OUR CALL TO ISRAEL

In September 2002, Thea heard the clear call of the Father:

“You must go to Israel! ... take the message of sanctification and transformation to the Sons of Abraham…”

There is much to say about the specifics of the call; God’s fervent and passionate love for His children was placed in her heart forever.  Thea purposed to fulfill that call immediately. Yet, years of asking for invitation (protocol) passed, with nothing coming together.  Nevertheless, the call remained foremost before her. 

In September 2010, (eight years later!) The Father gave Thea His three-wave strategy for the mission, including the specific people He is sending.  

• The first wave was to include Thea and Sarah. The Father explained, “I’m sending Sarah because she has a shepherd’s heart, and I highly value shepherds’ hearts in Israel.”

When Thea asked Sarah if He had spoken to her about Israel, she shared that in 2009 she heard the Father tell her to “get her passport ready, I’m sending you to Israel.” 

• The second wave is to be a team of eight specific people God named, which includes, Thea, Sarah, and three married couples who have each reported receiving the call to Israel.

• The third wave will include “an international team of skilled, Elijah House prayer ministers who will minister to the hearts of the people there,” The Father said.

In late 2010, Thea and Sarah cofounded Transformed Hearts Ministries.  This was the result of the restructuring of Elijah House Ministries, and with the blessing and encouragement of Elijah House and its founder John Loren Sandford.  We dedicated this ministry to His call to “Go to Israel” and to “Raise up an Army of Lovers and of Medics.”  

In January 2013, an Israeli couple, missionaries and believers in Yeshua, invited us to come to Israel and teach and minister there.  We knew this was the Call we had been waiting for and were confident the Father would provide all that we needed, as the hosts were unable to help with any of the costs.  The Father provided through His generous children.  So many invitations flooded in that we were unable to fulfill!  In mid-September 2013, we left on our first mission trip to Israel and stayed for over six weeks doing seminars and prayer ministry in The Land.  

Before leaving for Israel, John Sandford prayed with us; he told us that The Father was asking us to go with the purpose of “helping the Jews bring to death on the Cross their fearful and bitter, negative expectancies of impending trouble, because it’s a new day; God is about to turn the tables on the enemy who has oppressed them for centuries, and He bring justice and honor. They must be prepared to receive the blessing.”  

  Where do we begin to tell the story of what happened during the first wave?! 

First, we want to give thanks to God and to our dear friends, who supported us with prayer and resources that enabled us to fulfill His call to bring the message of reconciliation, sanctification, and transformation wherever He sends us.  The Lord was so very present to us every moment, and He constantly amazed us with His favor and blessings. 

When we arrived at our lodging in Jerusalem on September 21, 2013, we heard a sudden deluge of rain outside.  Our hosts were amazed and said: "This is astounding, and very meaningful!  It's extremely rare for it to rain at this time of year, let alone a downpour!"  Traditionally, if it rains during the week of Sukkot, it is seen as a sign that God is showering His blessings and favor on His people; it’s an encouragement that the year ahead will be a fruitful one.  

Our hostess said: "This is a 'Mo'ed Moment' (a significant, appointed time), and a sign that you are supposed to be here now!"  We were all amazed and cried tears of gratitude and tears of joy!

Amazingly, in every place we stayed in Israel, from Jerusalem to Haifa to Poriya and to the desert of Be'er Sheva/Arad in Southern Israel, it rained while we were there!  People were astounded-including us!  When we returned to Jerusalem for our last week, it rained again! AND while we were on the airplane, waiting to take off on our return flight home, it began to rain! The book of Zechariah has been very meaningful to us, and we were experiencing Zechariah 10:1, 3: “The Lord who makes the storm clouds….He will give them showers of rain….for the Lord of Hosts has visited His flock, and he will make them like His majestic horse in battle…”

People were thirsty for what God had given us to say, and hope was restored in the hearts of His weary warriors and chosen people all over The Land.  They began to walk in their true identities as mature sons and daughters of the Most High God. We had so many amazing experiences:

• the privilege of seeing His Beloved Zion and meeting His people there

• celebrating of the Feast of Sukkot/Tabernacles (His-Presence-With-Us) at the Western Wall and worshipping with His people in many venues across The Land

• several very strategic and divine appointments which gave us opportunities to meet and pray with leaders in the Body of Messiah in Israel

• the high honor of partnering with Holy Spirit as He revealed the Father as He truly is and brought reconciliation between people and God, and with one another, and other people groups through the Cross of His Beloved Son

