Shalom Family and Friends,

The God of all Shalom Bless you all, as you serve Him with all your hearts.

I'm so excited to get this newsletter out! We have lots of news for you. God is an awesome God to be sure. I'd have exclamation marks after all these sentences but then this newsletter would look like Natanyah typed it! If you've seen her comments on Facebook you are laughing right now. You can see that I'm still in the plodding old format, but this is the last time! The new website is up now so please come and visit. It's at the same address www.zemerlevav.org and while you are there, please sign up for our new newsletter on our homepage. If you would like to be dropped from our list don't do anything and you will no longer receive our newsletter.

As Long as I Breathe in Spanish:
We have Five of the eleven songs from "As Long as I Breathe" in Spanish!
This is something I have been praying for, for a long time! I have had a desire to minister in Spanish speaking countries and have just continued to pray and wait. Two years ago we went to Honduras, and that is when we had almost half of the songs from the album translated. We were so blessed ministering there, and we have used the Spanish translations in several Spanish congregations, but it has always been uncomfortable singing in Spanish, and having albums only in English. I am very blessed that God has opened this door to us.

New Album in the Works:
This summer we will be working on our next album project. At this time I've been working hard trying to get our calendar filled up for the spring, and getting the web-site finished, so that I can spend time working on all the half finished new songs I've been jotting down when I'm supposed to be sleeping. Please be in prayer for us as we do the prep work for this album. Pray that God will guide the writing, arranging, and choice of instrumentation.

We also need financial backing for the project so please be in prayer for this also.

New Open Doors:
We just spent two months in Florida, and as we were ministering in different congregations we met a man from the Brazilian Agency and his wife. He asked if we had anyone booking or promoting us in Brazil, and that he would like to do so. He had several photos taken with his wife and us to use for promotion. He asked if we could come in December.

We also met a woman from Guatemala who asked if we could go there with our music. I recently heard from her sister by email and we will be booking concerts there when the Spanish album is released. Pray for the financial provision for this trip. If you feel led to participate in sending us. Go to our support page and click on the link there.

The Website:
I have been focusing on getting the new webpage up and running. I've had some good constructive criticism, and have changed things dramatically. I brought Aviad Cohen on board to rebuild the structure. It's been great working with him, and he's fast!

I have a few things that still need to be done, but it's up!

The Lord bless and keep you all in Messiah Yeshua,  ~Shimrit 

Shalom All,

I can't believe it has been six months since our last newsletter in July of this year! We are all very well, through the ups and downs, the struggles and victories, God has blessed us and continues to bless as we seek His face in all we do.

We have had reports over the last six months of changed lives as people have gotten our CD and played it again and again. I know that God is working in all our hearts and preparing us for what is to come. I feel that soon we are going to have many opportunities to be a light in this world, and our faith will be exercised in new ways. Our concerts have been more and more focused on worship at God's throne.

We have been learning to give every area in our lives to God, to release our rights to Him. It is a struggle, as we have been so trained in this world to organize, order, plan, and work hard. Not that these things in and of themselves are bad, the scriptures speak of faithfulness and diligence, but we have to pray about everything, and let God move things into place. I've spent so much time in my life beating my head against a wall striving to get the calendar full making calls and sending emails out till i'm exhausted, and beating myself up when things don't seem to be working. Now we have just as many concerts as before, but I'm praying about every detail, and I'm not making as many calls, but my calls are getting more results and I have more time to spend with Natanyah for music and school. God needs to be in control of every detail.

We ended up with an unplanned 6 week break in the great northwest. At least it certainly wasn't my plan! I drove my self crazy trying to fill that calendar! I finally gave in and said God our time is Yours, all time is Yours, and since you have not allowed us to play anywhere except Vancouver (a wonderful festival, and outdoor concert) and Springfield(a small warm congregation where I taught dance as well) we'll just take a vacation! At that time we thought it was four weeks, but then we got a call that our Colorado concert cancelled, we had planned on taking Yom Kippur off, so that made it six weeks!

