There were two teams this Monday. As we were waiting at the entrance to the first building, a gentleman opened the door for us, for which we were thankful.
The first door was answered by a middle aged man, and when the set was offered as a gift, he accepted. However when the conversation went further, he realized that this was indeed the New Testament, and did not want any part of it. He gave the set back to us. The next person was a lady in her thirties who gladly accepted the set.
On the next floor down, there were two doors across from each other. One door was opened by a friendly lady with her child. She accepted the set. Just across the hall, the next door was answered by the very same man who had earlier allowed us entrance into the building. Now he was not friendly at all. He told us that if he had known what we were doing, he would not have let us in. He ordered us to leave, or else he would call the police. Two seconds later, the husband of the woman who had just accepted the set, clearly a religious Jewish man, came marching down the hall and gave us back our set. He told us that he wanted no part of this.
As we went back down to the lobby, the gentleman who had let us in was there to make sure we left the building.
We do commit all these people to the grace of Yeshua who knows their hearts and still does miracles in spite of circumstances.
Coming out, we met up with the other team and then went on to another edifice which had a doorman. Although we weren’t permitted to enter, we ended up talking with the Jewish doorman for around 15 minutes. He shared about his life, and we were able to tell him about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and His plan of salvation. He finally suggested that we leave an English and French Bible set right on a table in the lobby which was nestled between two lovely leather chairs. We invitingly opened them and prayed they would give the tenants of that building an opportunity to sit and browse through the precious Word of God.
We were happy that we were able to give out 3 sets.
The other team tried once again to visit D., the elderly gentleman who was not at home the week before. Though still without an answer at the door, we had a chance to once again touch base with the security guard who had received a Bible 2 weeks earlier. He said he would try and make it to services this coming week. We left our phone number with him and asked him to let D. know that we had passed by.
Every night is different, but at all times we feel privileged to be able to meet people and offer them good news through the Word which never returns void. So glory to God for His grace and mercy time and time again!
Monday Evening Sept. 26, 2016: Calgary Alberta
At the next home a Gentile man, David, (who said he had a Jewish name and many Jewish friends) was in town from Winnipeg for an operation. He explained that he preferred Buddhism but accepted the English-only Bible and wanted to know more about the Messiah… how He had fulfilled the prophecies and when He would be coming back.
At the next home we repeated the same message with a young married woman who seemed to know very little but wanted to learn more. Her eyes lit up when we spoke about our sin nature, and we explained that we were all sinners. We discussed God’s perfect love seen through Yeshua/Jesus who died for us. She too, gladly took an English-only Bible!
At the next home we met a Jewish man who had just come back from the synagogue where he had been practicing his chanting for the upcoming Jewish feasts. We discussed Messianic prophecies and offered him the Tanakh, the Brit Chadasha (New Testament), and a bookmark or brochure. He was very kind and listened to us, but finally declined.
At the next home we met a non-practicing Catholic who explained that she had left the church because women were considered second class. We opened the Hebrew Bible and discussed the Messiah who had to come twice, both the suffering Messiah and the glorious Messiah. We discussed God’s love and said that the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, were God breathed. She asked us to pray for her sister who had mental illness. We asked if we could pray with her but she declined so we wished her blessings and left.
The last door of the evening was opened by an elderly Jewish man who declined both books of the Holy Scriptures, but listened to us when we spoke about the two comings of the Messiah. He was a professor at the University of Calgary who taught Educational Psychology. We offered to pray with him but he declined.
In summary, we spoke to people in four Jewish households (two accepted some documentation, and two did not, but all four listened); four gentile households where all four accepted the English-only Bible; and at about 7 homes where there was no answer we left a CD and tract in the mail box.
Wednesday Evening Sept 28, 2016: Buffalo, NY
We went to about 70 houses during the evening only to find 2 Jewish homes. Two other homes had mezuzahs but were now occupied by non-Jewish families. One Jewish person gladly received both the Old and New Testaments after discovering there were no catches attached! Both the husband and wife came to the door. The wife was very pleased and the husband looked a little thoughtful and reserved. We put our call-back card at Isaiah 53 and wished them a “Shanah Tovah.” It means Happy New Year, because on Sunday night Jewish people will be celebrating the first day of the traditional Jewish New Year. We know His Word will not return void and entrust this family to Him for salvation and blessing. There seems to be only a smattering of Jewish homes around this particular synagogue where we chose to do outreach. But we still don’t want to miss any just because they may be surrounded by 50 non-Jewish homes. Each one is of great value to our God! We plan to spend one more evening covering the remaining couple of streets around this particular synagogue and then we will move on to the next neighborhood. Blessings and thanks for praying.