Dear Friends of the Schneiers,
As I am writing this update, the French police ended their siege of the apartment of the murderer of French Jewish children, a rabbi and three French soldiers. The gunman, firing a hail of machine gun bullets, was eventually shot dead as he plunged out the window in an attempt to escape. This cold blooded killer murdered a rabbi and two of his children at point blank range while kids were being dropped off for the day. Then he chased down an 8 year old girl, grabbing her hair and shooting her in the head. He had to use his second gun to accomplish his deadly task because his first gun jammed. During his rampage of death, he recorded the horrific events with a chest mounted camera. You have to ask yourself what kind of hatred had been encouraged and cultivated in this young Muslim man for him to so coldly kill innocent children? Here are some photos from Toulouse:
French police special forces in Toulouse
Credit: Getty Images/Pascal Pavani
Parents evacuating their children from school Credit: AP Photo/Jacques Brinon
This is the situation for Jews in Europe. They need protection and hope that can only come from the God of Israel, their Messiah, Yeshua, the Ruach Hakodesh (the Holy Spirit) and the body of Messiah. Thanks so much for your prayers and financial support as we try to bring comfort to the Jews of Europe by building up a vibrant and relevant Messianic Jewish movement, by sharing the gospel with Jewish people we meet and by encouraging leaders, those starting outreach efforts and Messianic Jewish congregations.
We are blessed by what the Lord has before us in the months ahead. We will be at Glory of Zion's Passover celebration which is being held in Corinth, Texas from April 5-8. If you go to their web site at www.gloryofzion.org you can find out the schedule of the conference and when David is speaking. They will be broadcasting live the sessions of the conference on the internet which you can sign up for at Glory of Zion's website.
Following the Texas conference, David will be sharing at a leadership conference in Nikolaiv, Ukraine in mid-April. We expect leaders to attend from our 17 IAMCS congregations (International Alliance of Messianic Congregations & Synagogues) in Ukraine plus representatives from England, Finland, Belarus, Romania, Russia and Croatia. The word is out that the Lord is moving amongst the Messianic believers in Ukraine. At the end of April a prayer team from Louisiana is coming to Paris and we will join the team in Paris and when they travel to Le Chambon. It is a small town in the south of France that saved 5,000 Jews during Nazi occupation. This is an important time for prayer for France given what has just happened here in Toulouse. Please join with us in lifting up this nation and the third largest Jewish population in the world.
In May we are hoping to travel to Spain to meet for the first time with Messianic leaders in Madrid and Toledo. This is an exploratory trip to link up with what the Lord is doing there amongst our Jewish people. Please lift this trip up to the Lord so we are on time to meet whomever He wants and to see whatever He wants.
This October we plan to have a blowout leadership conference in Odessa and two concerts featuring Maurice Sklar, a world renown Messianic Jewish violinist. Anyone interested in attending should let me know ASAP because flights to Odessa are limited and Rabbi Eric Walker and his wife, Laura, from Birmingham, AL already plan to come with a team of 17! We expect Messianic leaders and congregants to come to Odessa from all over Europe and the US to participate in this time of unity, fellowship, teaching and worship. Will we see you there? Just before the October gathering in Odessa David will be flying to Orlando for the four day annual meeting of the Steering Committee of the IAMCS. Please pray for wisdom as they gather to seek the Lord's will for 140 Messianic congregations of this International Alliance.
So a lot going on including ordinary life in Paris. We love and appreciate all of your and hope to get to see you some time in 2012. Please pray for us, our travels, our health and family. You can follow what is going on here by visiting our blog at www.closeupsfromfaraway.blogspot.com.
If you would like to financially partner with us you can do so as follows below. We need to regain significant financial ground in 2012 because of the loss of partners due to a foundation shutting down this year, the economy and a key donor passing away. None of this is under our control but we know the one who called us is able to keep us.
Please send your check, made payable to Glory of Zion Int’l Ministries, to:
The Schneiers
c/o Glory of Zion Int’l Ministries
PO Box 1601
Denton, TX 76202-1601
(Please include a note with your check that it is “For the Schneiers.” (Your gifts are tax deductible).
If you would like to make a credit card donation, go to www.glory-of-zion.org, click on "Donate" on the left side of the home page, fill in your credit card info on the "Send a Donation" page, in the "Put Toward" section click on "Designated Gift" and in the "Enter Recipient" section fill in "The Schneiers." This last step will insure that your gift goes to our ministry. You can indicate in the comment section if your gift is one-time or to be charged monthly on the date you provide.
Blessings, Love and Shalom,
David & Leslye
