On My Back!

Dear Friends,

I am writing you from my lovely hospital bed at Meir Hospital in Kafar Saba. Kafar Saba is the city next to Ra’anana and they host one of the worst hospitals in Israel—and yet, they have the best spinal unit in the country. After two months of on and off severe back pain Elana drove me to the emergency room earlier this week. While I tend to make light of these things, this lower pain (a herniated disk to be exact) has kept me from doing all that God has called to do during the past year. Recently I have missed several services at our congregation and many more than that, work days, including staff prayer meetings.

Yesterday the doctor looked at my MRI and told me that I have a herniated disk between my L5 and S1 vertebrae on the right side. The problem is complicated by the fact that the hernitation is also in the spinal column which means that the disk is further weakened and the herniated part of the disk is agitating the nerve roots there, causing much pain.

His answer was to give me another cortisone shot. This is effective on the sciatic pain that radiates down my right leg, but does little for the lower back pain. If this does not bring enough relief so that I can use physical therapy to strengthen the muscles reason, he is recommending surgery to remove the disk from my spinal column and to fuse the two vertebrae together. However he believes that with rest and proper physical therapy it will be taken care of in the next few months.

Please agree with me in prayer that the doctors here, some of the best in Israel, make the proper recommendation and then treat it effectively. Also, if the Lord is seeking to speak through this, please pray that Elana and I would have ‘ears to hear’ what He is saying and grace to obey.

FINANCES

While our finances have been very steady for months and we were able to pay for two trips to Uganda (my ticket was covered on the second trip, but your gifts sent Danielle on what was a life-changing mission for her), August donations were about one-third off budget. We really need to make this up in September. Please consider an additional, special gift this month. If you are not a regular supporter, I want to humbly appeal to you to get involved in Israel’s end time harvest by partnering with Elana and me. Another way you can help is to take some time and pray and agree with us for God’s provision. Here is what one dear couple wrote to us this week:

Hi Ron and Elana,

Thank you so much for your sweet

email. You are truly a blessing to us!!! We

cannot be in Israel to minister but we

feel we are a part of your ministry

through support … We LOVE the Nation of

Israel and feel such a connection after visiting there

in the year of 2000. We ask for God’s

wisdom and protection to be with you each day.

Our hearts are there with you. Shalom!!!!!

I want you to know that for me these are not mere words, but truth. We pray that everyone who partners with us understands that through prayer, financial support, getting behind specific projects or even just sending a note of encouragement, you are in essence ministering here with us in Israel.

And just to be clear, while we know that God has called some to partner with us, provision comes from the Lord. In Him is our trust.

Committed to the Messiah’s Mandate (Matt. 10:6-8),

Ron Cantor