Rani on the Persian Gulf - Doha, Qatar

Rani recently had the opportunity to attend a United Nations sponsored summit as a member of the group Terana. This came as part of his fellowship with the Terana group, which is an organization based on peace-keeping and advocating the greater global community. Rani was one out of about 30 individuals and represented the only Evangelical Arab Christian and the only Israeli Arab.  The trip lasted almost one week, from April 4 - 10 and took place in Doha, Qatar. This was a special treat for Rani, who as an Israeli citizen is normally prohibited from traveling to Arab nations such as Qatar, despite the fact that he himself is Arab. His UN visa allowed him special entrance for the occasion.

 

Rani spent the week in the beautiful city of Doha, home to the vast majority of the Qatari population and center of the country of Qatar, which is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. He participated in group discussions, media projects and information sessions investigating various world cultures. Most of the Arab participants in the summit are Muslim and Rani had the chance to share his Christian testimony with several of them, as well as a few nominal European Christians. Overall, he learned a great deal about the various cultures represented at the event and came home with an even greater desire to see these people (especially the Arab populations) reached with the gospel.  

We are thrilled to announce that our baby, due in September, is a BOY! We are so excited and can't wait to meet this little one. So far, everything is going smoothly. Here in Israel, they subject pregnant women to more tests than an astronaut. While annoying, it has been very nice to have access to high quality, early ultrasounds.

Our baby boy at 15 weeks.

Despite these advantages, our experience with the Israeli medical system has brought us to the disturbing knowledge of Israel's strong pro-abortion stance. They have a very high rate of selective abortion (based on gender, possible retardation or even possible blindness/deafness) including late term abortion. At every appointment we have been encouraged to have multiple tests before "termination becomes more difficult." I even had one health professional tell me I "must" terminate my pregnancy if any problem at all was found! Please pray for this country and for the women and unborn children of Israel.

As part of our year in the States, Rani will have time to visit and speak at churches throughout the USA. If your church or organization is interested in having him speak or preach, please contact us! We are trying to fill our schedule beginning from this July.

Our available openings right now are:

July 31
August 14-31
October 16-31
November (open) - there is a strong possibility we will be in the state of North Carolina during Thanksgiving week. If any North Carolina churches are interested, we can extend our stay past Thanksgiving or come a little earlier.


Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to schedule a speaking engagement!

• April 26-29: Arab Youth Camp. Rani will be the keynote speaker and will be bringing the gospel message to youth in grades 9-12.  
• May 12-14: Centennial Celebration of Baptists in Israel. Baptists celebrate 100 years of work in the Holy Land.
• May 21: flight to America.
• Mid-June: work begins at Hunter's Glen! 

• We're so thankful for the incredible gift of our unborn son. We thank the Lord for this blessing!
• We're so thankful for the upcoming opportunity to work for a season with Hunter's Glen in America.
• We're so thankful for the wonderful support of our friends and family!
• We're so thankful for the way the Lord continuously provides for our every need.  
• We're thankful for the opportunity Rani had to visit Doha, Qatar and to meet new people and share his testimony. 

• Pray for the health and safety of our baby as we eagerly anticipate meeting him in September.
• Pray for our upcoming move to the States, that everything will go smoothly. We specifically need to find storage for our furniture/household items and are praying for an empty apartment that we can use as storage and also as a temporary home when we return to Israel.
• Pray for both of our families as we make this transition.
• Pray for Rani as he prepares to develop this new program and that he will have opportunity to expand his preaching/teaching skills at various churches.  
• Pray that we are able to raise enough financial support during our time in America for full-time ministry.  
• Pray for our upcoming Arab Youth Camp. Rani will be the key-note speaker and I will be working in the kitchen. The camp runs from April 26-29.