August 31, 2007.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings and blessings in the name of our Lord and Savior,Yeshua. As the summer of 2007 is winding down and becoming part of history, I want to share with you our latest family news. Our oldest son Joni finished his military service, thank God. We want to thank all of you who kept him in your prayers. Now he is trying to decide what he should do with his future. It is not easy, his life changed completely. One day he was a commander under tremendous pressure, and the next day everything was quiet and he had to think, "What do I do now?" Please, pray for him, that God will guide him and give him wisdom. Our youngest son Ariel is in commanding course in the military. We need your prayers for him in the same way that we asked for prayers for his brother. Please pray for his safety and God's protection over him. Wendy is doing well. She continues to teach English. Lately she has been having arthritic pain in her right knee and she is being treated. I am doing well, my health is holding up.

I had a very busy summer. Early in July I was in Bulgaria for two weeks. It was the first time after seven years that I visited Bulgaria. I was invited to come to Gabrovo, a city in central Bulgaria, and while in Gabrovo I preached in two congregations that I have known and preached in in years passed. I also met with brothers and sisters that had been part of our congregation in Tel Aviv. I also counseled and encouraged brothers and sisters from Gabrovo. My first week in Bulgaria was spent in Sofia. In Sofia I stayed with one of my best friends Moni and his family. Moni is one of the first three baptisms that I performed in Bulgaria in 1991. I also preached in a congregation in Sofia and had meetings with many preachers, some that I knew before and some that I met for the first time. I also met with many of the people who were part of the student congregation that I started in 1995. It was so nice to see them and to meet their spouses. Some of them have children. It was also such a special time for me to meet the next generation. As I was visiting with all of these dear brothers and sisters, I was amazed to learn that they are in their mid to late thirties. It really made me feel old. I started thinking, "Where did the time go?" I have known them since they were twenty. As my friend Moni said, "This time God allowed me to see and enjoy the fruit of my labor in Bulgaria from years passed." I also had one baptism in Sofia. I baptized a woman that I have known for many years. Last time that I was in Bulgaria, we talked about the faith and she was very close to believing but she was not ready to commit to the faith. This time she was ready and on my last day in Sofia I baptized her. I feel that my trip to Bulgaria was very productive and that God used me and blessed that trip. I want to thank the brothers and sisters in Bulgaria for the love and the hospitality by which I was received.

In late July through the second week of August I was in Finland. I have been traveling to Finland every year since 1997. We have wonderful brothers and sisters who love the Lord in Finland. While in Finland I preached every night in a different location. I had many personal meetings with people there. I was very encouraged by the way my teachings were received, and I hope that I was able to encourage the brethren in Finland by the grace of God. I want to take this opportunity to thank my brothers and sisters in Finland for the love, dedication and hospitality that they showed me. I especially want to thank one dear brother who volunteered to drive me 2000 kilometers, (1,250 miles) in two weeks.

While I was traveling, the congregation in Tel Aviv kept meeting regularly and our brothers did a very good job of teaching. We are so blessed that, even though we are a small congregation, God has blessed us with brothers who can teach well. Now we are getting ready for the high holidays that will start in September through the first part of October.

I would like to share a short teaching on the High Holy days:

As you know Rosh Hashanah is coming soon. This represents the start of the High Holidays. In the Jewish world the period before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is called the days of awe. During this time we have to think of our sins and ask for forgiveness and grace from God so that he will write us in the Book of Life and not take us out of the Book of Life. See the book of Malachi 3:16 "a book of remembrance was written". In Exodus 32:33 "I will blot him out of my book". In Psalm 69:28 "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living …. not be written with the righteous". We understand that God keeps books and, the righteous are in His Book of Life. So the days of awe give us a chance to repent and think of our conduct. The year ends at Rosh Hashanah but God gives us until Yom Kippur to repent as part of the nation of Israel. During the feast of Succoth the High Priest entered the holy of holies to see if the eternal fire was on. If the eternal fire was on it meant that God had accepted the atonement of Israel. If the eternal fire was off it meant that God had not received the atonement of Israel. The festivals deal with the nation of Israel as a nation but, we need to remember that the nation is made up of the individual people. This reminds me of accounting before the end of the year when we start making sure that we do all that needs to be done before the year ends. It is like the days of awe. Then we have the grace period by which we have to turn our accounting into the tax authority. The cut-off date is Yom Kippur. The feast of Succoth is the time that some of us get the tax returns. God's book keeping is not only mentioned in the Old Testament. It is also in the New Testament. Look at Revelation 3:5 and Rev 13:8. In both references there is a mention of the Book of Life. That is because Jesus is our high priest and our atonement sacrifice, and only through Him we remain in the Book of Life. It is the very same book as from the beginning of days, just as Jesus is "The lamb slain from before the foundation of the world". In Israel from three weeks before Rosh Hashanah until the end of Yom Kippur we greet each other with the greeting, "May you receive a good signature!", meaning,

may you be signed in the Book of Life. How nice. I pray for all of us to be signed in the Book of Life forever, Amen!

Please remember to pray for good health, especially for the older members of our congregation. We also have a brother who is recuperating from an eye surgery, and since he cannot work now, he is having financial problems. Also, we need prayer for God to use us so that more people will know of their Messiah and through our outreach, for our congregation to grow. We also need your prayers for God to provide the funds for us to be able to pay the rent for our meeting place. We want to thank you for your prayers and support for our congregation. May God bless you and keep you and may He prosper all of you!

Love in Yeshua,


Eli and Wendy Levi.