DONOR UPDATE: HOW THE JOSHUA FUND HAS BEEN BLESSING ISRAEL AND HER NEIGHBORS IN 2009

Here are some of the projects The Joshua Fund has been able to accomplish because of your prayers and financial support, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. TJF is not simply doing charitable work, but also educating and mobilizing Christians around the world to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and get involved in His work in the epicenter.

In 2009, The Joshua Fund….

• Helped purchase food and toiletries for 450 elderly residents and needy families in the Israeli town of Sderot when the Gaza war erupted.
• Helped several hundred low-income Israelis evacuate the war zone in Sderot and temporarily relocate to safer Israeli towns in the north, where TJF paid for their accommodations and food.
• Helped Israel’s Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon purchase two neonatal incubators for their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit during the Gaza war, and has continued to help the hospital purchase important medical equipment since then.
• Helped provide holiday care packages of food and cooking supplies to 400 needy Israeli families during Passover.
• Helped finance projects in Israel to care for elderly Holocaust survivors, homeless women, unwed mothers, and prisoners.
• Helped purchase approximately 3,800 backpacks for needy Israeli children. Both Jewish and Arab children received these bags, including some who are blind or deaf. For the older children, each backpack contained school supplies such as a pencil holder, scissors, crayons, notebooks, a pencil sharpener, glue-stick, Scotch Tape, eraser, pencils, a pen, notebook covers, a calculator, and a set of geometry rulers.
• Helped finance urgently needed heart surgeries and follow-up care for 10 desperately sick Arab and Kurdish children. The surgeries were performed by Jewish doctors in Israel. The children’s cases were vetted by an evangelical Christian organization in Jerusalem, who also helped transport them to Israel, house them, and care for them and their families during their medical treatment and initial recovery.
• Helped finance the “Back To Jerusalem” conference run by Arab Christians in Israel and the West Bank. After the 3-day teaching conference was completed in Jerusalem, each of the several hundred attendees (including a team of 15 volunteers led by a TJF staffer) then participated in a week-long outreach in Arab towns, including Bethlehem and Nazareth. During this time, they distributed more than 25,000 packets of materials. Since each packet contained between 5 and 7 items (including a copy of the New Testament and the Jesus film in Arabic), at least 125,000 pieces of Christian literature and DVDs were distributed. A TJF medical team also led a free medical clinic in Bethlehem.
• Helped Iraqi followers of Jesus Christ launch the first officially licensed Christian radio station in the history of Iraq. This included helping them secure permission from the Prime Minister of Kurdistan, build and equip studios, hire staff, and produce original Bible programs. TJF also helped upgrade their antenna. The station’s signal (on 97.1 FM in Erbil) can now be heard by upwards of 2 million Muslims in northern Iraq.
• Financed the production 300,000 copies of the Damascus film on DVD. This ground-breaking docudrama tells the story of Saul’s dramatic conversion to Christ on the road to Damascus and his transformation into the apostle who wrote nearly half of the New Testament. The film was produced by Arab Christians on location in Syria to reach their Muslim and nominal Christian neighbors with the gospel. The DVDs financed by TJF are being distributed in Syria, Jordan, the West Bank, and Lebanon.
• Helped an Iraqi Christian organization dedicated to evangelism and discipleship complete the construction of a new ministry training center in northern Iraq. Lord willing, TJF staff and allies will lead a pastors’ conference at the facility in 2010.
• Organized and financed retreats and conference in Israel and Iraq to encourage and equip pastors and ministry leaders in Bible study, prayer and fellowship. 

As always, we will do our best to keep you up-to-date on the kinds of projects we are doing, and brief you on how those projects are proceeding. We will also let you know about the kinds of projects we are developing for the future. In no way do we want to pressure anyone to give financially. We fully believe the Lord will provide for the needs of the people we seek to serve. But if you or others wish to help, we gratefully welcome your support, and all financial gifts are tax-deductible in the U.S.A.

If you would like to make a secure, on-line, tax-deductible contribution to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund, please click here.

