January 2023
Dear Friend of Israel,
Happy New Year! It is indeed a new year and one that will, please G-d, be filled with many new developments at CFOIC Heartland.
This coming March will mark 25 years since I founded CFOIC Heartland as an organization. Over the years, we built an amazing partnership between the people of Judea and Samaria and you, our dear, devoted Christian friends all over the world. But in September of this year, I will be stepping down as director of CFOIC Heartland and will hand over the reins to my trusted colleague, Shmuel Junger. Shmuel has worked alongside me for more than 5 years now and many of you have met him personally in the US or in Israel. You may have followed his monthly vlog where he hosts you in a different community each time.
For the first eight months of this year, Shmuel will be gradually stepping up and assuming responsibility for the various aspects of our work. However, CFOIC Heartland is my baby, and it is not something I will ever abandon. So, while I am stepping down as Director of the Israel office, with its enormous responsibility for all of CFOIC Heartland’s activities worldwide, I will remain very involved. I will continue to be in touch with you, our trusted donors, and friends, on a regular basis, I will continue to teach Bible regularly on zoom. I will travel to meet you i your communities and host you in our communities.
So, what will change? On a personal level, I will have more time to spend with my children and grandchildren. I will be more relaxed, knowing that I have left the responsibility for CFOIC Heartland in Shmuel’s very capable hands. I know he will bring new ideas to our work, and I am eager to take direction from Shmuel as he explores new avenues and new directions. And as a young man, he is uniquely positioned to bring in a younger generation of supporters, our most important guarantee of continuity. And of course, Kim Troup, CFOIC Heartland’s US Director, will remain in her position, working hand-in-hand with Shmuel throughout.
At the end of the day, CFOIC Heartland’s success does not rest in the hands of its leaders. It is you, our friends and supporters who have kept us going all these years and who have enabled us to grow with each year. Ultimately, though, it is only with G-d’s blessing that we have been able to accomplish anything. I have always sought and received my direction from the Bible and from G-d, studying His ways to inform my own. Shmuel does the same. I pray that we will all continue to follow and obey G-d, each of us in the way we know best, and at the end of the day, as we bless Israel, so too, will the G-d of Israel.
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you and through you all the families of the earth will be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)
Shalom,
Sondra Oster Baras
Director
