Tuesday, December 31st
3 sets (2 Eng. and 1 Fr.), 3 Eng. Tanakhs, 1 Eng. Brit Chadashah and 1 Prayer of Faith
On a very mild day, two women were at a local mall when they approached an elderly woman from Morocco. She shared both her French and Hebrew names with the team and agreed to take a set in French along with the literature and contact card. She mentioned that she listened to Radio Shalom (local radio station in Montreal) so they showed her the website on the card and explained how she can call the office for further information. At that point she appeared to feel weak, and explained that she had just finished a medical treatment and wanted to go home. A member prayed for her and the team shared Isaiah 53 with her where the Messiah could make her tsadik. They then hugged the woman, and she left. It was a beautiful encounter.
They then approached a woman who said she was not religious and did not want the Tanakh but when she saw the Brit Chadashah she took that. She was thankful and as they continued to walk, the team met a man who accepted the Tanakh as the team did not have a complete set to give to him. He was surprised to receive this book and thanked them while hurrying into the store. However, as they were leaving him, the woman they saw previously called out to them and told them she did not want the Brit but the Tanakh instead. She said she had watched the encounter with the man from a distance and seeing he took the Tanakh, realized that she took the wrong book and wanted to exchange it. A team member went to their car and fetched a Tanakh for her. The woman knew that the team was Messianic and believed in Yeshua as the Messiah.
An English bible was given to a gentle and humble woman from Iran as she was greeted with “Happy Hanukkah”. Happily, she replied, “Oh I love Hanukkah!” and said she loved the Jewish community. The team split at this point and one member stayed with the woman and told her that Jesus was divine, and that sin separated man from God and the only way to draw close to Him was to know and have trust in Him. She was told that there was nothing that she could do to receive salvation by her own merit but that salvation was done through the work of Jesus on the cross. As she listened, her heart became soft, and she was ready and willing to receive Jesus through prayer of confession. She did this with one team member and confessed that she believed that Jesus did save her. It was a genuine and touching prayer and as she finished, her countenance changed. Just then, the other member returned and as they spoke, she told them that her children and husband were waiting for her in the car! They gave her the Beth Ariel contact card and invited her to visit the congregation.
The team member who had just returned stated that she had given a set to a man who stated that his father was Sephardic. He told her that he had just come from his synagogue where he was celebrating Hanukkah. The team member observed that he was not a devout Jew as he had driven his car on the Sabbath. She invited him to the congregation. He said he had a friend who was Messianic, so the team member asked for his name but they did not know his friend.
A set was given in French to a man who did not want it at first because he thought he had to make a donation. Upon hearing it was a gift, he gratefully took it.
Then a Brit Chadashah was given to a couple from the United States. When the team approached them, the woman asked how they knew they were Jewish. The team, being used to this question, answered that if someone replied to their Hanukkah greeting then they would know they were Jewish. The couple was satisfied with that answer and told the team they already had a Tanakh. The conversation continued mainly with the wife. She did not accept the Brit at first but after a conversation that lasted about twenty minutes, her demeanor changed, and she was more open to listening. Many topics were touched on such as the coming Messiah, the rejection of Him by the religious leaders in Israel and the acceptance of some rabbis who believed Yeshua was the Messiah. The team asked the couple if they knew the difference between a biblical and rabbinical Jew. The team pointed out that rabbinical Judaism will stress para- biblical reading such as the Mishnah, Talmud and Zohar. They spoke about the Babylonian exile where many Israelites accepted the additions outside of Scripture which blinded the truth of their understanding of God. They explained that the same thing happened to Yeshua and why He said in John 5:46, “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me”. The team advised this couple, saying it was important to listen to the word of God and the prophets who spoke about the Messiah. The woman finally said she would take the New Testament. It was a heartening conversation, and the team was grateful that the Holy Spirit convicted them to receive His word. They took the contact card and offered a donation again but were told it was a gift. The team hugged the couple and went on their way.