Or, please make your check payable to “The Joshua Fund” and send to:

The Joshua Fund
18940 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009

DESIGNATED GIVING: If The Joshua Fund is successful in raising our financial goal for a specific project for which you have designated your donations, all excess funds for that project will be applied to related projects or to the general fund of TJF.

OPEN LETTER TO FRIENDS OF THE JOSHUA FUND: TJF secures new warehouse facility in Israel

November 2009

Dear faithful friend of The Joshua Fund:

Thank you so much for your generous support of The Joshua Fund. The Lord has used your faithful prayers and sacrificial financial gifts to touch many lives in the epicenter with the love of Jesus Christ this year, and I am deeply grateful.

That said, I’m writing this letter with good news….and bad.

First, the bad news – unless the Lord intervenes, there is a real chance that a horrific war between Iran and Israel could break out in the Mideast in 2010.

Earlier this year, Lynn and I held a dinner in our home for Ambassador Dore Gold, a long-time friend and senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Joining us were TJF staff members, and several Christian journalists. It was a sobering discussion. Amb. Gold explained that a careful reading of the latest IAEA report indicates that Iran now has enough uranium that we know of to produce at least two nuclear bombs. He offered little hope that diplomacy or sanctions would be effective, but stressed that Israeli leaders are “exhausting every option short of war” to stop Iran from getting the Bomb.

Consider two headlines since that dinner:

• “Report Says Iran Has Data to Make a Nuclear Bomb” (New  York Times, 10/3/09)
• “Clock ticking for Iran as Israel appears ready for strike” (Haaretz, 9/12/09)

We are praying for peace. But if war does come, the whole region could go up in flames and millions of innocent people could be caught in the crossfire. Now, the good news – our God is mighty to save, and He wants to use you to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus.

In Matthew 24, Jesus tells us to “be ready” for wars and rumors of war in the last days. In Matthew 25, the Lord then tells us some of the ways we can be ready – invest our lives in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoners, caring for the suffering, and sowing the seeds of God’s Word. By God’s grace, and with your help, The Joshua Fund is doing just that, touching more lives with God’s love than ever before. But so much more needs to be done.

Would you stand with us in prayer and make a tax-deductible, year-end gift to The Joshua Fund of $100, $250, $500 or more? Would some of you be willing to make a $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 investment to help us accelerate the work?

Here are some ways your help is already making a difference:

• TJF HAS JUST RENTED A WAREHOUSE IN ISRAEL – In October, the Lord gave us an amazing facility in central Israel after several years of prayer. This is a dramatic step forward. It will enable us to purchase food and other relief supplies in bulk at lower prices, distribute more to those in need, stockpile more for the future, & eventually train and utilize volunteers. During our November “prayer & vision trip,” we took nearly 300 evangelical Christians on the tour to see the facility and dedicate it in prayer. [We'll be posting more information about the warehouse -- including pictures -- in December.]
• TJF HAS ALREADY HELPED STOCKPILE 400 TONS OF FOOD — In late 2007, TJF made a commitment to help one of our allies stockpile 400 tons of food and relief supplies in a warehouse in northern Israel by the end of 2010. In light of the growing regional threats, TJF decided to fulfill our commitment by the end of 2009 instead — one year ahead of schedule. In 2009, therefore, we doubled the amount of food we helped this ally purchase so they could care for more families when war comes.
• TJF HAS OPENED OR EXPANDED 4 FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTERS IN ISRAEL — In 2009, we helped Jews and Christians in Israel open three food distribution facilities, as well as expand a fourth center that was already operating. Two are located in the north, near Lebanon. Two others are located in the south, near Gaza. Through these centers, we’re distributing 20-30 tons of food and other relief supplies each month to the poor and needy. We hope to expand this in 2010.
• TJF HAS PURCHASED VEHICLES TO DISTRIBUTE AID — TJF has helped our allies in Israel purchase several vans and trucks so they can better deliver food and other relief supplies to the needy. Lord willing, by the end of 2009 we will purchase two more vehicles.

I am pleased to report that the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) announced in September the accreditation of The Joshua Fund. ECFA accreditation is based on the ECFA Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship, including financial accountability, transparency, sound board governance and ethical fund-raising. “We are pleased to include in our membership a ministry committed to assisting the poor and needy in Israel in the name of Jesus Christ,” said Dan Busby, president of ECFA, in a press release.

