Thursday, May 23rd
2 gift sets, 1 Russian Tanakh, 20 comfort cards and 15 anti-Semitism tracts were given.
On this overcast and hot day, a team of two were at a local shopping mall. They met a Russian man who was standing close by to where the team was stationed. They approached him and being Russian speaking, one of the team members went to get a Russian Tanakh. The other member continued to talk with the man and while talking, the man was suddenly whisked away by another man. For some reason, the team member could not see where they went. They looked for him to give him the Tanakh, but they could not find him. However, about half an hour later he appeared in front of the bank waiting patiently and the team called out to him. It was almost surreal, appearing and disappearing and appearing again! Once they reached him, he said, “Oh, there you are” and happily took the Tanakh and the Isaiah 53 leaflet. Then just as suddenly, his friend appeared again, and again took him by the arm and led him away, himself having been offered a set but refused it.
A beautiful Jewish lady was approached as she walked to the grocery store. She was elderly and had a grocery cart in tow. She was happy to chat about the Tanakh with the team but was more interested in speaking about her family and her thankfulness to God. She wished them well and left.
An elderly Orthodox Jewish man stopped to receive a comfort card from the team. He was very touched that the team was supporting Israel and thanked them. His wife joined him then and she wanted him to give the card back, but he put the card in his coat pocket and said, “God bless you” to the team. His wife had previously spoken to the team on another occasion and was not that kind, but she said nothing as her husband thanked them.
The team went to stand closer to the grocery store and had many opportunities to give out anti-Semitism pamphlets and comfort cards. One man came from the store and a team member followed him to his car. She offered him a gift set and he took two, one for himself and one for his friend as he was part of the Jewish community. They spoke briefly about Yeshua being the Messiah of Israel and he agreed with this and used his hands and gestured a kiss towards heaven.
They then met a woman who they had previously met at a local bakery. She was excited to see them and spoke about her gift set. Later on, she was seen inside Tim Horton’s and as she was with someone, the team member approached them and asked the other person if they wanted a gift set. He did not take the set, but the contact was made with a hope for the team member to meet that person again.
A Jewish man was walking to his truck and a member approached him and offered him the Tanakh. He refused on the grounds that it was not the same Hebrew as he knew, but despite this they had a long conversation about Yeshua. He believed that Yeshua was only a human and not God but was told that there were some rabbinical teachings which definitely pointed to the divine nature of the Messiah. He was given the Isaiah 53 leaflet and was asked if he believed that there were two Messiahs (Ben Joseph and Ben David). He did not answer her so she informed him that the Messianic Jews believe that there is one Messiah whose name is Yeshua and that He came and will come again to reign in Jerusalem. He did not argue with her further but listened willingly. He thanked her and went inside his truck.
As the day was very hot and humid, the team stopped earlier than usual, but they want to thank everyone who prayed for them.
Wednesday, May 22nd
2 sets were given (1 French/Hebrew, 1 English/Hebrew)
On a very humid day, a team of two decided to go to a mall that had an overhanging protection, to shelter them from the heat of the sun. Two sets were given to a Russian woman who had left Russia when she was very young. She was offered a set in Russian, but she took one in French/Hebrew. They asked her what she thought would separate man from God and not understanding the question they spoke about sin and this she understood and agreed to. They told her that the Messiah could remove this sin and she was surprised to hear that. She told them that she was waiting for him, and they assured her that he was going to return and reign in Jerusalem. They told her that even if her sin was red as scarlet that he would make her clean and white as snow. They talked about the persecution in Israel and shared with her the correct way of seeing some of the bible passages concerning Israel. She was open for a visit from them and was given the contact card with their names on it. She also took a set for her friend in English/Hebrew and was encouraged to go online and listen to the teachings from Beth Ariel. She was grateful and surprised at the gift and the team asks for prayer that she will call to ask for a visit.
