But we continue to seek those whose hearts are willing to be broken and contrite before the Lord.
We are pleased to be back at the doors once again. Montreal experienced a lot of ice this winter and our streets were dangerous to maneuver. In fact it was reported that broken bones were sustained at a 60% increase this winter over previous ones. But we continue to seek those whose hearts are willing to be broken and contrite before the Lord. We are eager to share the Good News that could ultimately mend every shattered soul. With God all things are possible.
Because of the danger of icy streets, we made a great decision. Let’s go back to visiting apartment buildings. Once inside, we have door after door without any slippery slopes to face. So we returned for the last two weeks, to an apartment building in the heart of a Jewish community, one which we visited 4 years ago. So over the course of these last two outings, we had the privilege to give out nine English/Hebrew bibles, three French/Hebrew bibles, one Tanach only and one English-only bible.
We had a great conversation with one Israeli woman who was so pleased to receive the Tanach (she did not want to accept the New Testament, repeating several times that this was a bible which Jehovah Witnesses distribute). We pointed out many prophecies which were fulfilled in the New Testament. What seemed to strike her the most was the explanation given concerning sin and the animal skin God gave to Adam as a covering. The concept of blood atonement was further clarified as we detailed the Mosaic sacrificial system with man’s guilt transference to the animal. There was a definite change on her face as she, for the first time, made that connection. We were very encouraged by our encounter with her. At another door, we met a young man who was very glad to receive the full set and quietly listened as we detailed many of the end time prophecies, relating these, to what is going on in the world today. We gave him as well an Isaiah 53 pamphlet. At another door, we met an older gentleman who gladly received the set from us. Hearing his accent, we asked if he was from Israel. He replied that he immigrated from Turkey in the 70’s. We gave him both an Isaiah 53 pamphlet and our new anti-Semitism pamphlet. He accepted all the material and said how he was proud of us for being so courageous in what we are doing. He smiled as we left which further encouraged us. At another door which sported a mezuzah, a young woman of about 30 answered. We asked her if she read Hebrew. She quickly pointed to the mezuzah, explaining that she was Iranian, but had never removed the doorpost sign. She shared that in two days she was going for her Canadian citizenship swearing in. We told her that this bible was our gift to her and that she should see this as a good sign. She liked that. We told her that one thing we heard from former Muslims who are born again, is that they are attracted to Jesus because of His love. We told her that the bible is a story of God’s love and she was warmed by that thought and we saw how she even clutched the bible to her chest in anticipation of something valuable inside it.
At another door we gave two Hebrew sets to an older Moroccan-born woman who said she would give it to her children who are religious. We saw this same woman the following week on our second visit to the apartment building. She happened to be in the lobby and told us that the smaller book (New Testament) was about Jesus and that she has her own religion. But we once again told her that she should at least read it and see for herself, not according to her children’s understanding, but to take a personal look inside. The last person we visited was a woman who we met a couple of weeks before at a shopping center. She had given us her telephone number when we asked her if she wanted to receive a bible. We finally met up with her in the lobby of her apartment building. She received the full set along with the Isaiah 53 and anti-Semitism pamphlet. We explained many prophecies to her and detailed the concept of sin and atonement. As for all the other doors, we were glad to just offer, without conversation the bibles and have them slipped into their hands. That’s a good kind of slipping as compared to what has been going on outside on our weather-beaten streets.
Here is our report from Calgary, Alberta.
After a five-week interruption because of cold weather, we were back on our saddles! We knocked on six doors and while only 2 households were present, both respondents happily and accepted the Isaiah 53 leaflet! The first respondent was a young man who declined the Scriptures saying he wasn’t interested in religion, but gladly accepted the Isaiah 53/ Talmud leaflet. The second respondent was a lady who also declined our offer, saying that she didn’t need the Scriptures. She, however, was glad to receive the Isaiah 53 leaflet as soon as we mentioned that the Jewish Messiah was expounded in the writings! Both were disinterested about religion but were somehow very curious about the topic of the Messiah! They both thanked us for coming out to visit them.
On our second outing we visited 9 homes, one of which we misidentified a large door hinge for a Mezuzah! At the very first door, a geologist responded. He showed us the rock collection on his porch. He was particularly proud of his fossilized dinosaur bone! He very hesitantly accepted all we had offered him. We could see he wasn’t ready for a discussion with us, so we thanked him for answering the door, blessing him for having received our gifts and encouraged him to search the Scriptures which point to the Messiah. He thanked us for coming by!
Another man gratefully accepted our gifts of the Scriptures, but we could see he wasn’t willing to have a discussion with us. As he was closing the door, we thanked him for answering us and blessed him … hastily encouraging him to search the many prophecies which identify the Messiah.
Two respondents refused to talk with us after we offered the set of Scriptures: One man chuckled at us, as if to say, “I understand your plan to convert me”! We had time though to thank them for answering the door and blessed them both.
We praise the Lord for the privilege to be found by Him worthy to be His ambassadors, by His grace alone!
Please continue to pray for the Montreal, Calgary and New York outreach teams as we spring forward to better weather!