Mark called the office and found out that we had enough back-logged finances that we could make it for four weeks if we really squeaked (spent as close to nothing as possible). We had a National Parks pass, and Mark's research told us that these parks had no hook-ups, so they were very cheap to camp in with our RV. This wonderful RV has solar panels on the roof to charge the batteries, plus it was cooling off at the end of August into September up there, and we didn't have to run the air conditioner, so we got on very well. God had told me a month earlier when we were prospering that I was to purchase extra canned beans, rice, lentils, tomato sauce, pasta and all those easy to store dry foods. I told Mark what God had spoken to my heart and he said I should do it.

All we needed in that thin time were fresh fruits, vegies, and gas as we travelled. We stayed at Mt. St. Helens and learned about volcanic eruptions, ecological recovery, and glacial ecology. Then we visited my Uncle in Idaho and caught trout, cooked and ate them while we visited, laughed and shared music. Next we saw Craters of the Moon National Monument and learned more about volcanism, climbed a cinder cone volcano, learned about different kinds of lava, and hiked in a lava tube. Then it was on to Yellowstone. That was amazing! I can hardly begin to describe all that we saw and learned there! I have photos up on my facebook for those of you who are FBers. In short geysers, hot springs, boiling mud, stinky sulphurous lakes and ponds, several incredible waterfalls and lots of elk, bison, deer, and one wolf. Nope, we did not see a single bear, I was so glad! I'm going to skip the Colorado fish stories.

When we finally got to Texas for Sukkot we were so refreshed. It felt so good to be singing, and so right. We had some wonderful concerts, two in Dallas, one in Paragould, AR (look that one up!) then finished off Sukkot in Pensacola, FL. From there on out it has been pretty busy, and very blessed. We got to see Shalisha and Joseph with baby Rinah and the extended family we have in Gainesville, FL. Now we are in Tucker, GA and I'm preparing to sing in Spanish for a Friday night service!

That is the last six months incapsulated. We are heading to TN next week for a busy November and then we will head back to Florida for Chanukah with family. We have several concerts in Florida in December into January, and then we'll head north (burrrr) for a womens retreat. Kerah will lead worship there, and we'll visit Liorah. I'm in the process of booking in the Carolina's, Virginia, and Maryland on the way up and back, so if your congregation is along that route give me a call!

Kerah will send a short NewsFlash about her New York Stilettos run and walk for "Stop Child Trafficking Now". I'll tell you though that she came back hyped! You can go to youtube and type it in and see videos, one in which Kerah is actually interviewed!

Last but not least! (I'll try not wait six months between newsletters again!) Joseph and I are working on a new website! I'm really excited, as it pulls together several things that I need to do my job, all in one place. I'll send a Flash as soon as it's up so that you can go and sign up for our new newsletter that will include pictures, maybe some links and even music! Imagine that, music from musicians!

I hope that God has been blessing you all. That you are growing in grace and the knowledge of Him. That you have your eyes on the Prize, and are running the race with patience.

The Lord bless and keep you in Messiah,

~Shimrit
 

Kerah fishing on the Snake river at twilight.

Shalom All!

We are headed cross country, stopping along the way to do concerts. The memorial service for Mark's dad was beautiful, the scenery in Colorado made a lovely backdrop as the minister read scripture. The whole service was scripture, which we really appreciated.

I have finally begun a personal facebook account. I have had friends and family members ask me to start one as a way for them to connect with us in a more visual way. With the Facebook interface on my Blackberry phone I can snap pics and immediately upload them to Facebook, so I can give a good taste of our life on the road, and up to the minute reports on what's happening. If you are on Facebook you can find me at my name, or using this email address.

We spent two weeks with Mark's mom in Las Vegas, and then a weekend in Colorado with family, which created two weekends off from our usual ministry. It has been good, and necessary, and a nice break from our normal schedule. However it has created one problem.

As we do every year, we are in concert and teaching classes at Messiah Conference. It gives Mark and I the opportunity to network with leaders and open new doors for ministry for us. The girls also minister by helping lead worship for the youth. I am on staff this year so I am compensated for my time, but the rest of the family pays for their registration. We find ourselves coming up short this year. Our home congregation is helping, but they can't afford to pay everyone's way. (Adrielle and Liorah are trying to go also)

If you feel led to help us all be able to attend together (I must be there) please send a donation (tax deductible) to the Brentwood, TN address below.

