Canada Day – Thursday July 1
A team member approached an elderly man in the parking lot of a grocery store. Waiting for his wife, he took the pamphlet on anti-Semitism and began to read it. Asked if he read the Tanakh, he responded, “Yes, every day with my prayer book, and I attend my synagogue daily because it is very important to me.”
He said he had moved to Canada in the 1960s from Beersheba, Israel, but returned three times beginning when he was 17 to serve in the Israeli army. He said he knew a bit about the Messiah, saying he would bring peace. When was asked if he knew who Yeshua was, he said, “Sometimes I think He is the Messiah, but I don’t know.”
We told him that he could find out who the Messiah is by reading the Scriptures in the pamphlet. He accepted a gift set (Tanakh and Brit Chadashah) and we looked at the Brit Chadashah together. We explained that the lineage of Yeshua could be found in Matthew and Luke, telling of how it went back to Adam through King David.
He said with excitement that he would read it every day along with his Tanakh and prayer book. He took the leaflet on Isaiah 53 and the bookmark of messianic prophecy that was in the Tanakh, endlessly thanking us as he got into his car to read more. Please pray for M.
In all, we handed out around 25 pamphlets and gave out one set.
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Two other teams went to a park in a Jewish area on Canada Day.
Here is the first report:
As we started to approach people, we encountered a Jewish gentleman sitting on a bench looking after his kids who acknowledged his concerns about anti-Semitism, saying there were many reasons for it. We explained the spiritual root from the garden of Eden and told him that God loves him. He accepted the anti-Semitism and Isaiah 53 leaflets.
Next, we spoke with a Chinese couple who were believers, so we invited them to watch Beth Ariel’s teachings online and to visit our congregation service.
We also met two ladies in their 30’s who were believers.
A group of two couples thanked us for supporting Israel but refused the leaflets, saying they had already “given money for them” the day before. We said we were not asking for anything, so they accepted both leaflets.
Overall, we gave out about 10 pamphlets.
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A second team at the same park said there were not many people there.
We approached a young man and said we were there to support Israel against anti-Semitism, giving him a pamphlet. We spoke about Messiah and why the hatred existed. He was touched by what he heard. His wife is pregnant with their first child so we congratulated them. He accepted the Brit Chadashah, saying he already had a Tanakh. We went over the lineage of Yeshua with him and he said he was looking forward to reading it!
We then spoke at length with a Lebanese woman about eternity, God, explaining how it was not religion. We encouraged her to ask God to show her the truth and to read Scripture.
A young man accepted a full set for himself, saying his mother had a Tanakh.
In total, then, we gave out around 12 pamphlets, one full set, and a Brit Chadashah.
Sunday July 4
At a new park for us, one team met a couple sitting on the grass and told them that we were there to support Israel and to give out pamphlets on anti-Semitism. The man responded with an unusual question. “Why support just Israel and not other ethnic groups?” Before we got the chance to respond, his wife said they were not interested in political discussions or supporting anyone.
We spoke to a Christian couple in their early 40’s who had not attended church for some time but had contact online. They accepted the leaflet with interest.
As we were leaving the park, one of the team members saw a Jewish couple sitting on a stone bench. As we approached, the woman had her hand out to receive the pamphlet. When she saw it was on anti-Semitism, she thanked us and said she really wanted to read it. We offered the Isaiah 53 leaflet, too, but the husband quickly declined the offer. The wife’s displeasure was obvious but at that point we wished them a cheery, “Be well!” which brought her smile back again.
We gave 6 anti-Semitism pamphlets and two Isaiah 53 leaflets.
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Another team went to a shopping area which unfortunately was mostly empty. We handed out a few pieces of literature but spent around 45 minutes speaking to a young Muslim man who said he was half-Moroccan and half-Palestinian. He peppered us with questions that he’d had for a long time. He just could not grasp how God could choose to take on the form of a man to die for those He loved.
He gratefully accepted a pamphlet on anti-Semitism and a whole English Bible with much interest. Then he looked at a few passages with us that answered his questions. We explained the plan of salvation from a gospel tract we had just received that morning. He said it was obviously by divine direction that we had met, thanking us for patiently answering his queries and leaving with a big smile and a spring in his step, with his new Bible under his arm.
Once again, we want to thank you so very much for partnering with us in the important privilege of evangelism. We need your backing, and pray you are encouraged by the good reports. We try to go out around twice a week, so daily prayer will cover it!