Friday June 21, 2024
The team decided to go to a more French area first, and then head to another shopping area for the second hour. In all, five sets and an English Bible were distributed, plus literature to many others.
Soon after our arrival we saw a Moroccan Jewish woman wearing a splendid dress, who was very interested by what we had to say and was quite happy to take a set from us.
Another Moroccan woman said she didn’t think it could get that bad here since she had originally left Morocco to find safety in Canada. Now she felt it was unsafe to be in Montreal.
We then met an English-speaking woman who said it was very sweet of us to be doing what we are doing and took all the literature except for the set.
A man who had a bandage on his hand and arm came to shop. As we spoke to him, he happily took a set from us. He then greeted a religious man who was his friend and asked him, “Do we believe in the Messiah?”. The team member who knew a little Hebrew repeated the familiar saying in Hebrew from Maimonides which says, “I believe with perfect faith” (in the coming of the Messiah). The man with the kippah nodded in agreement! After all, he could have told the gentleman to give back what he had received. After the bandaged man finished his errand, we asked him if we could pray for him. He mentioned the healing of his arm, so we said we were going to pray for that.
We saw a man who had a child sitting in the car, and we showed him the anti-Semitism tract. He was interested in reading it. He was also presented with the whole set and gratefully took it.
We decided to leave for the other shopping area but saw an elderly woman painfully crossing the street with whom we both wanted to speak. We thought she was Jewish and offered her a set at first, but then asked if she was from the Jewish community to which she replied she was not. This sweet Polish woman was happy to have a paperback Bible. We spoke about the importance of listening to the radio shows and told her how to tune in and when. She said she knew that Jesus was the Messiah.
We were finally going to leave to go to a different shopping centre but when we realized the time, we decided to stay where we were. Right away, we saw a very religious man with several children getting into his car. We offered him the Isaiah 53 leaflet which he immediately refused. We realized we should not go back into the private parking lot but stay on the sidewalk to be less obvious in case there were any complaints about us.
The first person we saw on the sidewalk was a woman who spoke to us for close to 45 minutes. We offered her the tract on anti-Semitism, which she accepted, and then we began to speak about current events. She told us that she used to be on the board of McGill University and was upset about the way things were going here in Montreal. She even saw Palestinian flags being sold nearby, which disturbed us all.
We spoke to her about a subject that was important for her, which was why people can’t get along and love one another. We introduced the idea of man being sinful and our need for forgiveness. She is writing a book and had come to the end but did not have a way to express the last sentence of the document which is about people getting along. She wants to see everybody love one another. We talked about needing to receive God‘s love in order to offer it to others.
We also spoke about faith which she said she did not have that same faith we did. We encouraged her to ask God to help her. She admitted that she already had a New Testament but had not looked at it in a very long time. We offered her a set in French, which she said would be for her Moroccan father, and she took a set for herself in English.
We invited her to congregation the following day where she could hear the story of the founder of Ariel Ministries, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum. She said she was busy and instead would listen online. When we spoke to her about his life, she got more emotional and had tears in her eyes. She gave us her business card and one of the members gave her one of her own. She said she enjoyed being with the two of us and would call us. She even said she wanted one member to help her write her unfinished chapter in her new book.
We asked her if we could pray together before we split up and she agreed. Afterwards, she readily hugged us and said she was very touched. We said it was important for her to know that we stayed in the area in order to meet her because God loves her. She realized that we did not meet by coincidence at all. When we parted company, we commented that we planned to be in touch, and she agreed.
Before we left, a kind man took literature from us as we spoke of the Messiah coming back although he did not take the set from us.
Wednesday, June 26
On a cool breezy night, we went back to a street where we had not yet finished all of the houses. We spoke with a middle-aged woman who didn’t want a Tanakh because it was too long, but took a Brit Chadashah when we pointed out it was shorter. We spent quite a good amount of time talking to her and comforting her with Scriptures, including our hope in Messiah. She also took the track on anti-Semitism. She visibly enjoyed our conversation. Later, we saw her cross the street to another house. It turned out to be that of her elderly parents.
We tried to go to the house of an Iranian man who we knew helped his Jewish neighbors, but there was no answer.
We went across the street to get some literature and engaged in conversation with a Moroccan man whose wife had received a set when we were there the last time. He had very strong opinions about religion, although they were not particularly Jewish. He quoted incidents from the Brit Chadashah saying that Jesus had gotten rid of Moses, but we explained that was not the case. The conversation went a bit long and was not progressing. Then one of the team members saw someone coming out of one of the houses where we wanted to go and so we wished him well and walked toward the other entryway.
As we approached the other house, a young woman came out holding the Brit Chadashah that we had given to the woman across the street. She explained that it was her mother who had received it and that she had read the tract already. She pointed out the title page which said that the book talked about Jesus Christ and said she was confused and had questions. The house across the street was that of her grandparents, but they left in the car before long. We plan to go back to that house another time.
The young woman agreed to go through Isaiah 53 with us and we explained each verse as we went along. She seemed fascinated and surprised to hear that Messiah died and would live again. We probably spoke over half an hour with her. She took the business card to look at the websites and also the business card of one of the members in case she had other questions. At the end, we prayed with her for personal safety, but especially an understanding of the Messiah’s atonement, and for her to seek the truth. As she was leaving, she looked over her shoulder and said that it was great for us to do what we were doing.
We then drove to a different neighborhood that another team had begun the night before. We wanted to finish off the five or so houses which were left undone.
At the first address, we spoke with an elderly woman in an unkept home who seemed very unhappy and bitter. She took aTanakh from us and some other literature. She asked us if it was a Jewish Bible, and we said it was. We spoke for a little while about our hope being in God and not in man.
