Bridal Salon - Project Reports by Tiina Karkkainen
October 2020 Project Update - by Tiina Karkkainen
Shalom ubracha, (Peace and Blessing) to all our friends from the nations!
The CFI Bridal salon has been closed because of the lock down. It is not allowed to make appointments yet. Everything here in the Land is under a question mark at the moment. It is difficult to plan weddings or other celebrations this year. Israelis love to have big weddings. I understand that many future couples are still waiting for a better season to plan their day. Only one ‘bride-to-be’ contacted us this week.
But we are ready to serve them, when the time comes. I believe that it will be busy again over here. Many people have challenges with their finances at the moment. It is great that we can offer good wedding gowns for future brides and grooms. Please, pray that the Lord will give us more opportunities to bless the families of the Land. Pray, that He will be seen through us, so that our clients would understand that it is all about Him. We are here serving them, because He let it happen. The dresses, shoes, jewels and all the other items are here, because the Lord put in somebody’s heart, willingness to donate these things for the use of the brides of Israel. May the CFI Bridal salon continue to be available for His use!
Thank you for coming along side us! Tiina
September 2020 Project Update - by Tiina Karkkainen
Shalom from CFI Bridal Salon from Jerusalem!
This September is very unusual. We didn’t have any clients coming to our place, and from tomorrow we will be closed for three weeks because of the lock down. So, I don’t have any Bridal Salon news to share with you this month. Instead of the report here are some thoughts about two Bible verses today.
The month of Elul in the Jewish calendar is just ending and the new month of Tishrei is starting with the Jewish new-year 5781. The Hebrew word E-L-U-L points to the verse from the Song of Solomon 2:16
“My beloved is mine and I am his, he pastures his flock among the lilies.”
So, this month of the Jewish year is a special time when we are expected to check our relationship with our Beloved. We can ask ourselves a couple of questions. Am I really His? What is going on in my heart at the moment? Can I say that He is mine? Is He still the most beloved in my life, or are there other people or other things that are taking His throne in me? There are more questions that we can ask about this Bible verse. What does it mean that He pastures His flock among the lilies? For me it is a picture of peace, beauty and harmony.
Another verse is Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.” The Holy Spirit in us is calling Yeshua to come back to this Earth. Am I myself calling Him to come back? Can I see myself as the Bride of the Lord? If we are born again, we belong to His church, to His Bride. It is a picture of a deep relationship and dedication between me and the Lord. But many times I don’t feel like it. Many times I even ignore Him in my life. Our flesh will never call Him to come back. Our flesh wants to do things by itself. Our flesh loves itself more than the Lord or anybody else. The flesh doesn’t have any need to get closer to the Lord. But our spirit is never satisfied without Him. If we are thirsty for God, we start to call upon Him.
There is a great promise for the thirsty ones in this Bible verse. They all can come and take the water of life without any cost. If we are hungry and thirsty for God, He will fill us with His Holy Spirit over and over again. When we are filled with the Spirit of Yeshua, with the water of life, we say to Him, “Come!” without any hindering elements. Our love relationship with the Lord becomes alive again. We start to wait for His returning with all of our hearts. We understand that there is no life without God. He is our all in all.
May our hearts be in the Messiah and with Him during the coming Feast season. Let us be in love with Him more and more every year.
Be blessed in Yeshua’s name.
Tiina , CFI Bridal Salon
Shalom, dear friends and coworkers!
We have had interesting people coming to the Bridal Salon lately. I feel that the Lord is using us to encourage His people by this specific service.
Last week there was a tall Israeli lady looking for a wedding dress in our salon. She was unsure, when their wedding would be because of the corona situation. She tried on different options.
The last one was the best. Many times you just feel, that this is the one. So did our new friend, Alona. We found a beautiful veil too and a head piece for her. I put everything aside. Next day she called and told me that their hupa was going to take place the next day. She came in to pick up the dress and she was so thankful to us. We received some pictures from Alona right after the wedding. Thank God that we were there to provide her with a good looking wedding gown just in time. Many people confirmed that she looked stunning in it.
August 2020 Project Update - by Tiina Karkkainen
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This week there was a couple from Haifa looking for wedding gowns in our Bridal Salon. They are students who decided to get married this special year, 2020. Sarah could not so quickly decide which dress to wear, so she took two dresses with her. Amos found a good suit for himself. I am happy that they didn’t need to spend more time or money to find their wedding clothes. We are a blessing for many people.
I myself got married at the end of June. I found everything that I needed at our place: The dress, the bolero, the shoes, the necklace and the veil – everything was from here. Thank you so much for this opportunity J. Also my husband used our services and found his suit at CFI Bridal Salon, as I wrote to you some months ago. We are now a happy couple starting our journey in Jerusalem. What a joy it is to have beautiful wedding pictures as a memory of our special day. God bless you all. He is Faithful.
Tiina Karkkainen, CFI Bridal salon