“Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
1 John 3:18
There is a beautiful moment we often see during our holiday distributions. Someone comes through the doors of our Humanitarian Aid Center carrying the pressures of everyday life, and then a special holiday food package is placed into their hands. They look through the groceries and notice the things that make this package different—the honey, something sweet, something that belongs on a Rosh Hashanah table. And suddenly, the conversation is no longer only about what they need. It is about the holiday ahead, what they will prepare, and the family that will gather around their table. For a moment, worry gives way to anticipation.
This is the moment we are preparing for again. Before Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot arrive, we hope to experience it 1,000 times—with elderly people living on small pensions, families who have recently made aliyah and are beginning again in Israel, and parents doing everything they can to provide for their children. One thousand different homes. One thousand different stories. And one thousand opportunities to place something into someone’s hands that quietly says: You have been remembered.
There is still room for joy around your table.
Over the years, we have learned that food is rarely only food. A holiday package can ease the burden for an elderly person whose pension must stretch through another month. It can tell a family newly arrived in Israel that they are not beginning again alone. And for parents who have been worried about the cost of celebrating, it can mean bringing home the ingredients for a special meal and something sweet for their children. There is dignity in being able to prepare, celebrate, and make the holiday feel special for the people you love.
Through Home of Jesus the King, we are preparing 500 special food packages for Rosh Hashanah and another 500 for Sukkot. But there is something about these distributions that is especially precious to us: we are Arab Christians in Israel preparing to bless our Jewish neighbors during the biblical holidays. Someone walks through the door. We greet them. We listen. Food changes hands. Names become familiar. People return.
And little by little, people from communities that can so easily remain separated begin to know one another.
This is how we have learned to build bridges—not by beginning with everything that separates us, but with the person standing in front of us. Yeshua taught us to love our neighbor, and we believe that love becomes most believable when it takes visible form. Our assistance is always given freely according to need, regardless of a person’s faith or background. We simply want the love of Yeshua to be seen in the way we welcome, respect, and care for the people God places before us.
And now, before these holiday tables are set, you have an opportunity to become part of that story. A gift of $70 provides one family with a special Rosh Hashanah food package, including essential groceries, honey, and sweets. A gift of $50 provides one family with a food package for Sukkot. To reach 500 families for each holiday, we need to raise $35,000 for Rosh Hashanah and $25,000 for Sukkot—a total project need of $60,000.
Perhaps you can provide for one family.
Perhaps the Lord has enabled you to help several. Whatever He places on your heart, remember where your generosity eventually goes. Somewhere in Israel, those groceries will be unpacked. The honey will be opened. Food will be prepared. A blessing will be spoken. A family will gather, and a holiday that had carried another financial worry can become a little lighter and a little sweeter.
And without ever sitting at that table yourself, you will have helped make room for joy around it.
Thank you for standing with us as we bless families throughout Israel and continue building bridges through the practical love of Yeshua.