Wednesday March 8
A team of two were invigorated by the opportunity to speak to Jewish people at their homes at the Purim season. A total of five full sets were put into the open hands of Jewish neighbors.
We started the evening speaking to a young mother with her daughter at their door who were delighted to receive our gifts of a Purim tract, a bookmark of messianic prophecies, and a Tanakh and Brit Chadashah.
Then at a nearby house, a man took time away from his online computer session to quickly take a full set from us.
We met a really sweet young couple who spoke with us more at length and even asked if we needed anything during our night visit in the neighborhood! We spoke from Isaiah 53 and of God’s righteous one (Tzadik) who could make them righteous. They lauded us for going out and doing the distribution, wishing us well as we left.
A man came to the door just when we thought no one would answer. We saw that a delivery had been left at the entry and imagined no one was home. The man answered our ring, probably thinking this was for his parcel delivery, and was surprised to see us. He was pleased however, to receive both the Tanakh and the Brit Chadashah from us, as well as other literature.
We praised God for the openness we witnessed as we handed them the small book of second Temple literature (Brit Chadashah) which speaks of the Messiah.
Thursday March 9
We walked down the other side of the streets where we had gone the night before and gave out three more sets. It was easy to go from speaking of the anti-Semitism from the feast of Purim in Esther to speaking of when all anti-Semitism will end with the Messiah.
A teenager was at home while his parents were out. He said he was over 18 so we presented our gifts to him. We spent more time speaking of the Brit Chadashah and how fascinating he would find it to be, saying it was probably new to him. He happily took all we gave him. We immediately prayed he would start reading Matthew, which we pointed out before we left.
A lady stayed at her doorway to speak with us for a few minutes and was happy to see that our gifts were free. She took a full set and our tract.
At another home, a man said he had a Tanakh from his synagogue. Intrigued by the Brit Chadashah, he happily took a copy.
Finally, the last house where we went had a young man whose supper we had interrupted. Wearing a kippah, he gladly accepted the full set from us.
Sunday March 12
On a mild evening which still brought us light because of the time change, we set out again. This night we spent a long time with one Orthodox man who wanted to engage in conversation. We ended up distributing three sets to other willing hearts.
At the first house, we were greeted by a gentle and learned man. He immediately asked us if we believed in Jesus. Later we learned he had read the New Testament many times before. When we spoke of the divinity of the Messiah, he insisted on using his translation and ducked back into the house. He came out wearing a kippah this time. We spoke for over half an hour, thinking that different passages might speak to him. He acknowledged only the five books of Moses to be inspired by God, so we spent time in Genesis and Leviticus, even though we mentioned the new covenant in Jeremiah 31. He believes all men are basically good and not sinners. Not convinced by what we said, he still promised to read Isaiah 53 after we left.
Right away, his next-door neighbor, a woman, was quite excited to receive a full set from us. She was smiling broadly as we explained what we had to give her.
A few doors down, a man was only going to take the Tanakh. We told him the little book was small but mighty and he decided to yield to our offer and take one.
Another woman also was happy to receive all our gifts.
The Passover season will soon be upon us. We so need your prayers as we try to meet Jewish people to present the Lamb who saves us today from enslavement to sin. Please hold us up to the Lord of the harvest for His protection, for open hearts, and for salvation to come to the lost sheep of Israel. Thank you!