News

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    June 2004:

Shalom Friends and Family!

We are so blessed! We've had a warm welcome wherever we have been. Our hosts have been such a blessing, and we are excited as we look forward to the rest of our tour.

We have shared some wonderful times of worship with the brethren in Rio Rancho and Farmington New Mexico; and Phoenix and Tucson Arizona. We recorded vocals in a padded bathroom in Phoenix: drums, harp, more vocals and violin in a Mobile home park in Desert Hot Springs, where we also enjoyed soaking in mineral pools, and swimming in a lovely warm swimming pool. Working hard is not so exhausting when you have an hour here and there to rest and relax. Now we will head for San Diego for a Saturday morning mini-concert at Kehilat Ariel, and then up to Irvine for a full concert Saturday night at 5:00 pm. Then we will head north to Oregon and Washington.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. We have been able to get enough rest in between concerts and recording, rehearsing, and business that we are all well and thriving. We have met many wonderful people. We are so thankful for God's grace and blessing upon us.

What good are we doing? We don't exactly know. We hope we are bringing encouragement and exhortation to be Godly and raise up a Godly generation who will continue to live the word of God. We hope we are raising support for the Messianic Prophecy Bible and that this work will impact the people of God everywhere, especially in Israel.

We want at this time to especially thank those who support us on a monthly basis. You make it possible for us to go to smaller congregations, and to be supported during the weekdays, and downtime.

The Lord bless and keep you all, may you be blessed when you go out and when you come in, may you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Messiah Yeshua.

~Shimrit Hanes

    February 2004:

Shalom Everyone!

It feels like we’ve been hibernating lately! I’m sorry we’ve been so out of touch with you all. This has definitely been a working hibernation! I’ve written three new songs over the last two months, and have words for two more with no melodies yet.

We’ve also been doing some much needed repairs on our hundred year old” house. We have three of the girls in one bedroom, so space is limited. Back when our house was built, they didn’t add closets or cabinets, so storage is a big problem. Shalisha designed some furniture to give each girl her own “space,” and create storage. Mark worked with them and they built and painted the units. Now their room is neat and organized, and they each have their own desk and shelves.

We have also been continuing to record. Kerah has written some new songs, and she and Adrielle collaborated on another. We are also working on arrangements for all this new material. Kerah continues to study harp, and is making good progress. We rehearse two times a week to stay “honed” and ready for ministry, as well as working individually.

We have had a desire to be a blessing to Israel and have prayed about what the Lord would have us do. We have decided to give to a congregation in Carmel that does much outreach in their area. We will tell you more about them in a future newsletter. We would like to become a link between congregations and ministries in Israel, and the church in the U.S. It would be such a blessing to facilitate giving, for churches that desire to bless Israel.

We greatly enjoyed our trip to Tennessee in December. It was nice to see friends we made during “Tabernacles in Tennessee.” We shared at three congregations, and Mark and Adrielle did some studio work (adding their drums to a CD) for some friends there.

I’ve begun booking this coming summers trip. We will be in Southern California in May and the first half of June. We will go to Washington State for the second half of June. Then we will travel across the country to Messiah Conference in Pennsylvania for the first week in July. Then we will be in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey etc.) until mid-August. If you are located in any of these areas, or along our travel routes, and are interested in having us share with your group/church/congregation. Please let us know soon, as California is already filling up fast. I will begin contacting leaders in the North East in March.

Pray for us that the Lord will continue to shape and define our ministry. Pray for our children. Though a great blessing, it is also difficult to be in ministry. The girls sacrifice much that our culture considers “normal childhood things.” Though we don’t necessarily agree with many of those standards.

The most difficult part is “living under a microscope.” Most people expect a lot more from our kids than they even expect from their own. They are children though, growing in their faith, and prone to mistakes. It has been marvelous watching them grow and attempt to take on more responsibility. They pray for others, and really love, care for, and worry about their friends. They have friends in Churches and Messianic Synagogues. Some of those friends have backslidden, two have gotten pregnant, another is to become a father out of wedlock shortly. Through it all the girls have answered questions, warned, prayed with, and prayed for, all these young people. They have remained faithful friends. I know they have had an impact in these young peoples lives. They pray for those of you who have requested prayer.

Les has been working very hard in Wichita. We haven’t seen much of him. Between teaching at a Christian school, and giving music lessons on the side, he stays very busy. We played together at Central Christian Church this past Sunday. We played one song at both morning services for their Missions Sunday service. Please pray for him that the Lord would give him strength as he has been keeping a grueling schedule, and that He would be blessed financially, so that he can get his legal expenses paid off without killing himself. He has had some minor victories in the legal battle over the custody of his children. Please continue to pray that there would be resolution soon.

May the Lord bless and keep all of you.
May you shine like the stars in the heavens!
~Shimrit Hanes, and the members of Zemer Levav