Magda
Housemother - with all her heart, each and every moment
Magda has been working at the Ebenezer Home since 2012, and three of those years as the house mother. Her daily tasks are very diverse, like those of a mother ... ;)
She makes sure, the residents are well off, their rooms are furnished according to their needs, and if they have specific needs, she goes and shops for them. Another part of her daily work is domestic economics. Every week Magda meets with the kitchen staff to plan the menu, taking into account the diets of the individual residents. Magda also is the first person to contact about laundry and house cleaning. In short: She oversees everything related to the domestic economy. During the year, she organizes various feast celebrations for the residents in the Ebenezer Home or the adjacent garden. Magda is also in regular contact with suppliers, compares prices, and orders food.
The ambience at Ebenezer is very friendly. It feels like a second home to her, and Magda enjoys being at Ebenezer. She explains, "In my daily work, I experience how God gives me the strength, wisdom, and joy to accomplish all tasks. He brought me here. For me it's a privilege to serve Him and the residents here, and it's incredibly fun for me. I want to work for Him with all my heart, each and every moment."
Ebenezer Senior Citizen's Home - Haifa
The Impossible Became Possible
Juan Onaniss,
An Ebenezer Home Resident
Juan came to the Ebenezer Home after a fall that took all feeling in both his hands and feet. For most people, this would have been devastating in and of itself, but for Juan being a concert pianist and professional pipe organist for more than 50 years, it meant much more. Even holding a cup of coffee became a challenge. But what happened next is a miracle, something he never thought he could achieve, and yet with the Lord’s help and with the encouragement and help of the Ebenezer staff, he achieved the impossible!
But let’s back up…
Juan, at the age of 12 came to believe in the Messiah by reading the Sermon on the Mount - in a Bible someone had forgotten in a church. He felt God's presence and work in his heart and it has remained so to this day.
From an early age Juan learned to play the piano and organ. At the age of 16 he graduated from the conservatory and at the age of 22 became director of the Uruguayan National Opera. A few years later, his talent for painting came to light unexpectedly when he finished a setting for a painter who worked in the Opera. Some of the murals that Juan painted in Tel Aviv are historically preserved for their uniqueness and beauty.
Juan said he thought he could never use his musical and drawing talent at the same time, but then to tragically lose his ability to do either? It was devastating.
Before he came to the Ebenezer Home, he played the pipe organ of the Emmanuel Church in Tel Aviv for about 30 years. After a fall which took both the feeling in his hands and his feet, he thought he would never be able to play or draw ever again. For any artist, no longer being able to express oneself in the very ways that you had most of your life, is hard to say the least.
When Juan became one of our residents in 2017, the Ebenezer team evaluated his ability and his need and were able to design a pencil that would enable him to begin painting again, in which he eagerly did without missing a day. For Juan, this was a miracle, but little did he realize, it was only the beginning! Juan is very productive in his creativity and has his own style. Since he is limited today because of his disability, he usually draws in pencil and concentrates on faces that he paints on large sheets of paper and that allow him to draw large lines.
But what came next was totally unexpected…click to listen to Juan as he shares his testimony and what the Lord has done and continues to do in his life!