Friday, November 10th
Team 1: 3 Gift sets (2 English, 1 French), 1 Tanakh, 13 cards and 15 Anti-Semitism pamphlets were given.
One set was given to a man in his 30s who was wearing the Star of David around his neck. He took all of the literature and was very thankful.
One set was given to a woman who read Hebrew so they spoke to her about the Messiah and how only He could make her tsadik. They told her that God is holy and there is nothing she could do to approach God, except through the Messiah. She was shown the Brit Chadashah and informed about how the prophesies spoken of in the Tanakh were fulfilled concerning the Messiah and about his coming. They gave her the example of Abraham who received the promises given by God and that by faith man can be made righteous and that the just live by faith. It was through this faith in the Messiah that man can be reconciled to God. They referenced Psalm 110 and Proverbs 30. She received the set with joy.
A set was given to a young woman who was first offered the card and the anti-Semitism pamphlet. When she saw the Tanakh she was very touched, and tears came into her eyes. They spoke for awhile about sin and reconciling to the Messiah. She agreed saying, “Amen”. She then left as she was on her lunch break and the team was thankful that the young lady spent time with them.
A French Tanakh was offered to a woman who had previously been approached. She was touched to see the card and exclaimed, “Ooh la la, what a day!” They then offered her the Tanakh to which she said she had the Torah, but the team explained that the Tanakh was different because it held the words from the prophets and the writings and that it was important to know the prophesies concerning the Messiah. She hesitated to take the Tanakh, but they convinced her that it was the Word of God and not to fear man. She said she was not afraid and took this book but left the Brit Chadashah. She was very happy.
The team praised God and gave Him all the glory for their encounters.
Team 2: 4 gift sets were given (3 English, 1 French), 13 cards and 6 Anti-Semitism pamphlets.
The team reported that they did not have long conversations on this day, but they did meet a woman walking with her small grocery cart going towards the store. She wanted to take the set but said she did not have enough money. They reminded her that it was a free gift and as she took it she became very, very thankful and even turned around to repeat her thankfulness.
A Jewish man was approached and as he had his head down the team member recognized him as the man who had been prayed for by the same team member months ago. The encounter back then was with a Jewish woman, a believer, who asked the team member to pray for the man as he was sick. He was looking much better on this day and thanked the team member for praying as he believed it was through the prayer that he recovered.
There was a small encounter with an Orthodox Jewish man dressed in his customary attire. This man was offered the Beth Ariel greeting card and was offered their sentiments of support for Israel. Slowly he offered his hand to take it, and asked the team member if she was Jewish. She replied no but that she had cousins who were. He broke out in a big smile and thanked them for their kindness. The team was touched by this special encounter.
A woman received the French set while waiting to cross the parking lot. She smiled broadly and asked if she could give the team a hug and invited them to attend her synagogue nearby.
An elderly Hassidic gentleman rejected the card of encouragement earlier in the day. But when he was leaving the grocery store and waiting for his driver to put the groceries into the car, he did in fact accept the card and put it in his overcoat.
Lastly, a woman was approached as she came from the grocery store. She accepted the set with a quick look through the books and while hearing the explanation, gave a quick thank you and left.
The team wishes to thank everyone for their prayers as it was a gloomy day, and the Holy Spirit gave them a lift to pursue the challenge before them.