Shalom to everyone! I haven't written in a very long time, as I've been experiencing a period of burn out where I felt the events of the last three years fall on me all at once, and I was left without emotional and physical strength. I felt OK within, in my spirit, but I just couldn't do much, and writing was definitely out of the question!! I knew I had to just wait on the Lord for His restoration - as in Isaiah 40:
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
And as I did, slowly the burn out has faded, and I am being restored. Still not full strength yet - but OK!! Hallelujah! I am still praising the Lord in every circumstance, which is one of the the most important elements in this journey!!
HEARING
Today another hearing in the Jack Teitel case is taking place. Here is an email I sent out to those in Israel who try to support us by coming to the hearings.
Hi to all. A hearing will be taking place tomorrow in the Yaakov Teitel case to determine whether he is psychologically fit to stand trial. The hearing was set for 14:00(2PM) in the district court in East Jerusalem on Salah-a-Din Street, but now the prosecutor called our lawyer and said that the hearing might take place earlier at 11:30 and it might take place behind closed doors.
We feel like we're playing musical chairs, and that we and those who support us are being discouraged from attending the hearing as well as the press. This depletes our energy but it is how it has been since the beginning. For those who don't know, the defense hired 13 private psychiatrists to evaluate Teitel's mental state, and it is not clear to anyone where the money has come from for this. Also, the last hearing was suddenly postponed for almost two months without any explanation on the day of the hearing when everyone was already sitting in the courtroom.
And then a short update from this morning...
Good morning - we just heard from our lawyer that the hearing will take place behind closed doors, and that this one is not the last hearing or summation of the hearings, but there will be one or two more before it is over. Therefore we probably wouldn't have been able to sit in the courtroom at any rate. Thanks to all who expressed interest. We will let you know what happened during the hearing when we get the information.
Our good friend Chaim Goldberg from Maoz ministries has been one such faithful friend. His blog includes an update on the latest news about the hearing, but I wanted to direct your attention to the excellent video he did on the persecution of Messianic Jews in Israel to refresh and to encourage you to keep on praying for the situation. Not that we expect persecution to cease - we know it will increase for us all in these last days, no matter where we live. But, please pray that we will be strengthened to continue to stand for Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel no matter what the slanderous and incite-full tongues shout out against us. Please pray that our hearts and attitudes will remain right before the Lord, and that we will be full of grace and forgiveness towards those that oppose us so violently. It is what the Master wants.
Here is the link - http://maozisraelblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/urgent-prayer-request-from-ortiz-family.html
AMI NEWS
As for Ami - he is doing very well. He is weaning himself off of his nerve medication, as he still has low level pain in his left hand from the nerve injuries. However, he has been advised by his doctors that he has to learn to live with it, and the time has come to stop taking the medication, which he always wants to do anyway. It is difficult, but he has faced so much difficulty already. He also has some residual ringing in the ears, but other than that he is strong and full of life and strength in every way. He is finishing high school, and since the rest of his friends will be going into the army, he is standing firm on his desire to study in the U.S. That doesn't seem possible for the Fall of 2011 - however the Lord has a plan and we're trying to discern and follow.
Please check out www.amiortiz.com for updated information on our family, Ami's progress and the trial.
JOEL ROSENBERG
Joel Rosenberg (best-selling Messianic author, "Epicenter", "The Ezekiel Option", "The Twelth Imam" plus many other titles) has been in the land with a tour group this month. One of the highlights of his tour was an Epicenter Conference. We had the great privilege of being invited to a banquet along with other Messianic leaders in Israel, given by Joel's organization, the Joshua Fund. We were also privileged to sit at Joel and his wife Lynn's table with Anne Graham Lotz (Billy Graham's daughter) and her daughters. Anne was one of the speakers at the Epicenter conference. You can see the teachings given on the Book of Joel from the conference at www.epicenterconference.com I highly recommend it, as I believe the messages are God's message for the days we're living in.
We appreciate your love and for standing with us so faithfully.
In Yeshua,
Leah
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
And as I did, slowly the burn out has faded, and I am being restored. Still not full strength yet - but OK!! Hallelujah! I am still praising the Lord in every circumstance, which is one of the the most important elements in this journey!!
HEARING
Today another hearing in the Jack Teitel case is taking place. Here is an email I sent out to those in Israel who try to support us by coming to the hearings.
Hi to all. A hearing will be taking place tomorrow in the Yaakov Teitel case to determine whether he is psychologically fit to stand trial. The hearing was set for 14:00(2PM) in the district court in East Jerusalem on Salah-a-Din Street, but now the prosecutor called our lawyer and said that the hearing might take place earlier at 11:30 and it might take place behind closed doors.
We feel like we're playing musical chairs, and that we and those who support us are being discouraged from attending the hearing as well as the press. This depletes our energy but it is how it has been since the beginning. For those who don't know, the defense hired 13 private psychiatrists to evaluate Teitel's mental state, and it is not clear to anyone where the money has come from for this. Also, the last hearing was suddenly postponed for almost two months without any explanation on the day of the hearing when everyone was already sitting in the courtroom.
And then a short update from this morning...
Good morning - we just heard from our lawyer that the hearing will take place behind closed doors, and that this one is not the last hearing or summation of the hearings, but there will be one or two more before it is over. Therefore we probably wouldn't have been able to sit in the courtroom at any rate. Thanks to all who expressed interest. We will let you know what happened during the hearing when we get the information.
Our good friend Chaim Goldberg from Maoz ministries has been one such faithful friend. His blog includes an update on the latest news about the hearing, but I wanted to direct your attention to the excellent video he did on the persecution of Messianic Jews in Israel to refresh and to encourage you to keep on praying for the situation. Not that we expect persecution to cease - we know it will increase for us all in these last days, no matter where we live. But, please pray that we will be strengthened to continue to stand for Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel no matter what the slanderous and incite-full tongues shout out against us. Please pray that our hearts and attitudes will remain right before the Lord, and that we will be full of grace and forgiveness towards those that oppose us so violently. It is what the Master wants.
Here is the link - http://maozisraelblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/urgent-prayer-request-from-ortiz-family.html
AMI NEWS
As for Ami - he is doing very well. He is weaning himself off of his nerve medication, as he still has low level pain in his left hand from the nerve injuries. However, he has been advised by his doctors that he has to learn to live with it, and the time has come to stop taking the medication, which he always wants to do anyway. It is difficult, but he has faced so much difficulty already. He also has some residual ringing in the ears, but other than that he is strong and full of life and strength in every way. He is finishing high school, and since the rest of his friends will be going into the army, he is standing firm on his desire to study in the U.S. That doesn't seem possible for the Fall of 2011 - however the Lord has a plan and we're trying to discern and follow.
Please check out www.amiortiz.com for updated information on our family, Ami's progress and the trial.
JOEL ROSENBERG
Joel Rosenberg (best-selling Messianic author, "Epicenter", "The Ezekiel Option", "The Twelth Imam" plus many other titles) has been in the land with a tour group this month. One of the highlights of his tour was an Epicenter Conference. We had the great privilege of being invited to a banquet along with other Messianic leaders in Israel, given by Joel's organization, the Joshua Fund. We were also privileged to sit at Joel and his wife Lynn's table with Anne Graham Lotz (Billy Graham's daughter) and her daughters. Anne was one of the speakers at the Epicenter conference. You can see the teachings given on the Book of Joel from the conference at www.epicenterconference.com I highly recommend it, as I believe the messages are God's message for the days we're living in.
We appreciate your love and for standing with us so faithfully.
In Yeshua,
Leah