From:          cfinz@xtra.co.nz
To:            heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject:       Hebraic Roots Testimony

>From Dennis and Penny McLeod
NZ Representatives Christian Friends of Israel
PO Box 12349
Hamilton
NEW ZEALAND
Ph/Fax 0064 7 854 7077
email <cfinz@xtra.co.nz>
1/7/98

The following is in reply to your request for testimonies of coming to
understand our Jewish Roots.  This is and overview of our testimony,
there is so much more on how the Lord directed and supplied while we
were in Israel and on our return to New Zealand

Testimony of Dennis and Penny McLeod
>From Ignorance to Revelation

It all started in 1990, I started to get the feeling that we would be
going somewhere to serve the Lord.  In 1992 I kept telling my wife Penny
that this would be our last year at the Waikato Polytechnic where I
worked as a Automotive Tutor.  We took a two week break in the middle of
the year and went and stayed at a friends house at a beach resort, where
we had some prayer and fasting seeking the Lord and His will.  The word
I received was that we would be going overseas but the Lord did not tell
us where.

On returning home,  I felt that "David" our Pastor,  would be the one to
tell us where to go.
We also prayed Lord we will go anywhere and do anything for you just
make it clear.  I also had been telling Penny for some time that we may
have to give up everything before we would know where to go.

One day,  I prayed out of frustration of not knowing what was happening,
"Lord, if we are meant to sell this house and go somewhere, send a land
agent knocking on the door and find somewhere for my son Nigel to
live".  About 8 days later Nigel came home and said he had found a flat
and was moving out.  A few days later two land agents put notices in our
letter box, so we invited them to the house.  One of them said " I came
knocking on your door, but you were not home".  So we put the house on
the market.  All this took place in line with a scripture that the Lord
had given Penny a while before but did not understand.

OK, we were going , but where? so we asked the Lord for three signs by
the end of the week to show us where we would be going.  That night
Penny was led to read about David's sons and only one made any sense,
Solomon.  The next day the Solomon Islands were in the news and again
the next day, so white beaches palm trees here we come.  However I
started to feel it was where Solomon had been.  So I looked in the Bible
for somewhere that Solomon had been other than Israel.  Not that we did
not want to go there but I could not imagine for one minute that the
Lord would be sending me to Israel.  I understood about Israels part in
the Bible and I had been receiving for a short period of time "Israel My
Glory" magazine, but that was all.  Twelve years as Christians we had
never had a talk or teaching on Israel.

By now I was completely confused so I prayed for one last sign to clear
up this matter by the end of the week.  At the end of the week we went
to stay with friends for the weekend.  when we were about to leave we
were asked if we had seen the video on,  "Israel in Bible Prophecy" I
said we had not and was assured that we had time to see it before
leaving.

The moment that video started I new we had to go to Israel,  my heart
pumped, my eyes ran and my stomach jumped.  near the end of the video
the Lord told me there was a message here for me.  The narrator talked
about where "Solomon had been and where the Temple had been"  When the
video ended I shared with the others what I had just experienced,  but
wondered why it was not "David" who had told me where to go,  our friend
turned to me and said the narrators name is "David".

We returned home excited but also apprehensive of the future,  after all
we new nothing about Israel, and what did the Lord want with us in
Israel,  we did not know  where to go or what we would do there,
nothing.  We had had already been asked to go to a Church conference
with our Pastor and his wife,  with whom we now shared this startling
revelation about going to Israel.  He said it could wear off after a
month .

On arrival at the conference our Pastor introduced me to the "World
Outreach" representative,  who asked me what were my qualifications?
This seemed a strange question as the Lord had not asked me this
question.  I went back in to the hall and prayed,  Lord is this the man
I was suppose to meet here or was there someone else.  A few minutes
later the people were introduced to Ray and Caroline Moxham who had just
arrived from Israel.  We made a point of meeting with Ray and Caroline
that evening and told them what the Lord had done so far.  but knowing
anything about the land or work etc. we did not know where to go from
here.  They told us about the volunteer system in Israel and mentioned
two places.  The House of Hope in Bethlehem,  who needed a handyman who
could fix cars,  I was an automotive teacher and did all my own handyman
work,  and the Christian Friends of Israel. We applied to both places
and then waited. 