In light of all this, would you commit to praying for us even more than before? Would you also provide The Joshua Fund a generous year-end, tax-deductible contribution of $100, $250, $500, or more? Would some of you consider even more substantial investments? Your gifts will help us educate and mobilize the Church around the world to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus. They will also help us to provide food and other aid and encouragement to those in need in the epicenter, and prepare for the next war. Thank you so much. May the Lord bless you and your family beyond measure, according to Genesis 12:1-3.

If you would like to make a secure, on-line, tax-deductible contribution to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund, please click here.

Or, please make your check payable to “The Joshua Fund” and send to:

The Joshua Fund
18940 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Joel C. Rosenberg

President, The Joshua Fund

DESIGNATED GIVING: If The Joshua Fund is successful in raising our financial goal for a specific project for which you have designated your donations, all excess funds for that project will be applied to related projects or to the general fund of TJF.

JOSHUA FUND TO HELP PURCHASE 2 AMBULANCES FOR ISRAEL

Joshua Fund will soon help Israel's national emergency medical service purchase 2 new ambulances similar to the one pictured here.

We just completed several days of Joshua Fund board meetings. I’ll have much to report soon. But one thing I wanted to let you know is that with the threat of a war with Iran so high, the board has authorized funding for two ambulances for Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical service. Lord willing, we’ll be able raise the necessary funds and transfer them to MDA by the end of this year.

The purchase of ambulances was not in our original 2009 budget. But we added this as part of our approach of “praying for peace, but preparing for war.”

“When Magen David Adom was established in 1930, its pride was its single ambulance, which was incessantly on call,” notes MDA’s website. “Today, MDA has an ambulance fleet of more than 800 modern lifesaving vehicles, deployed in all parts of the country. Most of the ambulances area attached to the MDA Stations; others are stationed in villages and kibbutzim in areas along the threatened borders. All are equipped with wireless radios linking them to their Stations or ambulance posts, and to regional headquarters.”

More ambulances are needed and TJF is honored to help.

As always, we will do our best to keep you up-to-date on the kinds of projects we are doing, and brief you on how those projects are proceeding. We will also let you know about the kinds of projects we are developing for the future. In no way do we want to pressure anyone to give financially. We fully believe the Lord will provide for the needs of the people we seek to serve. But if you or others wish to help, we gratefully welcome your support, and all financial gifts are tax-deductible in the U.S.A.

If you would like to make a contribution to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund please click here. Or, please make your check payable to “The Joshua Fund” and send to:

The Joshua Fund
18940 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009

DESIGNATED GIVING: If The Joshua Fund is successful in raising our financial goal for a specific project for which you have designated your donations, all excess funds for that project will be applied to related projects or to the general fund of TJF.

Thanks so much and may the Lord richly bless you and your family as you bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus — especially at this critical moment in the history of the epicenter.

THE JOSHUA FUND ACCREDITED BY NATIONAL FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY ORGANIZATION

The following is a press release issued by the “ECFA” on September 18, 2009:

The Joshua Fund Accredited by National Financial Accountability Organization

WINCHESTER, Va.  – The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) announced today the accreditation of The Joshua Fund of McLean, VA.

 ECFA accreditation is based on the ECFA Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship™, including financial accountability, transparency, sound board governance and ethical fund-raising.

 The Joshua Fund joins a growing number of churches and evangelical organizations across America, supported by over 35 million donors that have earned the right to display the ECFA seal.  When an organization is accredited by ECFA, it demonstrates its willingness to follow the model of biblical accountability.

“We are pleased to include in our membership a ministry committed to assisting the poor and needy in Israel in the name of Jesus Christ,” said Dan Busby, president of ECFA.

Founded in 2006, The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net) was founded to encourage Christians to pray knowledgeably and consistently for Israel and the Middle East.  The Joshua Fund works with local, national, and international government officials, business executives, and religious leaders to help provide food, clothing, medical equipment and other relief supplies to those who are poor and needy, as well as to recent victims of war and terrorism. 

