More often, we see stretchers made of goat skins stretched between two branches and covered with blankets like the one below.

Last week in Enfranz, Ethiopia, we also saw several people brought in on homemade planks or bench-like pallets.

Friday, May 31, 2018

On Friday, the last day of the Enfranz Medical Clinic, a woman entered the Clinic balancing a large basket on her head. Our Line Management leader was told that, in the bundle, she carried her dead baby. A hushed moment of somber respect passed among those standing at the gate as they watched the woman steadfastly walk in bare feet toward the Triage Department.

In Triage, the brave woman became a priority for care. She put down the basket and opened the blankets. Inside, to everyone’s joy, was a beautiful, living baby girl. The mother had experienced trouble after delivering her baby and knew two things: that she needed help and our Clinic was there.

She had begun walking to us “when the birds started singing” that morning, she explained. According to the sunrise, that would be about 6:00 a.m. She walked approximately eight miles and reached the Clinic at 8:30 a.m. In the OBGYN Department, mother and daughter received care. There in the Clinic, she gave her baby daughter the name Hannah.

The team of doctors and medical professionals on this Outreach treated 6,000 patients in just two days. It is such a remarkable blessing to impact so many lives in Yeshua’s name!

Some of the people receiving care at the Clinic have told us stories of persecution. Because they are Jewish or Jewish Believers in Yeshua (Jesus), they are rejected, beaten and distrusted. A common superstition is that people believe Jewish people have “the evil eye,” abilities to curse or cause bad things to happen. For this reason, many are considered to be liars and are shunned and disbelieved in whatever they say.

Please pray for the Jewish people in the Enfranz, Ethiopia area as well as those they live among. When Jewish Voice brings no-cost medical care to a location, the entire community benefits and the people see that they have received a blessing because of the Jewish people living among them. In this way, we see anti-Semitism in the region begin to dismantle.

Monday, May 28, 2018

The Line Management teams on JVMI Medical Outreaches work to ensure efficient lines. We had so many people in line on Monday that our team had to create an overflow area, shown below. If you look closely in the photo, you can see many people who found shade among the trees.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

The nursing station was bustling today as they helped a large number patients. One woman was given fluids for dehydration. The nurses were so busy that our photographer couldn’t even find out about the others he saw there. Meanwhile, thousands of people waited outside the gates, eager for their turn to enter the Clinic and receive medical, dental or eye care.

This afternoon was the first rain the team had seen in Enfranz despite a forecast that had predicted rain every day during the Outreach. It was just a sprinkle at the end of the day, but when the team left the Clinic, a massive storm cloud came through behind the campsite.

Our Enfranz, Ethiopia, Medical Outreach is about to begin. There are a number of firsts associated with this trip. It’s our first time in Enfranz; we’ll be camping – which is unusual for our Ethiopia Outreaches; we’ll be housed in two separate campsites.

Creating two campsites will ensure that the needs of our very large group of Outreach staff and partners are met most efficiently. Also at the Enfranz Outreach, we’ll introduce the Zehra Kids Program in Ethiopia for the first time. It’s an exciting new way that we can serve the Jewish community there.

As always, we are aware that it is by God’s grace alone that we can minister effectively in the opportunities He provides. Please join us in prayer for our team, our partners and, most especially, for those we’ll minister to – the Jewish people and their neighbors – in Enfranz, Ethiopia.

Please pray for:

• Safe travel to, from and within Ethiopia
• Protection and ingenuity for those handling logistics
• Good health and the Lord’s watchful love over each person during this Outreach, whether giving or receiving care
• The spiritual ground to be well prepared in the people and region so they will gladly receive the Good News and it will take root and extend throughout the area
• Strength, vigor, courage, and resilience for our team – physically, emotionally and spiritually – as well as wisdom and discernment to overcome every obstacle
• A special outpouring of refreshment and energy for the team members participating in back-to-back trips
• The Lord to set ambushes against His enemies as worship and praise arise daily

Let’s pray: Lord, even though, from our perspective, many of the aspects of our Enfranz, Ethiopia, Medical Outreach fall into the categories of “new” and “big,” nothing is too big or hard for You! We ask that we would see each day filled with miracles, healings and salvations bringing both deliverance to those receiving care and glory to You, the One we serve. In Yeshua’s name we pray, AMEN.

