Dear Friend,

Greetings to you from Return to Zion in Haifa, Northern Israel. We thank all of you who have supported us or volunteered your time in serving Return to Zion (Shavei Tzion)! 

Feast of Tabernacles and Holocaust Survivors

On the first evening of Sukkot (the Feast of Taberncles) Return to Zion again hosted a large group of Holocaust survivors on the congregation’s rooftop .

Many foreign visitors, including a team from Germany and a pastor from the Swiss Reform Church, were also present. A few women in the German group performed an intercessory dance with flags—one of the flags was a beautifully embroidered coat of arms of Haifa! “We felt that God wanted us to come to Haifa and Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles,” explained Klaus and Monika. “We wanted to remind the nation of Israel that they are still God's people. God has not forgotten them, but is going to fulfill His promises to them.”

Brothers Daniel and Natanel delighted us with their anointed singing, and Eitan Shiskoff fed our spirits by teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven.

Pastor Kurt from the Swiss Reform Church said that he had come to Israel to learn about the Jewish roots of Christianity. “The Fall feasts felt like the right time to come to learn of the Jewish culture. My visit to Israel is a journey of theological discovery. I also have a heart for reconciliation, and believe, that with the help of the Holy Spirit, reconciliation is possible between different people and denominations.”

Short-term Ministry Teams

Return to Zion has a 5-7 day program called “Pilgrims” for short-term ministry opportunities. We recently received a team of volunteers from Tenneessee. They served alongside Pastor Vakif in Netzer HaGalil, our daughter congregation in Upper Nazareth. The team helped in the home of an elderly couple burdened by many illnesses. Thank you, Erik & Rebeccah and the team! May God bless you in return! 

Open Sukkah

 “Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.” (Luke 14:23b)

 

Some members of RTZ Congregation, in cooperation with some friends from Finland, hosted an open Sukkah in a scruffy residential backyard in Haifa. Many "street people" popped in after their morning dose of Methadone (a synthetic heroin replacement provided by the Ministry of Health). Lord, may these precious people find mercy and true repentance in your forgiving arms, and may the bond of deadly Methadone be broken in their lives, in the name of Yeshua the Messiah! (Coincidently, in Hebrew: Met=Dead; Adon=Lord) 

Coffee Corner

"Man does not live by bread alone..." (Matthew 4:4)
Our street team was gladly surprised by the continued flow of visitors to our backyard sukkah. Therefore, it was decided after the feast that the sukkah should be moved to the congregation’s parking lot. Kostya and a team have continued to invite people there from the streets and from the congregation’s soup kitchen. The need for spiritual food seems as evident as physical hunger! Please pray for K. and his team to be effective in ministry. There has already been good fruit—three new people arrived in the congregation’s Shabbat meeting!

Outreach to Single Mothers

RTZ church has begun to reach out to single mothers in Haifa. A Succot celebration was organized for them and their children. Please pray for this pilot project, and for the team in charge.

Music School – The Rainbow of Sounds

A new branch of RTZ Music School has been opened in an Arab city called Shefaram. Thirteen new students enrolled! Another 25 students are already studying in our Haifa branch. Please pray for this new initiative in Shefaram.

 HTI Graduation

Sof Sof! At long last the graduation day for the students of Haifa Theolgical Institute arrived. Two years of industrious study were rewarded with diplomas—three students received a tailored MA degree, and eleven received a diploma for Biblical Studies! What a joyful day! It was hard to tell who was happier—the new graduates or the visiting leaders of New Geneva Theological Seminary, through which HTI receives its academic accreditation. Now the new, brave graduates are better equipped with apologetic arguments to reach out to their fellow Israelis.

Building

We are in the final stages of purchasing the building, and we ask you to pray for a smooth acquisition process. Hopefully, by the end of 2011 we can call this place our own. This will enable us to concentrate our present ministries under one roof and be more effective in our work in restoring faith in Yeshua in Israel in our days!

Blessings in the name of our Messiah Yeshua,

Leon and Nina Mazin