The Friends of Israel in Action Jan/Feb 2026
An Israeli Weekend in the Last Frontier
Life in Alaska teaches you always to expect the unexpected. For Friends of Israel (FOI) representatives Luke and Sarah Stewart, this summer brought a delightful surprise: a slice of Israel dropped into the heart of Alaska.
The excitement began when an Israeli man arranged to stay with them overnight during his travels. Soon after, Luke met four young Israelis outside a breakfast shop. They mentioned they’d be driving near the Stewarts’ home that weekend to hike the mountains, so he invited the group to stay with his family.
Soon after, an Orthodox-Jewish Israeli mother named Miriam reached out, asking for a place to stay with her husband, Menachem, and their young sons during that same weekend. The Stewarts couldn’t say no. To top it off, another Israeli couple was scheduled to arrive on Monday. Their question quickly became, Where in the world will we put everyone?
The Stewarts’ six children volunteered to sleep in a tent so their Israeli guests could take their rooms. Sarah’s dad offered his camper; and with some borrowed bunk beds, a few furniture rearrangements, and lots of hard work, they managed to make room for everyone. Even the kids’ great-grandma pitched in. At 90, her eyesight isn’t what it used to be, but she still found joy in washing all those dishes!
Over the weekend, Menachem, Miriam, and their boys particularly opened up to the Stewarts. All the kids became fast friends, Grandma was adopted as Safta (“grandmother” in Hebrew), and Menachem collapsed into a much-needed nap soon after arriving. Just as things settled, an Alaska Native elder stopped by with 25 fresh-caught salmon. In Alaska, you don’t say no to fish—especially when you have a house full of guests to feed! Suddenly, the Stewarts’ semi-kosher home turned into a fish-processing plant, with Luke tending the smoker while Sarah salted fillets.
That evening, Jason, the Stewarts’ cowboy friend, showed up. Jason is a paratrooper, Krav Maga (Israeli martial arts) instructor, bear hunter, and dog musher. He swapped army stories with Menachem while Miriam cooked noodles and Sarah stirred soup. Exhausted though they were, the room pulsed with laughter, connection, and life. And that was just the first day.
The week unfolded with a 35-hour Alaskan Shabbat birthday celebration for Menachem; encounters with moose and sled dogs; and friendships that crossed cultures, languages, and faith. Luke and Sarah happily watched the excited Orthodox Jewish boys feed horses, saw their children melt Israeli hearts, and shared gospel conversations that touched eternity.
During their Israeli guests’ stay, the Stewarts displayed the heart of God, whose fierce pleasure shines when believers care for His Chosen People (Gen. 12:3). Their loving hospitality blossomed into a week of laughter, tears, and stories too long to tell. And maybe that’s the point. Some stories can’t be finished here. They stretch into eternity—where God Himself will write the last word.
You can support representatives like Luke and Sarah serving in North American Ministries today. Thank you for your prayers and financial support!
God Doesn’t Play Dice
“God doesn’t play dice with the universe.” So said Albert Einstein, the world’s most renowned physicist. The universe isn’t random, and it isn’t an accident. Our FOI teams around the world can attest to that truth. Again and again we see God’s hand at work in creating divine appointments, sometimes over many decades.
One of our FOI team members in Poland, Hanya Cieślar, recently received a text message from Joseph, an Israeli physicist. Joseph writes books on physics and teaches at some of the world’s foremost institutions for physics and quantum mechanics. He’s also an atheist. However, his text to Hanya made it clear that God was beginning to work in his heart after many years. He needed someone to answer his questions.
Almost 60 years ago, Joseph came into contact with FOI workers in his home country of Poland. Longtime FOI worker and World War II heroine Halina Ostik invited him to “Holidays With the Bible,” a retreat that FOI hosts.1 There, he met other FOI team members, including Hanya, and was shown that, as a Jewish man, he was much loved—by God and by Christians.
A few years later, Joseph decided to make aliyah (immigrate to Israel). Our team joyfully helped him in this process. For more than 50 years, Joseph has lived in Israel. But as his career in physics progressed, he ignored the seed of the gospel that was planted all those years ago back in Poland.
When Joseph texted Hanya recently, he asked, “Are you the Hanya that I met in Wisła, Poland? Do you remember me?” Now 80 years old, Joseph had questions that he felt could only be answered by those whom he had met in Poland. Of course, Hanya remembered him; and she arranged to visit him on her next trip to Israel. When they were finally able to meet, our team had the great privilege of attending a divine appointment 60 years in the making; and our workers again shared God’s love for him, the truth of the gospel, and his need for a Savior.
Joseph has not yet chosen to accept the free gift of eternal life through Messiah Jesus, but in faith we believe that God is still working in his heart. Joseph and his wife are making plans to visit Poland soon for another FOI “Holidays With the Bible” retreat. Pray with us that God will show Joseph His everlasting love and work to save him according to His sovereign plan. After all, God doesn’t play dice with the universe.
ENDNOTE
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- To read Halina’s inspirational story, you can purchase your copy of Halina from The Friends of Israel by going online at store.foi.org.
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You can support FOI’s Polish team or other ministries around the world today. Thank you for your prayers and financial support!
