News

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    December 2005:

Shalom Friends and Family!

Greetings, may this season bring you rest and peace in Messiah, rather than “shop till you drop!”

We are now preparing for our winter tour (January and February). We’ll be going to West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California. We’ll be escaping the coldest time of year in Kansas while we’re at it!

BIG NEWS!!!

We are planning on taking a group to Israel in March of 2007! So mark your calendars and start saving! We want to take as many of you with us as possible! This will be our first trip to Israel, and we are so excited. We are planning a concert in conjunction with the tour, and friends over there are helping us arrange this. We will be guided by Sar El tours. An Israeli based company that is owned and operated by believers there. We will keep you updated as things develop.

We have been asked to bring our ministry over there by Yeshi of “Hands of Mercy”. We will be playing for bombing victims and their families. We were also invited to come and do some concerts, but didn’t know how we could raise the funds to travel so far and so long as a family. Someone suggested that if we took a group over, that it would help pay for our tickets. Suddenly the trip seemed very doable. When a lady sent us a check to help pay for our passports we realized that God was moving, and it was time to begin planning.

We will do one concert for our group in the land as we travel through our itinerary. We will visit outdoor market places, take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, experience Ein Gedi, spend time in Jerusalem, float on the Dead Sea, visit Masada and other archeological sites. With enough dancers and musicians along we can have a marvelous time of worship as we travel. It will be a wonderful experience!

On the Home Front ~

We are still working on recording and I’m writing and developing still more new material. It has been slow going and has, at times, been very frustrating. There is a list of new song titles and descriptions at the end for those who are interested, to give you an idea of what we’ve been working on.

Mark has been replacing windows in the house, and fixing the heater in the motorhome (which he has done three times now! It keeps freezing up.) Also he has been repairing our Volvo over and over and replacing things on the motor home. I think we have “old stuff-itis”.

We’ve gone through a school change with Liorah and Natanyah, and are looking forward to working with a curriculum that will be less complicated for me to administer and easier to travel with.

The New Music ~

V’Shafachti – from Zechariah 12:10 and 13:1 This song had been shelved for months as I didn’t know exactly how to arrange it, and the melody in the verse just wouldn’t work. I suddenly knew just what it needed and it seemed to all fall into place (Praise God!). I recorded harp, then rewrote it, and re-recorded the harp and lead vocal (had to record the vocal three times because of programming problems) Mark will develop it from here.

B’Resheet – from John 1:1-5 Recorded harp and lead vocal, Mark added drums, bass, and guitar, and now he’s working on lead guitar.

Where Can I Go – from Psalm 139:7-10, 4, 5, 13 This one has been a bear for me. The harp part is difficult and has taken months of practice to get it perfect. I am finally feeling ready to record it. We will probably do it tomorrow.

The New Jerusalem – from Rev. 21 I was so busy struggling with some of the others that I haven’t worked on this one much, because it came easily. I’m planning on getting it recorded this week.

Praise Him – from Psalm 148 I’ve recorded the harp and lead vocal. I need to work with Kerah on developing harmonies. Mark will develop the drums, bass and guitar.

Forever – from Isaiah 40:6-8, 13, 15 and 41:9-10 This is actually a song I wrote several years ago. We shelved it after recording most of it, because we weren’t happy with the instrumental arrangement. I’ve dug it out of the archives because I feel it needs to be sung, and I’m working on rearranging it and creating a new harp part.

L’David Mizmor – from Psalm 110 A war song. Very strong. We really don’t have much more to do on this one. Problem being, we started it with Les doing a lot of fabulous violin, and it has a big space in the middle where he was working on an incredible solo, and where we were going to do some fiery dancing.

O That I had Wings – from Psalm 55:1-9 and 22 This one is simply in a key I’ve never played on the harp. I don’t even remember how in the world I wrote the melody, but I had a heck of a time figuring out what key it was in and then learning the unfamiliar chord patterns on the harp. This one is another I’ve picked up and put down as easier songs came. Now I’m working on it in earnest and making good progress.

You are My Portion – The chorus, and part of the bridge are based on Psalm 73:25-26. This is another one that I’ve just not seen all the way through. Easier songs came and it kept getting shelved. It’s about giving yourself completely to the Lord with no reservations.

There are others that I’ve only written words to that have no melody yet.

My Heart Rejoices in You
Has God Rejected Israel?
This is the Covenant

Below is a list of the other the ones that we have actually used in our concerts in the past and are on our new demo. You may recognize some of the titles.

Sabbath Song
As Long as I Breathe
Lead Me
On the Wings of the Wind
Yeshua is the Light
Emmanuel
Mayim Chaim

It is out of these songs that the songs for our next CD will be selected.