An elderly woman from Scotland told them that she went to church every Sunday but then they asked her if when she died, did she know where her soul would go. She did not know the answer to this question but did say she knew where her ashes would be! She did not understand that they were speaking of her soul. She did not have any assurance of her salvation and so they asked her if she knew why Jesus died on the cross, but she could not answer them. They told her then about the cross, salvation and how Jesus could forgive her sins. They offered her a tract about being separated from God and how she could be reconciled to God. She was married to a Jewish man and so they told her that Jesus was a Jew and that He is the Messiah and the only Savior. They quoted John 14:6, Jesus saying He was “the way, the truth and the life”. She was thankful for the conversation.
The team finished their day then as it was getting too hot to continue. They were very thankful that they did go out and praised God for this blessing.
Friday, May 24th
7 sets were given.
A team of two were out on this day and the first set was given to a young Jewish woman who was thankful to receive the set as she did not own any Scriptures. They gave her a comfort card and encouraged her because of the situation in Israel.
They then gave a pamphlet to a woman who did not want to stop but when a member said it was about anti-Semitism she finally did stop, and they had a good conversation with her. She mentioned that she had family in Israel. They spoke with her about Yeshua and how the prophesies concerning Him were fulfilled as written in the Brit Chadashah and that He would return and reign in Jerusalem. They asked her if she knew what separated man from God and as she did not know, they told her what the definition of being a Jew meant and about the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. She was told that these covenants will be fulfilled when the Messiah returns and stressed that it was important for her to receive Yeshua as soon as she hears His voice convicting her of her sins as life is short and man does not know what will happen tomorrow. Because she spoke Hebrew, they directed her to read in Hebrew where it says only the Messiah could make her righteous and that no mitzvah – good deeds, could save her. They warned her that in Matthew, Yeshua said that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord, we did these things in your name” will be saved, but instead He said, “Depart from me”. They encouraged her to read the word and listen to the messages from the Beth Ariel website. This was a great encounter.
Just next to this last encounter they met up with a woman who was getting into her car. She smiled at them, so they approached her. She was in a hurry but received the gift set and anti-Semitism pamphlet. She hesitated, saying her children had a Tanakh but they asked her to take it as it was just for her. She was assured there was no donation as it was a gift drawing her to come to the Messiah and be reconciled with Him. She was very thankful.
A man was given a pamphlet and who later returned to them as he did not understand the place of the church with Israel. They spoke to him for 15-20 minutes and as he already had a bible, they gave him the contact card so he could listen to the teachings of Beth Ariel. He had many questions and so they invited him to attend on Saturday but unfortunately, he works on that day.
They also met a gentle woman who received the Scriptures with joy. She spoke about her son-in-law who had gone to help in Israel and when he returned, he was filled with great sorrow and wanted to go back to the Land to help. She took a set for her daughter and son-in-law, and they spoke about Yeshua, salvation and sin. They asked her if she had needs that they could pray for, and they did pray in Yeshua’s name. They hugged each other and she was greatly encouraged. It was a beautiful encounter.
They also gave a set to a woman dressed all in black with a long black skirt. She was a beautiful, young woman who also took the pamphlets, comfort card and bookmark. She was shown Isaiah 53 as well.
They spoke with a man who did not want to receive the anti-Semitism pamphlet but as he was from the Jewish community they offered him the comfort card. He had a Tanakh and refused the Brit. Interestingly he also took the Isaiah 53 leaflet and the bookmark.
Then they met a woman at her car who said she believed in the Kabbalah. They told her that it was a false religion and that only the Messiah could save and redeem people. She asked them if they were from Jews for Jesus as she would not take anything from them. Then, one of the team members said she was a Messianic Jew and that she believed that Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel and told her about the true Jesus of the Scripture. The woman said she believed in the stars and the sun to which she was explained that this was forbidden in the Scriptures. They encouraged her to go the Word and gave her a contact card. She also received the gift set.
Finally, they met a woman for the second time. The first time was at another mall, and she had already taken the gift set then. She received the contact card and they prayed with her. She was very thankful for the prayer.
The team was grateful for the amazing outing and for all the Scriptures and literature they had handed out and praised God for each encounter. They were also thankful for the prayers of the faithful.