Wednesday, March 13
2 Sets in English, One Tanakh and one Brit Chadashah (both French). Many pamphlets and comfort cards were given as well.
A team of two went out for an evening door to door outreach. At the first door they met an adolescent of 16 years old who told them that his parents were not home. They asked him when his parents would return, and he said he wasn’t sure. They gave him a Purim tract and a bookmark and left. He was quite kind and full of smiles.
At the second door (which was the neighbor just beside the first house) they began speaking with a man in his early 60’s who was kind and listening. They spoke about his need to understand prophecy concerning the Messiah and the need for relationship with God. He accepted the Tanakh and as the team member started to offer the Brit Chadashah, the teenager from the house they had just visited, came up to them at the door with the Purim tract and bookmark cut up into many pieces. Handing it back he said, “Here, this is all about Jesus”. One team member kept a constant eye on the face and reaction of the man at the door who was just then receiving the Brit Chadashah. There was not a flinch on his face, no apprehension, as if he was kept from what was said, as if a veil was put over his eyes. Once the teenager left, the team member went on to tell the man that there is a big difference between the Catholic version of Jesus and the true Messiah of the Scriptures. The man readily received the Brit Chadashah. He said, “Thank you”, and the team left.
There were quite a few homes which did not answer, and so the team chose, at times, to leave the Purim pamphlet, and sometimes the comfort card, into the mailboxes of those homes.
At another door, they met a gentleman in his early 40’s who was at first quite skeptical to open up, but finally did. His skepticism continued as he eyed the Tanakh wondering who wrote it and from where it came. The team explained that it came from a publishing house in England. He listened as the team shared about the need to know the Messiah in these days and how our hearts are going out to what is happening in Israel. He was also given a Purim pamphlet. His general hesitancy led the team not to offer the Brit Chadashah.
The team met a very gentle and opened elderly woman of 92. At first, she did not open the door but finally did. She asked where they were from and they told her they were from a Messianic congregation of Jews and Gentiles and she asked, “O you believe the Messiah already came?”. They told her yes. She said she loved to read and learn and was interested in the contact card they gave her. She was encouraged to listen to the radio program from Beth Ariel. She said she would. She shared quite a bit of her life, and about her 4 daughters. She mentioned that her husband (no longer alive) was a holocaust survivor. She said she has been living at this same home for the last 60 years. They had a great exchange about love since she was touched that the team had come to her door for this visit. One team member even had a chance to exchange a couple of words in Yiddish with this lady.
Another set was given to a man as he was just parking his car in his driveway. The team member approached the car and told him about the gift set that was being offered. Mention was made of the prophetic nature of the books and that it was a Tanakh and a Brit Chadashah. He was kind and took the sets.
The team approached a mid 40’s French speaking Jewish woman in her driveway. She was offered the Tanakh but responded that her daughter goes to Hebrew Jewish school, and they had all the Hebrew books at home. She was offered a Purim pamphlet and explained about how the Bible spoke about the difficulties facing Israel today and they acknowledged together the hard times the country was having. She was also offered a Brit Chadashah, to which she said, “No thank you”. But then the team member continued about the need to know the Scriptures and the Messiah. As she was leaving the team, she turned and said, “Ok give me that book, pointing to the Brit Chadashah, “I’ll take that one”. Walking towards the steps of her front door, she said she would read it!
The team returned to the home of the young Muslim lady they had met two weeks before. The father answered the door and indicated that they were eating supper (it was almost 8pm) and it then downed on the team that they were celebrating Ramadan. They asked the father to give a message to the daughter that they had come to say hi. He said he would tell her that and they wished him a good night.
The team was grateful for each encouragement through prayer and for all those who sustain the outreach this way.
Thursday, March 14th
Team #1
43 pamphlets, Anti-Semitism – 20 English & 6 French; 10 Purim, 5 English & 5 French and Comfort cards as well.
On a pleasant day, this team visited a local shopping mall. The first set was given to a man from Israel who now lives in Montreal. Receiving the Isaiah 53 pamphlet, he began to read it. He then mentioned that he attended a synagogue close by and that he knew the scripture which the team was quoting. The team told him that it probably was not the case since this specific passage regarding the Messiah was traditionally not read in the synagogues. The team explained that the passage was a description of the Messiah and asked him to read the leaflet showing that the Messiah had come and that the prophesy concerning him had been fulfilled. They also mentioned that it was written, “I did not come for the righteous, but for the sinners”. He smiled and said, “Oh isn’t that interesting!” Quoting Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” they spoke of the blood atonement and referenced the meaning of Purim and how man’s sin was transferred to animals, but since the Messiah had come and paid the penalty for man, sin was transferred to Him. He had no comment but was grateful for the gift and thanked them.