A Tanakh was given to a woman who worked for a radio station. She was pleased to see the neck chain for the hostages that a team member was wearing. They told her that they believed that Yeshua was the Messiah. She did not want the Brit but eventually took the Tanakh after hesitating at first.
The team finished their outing and praised God for the beautiful weather, for the prayer covering, and for the wonderful conversations including the salvation for the beautiful woman from Iran.
Thursday, January 2nd
A total of 7 sets, 2 Tanakh, 1 Bible and a prayer of faith on this day.
Team #1:
A team of two women were out on this cold and very windy day at a local shopping mall. The first set was given to a woman who was very thankful for it.
Then a couple from France happily took a set. During the conversation the woman said that her husband was agnostic, and the team told them it was important to be reconciled to God through the Messiah. They quoted Isaiah 53 where only the Messiah could make one righteous before God. They showed the couple the list of prophecies on the bookmark regarding the Messiah and told them that only by grace through faith could be anyone have an eternal relationship with God. They said that no amount of good works could save them. They took the contact card and were shown the website where they could listen to the pastor’s messages. At the end both were thankful.
A set was given to a woman who was engaged to be married. She said she had one child and was expecting another and was very emotional when she received the set and cried a few times during the conversation. She said her husband was from Morocco. They told her about the Messiah and how He would be returning to rule and reign in Jerusalem and that she needed to be reconciled with God through Yeshua because of sin. She was thankful for the set.
A Gentile woman received an anti-Semitism tract and asked what it was. They spoke about the everlasting hatred towards Israel and hearing this she said she loved Israel and said that God will bless whoever blesses Israel. She said she attends a Pentecostal church and was surprised when she found out that one of the team members who was Jewish believed in Jesus as the Messiah. She was given a Beth Ariel card and invited to the congregation.
They then saw a religious woman who had 3 children with her, so they removed the Brit from one bag and offered her the Tanakh in English. She took the Tanakh and all of the literature and was thankful.
A set was given to a young Jewish man who said he was secular but came from a line of rabbis. They spoke about Yeshua with him and how He fulfilled all the prophecies of His first coming. He took everything and then they spoke to him a bit about anti-Semitism and when peace will come to Israel. He was given the contact card.
The team gave praise to God for keeping them through the windy, cold day and giving them strength to continue.
Team #2
A team consisting of one man and one woman were out at the same mall. A set was given to a lady who was thankful to receive the scripture but there was no conversation.
A second set in French was given to an Orthodox man who was wearing a kippah and said he was from Tunsia. They spoke about the Tanakh, and the prophecies listed there regarding the Messiah and how they were fulfilled by Yeshua in the Brit Chadashah. They spoke about Yeshua being the Messiah and the man was touched by this. They quoted Micah 5:2 and how the ruler over Israel would come from Bethlehem Ephrathah as well as the line of David. He was thankful to hear that Yeshua was the prince of peace and listened as he heard about the time of Jacob’s trouble and how the Jews are God’s chosen people. It was a beautiful encounter.
A Jewish lady did not want to take the Hanukkah pamphlet until she was offered the Tanakh and told that the team were volunteers with the Society that Distributes Hebrew Scriptures. She opened the Tanakh and checked its authenticity. When she was shown that it had the Torah, Nevi’im and the Ketuvim sections, she was eager to take it. It was nice to see the change in her attitude once she verified the source.
The team approached two men from India. One man said he was of the Hindu faith. Seeing the Bible, the man said, “Oh this is a holy book and if I take it and do not read it, it would be disrespectful” and so he did not take it. The team had a good conversation with this man, and he accepted the Christian tract offered to him.
