House of Light

Christmas 2004 Newsletter

The Lord is God and He has made His light shine upon us…. Psalm 118:27

Dear Friends and Prayer Partners, 
      Another blessed year is coming to an end!  We are so thankful for everything the Lord has done and continues to do each day.  He really does shine His light upon us and because of Him we are able to show that light to others.  Thank you so much for your support and your part in our ministry. We praise the Lord for His faithfulness.

Prison ministries       

House of Light is still seeing much progress among a number of the inmates in their spiritual growth and learning.  Regular visits to the inmates include teaching and worshiping. We also give them spiritual books and encourage them in the Lord.  This year we have been excited to see some of the prisoners meeting in the prison on their own even when we are not present. House of Light is also still caring for the wives and families of the inmates. 

As you are reading this, please be praying for this Christmas season in the prisons!  We will be having special Christmas visits of singing and sharing and we will be taking presents and holiday “kosher” food, as ordered by the Rabbis, into the prisons. Please pray that the reason of this season, Jesus Christ, would touch many hearts with the love of God.

King’s Kids

            It’s always thrilling and exciting to fill you in on what the Lord is doing amongst the youth. The King’s Kids team is growing, after a very anointed summer camp attended by 46 youth (from Shefa-Amer, Nazareth, Natanya, Hadera, Jerusalem and Beit Jala) with the theme: “The Father heart of God”, we got back to our year round meetings, bringing our lives before Him and living the truth that we are made for Him, through worship, Bible studies, games, dances, dramas and activities….  It is a great blessing to also have a King’s Kids team in Jerusalem whose leaders and attendants share the same goal and heart for ministry as we… Still we pray for more workers in the youth ministry, we pray for a breakthrough in the lives of the youth and a heart on fire for the world in need of Jesus… We pray for a possibility to start an Alpha course for newcomers.

King’s Kids Israel has also received an invitation to Finland for the summer of 2005, please pray with us as we long to be where the Lord wants us to be and bring Him glory wherever He may send us.

Professional Counseling

The desire for support and counseling among the people here is growing. Many women come and receive counseling from Christiana, a Christian Psychiatric Nurse, who volunteers at the House of Light two days a week by giving personal counseling sessions with the help and translation of Nawal and Ranaa’.

 Highlights of our year….

New computer room, Library and additions

·    In order to provide a safe place for the youth to use the internet for recreation and homework, House of Light has made preparations of new furniture for 3-4 computers to be bought for those goals.

·    We have recently completed the entrance to the meeting room by finishing the electricity work that needed to be done.

·    The concrete floor and the skeleton of the construction for the new additional room are already made.

·    We are also working on starting a library at which youth in particular and all House of Light members and visitors in general, could find Christian books, tapes CDs, videos and DVDs to borrow for a while and enjoy… we praise the Lord for brothers and sisters around the world who help make this happen by sending such literature to be added to this “hoped, planned and prayed for” library.

Families’ Camp

In July, we held a family camp for the families who attend the HOL meetings throughout the year, in most families the fathers are often absent and involved with substance abuse.  The camp was held in tents with 33 adults and children. The theme of the camp was “Living Stones”, with specific application on how to be a living stone in daily life regardless of the circumstances. Our focus was on training the adults to teach their children so that the whole family can be an example and a light. The camp was a blessing even to non-participants who were in the area. At the end of the camp the facility director came to us and said that the camp had been such a good testimony that they would like to offer us the opportunity to come next year for several days at low cost!

The Land

Despite the fact that we have not received yet a permission to build on the House of Light land, we do feel the Lord wants to use it in the meanwhile in the ways possible… We are seeking the Lord for guidance to what it is He wants to see done in His land and are sure He is at work… as an assurance of His constant provision for the vision to come true, He has blessed us this November with a group of 7 young women from the Jerusalem YWAM (Youth With a Mission) base who stayed with us for two and half weeks and served in many ways one of which was tending the olive trees of the land and clearing the rocks.

The team also joined meetings, taught the King’s Kids one afternoon, visited and encouraged families, prayed, sang, ministered and blessed the House of Light in various means.

Family News

·    In September, Anis, Nawal and Rajaa’ were able to visit Holland for three weeks. They spent time visiting churches and sharing about the House of Light. This was a good time of sharing House of Light news to those who already support the House of Light and to those who are just learning about it.  Rajaa’ shared about the King’s Kids and youth ministry then spent a lovely time with friends in Paris and Berlin before getting back to start a new job in Speech Therapy. This was a refreshing time for her in-between finishing her degree and beginning work.

·    We are excited to announce the soon formal engagement of Rajaa’ to Alon Grimberg, a German young man living in the Jewish sector of Israel for the last 16 years, serving the Lord amongst the Messianic Jewish congregations and in the last 4 years with a ministry called “Lech Lecha”.

·    Naeem and Erini are expecting their second child, who’ll be born by God’s grace around April.

·    We are praying that God provides a job for Erini as she is finishing her masters in Civil engineering.

·    Naeem is still working for the same company, which is going through a difficult time right now. The company is in the process of moving to a different location. Naeem is seeking the Lord for future direction.

·    Little Anis is growing! He is 2 ½ years old now and is a very busy little boy. He brings great joy to our lives!

·    Zaher and Ranaa’ minister through Students’ ministry (FCSI) and are very busy at following up with the believing students’ meetings at the different universities and colleges.

Volunteers

We feel very blessed to have Ies and Jeane, the Dutch volunteers, serving for their fourth year here at the House of Light. They both help in many ways and make it much easier for us, Anis & Nawal to carry out our part of ministry work.

Our German volunteer Johannes has been blessing us with his “servant’s heart” and his joyful spirit for four months now. He is also using his talent in playing the violin to encourage and help two of the girls who are learning to play the violin here at the House of Light.

Our Christian psychiatric Nurse, Christiana, is continuing her ministry here with counseling. Please pray that God will give her wisdom and understanding so that she can help those in need through Jesus Christ.  

Prayer requests

Please notice that above all these prayer request, we ask you to join us in praising the Lord because He is good, His ways of love and compassion surpass all understanding…. And we do ask you to please pray with us for:

• The ministries of House of Light to be blessed by the constant presence and guidance of Jesus’ light and to be fruitful and bring joy to God’s heart.
• Wisdom for Anis in the prison visits and for the prisoners to be spiritually set free.
• The unity of the two King’s Kids teams: Shefa-Amer’s Arabic speaking team and Jerusalem’s Hebrew speaking team.
• The future plans of King’s Kids for the summer of 2005.
• The construction work being done at the House of Light.
• Guidance concerning the House of Light land.
• Provision of workers and finances for the computer room being prepared.
• Our family, to be constantly united by the Father’s love and to fix our eyes on Him and stand firm in ministry.
• Rajaa’ and Alon as they walk down the road of God’s will for their shared life in loving Him above all, loving each other and serving the Almighty God…

Wishing you a revelation

Of the Father’s abundant love,

 

Anis & Nawal Barhoum
And the HOL Family