Be Blessed

“Blessed shall you be in the city,
and blessed shall you be
in the country.”
Deuteronomy 28:3

Blessings as you come and go in Yeshua’s name!

Summer Vacation: Be Blessed!

The blessings of Deuteronomy Chapter 28 are for each of God’s children who diligently obey His
voice, and are careful to observe His commandments ([biblegateway passage=”Deuteronomy 28:1″ display=”Deuteronomy 28:1″]). As many of you travel this summer, taking vacations with friends and families, Deuteronomy 28:6 is certainly God’s
desire for you: “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.” The Lash family took a summer vacation early this year, from May 25 – May 31, 2005, since our oldest son Jonathan had to report to his summer job as a camp counselor on June 1, 2005. Our youngest son, Jesse, who won a major contest three years ago, graciously made it possible for the four of us to go to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the one place in the world with perfect waves for a sport that both our sons enjoy: skimboarding. (It is like surfing, but takes place near the shore. A board is thrown down on the wet sand, you run and jump on it and ride the waves.)

Vacation/Ministry Trip

We decided months before our trip that this would be no ordinary vacation. Mexico was chosen,
not only for the great waves, but because of the language. Jamie is a former Spanish major and
Jonathan and Jesse have both excelled in Spanish in school this year (a real work of the Holy
Spirit with Kingdom purposes). Neil has always enjoyed trying to communicate in Spanish since
our first mission trip to Ecuador in 1975. Before we left the country, we invited a friend from
Guatemala to come to our home and give us a class in sharing Yeshua in Spanish. We went
prepared with seashells that had messages in Spanish, a large number of Spanish tracts and a
box of Un Beso Para Cada Dia (A Kiss A Day), Jamie’s devotional book.
We went in FAITH, believing God to open doors for us to share His love and be a light to the
nations, the original calling of the Jewish people: “I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.” ([biblegateway passage=”Isaiah 49:6b” display=”Isaiah 49:6b”]) “Arise, shine; for your
light has come. And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover
the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be
seen upon you.” ([biblegateway passage=”Isaiah 60:1-2″ display=”Isaiah 60:1-2″])
Even before we got to Mexico to be a “light to the nations,” Jonathan had an opportunity to shine.
He sat on the airplane next to Moshe, an Israeli who was full of questions. Jonathan shared his
faith with Moshe, and in the plan of God, we ran into him again on the beach in Cabo San Lucas.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Messiah), for it is the power of God to salvation for
everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” ([biblegateway passage=”Romans 1:16″ display=”Romans 1:16″])

Jewish Jewels is now on Angel One on Sky Angel/DISH Network, Sundays at5:30 P.M.(ET)

In the Garden with Him

On the very first morning, our son Jonathan went outside to walk and pray in the beautiful tropical
garden of the hotel, and noticed that a gardener there seemed to be praising the Lord in song.
We encouraged Jonathan to introduce himself, and soon Jonathan and Ernesto were locked in a
conversation about the Lord. Another gardener, also a believer, timidly approached us another
day to speak with us about Yeshua. No matter where you travel this summer, there is a bond
between those who really love Yeshua. Those who go to the garden to meet with Him know one
another by the Spirit! “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
([biblegateway passage=”Romans 8:14″ display=”Romans 8:14″])

Led by the Spirit

Our family prayed for open doors, adventures, God-incidences and open hearts during the entire
trip. We believed that God would do great things even before we left home. “Now to Him who is
able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that
works in us, to Him be glory…” ([biblegateway passage=”Ephesians 3:20-21a” display=”Ephesians 3:20-21a”]) The Holy Spirit led us to a deserted beach
which we called “Dunes Beach.” There, amidst the most glorious majestic display of mountain,
sand and surf, we enjoyed watching our two boys (now really men) as they frolicked in the
waves together like two young sea lions. The second time we went to Dunes Beach, we noticed
a lone surfer out in the ocean and a woman watching him from the shore. This woman was the
only other person on the beach. While Neil videotaped Jonathan and Jesse, Jamie approached
Alicia and gave her a message on a seashell. A conversation about the Lord followed and within
fifteen minutes Alicia prayed with Jamie to receive the Lord. “For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ (Messiah) Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we
should walk in them.” God had prepared Alicia’s heart. We will be sending her follow-up
materials.
Although our fishing excursion the following day left us with very queasy stomachs, the Lord
blessed us with fish (tuna and bonita) and another chance to be fishers of men. “And He said to
them, ‘Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.’ ” ([biblegateway passage=”Matthew 4:19″ display=”Matthew 4:19″]) The hotel where we were
staying graciously offered to have their chef cook the tuna for us. As we enjoyed a delicious
dinner (the best fish dinner we ever had!), a trio played and sang Mexican music near our table.
After our dinner, we approached the musicians to give them each a shell. Jamie had made only
one with a star of David on it. One of the men quickly picked it and said, “This one is mine!” He
then told us that his name is David and he is a Messianic Jew. We had sweet fellowship with
David, talking about the Lord in Spanish while the waitress, bartender, chef who prepared the
fish, and the two other musicians listened. For the next hour or so, we shared our faith, gave out
books and tracts and were thrilled to see people so happy to hear the Good News of Yeshua.
(The next night we saw David and he was upset because someone had taken his copy of Un
Beso Para Cada Dia. We, of course, gave him another.)