To learn more about The Joshua Fund and their stewardship opportunities, visit ServantMatch™, ECFA’s program that matches God’s servants with the stewardship options of ECFA members based on ministry sectors and categories.  It is ECFA’s newest online feature that allows you to quickly and easily find giving opportunities.

ECFA, founded in 1979, provides accreditation to leading Christian nonprofit organizations that faithfully demonstrate compliance with the ECFA Standards pertaining to financial accountability, fund-raising and board governance.  For more information about ECFA, including information about accreditation and a listing of ECFA-accredited members, visit www.ECFA.org or call 1-800-323-9473.

40% OF ISRAELI CHILDREN AT POVERTY RISK

Excerpts from an article in Ynet News:

• “More and more Israelis are poor, hungry, and abstain from seeking medical attention for themselves. This is the bottom line of the report published Monday afternoon by the Central Bureau of Statistics in honor of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The report shows that 40% of children in Israel in 2007 were at poverty risk, as opposed to just 33% in 2001.
• “Risk of poverty is defined as belonging to a household with a disposable income per capita less than 60% of the national median equalized disposable income….
• “27% of Jewish children are at poverty risp, while 73% of Arab children in Israel are at poverty risk….
• “Arabs in catastrophic situation: Between 2003 and 2007, the rate of young people foregoing food for economic reasons rose by 7% (from 14% to 21%). Some 23% of women reported they gave up food versus 18% of men. The rate of foregoing food for economic purposes in the ultra-Orthodox population was nearly double that of the secular population (30% as opposed to 15% respectively). The situation of within the Arab sector is the most severe. The rate of foregoing food within the Arab sector more than doubled between 2003 and 2007 (21% versus 50% respectively)….”

Would you like to help The Joshua Fund bless Israel and her neighbors with food, clothing, medical supplies and other relief aid, especially as we pray for peace and prepare for the growing possibility of a war with Iran? A gift of $50, $100, $250 or more would make an enormous difference, as would becoming a monthly financial partner. Learn more at www.joshuafund.net.

JOSHUA FUND OPENS THREE NEW FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTERS TO BLESS THE NEEDY IN ISRAEL

>> Jerusalem Post headline: “We may have to attack Iran by December”

>> Haaretz headline: Number of Israelis on unemployment benefits jumped 37% in 2009

How should the Church respond to the growing threats against Israel posed by Iran and other Radical Muslims? Pray for peace, but prepare for war.

In Psalm 122:6, the Lord commands us to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” and we certainly need to do that now more than ever. I would encourage you to gather your family, entire church congregations, small group Bible studies, home fellowship groups, schools, and other organizations to set aside time this week to pray and fast for the Lord to bring true peace to Israel and her neighbors. The situation really is growing more urgent by the day.

At the same time, Jesus said in Matthew 24:44, “you must be ready.” Joshua said in Joshua 1:11, “Get your supplies ready.” The Lord said in Ezekiel 38:7, “Get ready, be prepared.” That can take many forms, but I would ask you to prayerfully consider financially helping The Joshua Fund pre-position food and other relief supplies in Israel ahead of this coming war.

STOCKPILING FOOD — In late 2007, The Joshua Fund made a commitment to help one of our allies stockpile 400 tons of food in a warehouse in northern Israel by the end of 2010. In light of these growing threats of war, we are completing that task by the end of 2009 instead. That means doubling the amount of food we help this ally purchase in the next few months.

OPENING 3 NEW FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTERS — TJF has just helped open three new food distribution facilities around Israel. Lord willing, these will now operate along with the center we helped get up and running in the Israeli town of Sderot, near the Gaza border, in January during the war with Hamas. Working closely with our Jewish and Christian allies in Israel, we will be able to help distribute 20-30 tons of food and other relief supplies a month to the poor and needy in Israel through these four centers. We will also be working closely with those who run the centers to develop plans to deal with a coming war.

PURCHASING VEHICLES TO DISTRIBUTE RELIEF AID — TJF is preparing to purchase delivery vehicles for each of these centers who have a need for transportation so their staff and volunteers will be able to deliver food and other relief supplies for those who need them most.

