JOSHUA FUND HELPS PROVIDE 7,500 BACKPACKS FOR NEEDY CHILDREN IN ISRAEL

Dear Friends from the Joshua Fund,

I want to thank you again for your generous donation to our backpack distribution project this year. Through your generous support, and with help from others, the Jerusalem Institute of Justice was able to distribute 7,500 brand-new backpacks filled with brand-new school materials, such as notebooks, pencils, pens, rulers, glue, pencil cases, etc, to children living under the poverty level throughout the whole nation of Israel.

Our distribution project took place from August 24 to August 28 under the banner of the alliance “For the Empowerment of Israel.” Among others, we distributed back-packs to new immigrant children from Ethiopia in Jerusalem, Meveseret Tzion and the Tel-Aviv Area, new immigrant children from Yemen in Rehovot, children of Southern Lebanese Army refugees in Nahariya, and children living with their mothers in shelters for battered women in various cities.

The response was literally overwhelming as many tears of thanks and appreciation were expressed by parents and community leaders, and many smiles were beaming from the faces of children. Here is a translation of one of the letters of appreciation which we received. It is from “Isha L’Isha – the Jerusalem Shelter for Battered Women,” and a copy of the original letter in Hebrew is attached hereto.

“I want to thank you in the name of the children from the shelter, their mothers, and our team, for the donation of the equipped backpacks and pencil cases in preparation for the upcoming school year....We received 15 back-packs for kindergarten students and nine back-packs for elementary school student, all of them well equipped. This makes the children very happy and gives them a feeling of renewal together with the start of the school year.”

All of the backpacks were distributed through local volunteers throughout Israel. Needless to say, this blessed cooperation is a “win, win” situation. Firstly, we are able to fulfill the greatest commandment of loving our neighbors as ourselves by showing compassion to poor and needy families in our nation. Secondly, this is done through cooperation with leading Israeli social and political activists, which helps us build meaningful relationships that have real value in the pursuit of civil rights, freedom of religion, and social justice.

Please enjoy the photos....We hope that you will choose to continue supporting these important projects.

With much love and appreciation,

Calev Myers

Founder and Chief Counsel
Jerusalem Institute of Justice

WAR CLOUDS BUILDING IN THE EPICENTER

Wars continue to rage in the Middle East, as rumors of another catastrophic war -- this time between Iran and Israel -- continue to grow.

A top Iranian general Saturday warned that a military attack by the West against his country would lead to another world war, the official IRNA news agency reported. "The extremist and expansionist policies of Washington and Tel Aviv which have been manifested in Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and recently in the Caucasus, have endangered the entire world," Iran's Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri said. "The unrestrained greed of the US leadership and global Zionism... is gradually leading the world to the edge of a precipice."

Meanwhile, the Ayatollah Khamenei -- Iran's Supreme Leader -- says the Twelfth Imam is coming soon to establish a global Islamic government. "Allah willing," he said recently, "this Islamic revival will sweep over the entire world, when the Mahdi appears."

In this context, The Joshua Fund is working around the clock to bless Israelis and Palestinians who could be severely impacted by the coming Iranian storm, one that by all accounts seems increasingly imminent. Though we continue to pray for peace, we are also continuing to prepare for war. We have just rented office space in Jerusalem to set up an operations center to coordinate our efforts. We are currently negotiating to secure warehouse space to store $1 million worth of relief supplies. We are acquiring vehicles to transport those supplies. We are interviewing people we may need to bring on staff soon. Meanwhile, we continue to help believers in Israel stockpile 400 tons of food in a warehouse in the North ahead of the coming war, in addition to our on-going projects to care for Israelis who are homeless, widows, Holocaust victims, and otherwise in need, as well as caring for embattled Palestinian Christians who face the constant threat of persecution and death.

In November, just after the U.S. elections, my colleagues and I will travel to Israel to meet with government officials and relief organization leaders and assess the preparations we have been able make by then. We would be deeply grateful for your prayers that the Lord would give us wisdom and discernment to know best how to invest limited time and resources to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus as effectively as possible.

As always, The Joshua Fund will continue to do our best to keep you up-to-date on the kinds of projects we are doing, 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 welcome your support, and all financial gifts are tax-deductible.

To contribute to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund, you can give securely on-line, or please make your check payable to "The Joshua Fund" and send to:

The Joshua Fund
18950 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009

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 critical moment in history of the epicenter.