All Things Work Together for Good

Jonathan and Jesse were very excited about the worldwide skimboarding competition that was
scheduled to take place in Los Cabos while we were there. (We did not know that when we
booked the trip. God did!) As it turned out, we drove an hour to the site of the competition only to
find that it had been moved to another location (the Mayor did not want the sea turtle nestsdisturbed). This wasn’t a problem for us. The problem was that no one left a notice on the
deserted beach saying where the competition had been relocated to! After “prinking” (praying
and thinking, a Jesse Lash creation!) the boys decided to stay at this beautiful beach and enjoy
the waves. Then the reason arrived: Danny and his family. We were virtually the only ones on
the huge beach. The Lord put us together with this family for His purposes, and we left them with
Un Beso Para Cada Dia.

Nothing is Impossible with God

We were privileged to see the best skimboarders in the world, including the world champion, on
our vacation/ministry trip. The Lord also opened doors for us to share with them personally about
His glorious salvation. We had asked Yeshua to do this, and were told that it would be
impossible, “but with God all things are possible” ([biblegateway passage=”Matthew 15:26″ display=”Matthew 15:26″]). Our family felt compassion for
these “best of the best” because we saw first hand that it is lonely at the top. None of them know
Yeshua. We endeavored to give them a vision of God’s better plan for their lives. “There is a
friend who sticks closer than a brother.” ([biblegateway passage=”Proverbs 18:24″ display=”Proverbs 18:24″]) Please pray for these world champion
skimboarders. God knows them by name, so do we, but we don’t want to violate their privacy.

Going out with Joy

Before we left Cabo San Lucas, we wanted to make sure that we blessed a couple of people we
passed each day as we walked by the marina. Mauro, a waiter, was positioned in front of a
restaurant to coax people in to dine. His smile and persistence finally won us over. We dined at
the restaurant and we shared Yeshua with him. Giselda works at the Discount Pharmacy we
used as a short-cut to the marina. At 10:30PM the night before we left Cabo, we gave Giselda a
copy of Un Beso Para Cada Dia. She looked up surprised and said, “This is the second book I
have received this week. The other was a New Testament. My co-worker gave it to me and
invited me to her church on Sunday.” We shared the Gospel with Giselda and she didn’t wait
until Sunday. She prayed with us that evening to receive Yeshua. The following morning as we
left town, Giselda asked if she could have a photo taken with us. She was beaming, radiant
about her newfound faith. “For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the
mountains and hills shall break forth into singing before you and all the trees of the field shall
clap their hands.” ([biblegateway passage=”Isaiah 55:12″ display=”Isaiah 55:12″]) It is our prayer that God gives YOUR family a vision for a
vacation/ministry trip. There is no greater joy than being in the presence of the Lord, and sharing
that presence with others.

Summer Reading

If you are looking for a good novel to read by the pool, at the beach, or “on the way,” consider
Hadassah, One Night With the King by Tommy Tenney. Jamie read it on our Mexico trip and
thoroughly enjoyed this fiction work based on the Biblical book of Esther. Tenney’s unique
portrayal of Esther’s desire to please the king makes the book spiritually significant as well as
entertaining.

Summer Listening

Psalms of the Heart produced, arranged and narrated by Dr. Danny Ben Gigi comes with a CD
that includes 100 personal psalms, in English and Hebrew. The Psalms are narrated over lovely
harp music, composed and played by Shoshanna Harrari in Jerusalem. With the accompanying
book and its translations, you can pray the psalms of King David, using the very words that hespoke and sang in Leshon Hakodesh (the Holy tongue).
In the Presence of the Lord is a brand new messianic CD by Jeremy Storch that contains
fourteen original and anointed praise and worship songs. Jeremy’s music always lifts up the
Messiah Yeshua, and is really the Word of God set to music. We especially liked “Yeshua,
Yeshua,” and “The Sparks are Flyin’ (on Mt. Zion).” You will too.

Summer Shopping

Our unique Israel Shop is now open on our website: www.jewishjewels.org There is a wide
selection of Judaica, Israeli Messianic music, cosmetics, and even gift baskets for friends living
in Israel. All items will be shipped directly from Israel to you. You can also order a gift basket of
Israeli products to be shipped to a friend in the USA. Don’t miss this special opportunity to help
support Israeli believers.

With love from our home to yours.

Serving our King,

Neil and Jamie

P.S. As we labor this summer to get all 22 new programs ready to air, we pray that you will be
led by the Spirit as you travel. Take Yeshua along and believe God for BIG THINGS!