Dear Family and Friends...
TEN-THOUSAND ROCKETS have taken their deadly toll these past eight years upon the scenic southern Israeli border communities next to Gaza, as radical Islamic forces have systematically attempted 'through terror' to drive out all the local Israeli residents. Painfully, this traumatized, dwindling, war-front city of S'derot became their prime target due to its vulnerable location just two short kilometers from the border.
The Israeli Defense Forces finally struck back boldly and with lightening speed after years of compromise, concessions, and negotiations which led only to tragic Israeli civilian casualties inflicted by the Hamas operatives of terror. The Israeli army forcefully eliminated hundreds of the deadly rocket launching positions throughout Gaza... to cripple the radical Hamas political and military infrastructure... and to restore peace and security that had long been promised to these severely battered Jewish communities.
After daily prayer, heroic examples of courage and amazing miracles of G-D's protection were witnessed by our young Israeli troops after boldly entering into battle against the highly trained forces of Hamas. Repeated praise and thankfulness were expressed by many soldiers and local civilians alike when blessed to experience the great evidence of G-D's mercy and protection in honor of His holy Name.
When the smoke of battle cleared, many within these traumatized Israeli border communities enthusiastically broke into celebration upon seeing G-D's faithful response in answer to their prayers. The rockets stopped! Thankfully, they witnessed His great Hand of protection which prevented even more casualties. At long last, these families were blessed with the long awaited "shalom" from the many years of attacks upon their battered communities.
The 'Hands of Mercy' team courageously moved our center from Jerusalem into the heart of S'derot during the first days of the war in order to begin a vitally needed family crisis-assistance facility. "Tents of Victory" became a most fitting name for our center, in honor of The Almighty who we so faithfully has provided His great deliverance against our enemies.
We were welcomed on our first day by both rockets and friendly neighbors. Also, prominent city officials came to warmly welcome us and made us aware of the severe crisis conditions many local families have endured these past years. Even when the rockets failed to cause casualties, the agonizing fear and trauma imprinted destructive effects upon the minds of families and children in this very vulnerable city.
Moved by compassion, we deeply shared the pain and grief with many parents during their suffering through severe injuries and occasional deaths to precious family members. Economic trauma has also been very devastating to this community of 24,000 residents, leaving many unemployed as factories closed or moved to safer locations. For many, the inability to provide food for their hungry families forced them into a cycle of severe poverty. When possible, we reached out to alleviate the suffering and sought out wisdom and creative ways to help that would offer renewed hope and courage to these precious families who have bravely suffered at the hands of Islamic terror!

We were greatly encouraged by the special blessings and support extended to us by Vice Mayor Herzl Shaubi, members of the city council and new friends from the religious Jewish community who welcomed us to their town. Their support enabled us to initiate effective projects, structured to provide for the needy families of S'derot.
With very limited funds, we stepped out in faith to rent a tiny, old day-care center located in the heart of Sderot in need of much repair... and began to transform it into the new home for our victim crisis outreach center. Amid much excitement we moved in... soon to discover we were in for a series of very painful tests in the form of many overwhelming problems we faced.

Everything that could go wrong did as we began clearing years of accumulated rubble from the land. Challenges emerged from nowhere to thwart the opening of our new facility. Joyfully we took time to share the end of the rocket attacks following the Gaza war... yet this was short lived as we soon found ourselves immersed under a different form of attack - heavy spiritual battles which threatened even our existence. These attacks needed to be overcome before seeing G-D's promised victory.
The months of struggle have been beneficial, forcing each of us to seek deeper levels of G-D's mercy in the face of our human weaknesses. We learned to trust in Him for our survival and promised victory in deeper ways. Finally after many setbacks, we were blessed to experience a great 'breakthrough' for which we now celebrate. Now we are equipped with deeper levels of sensitivity to the pain of others, as we offer His love and courage to hundreds of needy families here in these S'derot.
Our dedicated staff and volunteers worked hundreds of hours to transform the grounds and old, broken-down building into a spacious and attractive facility. While working, we repeatedly were forced to run for shelter as rockets rained down throughout the city... then back to work! Yet even this G-D used to strengthen our faith and prepare us with wisdom for the many challenges ahead.
'Hands of Mercy' is now blessed to be a distributor for "The Joseph Project" with Joel Chernoff, which supplies us with truckloads of quality clothing and household items to share with the many families of this community. Combined with the support of other ministries, their assistance enables us to effectively express the reality of our Messiah's love to the many recovering families in S'derot.

Following months of hard work, at long last we celebrated our Grand-Opening Dedication with many families and leaders of our new community. Amid kind words of welcome and special blessings by Vice Mayor Herzl Shaubi, it is our delight to announce that our "Tents of Victory" family-assistance center is officially opened!
Many families responded to our invitation and came to see what was happening... and were delighted to fill their bags from tables loaded with clothing and food. Amid the loud levels of music and laughter, the event was a great success! Here we began developing new friendships with many special families from our community.

Without your prayers and support this new war-front family center would not be possible. We remain sincerely grateful and thank you! for helping make this vital outreach ministry a reality. For through your help, we are enabled to effectively reach out with our L-RD's love to these special needy families throughout Israel. May "The Almighty" continue to bless you abundantly for having opened your hearts to share from His goodness,,, as together we offer renewed courage, hope and faith to the struggling families in this community of S'derot!

We would be delighted for you or your group to visit us in our “Tents of Victory” center when in the area. Please call or write in advance so we can best serve you.