DURAND’S FALL 2014 UPDATE FROM RETURN MINISTRIES Again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; With great fervor I am zealous for her.’” Zechariah 8:3 This Wednesday evening, September 24, we will welcome the New Year. It is customary on this day which is called Rosh Hashanah (The Head of the Year) to greet each other with “Shanah Tova - Have a good year!” And this is our greeting to you all. For us, Gilles and Linda Durand, this past year has been so significant. While living in Northern British Columbia, we heard God’s call to bless His people and joined Return Ministries in March. Return’s calling and focus is ALIYAH – the return of the Jews of North America, and our joy in serving the Lord here is boundless. Thanks to Dean Bye, executive director of Return Ministries and others, no matter what age we are, we all receive training and equipping as part of our everyday living. Praise God, we are now being released to work with the ministry in Israel. We depart Canada for Israel on October 12, 2014 and will return to Return’s Ontario base in January 2015. Could you be asking, “Are you out of your mind? Why are you going to Israel, especially during a time of turmoil in the Middle East?” We are going because God has called us to serve His people in their time of need, and the very best time to support and love on a people is when they are in need of love and support! For us – that’s now. Essentially, we have determined to obey the commands of the Lord as Gentile believers: “ . . . strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob . . . “ Isaiah 14:1 “Foreigners will build up your walls . . . ” Isaiah 60:10 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people,” says the Lord Isaiah 40:1 To be their plowmen and vinedressers. Isaiah 61:5 Our three-month assignment will be at the Aliyah Return Center in Tiberias, just a few blocks from the Sea of Galilee. Affectionately (and perhaps prophetically) called The ARC, we operate as a B & B Guest House to receive Christian and non-Christian visitors from the nations with whom we share God’s calling for them to bless Israel and help His people home from the nations (Isaiah 49:22). And we welcome our Israeli brethren for complimentary stays at The ARC, blessing them with a quiet and safe place to gain rest and refreshment. For Jews from the nations who are considering Aliyah, we also offer short stays during which time they come to know that God has called a people who were once not His people to love and support His chosen people. On a practical note, we will be heavily involved in hospitality: welcoming guests, preparing rooms and breakfasts, cleaning and maintenance, but will also participate fully in the many wonderful expressions of prayer and worship that God is growing in the communities around the Galilee. We will tour to many places in the Holy Land and know that this time in Israel will be life changing for both of us. In the meantime however, we still have a month before we leave and there is a lot happening here at the base in preparation for the fall Feasts: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. We participate in these feasts because the Word of God says they are rehearsals, prophetic signposts for what is still to come! There are deep spiritual lessons to learn about our Messiah and future prophetic events in regards to His return. Here’s an update of our activities at Return Ministries. Needless to say, the Lord is s-t-r-e-t-c-h-ing us! First and foremost, we are both learning to hear what the Spirit of God is saying through His Holy Scriptures in a deeper way and growing in our knowledge of His call on the Jews and on us in the nations. For Linda, her culinary skills are being well used as she is part of the team who do the cooking for the base of 25 people and for Shabbats and special events of anywhere from 40 to 110 people!! And for Gilles, city dweller that I was, I am being transformed into a farmer of sorts! Along with others, I fed and watered about 100 chickens all through the summer months, beautiful plumb birds that are now nestled in our freezers awaiting their ultimate destiny on our Shabbat table. Then there’s the garden! This was all new for me, but by God’s grace and the patience of those who knew how to plant, water, weed and harvest, we are currently taking off a bountiful crop of delicious, nutritious vegetables that will see us through the winter. I must say that for my first try at farming, the results are very positive! All our fridges and freezers are filled to capacity and while last year our potato crop weighed in at 1,600 pounds, this year we tipped the scales at 2,400 pounds of beautiful, firm red potatoes. Thank You Lord for this abundant harvest! Glory!! Some may ask at this point: “Why are you guys working in a garden and cooking for a whole crowd of people? How is that helping any Jewish people return to the land?” Well, for starters, feeding this many people is not cheap, and by having a garden and raising chickens, we lower the operating cost of the ministry. Therefore, donations received can be more fully directed to helping Jewish people in their Aliyah (return). Secondly, many of the young people are here on a one-year internship to learn to see the Gospel through the eyes of Yeshua, God’s Servant model, who is training up people to bring the tribes of Jacob back to Israel (Isaiah 49:5-6). These young people learn servant hood in a practical way through taking care of the garden, cooking and cleaning, so that serving His people will be second nature to them. Doing these practical things contributes to the vision for the return of many more Jewish people to Israel. And hey, remember in the Book of Acts - guys like Stephen and Philip were appointed to serve tables; so we are in good company! If we are faithful in the small things greater things will come to us. Many of you know that until early this year, we owned a home and both Linda and I were working for the same employer in Fort St. John, BC. All this began to change when we attended a conference in 108 Miles Ranch, BC at which Marty Shoub of Return Ministries imparted God’s heart for Israel to us. We began to pray, inquire, make some phone calls, pray some more, and before we knew it (to make a long story short), at the beginning of March of this year, we had sold our house, quit our jobs, liquidated all our savings, put all our belonging in a U-Haul and were on our way to Bright, Ontario to begin the adventure of being a full-time volunteer with Return Ministries. To be in the mission field requires a team: the sent ones who answer the call, and the senders – encouragers, prayer partners and financial supporters. Linda and I sense that God has called us here for the duration, and for the first six months we have supported ourselves out of our savings; eventually our savings will be exhausted. So we have asked the Lord to help us build our support team. Please pray and ask the Father if it would please His heart if you joined our Sender’s Support Team. You may not be able to journey to Israel to serve the Jewish people personally, but in your name, we would be so honoured to touch them for you. If you sense the Lord calling you to stand with us, here are some of the expenses we would be so blessed to have you invest into: Airline tickets to Israel - $2500 Instructional Return Ministries’ tour of Israel so we will be knowledgeable about the land - $3500 Food, accommodation and travel while serving in Israel - $2000 Our current monthly expenses while we live here on the base total $2,500. This includes accommodation, food, vehicle, insurance and personal needs. Although we know the Lord can use one or many, we have prayerfully asked the Lord to touch 200 people who will make a long-term commitment of $25 a month. With our basic needs met without me having to find paid work in the area, we will then be able to grow in leadership within the ministry, travel to different churches to present the message and contribute to the work of Aliyah without distraction. This would also allow us to serve at the Aliyah Return Center in Israel for three months once a year. We love God and the Jewish people. By supporting us you can have an impact in the work of this ministry – ALIYAH, and receive the blessing that God has promised to those who bless Israel! Genesis 12:3 Please partner with us. You can send monthly post-dated cheques made out to Return Ministries (Memo: Support for Durands), or we can do a recurring charge on your Visa or MasterCard. Call our communications director Peg Byars (1-519-860-1599) with your credit card information. And of course, one-time gifts are always appreciated! Thank you for listening to our voice and the heart of our Father. We thank God for each of you who read this letter and pray the Lord’s abundant harvest of blessings in your lives as we begin the New Year of 5775. Some say this year will see God begin a mighty wave of Aliyah from all over the earth as He calls for the great in-gathering of people from the nations, which is the prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is also known as the Feast of In-Gathering. Glory to God! We thank God for you all. May we hear from you soon? For Zion’s sake, we will not be silent, Gilles and Linda Durand In the Service of the King! LINK TO UPDATE VIDEO: youtu.be/FdYWv9wMSGc return.co.il/index.php
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 22:19:48 +0000
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