Thursday, January 18th
3 gift sets (2 English, 1 French) and 1 Brit Chadashah, plus about 20 Blessings for Israel and about 6 comfort cards were given.
A team of two were at a local shopping mall on this day when they met a man with a dog who was sitting on a bench. He was handicapped, as he was missing half of one leg. The team member started a conversation about the hope for Israel and how she supported them. This led them to speaking about the Prince of Peace, the Messiah and although he accepted the pamphlet, he was unable to take the set. He managed to get up and enter a small shop. Unfortunately, the team did not see him exit the shop as they began to speak with a French man from Morocco. This French man was surprised and thankful for the free gift and accepted the set.
A religious woman was happy to receive the pamphlet on Blessings for Israel and a comfort card. The woman mentioned she was leaving the following week for Israel and was asked if she would like prayer. She consented and as the prayer ended using “in the name of Yeshua, the Messiah”, the woman offered a tight hug to the team member and both were visibly touched by their encounter.
A religious man accepted the comfort card and was very touched by its words. He accepted the gift set but returned it after some minutes saying it was not for him but perhaps it could be given to someone else.
A young Jewish man was approached next and was open to receive the Hebrew Scriptures, so he listened as the team member spoke to him about Yeshua being the Messiah. When he was offered the set, he exclaimed that he only wanted the Brit Chadashah. He accepted prayer and a business card which greatly touched the team member.
A young man accepted an anti-Semitism pamphlet and stated he was not Jewish but from Morocco and was a Muslim. He stated that he did not follow that faith and told his story of how he had been in Canada now for six months after having returned home in order to acquire a visa to live here. He had enjoyed his summer stay in Canada so much that he wanted to live in Montreal. However, now with no job in sight, he felt he made a mistake. He spoke of his many friends of different faiths and that to him whatever faith one followed did not matter as long as there was integration and people were accepting of one another as friends. At this point the other team member was motioned to join the conversation as she spoke French. He listened to the gospel story but politely said he would look into it after he found a job. He was given the business card and said he would search us online. Please pray for “H”.
The team had a conversation with a Jewish man who had been talking for over half an hour on the phone in his car. One team member kept her eye on him and when he appeared to be finished, she went to offer him the set. Lifting the gift bag for him to see, he opened the window asking, “What’s this?” When told that it was a gift he said, “Oh I’ll take it right away!” There was then a long conversation about how he had a business in Israel and Montreal. He came to Canada as a boy and later returned to Israel to start his business there. He stressed he was a Zionist and spoke of Canada’s attitude and support of the Palestinians at the march in Montreal. He was very upset by this but wanted to thank her for the gift as he had been looking for solace and a means to draw closer to God. He said he had thoughts on this subject, and that now being approached with the gift of the Scriptures, he knew God had listened to him. The man later called the member back to the car as he wanted to talk more about his faith and how he felt the people in Israel and Canada did not understand the way God wanted his people to live. He thanked the team for doing such wonderful work in giving out the Scriptures and took all the literature that she could offer him and said he would read it when he got home.
A set was given to a tall, Jewish man who received it quite quickly, stating he was a surgeon and felt that there were not enough people reading the Scriptures these days. He also took the anti-Semitism pamphlet while practically jogging his way past the team member.
Another woman received all the literature but did not take the set and a man who was very crippled and struggling to walk received and folded the Isaiah 53 leaflet and put it in the inside pocket of his coat for safe keeping. He was on his way to the bank and thanked the team for their kindness.
The team was very happy they had such wonderful conversations despite the cold weather and thanks everyone for their prayers.