Unloading Clothing for the Poor and Needy

Christian Friends of Israel has two buildings in Jerusalem. One in the City Center is the Admin Office where I work. The Distribution Center (DC) is located a couple of miles west near the Central Bus Station. Every morning from 9:00am until 12:00 noon, the DC opens their doors to the poor and needy in Jerusalem. Churches and small groups around the world collect good, quality used clothing to ship to Jerusalem. In addition to clothing, CFI is also able to offer sheets, blankets, quilts, bed spreads, etc. On November 30th, we unloaded a clothing shipment from the United States. The DC is located on a small, narrow, dead end street called Moriah. Moriah is an appropriate name since that is also the name of the mountain in the Old City where Abraham was to slay Isaac. Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." Genesis 22:2 Mount Moriah is also the location of the two Jewish temples. The first one built by Solomon which was destroyed by Babylon. Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor... II Chronicles 3:1 And, of course, the Lord Jesus was crucified for our sins on Mount Moriah. Abraham's slaying of Isaac in Genesis is a picture of where God Almighty would slay His only Son. However, in 2007, on Moriah Street we had to move a 2000 pound trash dumpster first before the 18-wheeler could back in there. Below is a photo of how the dumpster was "jacked up" on one side, then we shoved it onto the sidewalk. With half of the dumpster on the sidewalk, we did the other end to make room for the truck. The Lord never said it was going to be easy but He did provide the strength for us to do it.

Below are when the doors were first opened for unloading. You can see our dumpster on the sidewalk down by Jaffa Street. We had help from two other ministry groups that distribute clothing. One group is from up north in Haifa and the other down south in the Negev desert town of Arad. CFI is able to share our clothing with these ministries.

We had enough volunteers that we were able to form one long "chain" and simply pass the boxes along. If it's possible, CFI requests that clothing of the same kind (men's, women's, children's, etc.) be grouped in the same box and the name written on the outside of the box. I worked towards the end of the "chain" and was point man for awhile passing men's to the left, women's behind me, and children's to the right, etc. Then at the very end of the shipment were several large boxes that did not have anything written on them and we had to just unload them. After being so precise all day, we barely had room to walk down man-made aisles of boxes. The Lord was very generous with His shipment. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever. II Corinthians 9:8.

We were able to unload the truck in just a little over two hours. Below I am shaking hands with a Bedouin believer who worked beside me. Precisely as this picture is being taken, he was telling me that if I would come down to the desert for a few months and walk with him and his sheep, I would lose weight. He's probably right. However, I don't have a few months to spare. I might take him up on his offer for one weekend though. I've never been a shepherd. How fortunate we are that the Lord Jesus is our Good Shepherd. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. John 10:11.

Below is a group photo after unloading several hundred boxes of clothing for Jerusalem's poor and needy. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Matthew 25:34-40. The next shipment is from Finland where they have a 40 pound limit on cartons. It may be a little tougher to unload, but with the Lord's grace and presence, we should not have any trouble. ...If God is for us, who can be against us. Romans 8:31.