Friday, March 7th
Report from Team #1:
2 gift sets (1 English, 1 French) and 1 English Tanakh were given.
On this very windy yet sunny day, this team of two (1 man, 1 woman) were at a local shopping mall. The first encounter was with a man who took the gift set and asked for more Purim pamphlets to give to his friends. They then gave him the Beth Ariel contact card and urged him to listen to the teachings of Pastor Jacques Gabizon and briefly spoke to him about Yeshua being the Messiah. He received everything with joy.
Many Purim pamphlets and anti-Semitism pamphlets were given out to Gentiles as well. One set was then given to a woman who was sitting in her car on the passenger side. She smiled at the team as they passed by and as her window was open, the team took the opportunity to ask her if she celebrated Purim. She replied by stating that her husband was Jewish and so they offered her the Purim pamphlet. They offered her a gift set for her family which she took. The team explained that the Tanakh consisted of the law, the writings and the prophets while the Brit Chadashah held the fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah. The woman’s friend, the driver, said that she was Catholic and was offered an anti-Semitism pamphlet. The team urged both to be reconciled with God as it was important to turn to Him because of sin. They asked them to read Isaiah 53 and told the Catholic woman that it was important to see that faith and belief were not about religion or ritual but about being reconciled to God and to have a personal relationship with Him. The woman said she had a bible and so they were both given the Beth Ariel contact card and urged to listen to the teachings of the pastor. The ladies were very thankful.
They then met a woman who only wanted the Tanakh as she had many books yet was willing to take the one offered her. She was offered the Brit Chadashah but declined saying that she would rather not take it. The team stated that they were thankful that she did take the Tanakh.
Both teams left this mall together and went to another mall in the same area, but this team decided to leave because it was difficult for 2 teams to be seen at this small shopping centre. They travelled a short distance to another mall and here the team met a religious man who asked the team if they were Jewish. He also asked the man on the team who he was. After refusing the Purim pamphlet, they felt the opposition and chose to leave this mall for another.
They arrived at a new shopping mall a short distance away but immediately noticed a security car parked. They waited for several minutes but the car did not leave so they decided to move on and scout an area that they had not visited in some time (where they had previously handed out anti-Semitism pamphlets). Calling it a day, the team thanked God for His protection and guidance over the outing and thanked everyone for their prayers.
Report from Team #2:
2 Tanakh, 1 gift set and 1 Russian bible were given at the same mall.
A team of two woman were at the same mall as team #1 but in another area. The first set was given to a pretty Jewish lady who greeted them with “Chag Sameach”. The team happily offered her a Tanakh telling her it was a free gift, and told her that they were volunteers with the Society for the Distribution of Hebrew Scriptures and that they were Messianic. They then showed her the Brit Chadashah and explained that it was a book written by Jewish men during the time of the Second Temple who believed Yeshua was the Messiah. She accepted the Tanakh only but was thankful and wished them well.
They then met a man who was very cheery and had a positive attitude. He was offered the Tanakh and he listened as they explained the Brit to them and how it came to be written. They told him that they were Messianic, and he said he thought he had heard that term somewhere but was not familiar with it and as they explained its origin, he did not respond negatively. He was given the Beth Ariel contact card and encouraged to go online and listen to the teachings. They showed him how he could tune in to Radio Shalom as well. He accepted the Tanakh only.
They met a Christian woman and offered her a bible which she gladly took. They asked her if she had Jewish friends and as she did, they offered her to take a set for those friends. She said she had one friend and would offer to read the scriptures with her. They prayed together for both her and her Jewish friend.
They then met a lady who received the Tanakh but did not want to take the Brit Chadashah. She hurriedly took the Tanakh and went inside her car. At that point, both the teams at that point decided to leave and go to another mall close by.
Second mall:
2 Tanakh, 1 English set and 1 English bible were given.
The cold and wind did hamper their conversations, but they met a woman from Ukraine. She only could speak Russian and thus most of the conversation was in simple form of sign language. They offered her a bible, but she refused, not understanding what it was. However, when they brought her a Russian/English bible, she excitedly said, “Torah” and took it with gratitude. Since she acknowledged it as a Jewish religious book, the team believed that she was Jewish. They gave her Isaiah 53 in Russian as well and she was very thankful.
They were handing out several Purim pamphlets when they met a Lebanese Christian couple. The team split the conversation, one taking the husband and the other the wife. The wife was very appreciative and took the literature and departed but the husband stayed and had a long conversation with one team member. He was originally from Greece and met his wife in Lebanon. He stated his faith was Catholic, but he did not regularly attend church. He stated that he had read the bible from cover to cover twice and quoted some simple verses. He was encouraged to read his bible each day and to pray to Jesus. This was when he stated that he prayed to Mary. He was given the verse in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” showing that Jesus is the only way to the Father. He understood but wanted to cling to his religion, so the team gave him the booklet “Steps to Peace” and urged him to read the verses which are at the front of the booklet. They shared that he needed to consider reconciling himself with God and then pray for forgiveness of his sins. The team member told him that he should consider all that Jesus had done for him and then recognize that He is the only One to pray to. The man thanked the team and at that point the wife came to take him to do their shopping.
They then met a man, a believer in Jesus, and they asked him if he had any Jewish friends or connections with the Jewish community. As he said he had, so they gave him a set to offer to the friend. His wife came to the team then and entered the conversation saying that she had Jewish family on her father’s side and accepted a set in French. The wife asked for another Purim pamphlet saying she would share and read the scriptures with her Jewish friends. She recalled that Purim was next week and so the team invited her and her husband to the congregation which she accepted, saying that she may attend this Saturday but would definitely be there for Purim. They thanked the team and wished them well.
A total of 4 sets, 5 Tanakh, and 2 Bibles were given on this day.
The team was very thankful for the protection from the weather and from opposition on that day saying that God heard the prayers of their prayer partners and gave thanks for their faithfulness.