A woman was surprised to be offered such a beautiful gift and thanked the team.
Then a woman in a wheelchair said it was her lucky day when she received a set. They told her that God was calling her and that they had come to her because of this calling. She confided that she was a holocaust survivor and that her mother had died in the camps but that she survived being a baby at the time. The team was touched by her testimony and spoke to her of God’s faithfulness and everlasting love towards Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all his descendants. She was given the Isaiah 53 leaflet and they spoke of atonement through the Messiah and that the Jewish people were called to be a priestly nation and a light to the world. Taking the comfort card, she was very moved and thanked the team for what they were doing.
A French set was given to a woman whose husband was Jewish from Egypt. She was Canadian and when she married, she converted to Judaism. She was told that being a Jew meant that one was part of the genealogical descendancy of Israel and that it was not defined by a religion. She agreed to that definition. She was thankful for the set.
Two sets were given to a woman who married a Jewish man from Morocco, although she herself was not religious. The team told her that God was calling her, and that sin separated people from Him. She stated that the second set was for her daughter who was very religious.
A French set was given to a Moroccan woman whose son was a rabbi. They spoke of the events taking place in Israel and how there is a spiritual hatred taking place there as well as a hatred for the Messiah who came from Israel. They spoke about the covenant and the promise of the Messiah to be a blessing to the nations and that he will come as prophesied in the Tanakh and will reign in Jerusalem. She accepted the comfort card also and was very thankful for the conversation.
A woman received the Brit Chadashah and a bookmark as well as the Purim pamphlet.
This team thanked God for the conversations and asks for prayer that salvations will harvest from these outreaches.
Team #2
3 English sets, 1 Tanakh and 1 Brit Chadashah were given.
This team went out on the same day to a residential area to do door to door evangelism. Two sets were given to a man that was just arriving back home. Seeing the team, he came to greet them. His wife also came, accepted the comfort card with a smile and left to prepare for work. First, he accepted the Purim pamphlet and asked why the team was giving out pamphlets. After their explanation, he accepted the literature and was offered the set. Seeing its quality, he became excited to receive the set and talk with them. Going through the pages of the Brit Chadashah, he quoted John 1:1 to them! He appeared to be quite familiar with the book of John and said he wanted to know more, and it was obvious he was hungry for the Word. Not wanting to be kept any longer, he took the contact card and said he would certainly listen online. He asked for a second set to give to his daughter who he said was interested in prophesies about the Messiah. He thanked the team profusely for the gift.
A woman received the Tanakh but did not want to take the Brit. Then, a man at the last house on the street said that he attended a synagogue right around the corner and had a Tanakh. He was about to refuse when he was told it was free and quickly changed his mind. Taking the Brit Chadashah in his hands, he asked what that book was. They explained that it was a very special book that was written by Jewish authors during the second temple period and that it spoke of the fulfillment of the prophesies of the coming Messiah. Shrugging, he said it did not matter and was delighted to take both books and told the team that it was good work they were doing.
A man was outside his home across the street and was staring at them as they were offering the other man the gift set, so they crossed the street to greet him. He accepted the Purim and anti-Semitism pamphlets and said he was grieved about the events in Israel. He appeared to be less so after the team mentioned that at Purim God showed His deliverance and protection. Despite this softening, he only wanted to take the pamphlets.
One man received the Brit Chadashah and listened while the team told him about the lamb’s blood atonement required at the Passover as spoken of in the Tanakh but how prophesy concerning the Messiah was fulfilled and that He had come to be the final atonement and that only He could make him tsadik. He understood this truth and then thoughtfully replied, “One word, nothing else, only the Word” which proved that he understood the truth in what was said. The team gave him a verse to put in his heart from John 14:6. He was very happy to take the book and wished them well.
This team also wants to thank everyone for their prayer covering and praise God for the ability to have two teams out being “fishers of men” as per the Lord, Yeshua.