Thursday, April 11th
3 sets, 1 English Tanakh, 1 Russian Bible, 5 Passover pamphlets, 1 French Anti-Semitism pamphlet, 8 comfort cards (2 French, 6 English) were given.
A team of two women were out at two local shopping malls on an overcast and rainy day. The first set was presented to a lovely couple. At first sight of the Brit Chadashah, the wife remarked that it was the New Testament and looked at her husband. The team explained that the New Testament was about Jesus, the Messiah but not about the Jesus professed by Catholics or others who presented Him as instilling a persecution toward the Jewish people. They told them it was a spiritual book that was written by Jewish men. Hearing this the husband said he would read it, so they received the whole set plus the business card where they could see the link for further teaching. They were very thankful.
An English Tanakh was given to an elderly woman who was at first offered the full set, but she was not interested in taking the Brit Chadashah. They gave her a comfort card and spoke about some of God’s promises for Israel. As they were about to leave, she inquired what the gift was. Viewing the Tanakh and that it was written in Hebrew and English she then decided it was indeed the Hebrew Scriptures. She took it happily; however, the team did not offer her the Brit Chadashah as they noticed how careful she was in receiving the Tanakh.
One set in Russian was given to a young woman who was very happy to take it. She had lived in Israel for six years and still has family there. They had a small conversation with her about how sin separated man from God and how works, no matter how good they were, could not make us tsadik. She was encouraged to read Isaiah 53 and was given the contact card in order to visit the web link with Pastor Jacques’ messages. She was told that she could call the office if she had questions or wanted a visit. She smiled as she left.
It started to rain at that point and after some prayer the team left to go to the other shopping mall as it offered an overhead covering. There one set was given to a man who was handicapped. His caregiver was with him at the time. He was a jovial man and clung to the New Testament and did not want them to place it back in the gift bag. The caregiver was given the contact card for him. They prayed later for him that he would be able to listen to the messages as he was unable to read.
Lastly, one Russian bible was given to a young Ukrainian woman who also took the Isaiah 53 leaflet. She was glad to receive this gift.
Despite the weather, the team had a great outing and were very thankful for the prayers of the saints and for God’s faithfulness to them.
Friday, April 12th
2 English sets, 3 Tanakh, 2 Brit Chadashah, 1 English Bible, about 12 Passover pamphlets, and 6 comfort cards were given.
A team of 2 ladies was out on this cloudy day at a local shopping mall when they offered a Passover pamphlet and bookmark to a Jewish man. He was about to leave when the team offered the gift set to him, and he was patient to listen to them as they explained what the Brit Chadashah was. He said he was not familiar with it, so they shared that this book focused on the Jewish Messiah and His atonement on the cross. Without hesitation, he accepted the set and seemed pleased to receive it.
They then encountered a young Jewish fellow in his early twenties who appeared to be in a hurry but stopped as he was intrigued as to why they were there. He had many questions for them about the Messianic and Christian viewpoint. He stated he had read the bible and the Koran. Surprisingly he stayed with them for about 25 minutes. The team offered him the Tanakh but he refused it as he had all the books he needed. Offering the Brit Chadashah, they began to talk about the suffering servant, the Messiah who came to be the atonement for mankind, that only He could make man tsadik. “J” went onto to speak about how Pilate spoke about his innocence and how he washed his hands clean of the issue at hand. He then went onto quote Matthew 27:25 which says, “And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children”. The young man claimed that this verse brought condemnation to the Jewish people even until today and he was very upset and angry at this accusation. They tried to tell him that Yeshua came and was slain to fulfil the promise in the Tanakh and justified man before God through the atonement as the Passover lamb. The young man struggled with this viewpoint and believed that the Jews are made tsadik through good works and prayer. Here the team pointed to the parable Jesus used to explain true righteousness. In Luke 18: 9-14 a Pharisee and a tax collector are examined. The Pharisee had pride in his works, but the tax collector humbled himself and asked for forgiveness. Jesus said the one who humbled himself would be exalted. One of the team members at this point asked for forgiveness on behalf of Christians who had blamed the Jews for the Lord’s death. Something stirred in the young man’s heart and his appearance and demeanour changed despite his self-righteousness and he thanked the women for their kindness. Taking the anti-Semitism pamphlet that was offered, he said that he would read it later when in the metro.
Note: Later in the day he called the office and asked to speak to the team but when they called back, he did not answer. Please be in prayer for him.
A 2nd set was given to a man who worked in the Jewish community. He said he wanted to share the set, the bookmark and the Passover pamphlet with his community.
Then a lady from Israel was very happy to take a Tanakh but then decided to take a Brit Chadashah for her son. Then, reconsidering, she took a Brit Chadashah for herself.
Then a Jewish lady, while still in her car, took a Hebrew Tanakh.
Another lady took an English Bible. The team shared the salvation message with her but said she did not have time to say the prayer as she had to return to work. She took several Passover pamphlets to share.
The team was grateful for this wonderful outing and thanks everyone for their prayer covering.
Monday, April 15
We had a fantastic night as we walked through the evening mist and drizzle. At the first house, we met a sweet gentleman with children, who took time to speak with us and happily accepted a full set. We even played peekaboo with one of the little ones. At the door, one of the children grabbed the leg of her daddy, and said, “God protects our house.“ We agreed, and thought it was so beautiful.
At the next house we met an Israeli man. We told him we were messianic and he was not phased. His four-year-old child spoke with us a bit and played. He readily accepted the full set after we spoke about the situation after the attack by Iran.
A third set was given to a woman at her door, who took a short time to chat with us. We spoke very calmly, and she seemed pleased to meet us.
We changed streets and on the next one we gave a Tanakh to a man who accepted it, as well as the Passover tract. He did not accept the Brit Chadeshah, but was happy with everything else. We explained about the bookmark and Messiah’s coming.
As we were leaving, the rain seemed to be abating, and we turned around and saw a beautiful full rainbow which crossed over the whole area, which then developed into a double rainbow! It greatly encouraged us, and we were awed by the beauty of it all.
At the next home, there was a young woman who said she was a student of the Torah, and didn’t need a copy of the Tanakh. She is part of a group who studies it in Hebrew. When we offered her a Brit Chadeshah, she was slightly hesitant, and then decided to receive it. We challenged her to find the quotes in the first book (Matthew) from the Tanakh. She then said that it was well written if it quoted the Hebrew Scriptures so much. She commented how many miracles were happening all the time around us, but especially how God protected Israel over the weekend.
We went to another house, where a man accepted a full set, and we spoke a bit about the Messiah. One team member mentioned that we had seen a bag left on his porch, which maybe he wanted. When he picked it up, we all saw that it was matzo from Chabad, an ultra-Orthodox organization. Then he told us that the next house on the other side of the duplex had higher ups from that organization. We breathed a sigh of relief as we decided not to knock at their door, knowing there could be great opposition. We were amazed at God‘s protection through the whole event.
Of all the doors where we went, only one woman refused all our literature. The others all received Passover tracts, and some of them also received a bookmark.
Other team members who did not join us were praying the rain would stop and it did, leaving a beautiful red sky behind. The wind became still, and we finished our evening, praising God for all He had done.
In all, four full sets were given, plus one Tanakh and one Brit Chadeshah. Many Passover tracts and messianic prophecy bookmarks were also received in the neighborhood.