PRAYING FOR A WAREHOUSE IN CENTRAL ISRAEL — Over the past year or so, we’ve seen the Lord close the door to three warehouse opportunities. But we continue to pray that the Lord will lead us and guide us to just the right facility. We would be grateful if you would pray with us. A Joshua Fund warehouse in central Israel would enable us to be able to purchase food and other relief supplies in bulk at lower prices, distribute more to those in need, stockpile more for the future, and continue to bless Israel and her neighbors in real and practical ways.

>> If you would like to help The Joshua Fund financially, please click here.

JOSHUA FUND HELPS FINANCE “BACK TO JERUSALEM” PROJECT TO ENCOURAGE AND TRAIN ARAB CHRISTIANS: Thousands of Arabs exposed to gospel

Project participants carried distinctive green bags filled with packets of New Testaments and other Christian materials in Arabic. They handed out these packets to Arab Muslims and nominal Christians.

One of the ways to bless Israel is to share the love of Jesus Christ with her Arab and Palestinian neighbors and enemies so that they might truly discover God’s mercy and forgiveness and have their hearts transformed from enmity to love.

Jesus — a Jewish carpenter living in Israel — taught His followers in Matthew 19 and Matthew 5 to “love your neighbors” and “love your enemies.” This summer, therefore, The Joshua Fund sought to obey the teachings of Jesus by helping finance the “Back To Jerusalem” conference and outreach, a project organized and run by Arab followers of Jesus Christ in Israel and the West Bank. TJF also sent a team of staff and volunteers to participate in the project.

The goal of the conference and outreach: to pray with and encourage Arab followers of Jesus Christ to be strong and courageous in their faith and live in unity with one another and with the believers in Israel, to train and equip Arab believers to distribute Bibles and Christian literature with Arab Muslims as well nominal Christians, and to help Arab believers share their faith in Christ with their neighbors. The local Arab evangelical leaders were very encouraged by the project’s success, as were we.

More than 300 evangelical Christians from the U.S., South Africa, and the Arab world attended the initial three-day conference in July. Josh McDowell was the main speaker, teaching from the Word of God and sharing his testimony of how he discovered the joy of having a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

A project participant hands out a packet of gospel materials to an Arab in Israel.

On the second day of the conference, project participants – foreign believers as well as local believers from dozens of Arab congregations – went into the streets of east Jerusalem with distinctive green bags filled with packets of Christian materials. Each packet contained between five and seven pieces of Christian material, including Arab-language copies of the New Testament, the JESUS film on DVD or the Magdalena film on DVD in Arabic, and small books and pamphlets explaining the good news of God’s love for all people. In one day, the group distributed some 2,500 packets to Muslims and nominal Arab Christians that they encountered.

Some of the packets contained a copy of the "Magdalena" film in Arabic on DVD.

For many of the local believers, it was the first time for them to distribute Bibles and Christian literature and to talk openly about their faith in Christ with other Arabs.

After the three-day teaching conference was completed, each attendee then participated in a week-long outreach in Arab towns and villages, including Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem (on the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank) and in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth (in northern Israel, not far from the Sea of Galilee). During this time, they distributed more than 25,000 packets of materials. Since each packet contained between 5 and 7 items, at least 125,000 pieces of Christian literature and DVDs were distributed. Local organizers conservatively note that if the contents of each packet are read and viewed by at least two people in a household, then some 50,000 Arab Muslims and nominal Christians could have been reached with the gospel during the course of the 10 day conference and outreach.

Participants also used their time to invite Israeli and Palestinian Arabs to gospel film showings. In the end more than 1,000 people attended the premiers of the Magdalena film, a recently-released motion picture based on Scripture about Jesus’ pure and unconditional love and mercy for women in the Mideast, such as Mary Magdalene. The film, which had been dubbed into the Palestinian dialect, was shown in locally-rented theaters and halls on July 13^th in Jerusalem, Haifa, Nazareth and Beit Jala (next to Bethlehem).

About 1,000 Arabs attended showings of a gospel film in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Haifa.