There is much going on in our Government right now and I encourage you to stay informed. We stand to lose much freedom in the next couple of years and we must call and email our representatives, sign petitions, and make our voices heard. It really does make a difference! The Lord bless and strengthen us all in His Love!

In Messiah Yeshua,

~Shimrit

Shalom Friends and Family,

I apologize that it has taken me so long to get this newsletter out. We landed running when we arrived from Israel. We had one day to rest and then did a three concert weekend. It was a great weekend, at one of our concerts a Jewish man came to know his Messiah for the first time. The next week was spent unpacking, and settling back into the motor home, as well as making many phone calls to family and friends, grocery shopping, etc. The next weekend we were in Las Vegas. It was our first time at the congregation there. It was restful setting up once before Shabbat, and just being a blessing at each service, sharing a few songs, then our concert Saturday night was the topper. Two weekends of blessings.

We have been visiting with Mark's mom here in Nevada. She is alone since pop passed away in December. There will be a memorial service for him in Colorado this June. God has provided for our family to be together again. We will pick the girls up at the airport in Albuquerque on Wed. and Thurs. and then drive up to the four corners area for the service. I haven't seen my grandbaby since she was 3 weeks old, so despite the sad occasion, I'm thrilled!

So What Else Happened in Israel?

We got to see Rotem and her family!

Rotem is progressing very well considering the extent of her injuries. She is very alert to everything around her. She has much more motor control. I have a video of her reaching up and stroking and twirling Natanyah's hair. She nods her agreement, and when someone amuses her she smiles a sweet little half smile. She draws circles and figure eights with her left hand for therapy. She has learned English now and she understands all the conversation going on around her. She can sit for a very short time without support, and is beginning therapy now to learn to walk.

Her Grandparents, and Aunt, Uncle, and cousins were there. We sang songs for the family, and Rotem's mom remembered the songs we had sung 2 yrs ago! She had her requests ready! We also added the new Hebrew songs I wrote while in the land. They loved the music and Rotem's Aunt told me when they were leaving that she really appreciated the spiritual depth of our music and family, God blessed our time together and new bonds were formed. We continue to pray for them all.

We also saw some new tools in play for outreach on the streets that is really having an impact. One is called a "Treasure Hunt" and presupposes that God has certain people that He has prepared for us to share with and pray for. A small group will pray with that in mind and ask God to prepare the person/persons and to prepare people within the group to speak with and pray for the person. Then you ask for direction, ask for God to reveal things about that person (this person is the treasure) then they wait on the Lord and write down what they feel He is revealing to them as "clues" to help them find this person. When prayer time is over the members of the group compare notes, and highlight the clues that more than one person in the group has on their list. These are the clues they use to help them find the person God wants them to speak with and pray for.

Here is an example from a group a friend was in. The clues they got that were on several peoples lists were:

1. A Pizza shop
2. A blue shirt
3. A knee injury
4. the name Yakov

They knew there was a Pizza place nearby, so they went there. Standing outside the Pizza shop was a young man in a blue shirt. They explained that they were on a treasure hunt and that they believed that he was God's treasure. They asked if he had a knee injury saying that God had told them that they were to pray for him. He was blown away and told them that he was a soccer player and had a knee injury. Though he had surgery, it was not very successful and he could no longer play! They prayed for his knee and the young man was healed! Next the guys asked him and his friend who Yakov was. The friend said that his brother's name was Yakov, so they said we need to pray for him, and prayed for him right then and there. Then they showed the guys the lists that they had made with all this info and explained how God loved them and wanted them to know Him and were able to share the Gospel with them. They were wide open because of the miracles God had done both in the revealing to total strangers where he was and what he needed, and the healing of his knee.

The second is just praying and asking God to lead you to people who are hurting and/or who want to know the truth about God and Messiah Yeshua. Approaching people with the question "Do you have a need that I can pray for? Are you searching for answers, for who God is, and who is the Messiah?" and then just praying for those who respond. I used this approach on Ben Yehuda St. and God gave me two people to pray for. One of them actually came straight to me with questions! I didn't even approach her! In the end she prayed with me that God would reveal to her Yeshua His Messiah. Next I heard the crash of a bottle breaking and saw an old orthodox man who was drinking and had dropped his bottle. He shuffled over near a store and my heart went out to him. Mark came with me and I stood behind him and began to pray. He started to walk away and I could tell he was resisting. He got about twenty feet ahead of us and then stopped... and began walking backwards as though God was reeling him in, until he was just a half an arms length away. I continued to pray for him then finished with b'Shem Yeshua HaMashiach, omain. It was as though he was released, he walked away again never even turning to see who had prayed for him.

