Fall, 2003

A Happy and Healthy New Year Greeting!!

We have just completed the High Holy holiday celebrations of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippor, and Sukkot. This is a season of both joy and introspection, as we celebrate the arrival of the Jewish new year (Rosh Hashana), then take a day to fast and pray and seek the Lord (Yom Kippor) and again celebrate, in joy, the festival of Booths, Sukkot…remembering God's faithfulness to the children of Israel as they wandered in the desert for 40 years. He provided for their needs then…and still does today, for us!!!

SOME EXCITING NEWS!!!!
My second CD has finally arrived…with a new title! The original title was ABIDE, as I mentioned in my last newsletter. However, after listening to the final mixes and experiencing the "feel" of the completed project, a new title was born… "Love was meant to Fly"

It was produced by Margaret Becker in Nashville, TN. There will soon be samples here so you can take a listen!

You can order Love was meant to Fly (CD only) online now or by sending a money order or check for $19.99 for each copy (includes shipping!) to:

Faith Yesner
P.O. Box 867
Havertown, PA 19083

Be sure to include your shipping address and how many CD's you would like to order. If you would like them sent to a different address as a gift, let me know! I will include a gift card!

My first recording, In His Grace, can also be ordered as above or online. CD's are also $19.99, and cassettes are available for $13.99, shipping included. Remember, these make fantastic Chanukah, birthday and Christmas gifts, and your support is much appreciated!!!

MINISTRY NEWS
I recently returned from ministering with Kol Simcha in Ukraine! It was an incredible time and I want to share with you some of the exciting things we experienced there!

Street Outreach
Kol Simcha loves to sing and we will do it anywhere!! We went into the center of L'viv, a very bustling city, and sang in the courtyard of an opera house, coincidentally!! While we sang, the outreach team members, including my husband, Peter and our children, Scott and Jenna, handed out invitations to the upcoming festival. There is something endearing about a child, even a young adult, and many who would refuse the invitation from our adult team members would accept them from our children!

While singing, I noticed a very old woman watching us intently. She was obviously enjoying the music and I immediately felt a strong urging to pray for this woman. I knew she was ripe to hear about how much God loved her. Through an interpreter, I simply asked if I could pray for her, and she agreed with eagerness! I prayed for God's gentleness to touch her and minister to her. She immediately started to cry. Others on the team who could speak the language took over to share about salvation to her. I continued to sing, then afterwards, went to her. She was so touched and grateful, she could not stop thanking me…and the tears were still flowing. It was not till later that day that I found out she had prayed to accept the Lord!!

Childlike Faith
The following day, Kol Simcha went to an orphanage. At home, Jenna packed about 55 of her Beanie Babies to hand out to the children at the orphanage. There were 140 children ages 3-7. Others in Kol Simcha also brought Beanies and toys. As the children filed into the room, our hearts melted! These were the youngest children, 3-5 yr. olds, and they were eager to be with us. In fact, I was immediately adopted by little Olla. She put herself in my lap from the start and never left my arms! By the end of the hour, I was "mama" and the object of her affection. We sang for them, danced with them, and shared about God's love for them. When the Beanie Babies came out of the bags, all joy broke loose as the gifts were freely given! Shoes were also distributed as most of these children wore tattered slippers or worn shoes.

We were thankful that Scott and Jenna came along with us to the orphanage. Our children need to understand and see that life is not always so easy or happy for many. They need to be in situations that foster in them compassion and the awareness of the needs of others. On this day, they saw…so many children without families, without bonds, their emotional and spiritual needs un-met. The children crave for family, evident by the cries of Olla as they took her from my arms, "Mama, don't leave me"

It was bittersweet as we watched the children file out, knowing that although we brought them an hour of joy, we could not provide for their deeper needs…we pray that the words we shared with them about a loving God will remain in their hearts and that He will provide for them what we cannot!

Opposition
As the festival days drew close (they were on Fri., Sat., Sun. eves), so did the opposition. There were so many forces trying to stop this festival, including the city police force, the Orthodox, and the enemy himself, of course. When the opposition drew it's ugly head, the intercessors faced the enemy full steam ahead…and as always, victory is the Lord's! The festival was a go!

The Concerts
We sang in an outdoor stadium that sat 18,000! There were thousands of people who attended the free concerts nightly. Many danced as we sang, and they were all told about Yeshua. On the nights we were able to mingle with the crowd, we were surrounded by people eager to hear about the Lord and very eager for prayer. Their needs are great and life is difficult there, yet they cling strongly to their hope in the Lord. They receive the message joyfully.

Well, thanks for dropping by to catch up on the latest "happenings"!! Life never ceases to be exciting!!! Please remember to keep the upcoming Oct. prison concerts in prayer.

There's always more to come so keep checking back and as always, pass it on!

Blessings!

Faith Yesner