The following is the text of an update received from pastor Munir Kakish on May 25, 2006

EXCITING NEWS ABOUT THE RAMLA CHURCH! 
We are thrilled by current events in the Ramla church.  As you may know, besides the children's home, Home of New Life, we pastor two churches in this country, one in Ramallah in the West Bank, and one in Ramla, just outside of Tel Aviv.

The Ramla church has acquired property in Israel.  It is second floor of a large building and has a large side entrance directly into the church.  The new building will greatly increase the outreach of the church.  The new location can increase the church outreach to the cities of Ramla, Lod, Tel-Aviv, and Joppa (Jaffa).  The church can now expand to include multiple Sunday school classes, counseling, ladies’ meetings, and ministers’ meetings.  Arabs (Christian and Moslem) and Jews are all within this church’s sphere of influence in the neighborhood. 

The new building will meet all of our needs.

• 1-      The new building is bigger (180 square meters= over 1600 square feet); 3 times more space.

• 2-      It is near street level with a large side entrance.  It is only 6-7 steps from the street level.

• 3-      The building has 6 rooms + 1 hall in the middle + facilities + balcony + parking for 5-8 cars.

• 4-      It is an old strong stone building (that’s better than the new blocks)

• 5-      The building needs to be remodeled to meet the church needs.  We need to take out some walls, put in new windows, and new doors.  The kitchen and bathrooms need to be redone, and finally a fresh coat of paint.  The balcony can be enclosed for additional space.  An engineer estimated the cost of all changes to be up to $40,000.

• 6-      The property is being purchased with something called key money; it is a permanent lease (to cancel it someone has to "buy" us out).  For $50,000 we are obtaining a property big enough for up to 200 people.  Thereafter our monthly costs will be approximately $100 per month for the lease and $200-$300 per month in property taxes. 

• 7-      We need to be prepared for new furniture & other facilities (air (condition, curtains) about $ 8,000 – $ 10,000 and other payments for the big move.

 The group in Ramla is thrilled with the prospect of a permanent home.  We were meeting in a room that was on the side of a home, and now we will have our own building!  It is a miracle as there is not property in Ramla for rent.

I need to come up with $10,000 within 10 days. If you would like to participate in this miracle, please send a donation to RCO (earmarked for the Ramla building) to our US address shown below.  All gifts are tax deductible.   

I know that you will respond as you listen to the Holy Spirit.  The picture below shows part of the property.  Rejoice with me as I believe God will meet this need through you, our partners.

Pastor Munir and Sharon Kakish

Ramallah Christian Outreach – Home of New Life

U.S. Address                                                                       

P.O. Box 2595, Baxter, MN 56425-2595

Overseas Address

P.O. Box 1519, Ramallah,  West Bank, via Israel

E-mail mskakish@hotmail.com                                          

Telephone & Fax 011-972-2-295-5101

Website:  hnlife.org