The house sold in ten days to a Christian man who wanted it to rent out
so we did not have to move out until it was time to leave the country.
Many miracles cleared the way for the sale to go through,  a testimony
in itself.

When it was time to tell our Church that we were leaving we had not
heard back from Israel and we did not know where we would be going.
Then, a reply from Christian Friends Of Israel to say they had nothing
for us,  but still no word from The House of Hope.  I faxed Ray Sanders
at Christian Friends of Israel and asked if he could tell us where we
could get some "cheap" accommodation in Jerusalem.
He replied that all the hotels were full at this time of the year.
Just when it seemed the door was closing we received a letter from
Bethlehem, please come and join us.

I prayed about which day we should leave in December and the Lord gave
me Isaiah 13 and verse four says "I am gathering an army from the far
corners of the earth" you can not get much further than New Zealand.
Three months from the day the Lord said go we were on our way to
Israel.   With a one way ticket and not knowing when we would return we
left family home friends behind and we took the first steps on a new
path in our walk with the Lord. We boarded the plane with all our
worldly assets in our suitcases, leaving family and friends behind not
knowing when we would return to New Zealand.  we did not even have a
return ticket home, we just had an open return ticket to England from
Israel. This ticket we cashed in about 6 months later.

After a week in London we arrived in Israel on the 22nd of Dec 92 and
soon found ourselves in Bethlehem at the House of Hope.  Our first
surprise was that it was over the green line, and why did Israel not
have full control over the town of David? We had a lot to learn. This
home is a Christian Arab home for mildly mentally handicapped and blind
children plus blind adults. Which had expatriates as the staff looking
after the children of which we were house parents.   Many months later
the director told me they had never asked for a handyman who could fix
cars.  These were obviously the words of the Lord to have us apply to
this place to get us in to the Land of Israel.

We were there for 16 months with many miracles happening in our lives.
We also struck some trouble from the some of the other "mothers" with
our understanding of the Jewish people in Bible prophecy.  At the end of
our time there we received a visa for thirteen and a half months,
another one of those miracles of God,  and then the Lord directed us to
go.  We had no money, job, or permanent place to live but we had this
visa so we knew God wanted us to stay in Israel.

We first stayed with some long term volunteers in French Hill,
Jerusalem,  some of whom worked for Christian Friends of Israel.  It was
the time of the CFI Shavuot conference and as we had no money the ladies
asked at their office if we could have a pass to go to the conference.
In their generosity  they gave us a full pass.  I attended most of the
conference and here the Lord spoke to me and said I was to work with the
new immigrants.  However He did not say where.  We thought it might be
Haifa, may be even start a new work up there,  but with no experience in
this work we thought it right to talk with Ray Sanders at CFI.

Ray Sanders became interested and it was thought we might get some
material help from CFI in the Haifa area.  As we would be "attached" to
CFI we had better fill out volunteer application form,  they could not
find our earlier one ! and we went off to Haifa to talk with some people
that we might work with.

In the mean time we had moved in with a Messianic couple and their
family in Gilo, Jerusalem,  which is another testimony, and we started
to learn some things about the Messianic roots of Christianity.
At the same time the Lord told me to learn as much as possible about
Israel.  I did not know why at the time but many books came across my
path about Israel and its history. 

After a few weeks of searching  the Lord,  Ray Sanders asked us to work
at the Distribution Centre of the Christian Friends of Israel.  We said
we would pray about it and went once more to Haifa. It soon became
obvious that we ere not to work in Haifa. On our return we agreed that
we would work for CFI for  2 to 3 months just to fill in as they were
short handed.  Well after 3 months they made me the Administrator in
charge of the Centre and responsible for the day to day running of the
place and dealing directly with the Jewish immigrants and their needs.