If you would like to pray along day by day, you can find daily prayer points for Enfranz here.

Please help cover the Outreach in prayer and let us know you’re praying! Click here to sign up for a time slot on our Enfranz Outreach prayer calendar.

God gave us the Torah,

His Word and instruction,

on Shavuot in the wilderness.

God put His law in our hearts

when He gave us the Holy Spirit 

on Shavuot after Yeshua’s death.

May you be filled with

the wonder of His Word and

the power of His presence

this Shavuot.

Chag Sameach!  •  Joyous Holiday!

Click here to learn the history and importance of Shavuot.

Think you know Shavuot? Take our fun quiz.

President Trump kept his promise.

The U.S. embassy move – or its first stage – is successfully completed. It was so exciting to be here with our Jewish Voice 2018 Israel Tour as it happened!

But not everyone is pleased.

Hamas incites 50,000 Gazans

Ahead of Monday’s embassy opening, thousands of Gaza residents demonstrated against the move.

The activities at the Gaza border quickly turned violent, and demonstrators burned the border gate and nearby electrical and power stations. The results affected Gaza residents and, as a result, they now have no gas to cook with and no electricity for their homes.

Damage was estimated in the millions. As usual, the Palestinian Hamas blamed Israel for the power outage, which will now cause a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. And, as in the past, it will likely be Israel who will fix it.

The Times of Israel reported that 50,000 Gazans demonstrated in 12 locations along the border. Thousands more were gathered at points several hundred meters from the fence, it reported.

Demonstrations soon turned into full-blown riots as Gazans launched burning kites into Israel in hopes of destroying farmers’ crops. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimated that the violence caused $9 million in damage on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

At least 60 people were killed and nearly 1,200 injured during the rioting on Monday, according to the Jerusalem Post. On Tuesday, the border clashes were calmer with two deaths reported in the area. 

Our tour group was in Jerusalem at the time experiencing the excitement of the Embassy opening.

What’s Really Going On?

The riots were part of weekly demonstrations billed as the “Great March of Return.” Encouraged by the terror group Hamas, the uprisings were originally slated to last from March 31 until May 15, the day known in Palestine as nakba (“catastrophe”) because it marks the 70th anniversary of Israel declaring itself a sovereign nation in 1948.

The IDF later closed the crossing, issuing a statement that read in part, “The Hamas terror organization has been carrying out terrorist attacks in the guise of riots. (They are) harming the well-being of Gazans and paralyzing their ability to go about their daily lives. Israel and many countries around the world work to deliver goods such as food, equipment, and fuel to Gaza's citizens, initiatives that are prevented by the Hamas terror organization’s actions.”

According to YNetnews.com, a Palestinian source said; “Hamas was encouraging rioters to damage crossings.” As crossings run by the Palestinian Authority (PA) are closed, the PA loses revenue from customs and other taxes. Closings also re-route goods to the Hamas-run Rafah Crossing, giving Hamas the income it needs to continue its actions against Israel.

In short, the riots provide cover for Hamas’ terror activities, which have as their sole purpose the destruction of Israel. Hamas used publicity surrounding the U.S. embassy inauguration in Jerusalem to convince tens of thousands of its own people to risk their lives and livelihoods by attacking Israel.

Middle East nations are among those that condemned Monday’s violence, and the UN Security Council met Tuesday in response. During that session, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, defended Israel, saying, “No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.”

How You Can Pray

• Pray for the safety of Israeli and Gaza citizens in the crosshairs of Hamas terrorism.

• Pray that Gazans will see that they endanger their own children when they allow Hamas to use them for its terror purposes.
• Pray for young people in Israel’s military, who are Hamas’ targets.
• Pray for quick repair of the Kerem Shalom Crossing, both to allow the free flow of humanitarian supplies and to starve the Hamas terrorism treasury.