Project participants also visited the homes of Israeli and Palestinian Arabs to answer their questions about the life of Jesus. A number of Muslims prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

• A veiled Muslim woman, for example, prayed with one of our team members to receive Christ as her Savior.
• After showing of Magdalena in one Arab town, about 20 Arabs indicated that they have prayed to receive Christ.
• Another Muslim woman told the wife of a local Arab pastor that she and her 13 and 7 year old daughters watched the Magdalena film and were deeply touched when Jesus cast the demons out of Mary. The mother explained her daughter-in-law has demons and the family is terrified. The pastor’s wife explained how they could all find true freedom and courage by receiving Christ into their hearts and being adopted into God’s family. As the Scriptures teach us in John 1:12, “to as many as received Him [Jesus], to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His Name.”

Showing the Magdalena film in Bethlehem on July 13, 2009.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Please thank the Lord that Arab Christians in the Holy Land are increasing eager to learn how to love their neighbors and their enemies, according to the teachings of Jesus.
• Please thank the Lord that believers in the West were willing and able to go to the “Back To Jerusalem” to pray with, support and encourage their brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Please pray for those Arabs who prayed this summer to receive Christ as their Savior. Pray that they grow in their faith, are hungry to read the Bible daily, spend time praying to the Lord every day, and get involved in an excellent Bible-teaching local congregation and small group Bible study.
• Please also pray that those Arabs that are followers of Christ – and those who have just begun their spiritual journey with Jesus – continue to develop loving and compassionate hearts towards the Jewish people of Israel.
• Please pray that the believers in Israel continue to develop loving and compassionate hearts towards their Arab brothers and sisters.

NEW BACKPACKS BLESS NEEDY ISRAELI CHILDREN

Needy children in the Israeli were excited to get new backpacks for the school year, provided with the help of The Joshua Fund. Here are some of the kids who just received backpacks in Haifa.

Please pray for these dear children that they would truly know that the God of Israel has "loved them with an everlasting love." (Jeremiah 31:3)

Israeli children will be going back to school in less than a week. So the Joshua Fund is working with our allies in Israel to provide new backpacks and school supplies to needy children who otherwise might go without.

TJF provided funds to purchase approximately 3,800 backpacks for this school year. Combined with those financed by other allies, a total of approximately 7,000 backpacks are being distributed in east and west Jerusalem, Haifa and several other Israeli cities and towns. Jewish and Arab children are receiving these bags, including some who are blind or deaf.

For the older children, each backpack will contain school supplies such as:

• Pencil Holder
• Scissors
• Crayons
• Note-books
• Pencil Sharpener
• Glue-stick
• Scotch Tape
• Eraser
• Pencils
• Pen
• Notebook covers
• Calculator
• Set of Geometry Rulers

The children of Israel face many daunting challenges at present. But because of your generous gifts and prayers, many Jewish and Arab have been blessed this year in a real and practical way in the Holy Land, just as we have been able to bless Muslim children in northern Iraq with backpack distributions in the past.

Please keep praying for these children that they may truly discover how much the God of Israel really loves them, cares for them, and has a wonderful plan for their lives. As the Lord says through the Hebrew Prophet Jeremiah, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people….I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” (Jeremiah chapters 31:1,3). May the Lord bless you for helping us with this project. Thanks so much.

* To learn more about the work of The Joshua Fund — or make a tax deductible contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more to our on-going efforts to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus — please click here

AUGUST PROJECT UPDATES

Here what The Joshua Fund team is working on right now:

* BACKPACKS ARE NOW BEING DISTRIBUTED IN ISRAEL: Over the course of the next week or so, brand new backpacks are being distributed by Joshua Fund friends and allies to needy children in Israel. Please be praying that these gifts would truly be a blessing to the children and their parents, and that they would know deep in their hearts that the Lord loves them and that they are not alone in the world. As the Lord said to the children of Israel through the Hebrew Prophet Jeremiah, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

* CARING FOR THE POOR, PREPARING FOR WAR: By God’s grace and your generous support, The Joshua Fund so far this year has helped purchase more than 70 tons of food in Israel. Working with our local allies, part of this amount has gone to help needy families in northern Israel, while part of it is being stockpiled to be used in case of another war in the north.