The Lord bless and keep you, ~Shimrit

    July 2005:

Shalom all!

Here's an update on where we've been.

We have played at Vinyard in Santa Fe, NM, and BethSimchat HaMashiach, and Am Segulah in Phoenix, AZ. We have played also in Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga in Southern CA. We have Ministered in Vancouver, Gig Harbor, and Puyallup Washington where we provided music for a holocaust conference, we joined Rose Price who spoke of her experiences in the concentration camps and spoke of the importance of forgivness.

That was a precious blessing and a really wonderful experience for us all.

We are now in Idaho and will soon be travelling to St. Paul, MN. We have a few days to rest and we really need it at this point. We are going to camp in a State Park here for a few nights before we move on.

Shalisha sprained her ankle in Washington and is on crutches. Please keep her in prayer. The rest of us are doing fine. Thank you so much for your prayers. They keep us going as surely as gas keeps a car going!

We are preparing for Messiah Conference now. Mark, Shalisha and I are all teaching classes. Shalisha, Adrielle, Kerah, and Liorah have been asked to help lead worship for the youth program in the morning sessions several mornings. We will be playing on Sunday night at the opening picnic, and also in the Cultural Center on Friday afternoon.

Pray that we continue to draw near to the Lord, and don't get too caught up in the busyness.
Pray that we have no more repairs needed on the motorhome.
Pray that we stay healthy, and that Shalisha's ankle is healed.

May the G-d bless you with every spiritual blessing in Messiah Yeshua,
~Shimrit and the members of Zemer Levav

    May 2005:

Shalom all!

[Update: Since this newsletter was written we have played at Vinyard in Santa Fe, NM, and BethSimchat HaMashiach, and Am Segulah in Phoenix, AZ. We are now in El Cajon, CA in San Diego County.]

Wow! It has been soooo busy!

We are in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We have played so far at Calvary Chapel Alamogordo, Calvary Chapel Ruidoso, Calvary Chapel Estancia Valley, Beit Menorah (where we also played music for their Passover Seder), Four corners Community Church in Shiprock, which is in Navaho country and was mostly attended by Navaho people. I found a real love for Israel there, and we are now praying for the Navaho Nation for revival and healing. Then we came to Albuquerque and have played for 4 different events at Crossroads Calvary Chapel here.

We have been well recieved everywhere we have gone, and have encouraged the bretheren to pray for Israel, to support Israeli ministries, and have communicated that being grafted in means that they have all the rich heritage of the feasts and Moedim of God (Appointed times).

We wanted you to know that God has provided us with a motorhome. This is a real blessing. We are now dealing with the logistics of transferring all our stuff from the camper to the motorhome. I thought it would be easy but it is no small task. Also there is something plugging up the gas delivery system in the engine from it sitting so long. The bretheren at the church are working with us to try to get it fixed. Praise God that it happened before we left or Mark would have had to deal with it alone!

Please be in prayer for us on these things.

Thank you so much for all your prayers. The Lord is so gracious to us. May the Lord bless and keep you all and bless you with every spiritual blessing in Messiah Yeshua!

Hope your Passover was very blessed!

Shalom, ~Shimrit

P.S. We now have the motorhome engine repaired, and have replaced four of the six tires. We are needing to replace the refrigerator. Mark has added a bunk to accomodate another of the girls. So we are making good progress on it sleeping us all! The girls have named it "Moby" as it is big and white.

~Shimrit

    April 2005:

Shalom!

We are looking forward to seeing many of you this spring and summer. We left home April 8th, and will be out until mid-August. Things have been pretty busy around here as we prepare for our long trip!

We have worked so hard on our program for this summer, and are very blessed with the results. We have really looked at, and prayed about, what God wants us to do, and what we have to offer the body of Messiah, Israel, and the world.

The result of this is our program of music and dance for this summer, and a new brochure to let people know who we are and how we can serve them. I will be working with Mark and the three older girls on outlines for seminars on the feasts of the Lord (the moedim outlined in Leviticus 23) as we travel this summer. We'd also like to put together an evening program that would give an overview of the feasts with scripture, commentary, music, and dance.

Please pray for us as we travel, we would like God to bless us with:

1. Wisdom, insight, and sensitivity to His Spirit to help us minister to others.

2. That God will pour out His Spirit and bring healing, restoration, and salvation in the places we go, and new growth in our own lives.

3. Safety as we travel.

4. That the dates we still have open will fill up. (the weekend of April 16th and 17th, and the weekend of May 7th and 8th. We will be in New Mexico at this time near Albuquerque.)

5. That the Lord will provide abundantly as we go.

We want to thank everyone who has prayed for us and supported us financially through this season of preparation. May God bless you abundantly.

