By: Maxine Carlill

“‘Up, up! Flee from the land of the north,’ says the Lord; ‘for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,’ says the Lord.” (Zechariah 2:6)

ICEJ’s Aliyah Director Howard Flower shared this verse with ICEJ Homecare and said, “The Aliyah from the North began to increase some 10 years ago. It has continued to increase and now it’s most active. The winds of Aliyah from the East, South and West have grown calm for now.  But the Aliyah from the North is what God is doing today.”

Homecare is privileged to have ongoing contact with many of these immigrants from the North, and throughout 2019 it brought both blessings and challenges in our work.  

One challenge was witnessing the suffering of one dear lady each week. In the Former Soviet Union, she was involved in scientific research, but in her senior years she was bedbound and very lonely.  She often said to ICEJ Homecare nurse Corrie Van Maanen, “My week goes from Wednesday to Wednesday because then you are coming.” Just after she turned 90, she passed away.

A blessing we were able to participate in was the Bar Mitzvah of the grandson of a lady who has enjoyed the help of Homecare for many years. “The fact that I was invited was very special, because the lady’s son and grandchildren have embraced the ultra-orthodox lifestyle,” explained Corrie. The ultra-orthodox is a sector of Judaism not usually accepting of Christians. However, this family welcomed Corrie with love to their family gathering because of the relationships built over the years.

Throughout 2019, there were answers to prayer from the God of Israel who does the impossible. The voice of a single mother, living in an impoverished area of Tel Aviv whom Homecare is helping monthly, was filled with disappointment and despair. She works hard but cannot make ends meet and had been eagerly waiting for a ‘subsidized living’ apartment. She was told there would be further delays. “When she stopped talking,” said Corrie, “I simply said that we will pray. Two weeks later, she excitedly said that it wasn’t possible, but God had done it. She has a new ‘subsidized living’ apartment!”

Thanks to your faithful giving and prayers, Homecare had a great year in 2019 and we look forward to this new year of 2020 to continue caring for those who have made Israel their home!

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