One day as I was writing out a voucher for one of the people requiring
help, the Lord spoke to me and said "You are living Bible prophecy".  It
made me stop and think what was going on around us, 
Bible prophecies of the Bible were being fulfilled before our very
eyes.  Needless to say I was taken back a step or two.  Up to now I was
helping the people now a new purpose in the work took over. 
We helped the blind the lame the poor and saw the smile on their faces
as they started new lives in their land just as the Lord God said it
would happen so long ago.

After sixteen months of loving work for the Jewish people who were
returning to their home land, just when I thought this was what all the
training was for.  God sent us home to New Zealand to be the Christian
Friends of Israel representatives in our country. Yes,  when we left N Z
the CFI had nothing for us,  when we left Israel they did not want us to
go and now we represent them in our country isn't God mighty.

Three years,  all we had was here, only family back home.  The Lord
provided the funds for air fares and we arrived home.  No home no money
and no job,  what is next? The following months were a testimony in
themselves to the faithfulness of the Lord God.
But we were directed back to Hamilton the city we used to live in and
the Lord provided a home some money and my old job back.

While we were living in Jerusalem and for the last year in Beit
HaKeran,  I used to go for some exercise in the Jerusalem forest on the
Shabbat.  I tried to go out before the men went to the synagogue as I
felt guilty doing exercise on such a day.  When we returned home we had
time to study the scriptures and the real awakening to our Jewish roots
started to stir up in side of us.  We held many meetings around the
country we held prayer meetings and nobody came, so held  Shabbat meals
once a month in our home and we did not have enough room for the
people.  It seemed there was more the Lord wanted me to do.

I also started doing more exercise on the Shabbat,  no men around going
off to the Synagogue but still felt guilty.  One day the Lord showed me
Isaiah 58  "Do not let your feet do what they want to do on the
Shabbat".  I stopped running on the Shabbat.  We were also going to
church on Sundays,  and for a time this seemed all right, but after a
while we both felt this was not the place for us. 
No other place opened up so we continued to worship the Lord at this
church.  We were also leading festival nights with good turn outs and of
course Passover meals bringing out the prophetic messages about Yeshua
in them all.  The Hebraic roots was really taking root in our lives.

At the end of 1997 we were convince that we were to start a Shabbat
fellowship.  However I dug my heals in but Penny insisted that I talk to
our Pastor.  I finally agreed that we had to do something as the Lord
was making it quite clear that this is what He wanted to happen.  Before
I did get to speak to the Pastor,  I was at Church one night when a man
got up and spoke these words.

"I am doing a new thing,  I am moving in to an area the Church has been
afraid to go in to and this will have a big impact on the Church"

I went home and told Penny and we knew we had to move.  I spoke with the
Pastor,  then we had a meeting with the Church council and they gave us
their blessings and prayed for us as we went out to do a new thing.  We
come under the wing of the Apostolic Church at this point in time.

So on the 14 of February 98 we started the "Saturday Christian
Fellowship".  My fear about what would be the line of teaching I should
not have worried because at this point I joined the Hebraic study group
and much of the material that has come through is confirming our vision
and that is to bring the people in to a better relationship with Jesus
and from there knowing the power and love of God.

It is not over yet,  the word we received, this is not the end there is
more to come.
I am praying about being involved with a Hebraic course that we could
expand throughout our area.

So much you can do and so little time, so our direction must come from
the Lord.  We give the Lord all the glory for how He brought us out of
the world and in to His Kingdom and by His grace He has brought us from
total ignorance to this point in understanding of our Hebraic roots and
put me in a position to teach them.  Praise the Lord.

BeShem Yeshua Adonai

Dennis and Penny McLeod.

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