"Once" on the Road: New York

This has been a special time for us in New York. It's been a good time of building new friendships in both Arab and American church's. Our Arab hosts and their in-laws have extended their love to us in so many ways that left us fat and speechless (great food and great fellowship) . We are so grateful to them for opening their homes for us. The true Arab Ibrahamic hospitality was shown to us so much.

We had a great time in the area of Albany seeing old friends and making new ones . Our first stop was at an inner city congregation called "Victory Christian Church".  We were welcomed to participate in a meeting addressing the poor and the down cast. That was a moving experience for me personally. The pastor was kind enough to take up a love offering for our ministry to Gaza. I was amazed at their sacrificial giving...and it truly was sacrificial. It was an unbelievable amount. Seeing the passion and good work that Victory Christian Church is investing in, Karen and I felt compelled by the Lord to re-donate the love offering back to them so they could invest in their incredible ministry to feeding children in their community. What a great church.

Our second stop on Saturday, May 10 was the Brooklyn Tabernacle. We were invited to share my personal story of how I met Christ with their missions team.  I was also able to share stories of the work God is doing through our ministry in both Gaza and Jericho.  It was a blessing for us to share these stories.

On Sunday we attended the noon service at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. What an incredible time we had during their services.  You could sense God's spirit moving in that church during Pastor Cymbala's message. Afterward, we had an opportunity to visit with Pastor Cymbala and Pastor Jerry Park the director of missions at the Brooklyn Tabernacle.  During our time together, Pastor Cymbala issued an invitation for us to come back in the future to speak during their Sunday services. It's shaping up to be in late August or early September.  I'm honored to be able to share the "Once" story with the people at Brooklyn Tabernacle.

It has been a very busy time for us here. We believe the Lord is opening doors for us in the Apple state. Would you please pray for those doors to open soon?  We're excited to see how God uses the "Once" story to encourage American and Arab churches in New York.

Blessings,

-Tass