We went to another duplex, and as we were climbing the stairs, a middle-aged woman came out and told us she didn’t want us to ring the doorbell in the upstairs duplex because her mother was sleeping there. She stayed downstairs with us as we spoke for quite a while about our hope being in God. Her daughter just moved to Israel to get married, and her son decided to become religious after October 7. She said she would show the Tanakh to him. We explained to her that the Brit Chadeshah was a pure Jewish book and that she would be able to read it and understand it. She gladly accepted it and thanked us after a lengthy conversation. We left French literature for her mother and explained the comfort card. She was very grateful and thanked us many times.
At the very last home, there was an elderly Moroccan man who stayed in the doorway with us, although he looked very tentative. He accepted a French set from us and some other literature.
In all, three sets and one Tanakh, were given out.
Thursday, June 27th
7 sets (2 Russian, 1 French and 4 English), 50 anti-Semitism pamphlets and several comfort cards were given.
A team of two were at a local IGA shopping mall when they reached out to a very petite and humble Jewish woman. She was surprised to be offered a free Tanakh and was hesitant since she did not have any money. She was assured that it was a gift coming from the Society that Distributes Hebrew Scriptures and so she received it. She was then offered the Brit Chadashah and was told that it was a Jewish book written by Jewish believers in the Messiah. Throughout the conversation she agreed with the team and even agreed that Yeshua was the Messiah of Israel. She shared that she was excited as she was out to buy groceries to bake and cook many things for her grandson’s bar mitzvah that coming Saturday. Closing the conversation the team prayed a short prayer with her about the upcoming celebration.
An elderly Russian gentleman using a walker stopped to accept the pamphlet. His wife was with him and although they only spoke Russian and Yiddish, one of the team members managed to speak some Russian to him. He had already seen the English set and agreed to take it for a family member but was also offered one in Russian. The English set was placed in the back seat for them, and a team member returned with the set in Russian for them as well. They accepted that and took an additional Brit in Hebrew. They were very happy, waving goodbye as they pulled out of the parking lot.
A Jewish man who had previously received a set from one of our teams stopped and took a long time to speak with them. He had difficulty seeing as he had some form of eye disability but listened intently as they spoke of Yeshua at the tav and how sin separated man from the love of God. He heard that only through the Messiah could he have a relationship with Him. He agreed with these words and accepted a prayer that would include the hope of salvation. They prayed that the Ruah HaKodesh would give him a revelation about the Messiah, and he quietly agreed with the prayer and thanked them as he slowly went on his way.
Another French set was received by a woman who happily took it. Though no extended conversation took place, she was quite thankful.
A woman pushing a shopping cart stopped to receive a pamphlet and was offered the gift set. She stated that she had no money but was assured that it was free. Placing the set in her cart she hastily left to get her groceries.
Then a lovely lady from Jamaica who was leaving the grocery store was approached by a team member and was offered the anti-Semitism pamphlet. Seeing it was about the Jews, she said she had a very dear Jewish friend who had been close to her for thirty years. She wanted to take the set for her but decided to call her first. She gave the phone over to the team member who explained about the gift set and the woman said she would be happy to receive it. Taking this set, the Jamaican woman gave a big smile and wished the team well as she left.
There was a brief connection with a Russian man as he was going to his car. He was offered the pamphlet and while he was looking through it, he was offered the set in English which he took although he was also offered one in Russian. He was surprised that it was free but took it happily after a brief discussion about the Brit Chadashah being the Word of God. He was told how this book contained the story of the Messiah’s first coming and the fulfilment of many prophesies foretold in the Tanakh. He smiled, taking the gift to his car.
Report for Friday, June 28th
4 sets (2 English, 2 French) and 1 Russian Bible were given.
A team of two were out on a very warm day when they met a man from Morocco. They spoke to him for about one-half hour. He stated that he believed that the Messiah would come when 2/3 of the Jewish population would turn to the Messiah. He also believed that the false Messiah would come before the true Messiah. The team asked him if he would know how to recognize the true Messiah when He did come but the man said he would have difficulty knowing. They spoke about the messianic prophesies in the Tanakh and then showed him the Brit Chadashah pointing to the events of Messiah’s first coming and how He will return to Jerusalem at His second coming. They touched on other religions stating that the truth could only be found in the Tanakh and the Brit Chadashah as these only contained God’s Words. They told him that the Messiah was angry with the religious leaders who spoke outside the written Word and that the just live by faith. They referred to Abraham and how he was considered righteous and was not justified by works but by his faith only. As he put the set in the car, the team saw an openness with all that he had been told him and they gave him a Beth Ariel card and showed him the website where he could follow the studies. One of the team members gave him a hug as he put the set in his car.
One French set was given to a woman who received it with joy. She took all the literature as well and said she did not have money but was happy when she learned it was a gift. They spoke about the Messiah and false religions. She was told that the Messiah could make man righteous. She was thankful.
An English set was given to a man who took everything with a grateful heart. While accepting the gift, another car drove by and a man exclaimed, “They are trying to convert you!” but the man kept the set while a team member called out to the man in the car, “Only God can do that!”
A French set was given to a young man who also took all the literature offered him. At first, when he saw the Brit Chadashah, he said that it was a Christian book, but the team reassured him that it was a Jewish book written by Jewish authors. They spoke about the situation in Israel and the promises of God that will come to pass. He was very thankful for the set and the conversation.
An English Bible was given to a Russian woman who took it because they did not have a Russian bible with them at the time. She said she understood English and was happy to receive it. She said she worked for Jewish people and so they gave her a comfort card that she could offer them. She was very thankful for both.
Both teams were very touched by the encounters they had and thanked all who had prayed for them and gave glory to God for His faithfulness.