That was an amazing night.

Another amazing though not so wonderful experience was the night we were driving home to Nes Harim from Jerusalem. We decided to go a different way than usual and on the highway we suddenly saw a motorcycle down.

The man was either hit, or wiped out on the turn. His bike was laying sideways on the highway and he was nowhere to be seen. Mark jumped out of the car, looked at the bike and followed his intuition. Others had stopped by now and were looking along the side where the bike was. Mark crossed the highway a couple hundred feet ahead of where the bike was and found him in the under growth on the other side of the guard rail. He was barely conscious and sweating profusely. It is amazing that he was even alive. Mark was able to direct people to where the man was. It was a miracle from the Lord that we happened to be there, God was able to use Marks gift of intuative mechanics/physics to know just where to look for the man. This saved quite a bit of time which in this type of situation can mean the difference between life and death.

So Where are We Headed?

We are very excited about some new songs we have written, they minister so much to us that we love singing and playing them! We can't wait to share them with all of you. Our Summer tour is taking shape. We will be in Albuquerque the weekend of the 30th and 31st at Calvary Chapel East. Then we pick up Shalisha and Rinah on Wed. and Adrielle and Liorah on Thursday and spend the weekend with family in the four corners area.

Monday the girls go back home except for Adrielle who will ride with us to Kansas City. Our next concert is on Shabbat morning June 13th in Branson Missouri, at Rabbi Jeremy Storch's Congregation, the Tabernacle at 11:00 am. If anyone knows someone in that area you can let them know. We have Sunday free that weekend and are open to ministering wherever the Lord might open doors for us.

June 20th we are all the way to New Jersy (yes, that's a lot of driving!) Jackson to be exact at Beth Zion. We are looking for a Sunday there also and any midweek evenings we can be of service. The 27th we'll have two concerts, one in the morning and another in the evening in Yardley, PA at Lion of Judah, and in the evening at Beth Simcha in Allentown.

At Messiah conference we'll all be teaching classes. I'll be teaching how to teach a dance class, with tips and tools for new and not so new teachers on Monday, Tuesday Kerah and Adrielle will be teaching a silk painting class, Wednesday Mark will be teaching a seminar on harp building, Thursday I'll be teaching a jewelry making class, Friday I will be teaching a choreography class, and Saturday we will be doing a mini concert.

After the conference we will be heading across the country to Washington State where we are booked to play in Vancouver on August 1st and 2nd. We already have several concerts booked in the Pittsburg area the week and weekend after conference as we begin our journey across the country.

If you are along the way between Pittsburg and Chicago, or Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul, or Minneapolis and Vancouver, Washington and would like to have us, call Jonathan at the booking number below. We only have three weeks and two weekends in between Pittsburg and Vancouver, so call soon!

We'll be in Washington the month of August, and then head back to Florida to celebrate the end of Sukkot in Pensacola. So if you are in between Washington and Colorado Springs, Colorado (where we will be for Rosh HaShana), and then Florida. Give us a call. Your calls will often define our routes!

I pray that the Lord will bless and prosper your soul, and protect your income. I pray that we will all draw closer to the Lord during this time, and trust Him to be our provider, and keeper. I pray that we will all spend more time seeking His face, and entertain His presence in our lives, and in our households. May the Lord bless and keep you all,

~Shimrit and Family

Shalom Friends and family!

It is 2:23 (or 14:23 Israeli time). We are in Nes Harim, a beautiful village in the mountains between Yerushalaim and Bet Shemesh. It is very windy, and the whistling of the wind at the windows and around the corners of the house is a haunting but lovely sound.

Our schedule is shaping up nicely here. We have a couple of soup kitchens in Tel Aviv, and a congregation in the area. We've been given a good list of contacts, and we are all set to attend the School of Ministry next week, for some much needed input and refreshing in God's word, worship, and prayer.