For our first seminar, we had an enthusiastic group of Russian Jewish believers at Haifa Theological Institute.  The numbers of attendees increased each night.   We taught on “Healing Trauma” for three evenings.  Many sat wide-eyed as they listened, never having heard of the hope of reconciling the deep despair and pain in their hearts, and that Yeshua could free them from the effects of all trauma they had experienced.  As we finished, we led them in prayer and prayed corporately over them to release trauma.  They were deeply impacted by the ministry time.  Afterwards, several people came forward to testify of their personal experiences of freedom and to share visions and words the Holy Spirit had given them.  The seminar was video-recorded and has been viewed in Russian and Ukrainian Jewish congregations around the world, including the USA.  

During the two weeks that followed the seminar in Haifa, we ministered individually (with interpreters) for four hours each to many Messianic believers who were Russian and Hebrew speaking.  We ministered twice a day, for two weeks and gave 104 hours of prayer ministry there.  Every session was deeply impacting and life-transforming for each person.  For most, it was the first time they had ever had the freedom to "tell their story" without fear of reprisal. 

And the stories of violence, fear, passivity, and deep anger were horrific.  Drug, alcohol and sexual addictions were their normal life experiences before they came to know Yeshua, their Messiah.  They were stuck in old patterns, following the ways of the generations before them.

They did not know about sanctification and transformation.  We shared the importance of honoring the truth, recognizing and acknowledging what was still lodged in their hearts, and the necessity of having a clear understanding of living a lifestyle of forgiveness, confession, and repentance. Then the people were willing (and able) to pray “from the heart.”  They were able to be reconciled to themselves and one another, and most importantly, to The Father.  We were privileged to witness God fulfill the promise He gave in Ezekiel 11:19 "And I will remove their hearts of stone and I will give them a new heart and a new spirit.”  Each person left with renewed hope and tools to continue to walk in new freedom.

From Haifa to Poriya in the Galilee, and down to minister to leaders and teams in the desert near the Dead Sea, and back to Jerusalem, the believers in Israel expressed their deepest gratitude that we would freely come to serve at no cost to them and encourage them in their call to love and serve others.  

There were some who told us that they had prayed for years that someone would come to help bring healing deep in their hearts from the pain and trauma of the people there. Sadly, many were in despair.  But God knew, and this was "the appointed time" for us to come. It truly was a strategic time.  We felt the purpose of this trip was to build trust and establish relationships.  By God's grace that was accomplished, and many deep friendships have been forged. We know this is just the beginning. 

As we were about to leave Israel, John Sandford sent us a message saying, "The best is yet to come!"  The day before our return flight home we received a specific invitation from an established ministry in Israel to return in May 2014 to teach and minister with leaders in Jerusalem.  We and our Board of Directors sought the Lord's will and believed we were to return in May 2014.  But as the time approached, we both felt a “check.”  

Submitting all this to John Sandford, our spiritual advisor, he agreed.  We were to wait.  He also heard “917.” We thought that could mean September 17, six months later. He asked us to look up Acts 9:17. It was very meaningful!  As we sought the Lord, we heard: “I am preparing a platform for you; it isn’t ready yet,” and we heard three Shofar blasts.  So, we waited and listened.

In December 2016, we received an invitation from a friend we met in Jerusalem. She is a psychiatrist, a Russian Believer who cares deeply for the people there. She asked us to come again and meet with some leaders in The Land and to minister. 

In October 2018, we returned to Israel and ministered to leaders in Jerusalem and other areas of the country.

 WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY

 Now we are moving forward to prepare the team of eight for the second wave of our call to Israel.  After gathering together to seek The Lord, all eight agreed that it’s time to go to Israel in the Fall of 2020.  Then Covid-19 came to the world. We are currently waiting for God’s timing for us to return.

As we look forward to our return to The Land, we want to thank each of you for your friendship and for partnering with us “to evangelize the unbelieving areas of the believer's heart," so that each one may fulfill the greatest commandment (Matthew 22: 37-39). We cannot do it without you.  

 Will you please consider sending a contribution to help us to fulfill this call? God loves to take the seeds we sow, regardless the size, and causes them to grow and continue to bear lasting, good fruit! 

 We also invite you to prayerfully consider supporting Transformed Hearts as a monthly partner in prayer and giving. Your support will enable us to continue to do His work in this new day. We have purposed to follow God and fulfill His call to minister to His Beloved Bride and prepare her for The Bridegroom. “The best is yet to come!” Amen.