A French speaking man was approached and offered the Hanukkah pamphlet. He said that he knew about Hanukkah but was not Jewish. He said he lived in a Jewish community, so the team offered him a French bible as he asked for one, but they discovered that they did not have a French bible, so they decided to give him a Hebrew set which he could give to someone in his community. He took the gift set and while one team member went to the car to get him the set, the other team member asked if the man wanted to pray to receive Jesus into his heart. He said he wanted to do just that and together they prayed the salvation prayer. Afterwards this man’s appearance changed, and he accepted the French gift set and a few pamphlets to give to his Jewish friends. He was given the contact card, and he said he would very much like to attend the Shabbat Service at Beth Ariel.
They saw a very religious woman and greeted her with “Chag Sameach”. She was very friendly and received a hug right away from them. They offered her the Tanakh, but she said she had many books. They then told her that they were from the Messianic community and offered her the Brit Chadashah. She did not want this, but the team member shared how Yeshua had a heart for His Jewish people, how Yeshua was the Messiah, that He came to save the people from their sins and that He had come for the Jewish people first. They told her that real Christians prayed for Israel to which she was quite surprised and touched. She was also surprised to find out that the Brit held the scriptures concerning the coming Messiah and how Yeshua fulfilled all those scriptures. She was very thankful.
Tuesday, January 7th
4 sets, 1 Tanakh, 1 Brit Chadashah and 1 Bible were given.
On this cold day one of the team members was willing to go out but had to leave early. God provided the way to give so many scriptures out in such a short time because of this. They noticed that there was a great number of Jewish people out on that day, and they were able to hand out several anti-Semitism pamphlets to both Jews and Gentiles.
They gave an English bible to a Muslim man who at first did not understand what the book was. They asked if he was Muslim and as he said he was. Then they asked if he had read the Koran. They said that they were giving him a bible as it was the word of God. When he saw it, he recognized it and said he knew what it was. They told him about the divinity of Yeshua and that there was only one God who could offer forgiveness of sins. They also told him about the Messiah’s divinity because Muslims do not believe in this. They spoke to him about the prophet Isaiah who wrote in Isaiah 9:6 that this child will have the government on his shoulders and would be called a wonderful counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. They gave him the contact card to see the links for the teachings and told him it was important for him to come to Yeshua and to know that the soul does not die. They told him he needed to know where his soul will go when he dies.
They met a beautiful, young woman in her late twenties. She said she was from Israel and had family there and that she had a cousin who was at that moment a soldier in the war. The team told her that they pray for Israel and for everything that is going on there. She received the set in Hebrew and was amazed by this, that she could receive one in her own language. They told her it was important for them to distribute the sets because of all that is going on and that it was important for the Jewish people to know the word of God and to know their Messiah. They told her that they believed that Yeshua was the Messiah and that He was written about by the prophets in the Tanakh. The prophecies about Him were fulfilled by Him at His first coming. They told her that this same Messiah will return to rule and reign in Jerusalem and that only He, Yeshua could make her righteous before God, that no works or mitzvahs could accomplish this but only the Yeshua. It was important for her to know that she could meet Him either as a Saviour or a Judge and that she needed to come to Him with a repentant heart to receive cleansing for her sins. They hugged all together and wished her shalom.
They had to go to the car at this point to warm up and when they returned, they gave a Brit Chadashah to a man who already had a Tanakh. He asked for it right away and they explained the importance and its connection to the Tanakh saying it was a Jewish book written by Jewish men who believed Yeshua was the Messiah. He was given the contact card and was invited to listen to the messages. He was a humble and thankful man.
One set was given to a man entering his car. They called out to him, and he was offered only the Tanakh and pamphlet which he took.
An English set was given to a man from Morocco who took everything. By his accent, they asked if he spoke French and when he said yes, they offered him one in French, but he said he was fine with the one given him. However, they insisted exchanging it as they told him it was important to have the word in his native tongue. He took the French set and was very thankful. He was given the contact card as well.
It was an incredible time for the team, and they saw how the people they reached out to were comforted by the giving of His word. The team was very grateful for the prayers on that day as it was very cold. They thank and praise God for His faithfulness.