Our trip here was much more restful than our last trip to Israel (some of us actually slept on the plane!), though our luggage was lost for two days and took an additional two days to get to us! I felt a bit lost without my instruments! We stayed in Netanyah while we waited, with Brian and Racheli Slater. We attended Beit Asaph on Shabbat. There we met a small group from Japan!

The School of Ministry:
We attended sessions of the School of Ministry last week, and we are so blessed. It felt so good to get this input as we studied scripture and saw the places where these things took place. We got new insights on well known stories and shared with one another the things God highlighted for us. We took lots of notes! One of the major scriptures that the Lord impressed on all of us was 1Kings 18:30. The people of Israel had been worshiping idols now for 62 years, by this time the people knew little if anything about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This scripture states that Elijah "...repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down." The Lord spoke to us that we are to do the same. We are working on this in our own lives and our family, and seeking the Lord about how this relates to our ministry, and how we are to obey this word in practice.

We did very little sightseeing last time we were here, so with the school we have been able to see more of the land, and the historic Biblical sights. We stayed at Bet Scandinavia in Bat Galim in Haifa while we attended the school, and we played twice for the group there, most of them are from Norway. They invite neighbors to their Shabbat dinners, so we had the opportunity to share with "pre-believers". The second Shabbat, a young girl asked how I came to know Messiah. This gave me an opportunity to share my testimony with her and another lady. Later I was able to pray with the girl as she had struggles at home.

To the South:
Next down to Omer near Be'er Sheva where we spent some time with our good friend Jeanie Gelbart. Her husband Steve passed away just as we were leaving for Israel. It is a very sad time for all of us who knew him. We miss his wonderful worship music. Now as he so aptly put it, he has exchanged new songs for the old and it delights our souls to think of him playing before God's throne. Please pray for her as she goes through the grieving process.

While we were there we worshiped in a home with a small group and shared with them. A Pastor from a Russian congregation was there and asked us to come and sing for his congregation, so we stayed an extra night in the area at another church that had some rooms, and shared a half hour of worship with the church in Be'er Sheva.

Back up to Haifa!
Kerah and I have each written a song since we've been here which is amazing considering this leg of our journey we have been very busy with school and then traveling! I'm excited to see what the Lord gives us when we finally get to sit still for a time again in Nes Harim!

We are right now on our way back to Haifa where we are going to participate in a night of praise and worship to the Lord, our slot is 3:00 to 4:00 AM! Then over the weekend we'll see what else God opens up for us. We will spend some time with a family friend who is in the IDF.

Finally Settling in:
We are now settled in Moshav Nes Harim. The all night Praise was wonderful. We ended up sitting in with two other worship leaders in their time slots, and I got to just relax and worship with my harp in a way I have never had an opportunity to do before. It was a growing experience in worship music for me. We've been here in Nes Harim for three days now, and have had some wonderful time in the word together as a family. We spent most of this Shabbat just digging into the scriptures and studying together. We are learning more about the musicians in the Tabernacle of David, and Solomon's Temple. It's a fascinating study, plus we've been continuing in the Parashas and reading through the book of Matthew, which has also led to some study in the prophets and Kings!

Kerah and I have written a couple more songs and are looking forward to more as we dig into God's word, and worship together. Natanyah is really growing during this time too. She joined us in the School of Ministry classes, and now she's back to a regular school schedule along with the Scriture studies we've been doing together. She will begin working with me on music and dance this week. We look forward to her taking a more active part in the music ministry before the Lord. She is excited about some new things that she can bring into the worship.

We still have the ministry in the Soup Kitchens in Tel Aviv before us, and I have been trying to get ahold of Rotem's family. We have had several opportunities to be an encouragement to different brethren as we have traveled. Truely this trip has been much different than the last one, as God spoke to us right before we left. He said we were not to have expectations because He was going to do something different this time. I'm excited to share in the next newsletter as our odyssey continues to unfold.

May the Lord bless you all, and we encourage you to "dig deeper" into the things of God. We will all need to keep our lamps trimmed and full at this time. We will post some pictures on our website soon.

~Shimrit and the Hanestribe