Prayer journey for Aliyah – Part 3
The day of departure arrives, and my wife and I are driven to the island of Hönö by our friends Göran and Marianne. It feels strange and unusual for me as a ”landlubber” to board this sailing mega yacht, Elida. A big step over the gap on to the ship’s deck and a steep ladder down to a cabin with eight berths. This is to be my nook for the next few weeks.
Ladder down to one of the passenger cabins
Entrances to the bunks in the cabin
I am well received onboard by Captain Stefan, the crew and other participants of the voyage. After a nice party with cake and coffee, songs and speeches to celebrate the start of Elida’s 60th anniversary and blessings and prayer for the long voyage to Israel, the engine starts rumbling and we set out to begin the journey.
Cake being served at the departure party on Hönö, Sweden
From Ebenezer we are two people onboard. Samuel comes from Germany but lives with his family in Israel. He has been praying for Aliyah for a long time and understands what this prayer journey is about. I am so thankful that there are two of us who can pray together. Jesus promises in Matthew 18:20: ”For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Samuel and I are on the same shift, at 8–12 o’clock, morning and evening. This easily allows us to take two or three prayer sessions together every day. We sense that one of our main tasks is to proclaim God’s Word across the sea. King David says: Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness … Let the sea resound, and all that is in it” (1 Chronicles 16:29, 31).
We also pray that God will prepare and open the Aliyah routes by sea for the Jewish people, especially from North and South America and the West. In the first 12–13 years of Ebenezer’s operation, we helped tens of thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union to come home to Israel by boat from Odessa to Haifa. And we believe that God will use boats and ships again.
Elida moored in Hönö, Sweden
Philip Holmberg
Ebenezer Operation Exodus
If you want to continue reading, you can go directly to Part 4 here: Part 4
Or if this was the first one you read and want to get to the beginning, click here: Part 1
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