“Neither a lender nor borrower be”. That sounds biblical but it isn’t… unless you love Shakespeare to the point of adulation. While that quote comes from Hamlet, our quest in Bible distribution goes beyond the hamlet of our comfort. We question many concerning their raison d’etre,their reason for being, and in particular, their reason for being Jewish. As we give out these Bibles we pray that this query would cause them to consider what a great gift the Lord has willingly and freely given us all. When we offer a Bible, we do not lend it. Nor do we ask for anything in return. At three houses this past Monday night, Bibles were received into the home, but within minutes the spouse of the receiver asked that it be returned. A night of spiritual battles beckoning an unknowing community to the fact that we all live on borrowed time.
Shalom from Montreal!
As the Jewish Fall Feasts have now ended, we were happy and very excited to start up the door-to-door ministry once again. Our single team on Monday was very thankful and grateful for the beautiful and mild weather. We have begun this season in a new area and are going to individual homes instead of multi-home dwellings, starting with a larger street. There were a few houses with mezuzahs, but everywhere we saw one, we rejoiced at the privilege to offer God’s precious Word. Out of the 76 homes we walked by, we found around 22 mezuzahs. There were many people who were not home, there were 12 refusals, and yet 5 sets were given out and received. Praise God!
At the first door a woman accepted the set, being very thankful. As we started toward the sidewalk, she opened her door and handed it back to us, saying that her husband did not want to take the New Testament because they are religious people.
Further down, a young woman opened up her door to us, with her children just behind her. As we offered the set to her, she accepted them with gladness and blessed us. When she started speaking in French we inquired if she preferred to have a French set. Just as we were reaching into our bag to hand her a French set, her husband came over. When he heard it was the New Testament, he said no, that he was not interested. We explained that we were not Jehovah Witnesses, but he still declined.
The first set was given to an Italian man who was a visitor. He said that the owner was not home, so he took the set and planned to give it to them later. Two other sets were given to women who did not want to open their doors but asked us to leave them outside their homes. We often question whether we ourselves would open up our own door at night to just any stranger, and marvel that perhaps the light of Yeshua sheds a clear vision of who we are.
At another home, a man joyfully accepted the set, asking us if we accepted donations. As we walked back toward the car, we saw his wife waving to us to take the set back. She said, “We are Jewish and this is not for us”. At another residence a young man with a small child behind him accepted the set with joy and thanksgiving.
Elsewhere, a young woman immediately took the set, even though she was on the phone, and thanked us with a big smile.
We thank our awesome God for His faithfulness, patience, perseverance, and love. And we thank you all for your precious prayers.
Here is a summary of the work that has been going on with our team in Buffalo, NY.
Through a lovely lady with a tender heart for Jewish people, we had opportunity to gain entrance into a Jewish Federation building which houses many Russian Jews. We met up with this woman’s Russian speaking caregiver who became excited at the prospect of witnessing to other Russians. He and his wife will be joining us for dinner next week as we discuss and strategize this new endeavor. They were a part of Messianic leader Jacques Gabizon’s 2 hour evangelism seminar (done over skype where 10 people participated) and were very blessed and educated by it. It provided a very good introductory base to Jewish evangelism. Please pray in regards to more joining our team.
We have also had requests for a German/Hebrew Bible, a Yiddish/Hebrew Bible and a standard English Bible for a Catholic woman.
We’d like to share with you one of our early experiences, the most memorable one. After giving a Bible to a young mother who gratefully received it, her husband came running out after us, not to return the Bible but to offer us a donation for the gift. Instead of anger we were met with a beaming face and a heart of true gratitude from this man! And remember this was in an Orthodox area!
Another warm reception came from an elderly woman who invited us into her home to show us photos of her grandchildren. She was so grateful for both Testaments and couldn’t believe they were being given without charge. She said she would treasure them and pass them down to her children.
Almost without exception, even those who refused the Scriptures expressed their appreciation for what we were doing. We’re looking forward to going back to the 15 Russian Jewish families since we now have the Scriptures in Russian and Hebrew. We are praying for a powerful opportunity to share the Messiah with them in their own language, leading to blessing and salvation. We’re humbled to be doing this and are thrilled even if we only give out one set in a night. We trust the Lord will use His Word to accomplish His purpose – the salvation of many Jewish families.
Shalom and blessings, Nigel & Ellie
Ps. 119:130; Rom. 1:16
Hope does not disappoint, so we have every reason to believe the Lord will use these teams who put feet on their desire to shed abroad the light of Yeshua. Truly a labor of love.