In May, our Jerusalem staff gathered for a special celebration to honour ICEJ AID deputy director Yudit Setz for reaching an incredible milestone of 40 years of dedicated service with the Christian Embassy!
It was a trip down memory lane, as the ICEJ leadership shared fond memories of Yudit over the past four decades. Afterwards, a captivating video showed photos of her many activities overseeing Aid projects throughout Israel, many alongside her husband Will, who was director of the department in the late 1980s and 1990s.
ICEJ President Dr. Jürgen Bühler commended Yudit on her dedication to serving the Lord in Jerusalem, which at times can be like a fiery furnace. He also thanked her for taking on the special burden she felt to care for Holocaust survivors at our Haifa Home, and even relocating to Haifa in recent years.
Dr. Bühler then read the very center verse in the Book of Lamentations: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23/ESV)
“Thank you so much for who you are, for your faithfulness, for your steadfastness, for your stubbornness; otherwise, you would not be sitting here today. And thanks to both you and Will for all your contributions and what you have been doing all these years on behalf of the ICEJ,” added Dr. Bühler.
“From 1985 right up till now, you always set a high standard of how we reach out to ordinary Israelis in the streets and those most in need,” remarked ICEJ Senior Vice President & Spokesman David Parsons.
Her longtime colleague Nicole Yoder, ICEJ Vice President of AID & Aliyah, shared some of their interesting stories and fun experiences while working closely together in the Aid department. She commended Yudit on how relational she is and how she delights in seeing people develop and grow.
“I really don’t know what we would have done without your professionalism, without your cultural knowledge, without your persistence, without your faith, without that deep sense of calling, without the spiritual maturity and relational skills. You’ve been an example to all of us, and I know that the Lord is very deeply pleased,” expressed Nicole.
Yudit recalled first living in Beirut for half a year in 1983, and sensing God calling her to the Middle East. In 1984, while attending a Biblical counselling school in Switzerland and seeking God for her next step, the Lord clearly directed her to go to Israel for the ICEJ’s Feast of Tabernacles. With an open plane ticket, a backpack and no clue what to do in Israel, she left on the 7th of October 1984. It was a journey of not knowing but just trusting God to lead her, and six months later she learned the still young ICEJ was looking for a social worker to oversee its new Social Assistance Department.
“It happened in such a supernatural way that I had no doubt in my mind that this was the place where God intended for me to serve,” Yudit recounted.
In 1987, she married Will and together they laid the groundwork for what is today ICEJ AID.
Yudit described how different Israel was when she first arrived, about witnessing the First and Second Intifadas, and the many challenges she faced, but also about the incredible people God placed on her path, the wonderful opportunities she encountered, and the numerous social aid projects she carried out before handing over the leadership role to Nicole Yoder.
Yudit then confirmed that the Lord gave her the same verse from Lamentations earlier that morning to share with the staff, as she has felt God’s faithfulness in many ways.
“Know that life may not be easy, but He and His love are always there. I can testify to God’s amazing faithfulness,” shared Yudit.
The celebration ceremony ended with prayers for Yudit and Will as they continue with their dedicated work of caring for the Holocaust survivors and serving the Lord in Israel.
