We are celebrating LIFE!

 Newsletter / Chadashot No 23 March 2015 / Nisan 5775 Dear Friends and Family of CFMDA, We are celebrating LIFE! A Jewish friend of mine, Jodi, went to Auschwitz a few weeks ago and her reports brought tears to my eyes… So much sadness and death took too many lives… A sense of shame as a Christian that the Holocaust happened… Then I thought of what we are doing here with CFMDA, saving lives in Israel!!! The opposite of the Holocaust, the opposite of anti-­‐Semitism, the opposite that millennia of pogroms, we are standing now with our Jewish friends. All together, we have now raised the funds for the first ambulance, which is going out day and night to help save lives in the town of Modiin!!! Times have changed. The curse is turned into a blessing. “I will bless the one blessing you”, Genesis 12:3 The Jewish people are celebrating Passover in a few days, their liberation from slavery from Egypt to go free to their Promised Land and to worship their living God. Now, they are again free in their Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey and we are celebrating with them their Redemption, enabling them to worship their Creator, the God of Israel. We wish all our Christians Friends a great day of Resurrection. Halleluya! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Halleluya! This is the beginning of a new era of Jewish and Christian relations… Unveiling of the Ambulance with Norman and Sharon Sanders Handing over of Key from Rev. David Pileggi to the Driver b Aviv Arbiv and Yoni Yagodovsky Dedication CFMDA Ambulance Dedication Ceremony Christ Church, Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem Palm Sunday, March 29, 2015 The spirit of Palm Sunday morning at Christ Church in Jerusalem was evidenced by the wonderful cooperation of both Jews and Christians working together for a common purpose; saving lives by way of donating blood or donating funds. Many Christian pilgrims, local residents and CFMDA volunteers, gathered together to renew solidarity with each other. Conversations could be heard all over the beautiful Church courtyard about such mutual topics of concern as growing global Anti-­‐Semitism, Israel news, election results, and international MDA inroads. The renewing of established Christian and Jewish relationships and the establishing of new relationships was the main focus for the first half of this event, as people came up to gather at the ambulance posed for the dedication. It was encouraging to see local and internationally celebrated Christian and Jewish personalities who came to show their support. Among those in attendance: founder of CFMDA Norman Feingold, International Relations Yoni Yagodovsky, Director Nathalie Blackham, President Anne Ayalon, Danny Schwarz and the Rector of Christ Church David Pileggi and Creative Coordinators, Merv and Merla Watson. After sufficient time was had to reconnect with each other, the dedication ceremony began. Director of CFMDA, Nathalie Blackham, gave opening remarks about the unparalleled and much appreciated international Christian support that made it possible to purchase the ambulance. Resident Rector David Pileggi, said a heartfelt resounding, "Thank you!" in recognition of both the Jewish and Christian people that made the purchase of this ambulance possible. He also strongly encouraged Christians to continue to financially support saving lives in Israel and to give blood. Norman Feingold Back on His Feet, Inspiring Us All to Build Together for The Next Generation Anne Ayalon opened by stating that CFMDA had specifically chosen Palm Sunday for this dedication. She used the ministry of Jesus to exemplify the importance of saving lives and how CFMDA is endeavouring to carry this out in deed. She said the Apostle Paul wrote that Christians are grafted in and as such should nourish the root! We all thought that was a significant point. Norman Feingold was introduced by making mention of his recent 90th birthday. It was noted that he makes it to the office three times a week. Norman said that while Israel is being cast down at every opportunity by many people in the world, we now need our Christian Friends more than ever! He mentioned how Passover is in commemoration of coming out not only from Egypt, but ghettos and persecution and how we are experiencing a great flow of immigrants again. Also he noted that there should really be closer to 40 ambulances a year from Christians if they take up their proper place as partners in the commonwealth of Israel. He ended by saying that it is incumbent on all of us gathered to make this world a better place for generations to come. He got a resounding ovation from all and all were smiling at each other. The ambulance dedicated by the international Christian friends from all over the world, was aptly unveiled by the president and founder of Christians Friends of Israel and CFMDA board member, Sharon Sanders. The keys of the ambulance were presented by Rector David Pileggi to the ambulance driver, Avi Arbiv, who will drive it to its new location in Modiin. Thank you again for all the contributions, the prayers, the thoughts and the practical help. We are an example of Genesis 11, 6 “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withheld from them, which they purpose to do.” A Very Special Event -­‐ 90 Years Young We are pleased to let you know that after a short stay in hospital Norman is back home, not back yet in the office but ready to take your emails and carry on this great work with you, you can write to him directly to [email protected] . He would love to hear from you and carry on strengthening the work with you. Norman Feingold, the visionary and founder of CFMDA, celebrated his 90th Birthday on the 3rd of February 2015. This is a remarkable occasion for a remarkable man. We want to honour Norman at this joyful time, and we would like to dedicate a meaningful and memorable Life Saving Gift in his name, so we have chosen a defibrillator because it is a wonderful way of celebrating Norman's 90th birthday. Make your Personal Contribution Now as this is a Golden Opportunity. http://www.cfmda.com/com-­‐
phocagallery/com-­‐phocagallery-­‐categories/donate *Defibrillation is a procedure used to treat life threatening conditions that affect the rhythm of the heart. The Corpuls 3 Monitor Defibrillator model used by Magen David Adom, was developed specifically for the requirements of First Responders, ambulance and emergency services. The cost is $25,000. Let’s start with a new fund-­‐raising campaign toward this goal. As the Bible tells us, “Life is Holy”, and what better way to say thank you to Norman for all his wonderful work in establishing, developing and making CFMDA what it is today. PLEASE NOTE We really appreciate each and every donation. PLEASE make sure that you notify us when you make a donation at [email protected]. By doing so, we can thank you personally. How can I donate? You can donate by bank transfer, by PayPal, by website or by sending a cheque made out to Magen David Adom addressed to CFMDA Department, 60 Yigal Alon Street, 67062 Tel Aviv -­‐ Israel o Boxes: We have already sent Tzedakah / donation boxes around the world. If you would like one box or more to fundraise, please contact us at [email protected] and include your postal address. When you pay through PayPal, let us know that it is from your Tzedakah boxes. o Film: Please show the film widely to support us. Translations in Swedish, Dutch, Italian, French, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese. http://www.cfmda.com/com-­‐phocagallery/com-­‐phocagallery-­‐categories/multimedia/videos o Visit our Facebook page by typing in Christian Friends of Magen David Adom. Many pictures from the ambulance dedication!!! We post news regularly and you can see the on-­‐going work of CFMDA with its different branches around the world. Share and Like and ask your friends to share and like too. Israel needs YOU! Paramedic Akiva Pollack was at the scene in the Har Nof synagogue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgqxWllzY2Y View the stories of two Israeli victims of rocket attacks during Operation Protective Edge, whose lives were saved by the heroes of Magen David Adom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZCyKpAKuME ’’Ask ye the peace of Jerusalem, at rest are those loving thee’’ Blessings from Zion, Nathalie Blackham