Thursday, December 15th
19 Hanukkah pamphlets, 7 sets (5 English, 2 French), 2 English Brit Chadashahs, and 2 English Bibles were given on this sunny day. We were two teams this day.
Here is our report from Team 1:
Two ladies went to a local shopping mall and said that they felt the presence of the Holy Spirit over the area, and so many of those who received the gifts that day were very grateful.
A Brit Chadashah was given to a lady who was told that it was indeed the New Testament, the New Covenant given by God. In this book, they continued explaining, she would see where it spoke of the coming Messiah. She was grateful for the gift.
Another man also received just the Brit Chadashah, and was told that he could read about the genealogy of Yeshua and the fulfillment of the first coming prophecies. He took only this book as he said he already had all the other books.
Later, a woman received the set but hurried to her car without further conversation.
Then in God’s timing, another woman was approached, and she received the set. Wanting to know more about the Messiah, she prayed to receive Yeshua as Lord and Savior of her life. After this they exchanged phone numbers and the woman “H” said that she would attend the congregation on that following Saturday. Please pray that this woman would continue to read and seek to know her Messiah more each day.
A set was given to a man who said he already had all the books. The team explained that he would not have the Brit Chadashah and he listened while they introduced the New Covenant, explaining how it reveals the Messiah, the One spoken of in the Tanakh. They assured him it was a Jewish book and so he took it with thankfulness saying that the team was doing a great work and that it was rare to receive such a blessed gift.
A woman from New York also received the set.
Two English only bibles were given to two young men who were eager to have them. One mentioned that he had recently started going to a church with his father and hoped to attend Beth Ariel that Saturday.
Our report from Team 2:
6 English gift sets, 1 English only bible, several Hanukkah and Christmas pamphlets were given on the same day at another shopping mall.
It was quiet at the mall until shortly after lunch when suddenly it became filled with mainly Orthodox Jews.
A Jewish lady from Morocco took 2 sets, one in French for herself and one in English for her family. There was a short conversation and she left very happy having received her gifts.
A Jewish Orthodox man stopped in response to the team’s greeting of “Happy Hanukkah” and although he did not want the gift set, he took the bookmark and quietly said, “Thank you” and went on his way.
A younger man with a kippa was offered the gift set and when he saw the Brit Chadashah he at first glance looked like he would refuse it. But he , quite suddenly, changed his mind and said he would take it. The team member was uncertain why he changed his mind but thanked the Holy Spirit for influencing this gentleman.
The team met a lovely lady who stopped to receive the set. She thanked the team and was about to take the set to her car when she asked why they were giving out the sets. As the team said it was for Hanukkah, the lady began to laugh and shared that her daughter was getting married on Hanukkah! The daughter’s name meant candle in English and so she wanted her wedding to take place on Hanukkah to honor the Messiah and the lights of Hanukkah. The woman had come to the mall at that particular time explaining that she felt an inner urge to go and buy a special light for her daughter. The team was touched to hear the story and asked if they could pray for her. After excitedly consenting, the team member began to pray that the Light of the world would come and shine His light over the wedding and that the Messiah would penetrate the hearts of the people there. She then quoted the verse to the woman, “I am the Light of the world”, as this was something that came upon her while they were praying together. The woman was very touched and thankful for such a prayer.
The teams were very thankful for all the lovely encounters and the presence of the Holy Spirit while they were out and so thankful for the salvation prayer that brought another beautiful soul into the kingdom of God. Thank you to all who were praying for hearts to be opened, for eyes to see and for ears to hear the call of the Messiah and His soon return.
Tuesday, December 20th
Six sets in English and one in French were handed out.
Two team members went out to a Jewish neighborhood during the evening to distribute Scriptures. Hanukkah is a perfect time to offer gifts. It is a reminder of a redemption carried out by the Maccabees, but we spoke of the need for a Redeemer today, the Messiah Himself.
Although there was no answer at several houses, all but one person who came to the door was happy to receive a full set, a pamphlet, and a bookmark of messianic prophecies.
Among others, an Israeli family was pleased to receive a set, but the cold temperatures kept us from speaking very long at the door.
One family was observing shiva (Jewish mourning period) with many visitors, but still accepted a full set. We offered our condolences.
One young woman, a new homeowner in the area, was very moved by our arrival and insisted on thanking us. We accepted to go inside to speak with her, which led to a near half-hour visit. She said she’d been looking for Mashiach since the start of Covid along with the worsening world news scene. She has seen many sites online about Messiah and now believes he may have already come once. We joined in with her line of thought, explaining how the loss of the genealogical records 2,000 years ago meant the ultimate member of the house of David had to have already come. In fact, he was prophesied to offer his own blood and die as a permanent atonement. We spoke of the inability to offer our own proper blood atonement now, even though she had already participated in “sin transfer” ceremonies just before Yom Kippur involving a chicken, as had the grandfathers of one of the team members.
Having prayed that God would show her the Messiah, we affirmed that we were part of her answer, that would also be found in Isaiah 53, which she said she would study carefully. She can read Hebrew so we also spoke of how the Righteous One in that chapter could make her righteous, or tzadik. We directed her to our YouTube, Facebook, and web site resources and she also took the phone number of one of the team members for further contact. Her five-year-old daughter stayed at the door with her, listening to us. Her mother said that at her young age, she too was very intent on knowing God. The little girl even offered us small Hanukkah gifts from her own toys. We accepted a small bag she had decorated, saying we would pray for her and her mother whenever we saw it. Please pray for D. and her daughter E.