Ministry of Transportation of New Jewish Immigrants

The ministry of fishing for and transporting Olim (new immigrants) to Israel continued throughout the winter months of 2006/2007. The task was made easier by the relatively mild winter in Eastern Europe (at least until the filing of this report in mid-February 2007).

The team from Switzerland under Peter's leadership made several trips to the Ukraine from Budapest. They contacted Jewish people over a large area and in several cities of western Ukraine. As they have now been doing for many years, they then transported the new immigrants back to Budapest where they stayed in the Wallenberg Centre until it was time for their flight to Tel Aviv. Peter and his team then returned to Switzerland until the next group was scheduled to leave.

As there is much paperwork to be done and arrangements to be made for a family or individual to move to Israel, many months can transpire between their making the decision to go and their actual departure.

In this interim period the Jewish Agency, with offices all over the Ukraine, is instrumental in helping prospective immigrants to get everything in order. Luda from Uszgorod acts as liaison between Peter’s team and the Jewish Agency. She accompanies the new immigrants as they leave their homes and go to Budapest with Peter and his team, and then goes with them to the airport where she hands them over to the Jewish Agency to be checked in for their flight. Afterwards she returns by train to the Ukraine.

On several occasions this winter Luda brought olim to Budapest on her own with a rented mini van and a driver. This saves Peter the long trip from Switzerland if the number registered for a particular transportation is not high.

Throughout the summer of 2007 this ministry of transportation will continue. When olim are staying at the Centre their needs get priority: any visitors and even the staff of the Centre have to vacate their rooms if the space is needed for the olim.

The Wallenberg Centre will again work hard to give the new immigrants an unforgettable experience on the first stage of their journey to a new life in the land of their fathers.

Ministry to the Gypsy People in Summer 2007

Most details of the plans and schedule for this ministry will unfold as spring turns to summer and the warm weather comes to Europe. The Gypsy (Roma) people are often 'last minute', an expression of their spontaneity and desire to fullfil the leading of the Spirit as it comes.

The following plans for the summer are, however, already in place:


Tent Meetings

Several tent meetings are planned for the summer as they have proven very fruitful in the past two years; they will again be organized during the months of June to September and will include events in the cities of Budapest, Erd, Nagyesed, Bag and Consentmiklos in Hungary and in Mukatchevo in the Ukraine. More meetings will probably be announced in the coming months.


Gypsy Children's Ministry

The Gypsy families usually have a much higher birth rate than other people in the countries where they live, resulting in a large percentage of children and young people in their society. These children are often very open to the Gospel and embrace the teachings they receive with enthusiasm. To help with the children's ministry the Wallenberg Centre will be joined from June onwards by JoAnn Parsons. JoAnn is the mother of Dave Parsons of the ICEJ and she has received a special calling for ministry to these children.


Intercessory Prayer Ministry for the Roma and Hungary

Gypsy pastors are strong believers in the power of prayer and the house in Budapest provides a place where groups of them can come together, sometimes for all-night prayer sessions. Intercessors for Hungary also regularly uses the Centre for their prayer meetings.


Visiting Pastors and Churches

Many invitations are received to visit Gypsy pastors for fellowship and encouragement, as well as to speak in their churches. The Wallenberg Centre staff hopes to be able to accept a number of these invitations this summer. Transport can sometimes be a problem, since several of these churches are in the countryside, away from the areas readily accessible by public transport.


Pastors' Conferences

In past years the Wallenberg Centre has hosted successful one-day Pastors' Conferences which have been attended by up to forty pastors and workers from different churches. The Centre acts as a catalyst for unity amongst them, as pastors from different denominations attend who would not otherwise have fellowship together. We are again planning to hold a one-day Conference in Budapest and another in eastern Hungary.


Focus on Israel

The Wallenberg Centre, with its commissioning to minister to Jewish people and to proclaim the message of the restoration of Israel, naturally also wants the Gypsy people to have a vision for Israel. We will again be emphasizing this in summer 2007 through teachings and by organizing some of the tent meetings as "Taste of Tabernacles" events, with Davidic praise and worship and a biblical message on the Time to Favour Zion. This is a fruitful ministry as Gypsies naturally identify with Israel and many of them would love to make a pilgrimage to the Land of the Bible.

Outreach to Messianic Believers

A warm and rich relationship has been established with several Messianic Congregations in the region, especially in the Ukraine. The Wallenberg Centre has extended a helping hand to the congregations in cities such as Zaparochie, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnitsa and Chernovtsi in the south-western region of the country.

The vision for the summer of 2007 is again to visit each of these congregations on several occasions, both to encourage them and for a mutual exchange of insights and strategy. It is amazing what these congregations achieve on very limited budgets and so, where possible, our aim is to help financially also.

The Wallenberg Centre has linked some of these congregations with churches in the West for assistance and prayer and we hope to expand this programme.

The congregations place special emphasis on Bible teaching concerning the restoration of Israel and the importance of the Church's stand with her. Several of them are involved in vital social work in the communities where they live; this social work goes hand in hand with teaching from the Bible on the importance of repentance and a new life in the Lord.
(See the interview with Inna on this website)

This summer we will look for more churches to partner with these congregations in order to encourage them in their vision of bringing faith and restoration to their communities, and especially to their fellow Jews.