If you would like to help us financially in our ministry you can send checks to: 504 N. 4th Street, Arkansas City, KS 67005

We will send occasional updates through the summer. We will also try to purchase a digital camera while we are out so that we can upload pictures to our web site as we go. So check it out occasionally!

We finished all the outfits for the girls of our group except Liorah's, which I am trying to finish this evening and tomorrow. We got some nice compliments on them at our "sending off" concert at our congregation. Hopefully we'll get some pictures on the web-site so you can see them!

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

    January 2005:

Shalom All!

It has been so long since I sent an e-newsletter that I am ashamed of myself! I hope you are all well and enjoying the holiday season whether it brings you a slew of work and business, or a much needed break. Adonai is so faithful to give us what we need.

Home Life:

I have been most busy with school for the girls. We enrolled the two younger ones in an e-school, and it has been very good in spite of the busyness of it all. Natanyah is making all A's, and Liorah is enjoying it though she is struggling to keep up with the workload.

Mark has been picking up odd carpentry jobs to pay bills during this down time. Kerah and Adrielle have been working on writing their books, Kerah has been studying music theory along with her other school subjects. Shalisha has been mending and quilting, keeping the house clean and helping get meals on the table.

Zemer Levav: What Have We Been Up To?

Serving together:

Mark has been helping with worship at our congregation, and I join them whenever they need a vocalist. Zemer Levav as a unit leads worship, giving our worship team a break whenever they ask. We also help out on the holidays.

We did some local concerts in October and November, including the MJAA South Central Regional Conference. Our calendar is open from now until March. So if you would like to have us in January, February, or the beginning of March please give me (316) 259-8338, or Pam Isaac (316) 260-8817 a call!

Spiritual Growth:

We have been experiencing much shaping and honing during this "home time". It has been a time of trial and self-examination, a time of much prayer and periodic fasting for me, a time of excitement and of pain. I'm beginning to feel prepared for whatever is ahead.

Building the vehicle:

I've also been working with the older girls sewing outfits for the band. So far we have skirts for the girls almost done and have started on the blouses. We bought bolts of silk from an importer and will be dying the finished garments ourselves. It was the cheapest way to go. Someone donated enough money for us all but one to get dance shoes. We are going to make up the difference and get the last pair with other funds.

These are basically rehearsal shoes, as we often find ourselves rehearsing on concrete floors with tile or indoor/outdoor carpet. Most dance shoes that look dressy don't give you any padding for shock absorption, (cumulative foot and knee injuries are common among serious folk dancers) so we got special dance tennis shoes, as they will protect our feet. We are working towards getting some more dressy ones for actual ministry. If we can’t come up with the funds for this, the shoes we got are black, so they will work for the time being.

I have taken two of my dance choreographies and worked them into more performance oriented (facing forward rather than in a circle, and more complex) dances. We are going to do these interspersed with our music. We will be using HaShmieni (Cause me to Hear) by Batyah Segal, and Lo Gava Libi (My Heart is not Proud) by Elisheva Shomron. We are also working on an up-tempo one to Baruch Adonai (Blessed is the Lord) by Joel Chernoff. I am excited about the texture that these dances will add to our program, as well as the sense of adoration that will be added to the worship experience.

We are rehearsing our dances twice a week at a local Calvary Chapel that has loaned us the use of their facility. We work on the music together on two other alternating days. We also work independently on our different instruments.

Future Vision: When will the new CD be done?

That’s a real sore spot! We are continuing to work towards getting that put together, and we have added new songs to the project. It has been very slow going mostly because of school and work. Keep praying! Progress, though slow, is being made!

What is your vision for the future?

We are looking forward to this spring and the Passover Seders that we will be helping to host. We are also looking forward to this summer’s tour. It is just beginning to shape up. I have been praying for more outreach, and also opportunities to help raise funds for worthy causes. We would like to be more involved with raising awareness of the needs in Israel, maybe working with other ministries.

We were invited last summer to Ethiopia, and to Israel. We really want to go and worship with the brethren in these countries, bringing the love, support, and prayers of the brethren here with us. It would take a miracle to get us all over there! Between passports and passage to and from, we would need to raise quite a bit of funds, and we don’t quite know how to go about it. I would also like to go to Mexico and Latin America.

These are our desires. We will see what the Lord does!

We are looking forward to seeing many of you again in the coming months. May the Lord bless and keep you all, and bring us all together in His glory.

Please pray for Les Morrison and his family. His mom passed on a little over a week ago. She was a wonderful Christian lady and we will all miss her.

Shalom u’vrachim, ~Shimrit Hanes and the members of Zemer Levav