April 18th
Montreal, Quebec
It was a splendid day to be outdoors, so a team of two went to Westmount Park to sow seeds of truth. We spoke to a wide variety of people who seemed to be quite representative of the general ways we are received on these outings. We spoke to those seated in the park and also stopped people to ask if they were concerned by rising anti-Semitism, the theme of one of our pamphlets. To the Jews, we then shared we were Jewish, which visibly softened their faces and their acknowledgement of us. Their response often pointed out the way we could direct our subsequent conversation.
The first lady we addressed was a Holocaust survivor who was speaking with another woman. They both accepted the pamphlet when they heard where our congregation is situated. The survivor told us she had written a book which included 15 reasons why she did not believe in God. She said she wished she had faith like we did but we assured her God was still listening and that there was still time. After our conversation, they stood up and walked away.
We spoke to two young men who were Jewish university students, one of whom said there were many ways to believe and that he personally did not believe in a Creator God. Although they at first showed disinterest, they both accepted the pamphlet on anti-Semitism, but nothing more.
Another woman told us her family was “half-Jewish” and that one of her sons had converted to Orthodox Judaism because of his spouse. She was quite interested by the pamphlet and thanked us.
A young woman walking with a male friend said she was “a little bit Jewish” and yet concerned by anti-Semitism and wanted to keep the pamphlet. We encouraged her to read the Scriptures she already had but we did not feel she wanted to receive a set from us.
A young Catholic woman was seated with her daughter, so we chatted about faith in God, sharing John 3:16 and a tract for Catholics using only Scripture to point to the gospel. She was amazed to hear of Jews who believed in Jesus and was very open to what we shared.
A couple of Spanish speaking women were interested in receiving the pamphlet. The more elderly one was happy to receive a booklet of promises from the Word, accepting it with a wide grin.
An older woman said she had Jewish family to whom she wanted to give the pamphlet.
We felt led to stop an older couple as they were leaving the park. The man did not want anything from us, but the wife gladly took the pamphlet and thanked us.
Two Jewish couples sitting and visiting with each other also received pamphlets.
In all, we gave out around 15 anti-Semitism pamphlets and some other literature to both Jews and Gentiles we met, with several longer conversations. Some people clearly but politely stated they were unconcerned about anti-Semitism. We prayed for them, too. We were quite encouraged by the way our afternoon went, convinced the Spirit had been leading us in our interactions.
Please continue to pray not only during our outreach times, but for those who have already received literature or spoken to us, as well as for our future strategy in this time when we cannot knock on doors. May they choose to respond to the Lord knocking on the doors of their lonely hearts in the world so thirsty for lasting hope.
Our next outreaches are planned for late Friday morning April 23 and Sunday afternoon April 25.