(An excerpt from an e-mail carbon copied to me July 12, 2005)

Dear Friends and Prayer Partners,

Arad - A few weeks ago, we met with some of the precious believers in Arad at an outdoor cafe. An Orthodox man walked by and whipped out his phone. Within minutes, he returned with his friends, who began to harass the people passing by, telling them that we were dangerous missionaries who pollute their children and that we were worse than hitler.

So R* calmly approached the leader and said, "If you have a problem with me, then don't talk about me behind my back; talk to me face to face like a man."

At this, they ran away, spewing forth every type of curse and foul language imaginable. We returned to our meal but within minutes, they crept back and we found ourselves surrounded by 20 plus Orthodox black coats who were so filled with demons, that I jumped out of my seat and pointed at them saying, "In Yeshua's name, I command you demons to come out!" Well, this only served to intensify their mission of hatred. However G-d turned their evil actions into something good as the people approached us to ask, "Why do they say these things about you? What have you done?"

"We believe Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel," we answered.

Never before have we been able to share the Messiah with so many people in public. We began to sing praise songs on the street - it was actually a lot of fun. Someone called the police and then things really intensified. R* revealed remarkable restraint throughout this ordeal. There are two things he hates - lies and injustice - and both were flying around us faster than the speed of light. However, we shared Yeshua out of love and kindness and the Orthodox shared venomous lies out of bitterness. It was obvious and the people could see it.

Over a year ago, I saw myself in such a confrontation like this and the L-rd gave me words to speak to such men. These words returned to me and I spoke them firmly, words a Jewish mother would speak to her children. I was prepared in advance for this.

So why do we share this with you? Is it just so you can hear another H* family adventure? No, it's to bring to your attention the enormous need for prayer and support for the believers in Arad. The persecution is real. The Orthodox have announced their intentions to drive all believers out of Israel, and they chose Arad to be their test city. However, the L-rd told me that Arad is His testing ground. It was a truly remarkable experience and brought us into a new boldness in our faith in Yeshua. Please check out this website to help believers in Arad:

https://www.angelfire.com/super/redhorse/Reports/Reports.html

You can write to Eddie and Lura at: lura_eddie@hotmail.com

We're sure that the Ministry of Tourism would not like to hear about this. If enough people report this activity as our son-in-law is doing, then steps may be taken to stop this despicable behavior.

When believers come to Israel, they favor Jerusalem and tend to ignore places like Arad. But we're requesting that you pray about visiting this city in order to stand and pray with the believers. This is real warfare. Come equipped with the full armor of G-d.

R* & C*