paramedics, of course, also for individual welfare recipients.
246
00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:49,840
But now that has exploded in this country because many of the families that are in need above and
247
00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:57,280
beyond those who are already in need and on our recipient roster are all the displaced Israeli
248
00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:05,680
families. And so we're reaching out to them in a very modeled fashion. We've supplied, I'm just
249
00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:14,800
looking to my list a little bit here, already 200 winter duvet blankets, 300 medical bag kits
250
00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:20,960
for first responders and paramedics. Those alone cost hundreds of dollars of each. We've provided
251
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:27,120
both protective vests and helmets, both for the first responders and medics, but also for
252
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:36,320
civilian security where it was so lacking before. We've had to provide even two-way Motorola radios
253
00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:45,280
for some of the kibbutzim along the northern border and 500 plus, beyond that, winter jackets
254
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:52,640
and fleece jackets for soldiers, reservists, as well as security patrols, especially in the north,
255
00:29:53,360 --> 00:30:00,080
which has been getting bombarded by rockets from Hezbollah. Above and beyond that, we're providing
256
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:08,080
bath towels, hand and face towels, a thousand large food parcels, and we just reordered another 600.
257
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:16,080
And so we're also giving, especially now, financial vouchers. As some areas are simmering down,
258
00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:24,720
the needs are much greater for practical things such as food, new clothing, diapers, especially.
259
00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:32,960
We just received a donation of 68,000 diapers which we're distributing, and I think it's something like
260
00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:40,560
three to five thousand pairs of winter socks. Some people have also sent us hand-knit,
261
00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:50,080
you know, head coverings for ladies in the winter, and we've also provided several
262
00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:59,360
sets of earphones and children's iPads for educational purposes for displaced children
263
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:05,120
who are now attending other schools until they can return either to the southern or northern
264
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:12,480
communities. And this list goes on and on and on, and the financial vouchers are critical now because,
265
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:18,000
of course, we're in the winter months and people need to go out and buy food, and it's a practical
266
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:24,000
need for both the displaced families as well as the welfare recipients because they just released
267
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:31,520
an article that Israel is the highest or one of the highest in the OECD, the European Extended
268
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:37,920
Countries, with poverty. So we're suffering from a great deal of poverty here in the country.
269
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:44,000
It's hard for people to understand that, but it is real when you see the homes and the families
270
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:49,600
in need at this point. These are just some of the areas we're reaching out to besides and above and
271
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:57,760
beyond the bomb safety shelters and ambulances. We've now got seven ambulances, which are now
272
00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:04,720
been donated by us, and three ATV vehicles for fire and rescue needs in the Judean Samarian
273
00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:10,640
Hills where there's been a lot of terrorist activity but less known in the news. And we're so
274
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:15,520
thankful to all of you. I mean, it couldn't happen without partners, you know, in Christian
275
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:21,680
Life's missions partnering with us as well as others that just have a burden on their hearts
276
00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:27,120
to come alongside of Israel in these days. Well, thank you for what you do. I've been over there
277
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:34,320
and actually seen your facilities, seen some of the things that we helped with before, and
278
00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:40,080
you have such credibility and you had the infrastructure where we were able to respond.
279
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:46,240
We do encourage people, especially toward the end of the year, when a third of all charitable
280
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:54,960
donations are made in December, to give to christianlifemissions.org, Christian Life Missions
281
00:32:54,960 --> 00:33:02,240
as if it's one word and then.org. But we also want to just connect people to the Christian Life
282
00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:08,160
Missions. We also want to just connect people with your ministry. And most of our donors are
283
00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:14,480
one-time donors for whatever we're raising money for, but yours is a ministry that is
284
00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:19,840
worthy of support on an ongoing basis. So tell people how they can respond directly, how they
285
00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:26,240
can find out more about your ministry. Well, there's a few ways, obviously, to connect with
286
00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:35,360
our ministry and thank you for that invitation. We have a website which is www.visionforisrael.com.
287
00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:50,800
And also we have a Facebook page, Vision for Israel. People can go online to our website and
288
00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:59,280
they can donate directly and it will list a few different areas of giving or just general and they
289
00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:05,600
can also sign up and give on a monthly basis as well. We have a toll-free number as well, which
290
00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:20,720
people can call at 1-866-351-0075. That's 1-866-351-0075. And I wanted to mention our YouTube
291
00:34:20,720 --> 00:34:29,680
page also shows visibly some of the work inside of the base of Vision for Israel, which is held
292
00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:36,480
in the Millennium Center, our central logistics center right in the heart of the country. And
293
00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:43,440
we have a YouTube site, Vision for Israel, and also update on the news, VFI News. But one thing
294
00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:51,360
I wanted to share, Steve, that so impressed me all these years. I feel like the last 30 years was
295
00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:57,040
almost a training session. All the years we've been doing this work in humanitarian aid,
296
00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:04,000
I felt like we've been training for such a time as this. And I was saying for years
297
00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:11,840
the quote, when crisis comes, it's too late to prepare. And I feel like we were prepared for
298
00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:20,480
this time. And I'm just so happy that the Holy Spirit was leading all of us. And even as far back
299
00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:27,360
as the war with Hezbollah, that previous war where you came alongside and partnered with us to rebuild
300
00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:34,160
the community center back in, well, the war was in 2006, and I believe the building of the center
301
00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:41,680
was in 2007. And how we were able to partner together, these were just ways to link together
302
00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:48,240
and see what God was going to prepare us all for. So we're extremely grateful to you and to Christian
303
00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:55,200
Life Missions and to all your donors and partners and all of our partners. And this isn't going to
304
00:35:55,200 --> 00:36:01,360
stop. I believe that we're in very prophetic end times, and it's going to take a lot more
305
00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:07,840
working together, linking together, and seeing the future together according to what's written in
306
00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:13,840
biblical prophecy. The Bible says that where your treasure is there, your heart is also.
307
00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:22,160
And we can't just talk. We have to act. The book of James tells us that. So thank you for watching.
308
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:29,280
Please forward this or put it on social media, the link on social media, especially for people
309
00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:34,720
that you know who have a heart for Israel. And if you don't subscribe to the Strang Report,
310
00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:41,280
be sure to do so and smack that little bell so that you're notified when we're on live every
311
00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:49,680
Tuesday and Thursday at 4 p.m. Eastern time. Thanks again for watching and until next time, God bless you.