Rachel, a Jewish Believer from Scottsdale, Arizona, participated in a Jewish Voice Ministries International (JVMI) Medical Outreach in Mudanda, Zimbabwe.
“The beautiful thing about JVMI is that the prayer covering and foundation of this ministry is so solid,” she explains. “This enables God’s power to move.” While she saw God’s power displayed each day of her trip, one experience stood out.
“One morning as I was preparing to minister in the Outreach prayer tent, I heard very clearly in my spirit, ‘Wear your purple shirt today.’”
Not one to attract attention to herself, everything Rachel had packed for the trip was in subdued tones – khakis, tans, and black – except one t-shirt a friend back home gave her; a purple shirt with sparkling rhinestone script on it.
“This shirt?” she asked. “You want me to wear this shirt?” The answer was an unequivocal “YES!” She put on the purple shirt and didn’t think about it any further.
Meanwhile, 74-year-old Violet set out on her way back to the Mudanda Clinic with the help of her daughter-in-law. The two had received medical care the day before, and today, they returned for spiritual care offered in the prayer tent. It was an arduous journey for Violet, needing her daughter-in-law’s hand to guide and steady her the entire way.
Violet lost her eyesight two years earlier, the result of a traumatic accident. When they arrived, she needed to be helped to a chair… she sat in a circle with her daughter-in-law, an interpreter, and Rachel.
“You sort of have to interview people when they come for prayer,” Rachel explains. “They don’t often come in telling you why they’ve come or what they need. Violet was especially quiet, guarded – like you’d imagine someone who’d lost her sight would be, unsure of her surroundings.”
Learning that she’d lost her sight as the result of a traumatic accident, Rachel prayed for Violet in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name, commanding all trauma and its effects to go.
God heard and powerfully answered that prayer.
Violet’s eyes suddenly awakened in wide-eyed wonder! Overcome with joy, she pointed to the sparkling letters on Rachel’s shirt – she could see them! In exuberance, she shouted out, describing the letters, the shirt, and everything else around the tent she could now see! She leapt to her feet, hugged Rachel, and began clapping her hands and dancing for joy!
Others in the prayer tent were captivated by her celebration. Her joy was contagious! Everyone erupted in praise, for the real-life miracle they’d witnessed!
Through interpreters, Rachel shared the Gospel with Violet and her daughter-in-law. Both women prayed to receive Yeshua as Messiah – a second miracle! Both women returned the next day to be immersed (baptized) and requested follow up visits from a local Messianic congregation. With this vital spiritual care, they will grow in the Word of God and be firmly established in their new faith.
God doesn’t always choose to reveal Himself through miracles. But that morning, when Rachel prepared for her day, He had known from eternity past what He was going to do. And it surely delighted Him to select her wardrobe for the day – the two glittering words on Rachel’s t-shirt read: “Miracles Happen.”
Miracles do happen. Sometimes they are instantaneous, like Violet’s sight being restored. Sometimes they become evident over time, the cumulative result of Jesus’ work in hearts throughout a community.
This past May, for instance, members of JVMI’s Congregation and Leadership Development team, Troy and Lee, embarked on an annual trip to visit Messianic congregations throughout Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. While every visit was encouraging, one in particular stood out – a Shabbat visit in the Buhera District of Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe.
“As we arrived for our visit with the congregation in Buhera,” Lee explains, “they’d rented a hall in the village to host their Shabbat gathering. As we walked into the hall, there were hundreds of people worshiping in song and dance! The place was packed, wall-to-wall, shoulder-to-shoulder. We had to slide around, and even step over people, to get to the front of the gathering. The worship was so genuine and authentic; it was an overwhelming, joy-filled experience.”
The wonder of this Shabbat gathering was only magnified when, afterwards, it dawned on Troy and Lee – this congregation was made up almost entirely of Lemba, a people descended from the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Troy explains, “Typically, in the U.S., for instance, a Messianic congregation is made up of only about 30-40% Jewish people, while 60-70% are Gentiles, and usually they are very small in number. This was a crowd of 450-500 people, 90% of whom were Jewish, which would make the meeting of this one congregation in Buhera, one of the largest believing Jewish Shabbat gatherings in the entire world!”
Your Gifts are a Demonstration of Yeshua’s Love
A miraculous healing in Mudanda, an astonishing Shabbat gathering in Buhera, testimony after testimony – together, we are proclaiming the Gospel to the Jewish people first, growing the Messianic Jewish community, and engaging the Church concerning Israel and the Jewish people.
The work of Jewish Voice Ministries International is made possible by the prayers and gifts of God’s people. We invite you to partner with us to reach the Jewish people around the world with help, healing and the Good News of Israel’s Messiah.
Miracles Happen When We Proclaim Jesus!
Violet and her daughter-in- law received much needed medical care at the Mudanda Outreach Clinic. Having felt the love of Yeshua in that care, they decided to return – this time for prayer. God met them, powerfully! Violet’s physical and spiritual blindness were healed! She left the prayer tent dancing – a new Believer in Jesus!
In the Buhera District, a congregation gathers for worship on Shabbat. Wall-to-wall, shoulder-to-shoulder, hundreds of Lemba dance and sing – it is one of the largest believing Messianic Jewish Shabbat gatherings in the entire world!
Why do we do what we do? Because this ministry is close to the heart of Yeshua. He welcomes the sick, the lame, the broken, and the spiritually oppressed. We get to be His hands and feet, embodying His love and offering hope to impoverished Jewish communities.
Through our Medical Outreaches made possible by the prayers and gifts of God’s people, we have witnessed many miraculous healings. Many of the people we minister to have never seen a doctor before. Most have never heard the Good News of their Messiah.
Will you help us PROCLAIM Yeshua and help EVERYONE who comes to us? Each Jewish Voice Outreach Clinic is made possible by the prayers and gifts of God’s people. Your support is needed today as, together, we distribute life-saving medicines, offer spiritual encouragement, and open doors of opportunity to encounter the Lord.