* UPDATE ON PASSOVER PROJECT: Please forgive me us as we just realized that we didn’t send out an update on one of the wonderful projects we completed in the spring. Working with our local allies, we were able to provide baskets filled with Passover food supplies to 400 needy Jewish families in Jerusalem in Israel who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to celebrate this powerful holiday commemorating God bringing the Jewish people out of Egypt. TJF does projects like these to show our unconditional love and unwavering support to such dear people in a time of real economic need in the Holy Land. Thanks so much for helping to make this possible.

* PRAYER & VISION TRIP TO ISRAEL: We still have a few spaces left, and we would love to have you join us for this extraordinary adventure. September 1st is the deadline. For more information, please go to www.joshuafund.net.

As always, we will do our best to keep you up-to-date on the kinds of projects we are doing, and brief you on how those projects are proceeding. We will also let you know about the kinds of projects we are developing for the future. In no way do we want to pressure anyone to give financially. We fully believe the Lord will provide for the needs of the people we seek to serve. But if you or others wish to help, we gratefully welcome your support, and all financial gifts are tax-deductible in the U.S.A.

If you would like to make a contribution to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund please make your check payable to “The Joshua Fund” and send to:

The Joshua Fund
18940 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009

Or click here to give securely on-line.

DESIGNATED GIVING: If The Joshua Fund is successful in raising our financial goal for a specific project for which you have designated your donations, all excess funds for that project will be applied to related projects or to the general fund of TJF.

Thanks so much and may the Lord richly bless you and your family as you bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus — especially at this critical moment in the history of the epicenter.

JULY PROJECT UPDATES

* BACKPACKS FOR ISRAELI CHILDREN — The new school year is approaching in Israel. The Joshua Fund is investing funds to help Jews and Christians in the Holy Land purchase new backpacks and school supplies for poor and needy Israeli children. The backpacks will be distributed in just a few weeks as a way of obeying Jesus’ command to “love your neighbors.” I’ll report more on the project then.

* “CROCS FOR IRAQ” – The Joshua Fund is investing funds to ship a container of little sandals known as “Crocs” to Iraq. They will be distributed to poor and needy Muslim children and adults by Iraqi Christians who also want to find ways to love their neighbors.

* ISRAEL TOUR DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 1st — Here are the final prices for this tour: it’s $3,998 per person, plus a $97 fuel surcharge, for those departing from NYC, Newark, DC or Atlanta. That’s a final price of $4,095 from one of these east coast gateways. It’s $4,198, plus a $97 fuel surcharge, for those departing from Los Angeles. That’s a final price of $4,295 from LAX. Please not that we are not currently planning a major tour like this next year, though we may do smaller trips. So please prayerfully consider joining us this November 5-17. We have a few more spaces left, and we would love to have you join us for what will be an unforgettable adventure. Also remember: September 1st is the deadline to sign up for this Joshua Fund tour.

A recent report by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism shows that tourism to the Jewish state was down a stunning 20% in the first half of 2009, partly due to the global economic recession and partly due to the Gaza war. This drop in tourism is having a severe economic impact on the country, as well as causing Israelis to feel increasingly isolated. The Obama administration’s coldness towards Israel isn’t helping much, either.

What a remarkable opportunity, then, for us as evangelical Christians to show Israel unconditional love and unwavering support by going to the Holy Land when others are staying away. In Genesis 12:1-3, the Lord says He will bless those who bless the children of Abraham, and curse those who curse them. Let’s bless Israel by learning, praying, giving and going.

I look forward to teaching those who come with us about the life of Jesus, End Times Bible prophecies, the geopolitics of the epicenter, and explaining the work of The Joshua Fund. Lord willing, I’ll also be doing Q&A sessions with tour participants to answer the questions most on your hearts. We’ll also have a Joshua Fund project day to bless the poor and needy, and hold our first-ever Jerusalem Prayer Summit to pray for peace while we prepare for war.

Please go to www.joshuafund.net to learn more and sign up before the tour is full.