What We Do
Humanitarian Aid
Soup kitchens, food parcels, clothes, medicine, etc.
Today, throughout the former Soviet Union and Israel, thousands of Jewish people are subsisting in incredibly desperate situations. Many are survivors of the Nazi Holocaust of World War II. Multitudes are facing persecution, being denied jobs, housing, food, and medical care. God’s Grace International is dedicated to provide humanitarian aid.
It is estimated there are between 500,000 to 1.5 million survivors of the Holocaust still alive today. Each month about one percent of these precious people pass on. Too often, their last years have been spent in nearly the same conditions in which they survived in the death camps. These who suffered so much, continue to suffer---don’t they deserve better? We can help ease their last years. We can do something to let them know there are God-fearing people who care for their daily needs; that believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are supporting them in tangible ways.
Currently, a fleet of trucks and vans take food, clothing, and other supplies around the area of Poland, Ukraine, Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union. There, local distribution centers give out much needed food, clothing and medicine. Likewise, humanitarian aid distribution is carried out to the Jewish community in Ethiopia, Africa where thousands are in great need, as well as with Sudaneese refugees in Israel.
Thirty-two soup kitchens across the former Soviet Union, as well as Israel, provide daily meals for 20,000 to 50,000 people per month. The quality of goods and services dispensed is so high that strict security measures are in place to avoid raids by criminals that might hijack the goods in the FSU. Twelve of the largest supermarket chains in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine supply the ministry of God’s Grace with bread, meat, vegetables, and other goods. Our Helping Hand Coalition affiliate organization in Israel conducts ongoing programs distributing food parcels, medicine, clothing, funds, etc. to Holocaust survivors, widows, orphans, the distressed and needy each month. In Israel, we conduct monthly special events throughout the Land for Holocaust survivors and veterans of World War II. These events include banquets with live music, concerts, and various other entertainment specials for assemblies numbering 200-1200 people, to honor and give them some joy in the few years they have left on this earth. Also, a very important part of our servant responsibility is visiting Holocaust survivors in their apartments to record their personal testimony on film and paper, to document what they went through during those horendous years of dehumanization, unbelievable suffering, and the aweful reality of seeing or knowing their family and fellow Jews were murdered just because they were Jews! Today, it is often stated by anti-Semites that the Holocaust never happened! If this lie is not restrained and checked, tomorrow it will be accepted by most as fact! Therefore, the evidence must be recorded without ceasing while there is still time to hear from their own painful memories and words the ruthless acts of savagery they were forced to endure.
God’s Grace International has allowed local ministry to administer this food by local people to those in need. This cooperative approach has increased the efficiency and efficacy of local ministry. Operating cost is more controllable, keeping overhead low to maximize dollars for ministry use, while cultural and traditional context is preserved. In this sense, God’s Grace has been described as a ministry that is "all steak and no sizzle!"
Since 1992, God’s Grace has provided practical everyday help by operating soup kitchens, distributing food and medicine, and giving out clothing to needy Jewish people, and others from its operations center in Krakow, Poland, and in the Israeli centers of Tel Aviv and Natanya. Doing Tzedakah (charitable acts) is a fundamental Jewish, as well as Christian, principle. Thousands of Holocaust survivors are living out their final years in terrible conditions, lacking food, adequate housing and warmth, clothing, and medical help.
You and I have the privilege of helping people who have suffered more than their share. We can give a gift in the Name of God and realize His promise of blessing to those who bless his people, the Jews. Please join God’s Grace in doing Tzedakah -- acts of charity to people who have already lived through the horrors of human inhumanity.
We need to do more! We are ready to increase the number of soup kitchens and drastically expand the food distribution program, but more trucks will be needed which will increase our labor, maintenance, and operating costs. Your partnership with God’s Grace will enlarge the amount of humanitarian aid given in helping extend our hands even further to those who deserve it. Your gift will help us reach out to them and let them know there are Christians wanting to extend their love to them who care about their sufferings and needs.
Scripture encourages the righteous to consider the cause of the poor (Proverbs 29:7). Giving for some is a magnanimous act of generosity, and those who give through God’s Grace International, are doing a righteous act.
Israel and Aliyah
Jewish People living in the former Soviet Union have had a very difficult life of persecution and deprivation. For a Jew, aliyah (the right of every Jew to return to Israel, their ancient homeland as an immediate citizen) is a dream and a hope of a better life---a safer life. Depending on Israel’s political climate of unrest verses various degrees of peacefulness, the amount of Jews returning can be a great flood to but a trickle. The present situation in Israel is filled with dangers of terrorism, the Intifada, and growing worldwide anti-Semitism of hatred for Israel's existence that promises annihilation of its people has led to a decrease in the number of those emigrating from the former Soviet Union to Israel. However, small groups of Jews are continuing to follow their dream, and God’s Grace must help them.
The issuance of a passport costs about $100, but for most eking out just $100-$200 per month to support their family, a passport for them and every member of their family is out of the realm of possibility. This is where the aliyah assistance program of God’s Grace comes to the rescue. We assist Jews seeking to make aliyah by transporting them to boats or airports. This most often involves helping them with locating and collecting all their personal information and documents necessary for filling out the paperwork to acquire their passports, and any other red tape they might encounter. The cost per person can very depending on the availability and location of their personal documents, due to it being lost or destroyed during World War I, World War II, and/or up to this present day’s danger of being a Jew. Therefore, the cost can be from $350-$500 plus per person.
We also have established homes in Israel for elderly holocaust survivors without family because of their situation. They endured horrifying suffering and are now at the end of their lives. Wherever possible, we want to help them live out the remainder of their time on this earth with comfort, peace, and hopefully some joy, instead of poverty, fear, and sorrow. The cost of this key program for each house is about $2000 a month to maintain. Will the compassion of God’s people be found meeting this need? It is our hope and goal that the answer to this is yes, with 100 of these houses in operation in the near future.
Proclaiming Yeshua Hamashisch (Jesus the Messiah) to the Russian Jewish Community, and the Planting of Messianic Jewish Congregations
As God’s Grace strives to meet the outward physical needs of the Russian (Eastern European) Jewish community, the innermost hunger and need is for spiritual fulfillment, and the assurance of knowing they are in right relationship with God the Father. The proclamation of Yeshua as Messiah and Lord, as well as following through with making disciples, is of utmost importance to us. We believe the best way to reach and satisfy spiritual inadequacy is to plant and establish Messianic Jewish congregations in Jewish populated cities within the former Soviet Union.
These Messianic Jewish houses of worship elevate Yeshua to His rightful place as Messiah and Lord. With that purpose, we are committed to raising up leaders and assisting them in organizing and sustaining spiritually vibrant and socially warm Jewish spaces that nourish community life in the congregation, and beyond into the greater Jewish world. It is a space where Messianic Jewish faith and lifestyle is conveyed, lived out, and grows from generation to generation. As a result, we are overseeing numerous Messianic Jewish congregations in Jewish populated cities throughout the former Soviet Union.