Your Hands Extended
Lives touched through Jerusalem Cornerstone Foundation’s Israel Releaf Fund just last month. We have changed the names of people to protect their privacy but please still pray for these people that our Lord would heal and restore. He knows who they are.
Leon Ronstein and his wife are an elderly couple living in Tiberias on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. They barely manage to make ends meet surviving on a meager government pension. Their only child, a 40-year-old son, has been hospitalized for the past two and a half years at Beit-Levinshtein, a hospital for the terminally ill. The trip back and forth to sit with their son is costly. JCF subsidized the transportation costs for the Ronsteins so they could visit their son more often.
Moses Dan struggles to support his wife and two children because of very poor health. The medication he takes for his condition is very expensive and puts a huge strain on the family. JCF stepped in this month to purchase his medicine which loosened the stress on the family finances. “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?” Matt. 7:9
Merit Beda is an Ethiopian believer from the Beit-El Congregation in Jerusalem who is a devoted member of her congregation, quick to help those in need around her. She has just begun her journey as a single mother, which means she is under great financial strain supporting her child and herself on just her income. In addition she is having trouble with the government about her status in the country. JCF stepped up to help her with a modest infusion of finances to help setup for her and her little baby.
The Olive Branch Center is directed by Eldan Clem and his wife who are believers working with African refugees from Sudan, Ivory Coast, Congo, and other places. Recently the government decided to move many refugees to Arad in the south of Israel. The staff at the Olive Branch help these refugees find jobs at the Dead Sea Hotels and with housing and basic every day needs. Eldan is working on finding a large house in Arad that will act as an absorption center for refugees until they are ready to face the outside world. They also plan to open a study center in Tel Aviv where Eldan will be able to expand the Biblical teaching programs he has already begun. The funds JCF contributed this month are for baby items for the many families at the center (diapers, baby milk and food, wipes etc.).
Ministery through the Children's Fund last month included the following two families.
Basma Al-Man is a Christian Palestinian wife and mother of four from Jericho. The Al-Mans are paying off several debts they owe to various medical facilities due to a variety of difficult medical conditions individual family members have dealt with in recent years: eye surgery, open-heart surgery, internal bleeding, various serious infections and more. Her husband has been too week to work much and Basma is currently struggling to find the means to pay for their children’s tuition for the coming school year. She needs 2400 shekels, aprox $700, for the four children. For the second year in a row, JCF has decided to partner with this family and help with a portion that amount so the children will continue to receive an education.
Chantelle Ashpan is five and a half years old, and lives with her single mother, after her parents’ separation four years ago. Chantelle’s mother does not work because she suffers from bi-polar syndrome and supports her daughter and herself with the monthly $750 that she receives as a disability allowance from the government (her husband does not yet pay alimony). What makes their situation even more difficult is their Armenian identity. It is difficult to find a school for Chantelle in Jerusalem where she would be welcomed and cared for without prejudice. The Bi-Lingual school is a great option for her and the school has agreed to give Chantelle a discount of over 60% so she can attend school there. Her mother has been saving to pay the remaining 4000 shekels, $1200, for the coming school year but needs a partner. JCF has stepped in to fill the gap and help Chantelle attend a school where she will receive support from teachers and peers to help her flourish.