The Jerusalem Prayer List – December 1, 2011

After six weeks of travel through the Far East I am now at home. These six weeks have been very full of wonderful and exciting events on a daily basis. I feel like Hannibal from the “A” Team who said, “I just love it when a plan comes together.” My first station was Hong Kong, and just two weeks before my trip I was ready to cancel my visit to Hong Kong. “I just love it when a plan comes together” and when the Lord opens doors and brothers and sisters come together to make God's plan work. Sister Sarah offered to pay the hotel, brother Tony connected with China to open doors for ministry, brother Jack invited sister Katherine to have dinner together, and teaching opportunities came together both in Hong Kong and China. From Hong Kong Tony and I went to Wuhan, a small Chinese city of 12 Million people in the very heartland of China. There in Wuhan by the grace of God we had local businessman open doors with the “Three Self Church” - the government supported national church of China. It was a very real pleasure to be able to teach in a seminary in a small town Tong Chung that has a population of 700,000 people. This “small town” of Tong Chung had only one church during the “cultural revolution” in China and now it has 80 churches and a seminary. I gave lectures in the seminary to about 80 or more students. The students were wonderful and the president of the seminary and the director of the pastor's association in that region of 80 churches were absolutely brilliant and had very good and intelligent questions, they were well read, and very much interested in what is happening in the Middle East and in the Bible Lands. The seminary had a very large campus with a very chinese dinning room and a few buildings for utilities, but their main building was six floors tall and very large with classrooms, and meeting places and administrative offices, and a church that would hold several thousand people. The reception that we received in Tong Chung was very warm and accepting and with it we received an invitation to come back and teach much more time in the church and in the seminary. In Wuhan itself opportunities opened up to teach in the second largest seminary in China and also preach on Sunday in one of the large churches in that city, and meet with some of the administrative leaders of the Three Self church in the province of Wubai. God opened up many doors that with His help we will walk through in the next years and bring Good News from Israel, the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the growing Chinese Christian Churches.

One of the main concern of the national chinese churches is that many in the world don't consider them faithful because they are accepted and recognized by the Chinese government. I was asked by the vice governor of the province of Wubai if democracy is a Christian message, and if Yeshua's message is connected to a Western model of Democracy and political freedom. My answer was very simple. The First Century Church was born in a dictatorial Roman oppressive government and in that time it was the most alive and vibrant. Biblical faith can grow and multiply under any form of government and sometimes it grows even more under the most oppressive regimes.

All the trip was exciting and full of wonderful brothers and sisters in Korea and Japan and the Asia Messianic Forum was very interesting and challenging because we visited four cities in Japan and gave lectures there with three other Israeli brothers and were able to see the hand of God move among our Asia brothers. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the Tsunami ravaged area near Fukushima, and Sendai. We could see the Fukushima reactors from far, and we were able to walk into some of the buildings and homes that were washed by the water of the Tsunami and see the mountains of garbage that a few months ago were homes and cars of people. Many of the homes and shops are still the way they were when the water washed over them. I walked into a place and everything was just as it was when the water of the sea invaded the land. I took (with permission) a set of six Japanese blue and white porcelain small dishes to give to each Israeli that was with us one dish as a souvenir. Other than the mud that covered everything in that house things were still in the closets and drawers were full of things. In one there was a whole fly-fishing set, and many other things that people left behind. I don't know if the inhabitants of that house survived or not, but it seemed so sad that no one came back to claim or clean that place.

We stood on the beach where twenty meter high waves washed over a whole neighborhood and not much was left there other than the foundations of the buildings, and we prayed there in the same place that over 80 years ago Juji Nakada led prayer and three hundred people turned their hearts toward Israel and started to pray for the salvation of the Jewish people. It was emotional to stand there and think of that great moment when the prayer movement in Japan started, and the horrible moment when in March of 2011 the waters washed away a whole community.

The Asia Messianic Forum was a success in several parameters. One of them is that we had fellowship among the five brothers who came from Israel and we had opportunity to get to know each other better. Please pray for the following things: 1) Pray that God will bless all those with whom we had fellowship in Hong Kong, China, Korea and Japan. 2) Pray for those who actually did the massive work of organizing the Asia Messianic Forum and bring them a special blessing for the hard work that they all did to make that special event a blessing to so many. 3) Pray that God will bless the hearts who heard the messages and inspire them to work together in a network that will help bring the Good News home to Israel. 4) Pray that more leaders will be interested in God's Restoration of Biblical and true faith, and support for Israeli believers and ministries.

Well, as soon as I arrived in Israel we had a Bar-Mitzvah and now a special leadership seminary in Tel-Aviv. So, with the jet-lag and all I am here with many young leaders in this conference on leadership. I am happy that I could attend and be with the young leadership of the Body of the Messiah in Israel, but I have to fight the jet-lag and work hard to stay awake.

Your prayers for the body of the Messiah in Israel and the changes and improvements that are taking place here are phenomenal. I am sure that many books will be written on what is going on among the Jewish people in Israel.

I have to share a big praise report with all of you who pray for the sick people in Israel and around the World. We have been praying for Mr. Ishiida in Japan. Last year Mr. Ishiida who is in his eighties was flat on his back and totally unable to get up and walk and very very sick. This year Mr. Ishiida came to the Asia Messianic Forum in Osaka. He was walking, talking, just enjoying the teaching in the forum. God has healed Brother Ishiida and He is again able to walk and talk and share. We need to continue pray for Brother Ishiida and his wife, and pray for Mrs. Sadako who is approaching her 100 years birthday and continues to pray every day for the salvation of Israel. Please add a very wonderful young sister to your prayer list. Her name is the same as that wonderful chocolate drink and she has been ill for near a year now. She needs God's healing from every direction, physical and emotional both.

Add to your prayer list the six sisters and brothers in Israel: Ahuva, Ilana, Leah, Miriam, Marcia, Sarit, Sara and Zvi, and Merav, and especially a dear brother who is a real pioneer in Israel and who has invested his life in blessing Israel and the body of the Messiah in our country his name is Ken. Ken has gone through some really difficult and hard times and now he is in a nursing home in the Galilee. Please bless Kan and ask God to heal him.

Also, please don't forget to pray for Ruby from Oklahoma City, and Tim Tucker, and Anna, in Finland, and every other sick person whom you know. Praying for the sick is something very good for our own souls, and also it is a practice that is very common in the Synagogues and among the Jewish people who cared so much for those who are suffering.

I would like to thank all the brothers and sisters in Hong Kong, China, Korea, and Japan. All of you were wonderfully kind and hospitable to me and to the others from Israel and we appreciate you all for your heart and for your faithfulness to God and His children. I would also like to ask you all to pray for the next Asia Messianic Forum that, will God's willing, held in Singapore in 2013. This forum that we just experienced last month will be held in Singapore and we need to lift Gilbert and his family and ministry in the process of preparation of the Asia Messianic Forum in his city.

We have come forward with the building plans one big step in progress Now we have to raise the funds because one of the limitations that we have is that we will have to start building immediately as soon as we get the permission, and we are going to, God willing, get the permission to build in a few short months. Please consider to have a part in building of the first indigenous messianic congregation of Jewish Disciples in Yeshua in Jerusalem. Even in the first century the believers did not have their own public Synagogue (place of worship and study) building. We need your prayers and your financial help. Please go to our web page and there you can make a donation through PayPal and use your credit card.

Thank you our dear brothers and God bless you,

Joseph Shulam