Sunday October 24
Three teams went out on a sunny morning to two different commercial areas. Here is the first report:
We enjoyed great fellowship in our team of two as we gave out around 40 pamphlets, three Bible sets, and an all-English Bible.
A Russian woman who did not have a Tanakh thankfully received a set in her language.
A man and his wife who were from out of town received a set and encouraged us to continue our distribution. He saw quite clearly that one book was the New Testament. He also received the leaflet on Isaiah 53 and said he would read it.
A young non-Jewish Russian man spoke to us in English for a little while about sin and how to approach God through Jesus alone. One team member shared part of her testimony with him. We discussed how sin enslaves us and that God can give us peace and joy. We spoke of heaven and hell as the two possible places after the end of this life. He said it was about time he read the Bible. He also received the bookmark of messianic prophecy that we placed in John chapter 1 of the all-English Bible. We explained how he could also listen to the teaching from Beth Ariel in Russian.
We gave a bookmark to another woman who was standing nearby as we spoke to the Russian man.
An elderly woman received an English set and couldn’t believe how wonderful it was to have our gift. She asked us to pray for her.
Another woman spoke to us about her father. She said that Jewish people don’t believe that the Messiah already came. We answered that the truth very often lies, not with the majority, but with the minority. She wasn’t interested in receiving a Brit Chadashah but did receive a pamphlet, bookmark, and the Isaiah 53 leaflet, though.
Here is the report from the second team:
Our general approach to the passersby began with a statement in how we supported Israel, which was very well-received by most. The men seemed particularly touched by our sincerity this time. We gave out 30 pamphlets to people who hurried past us as they ran their errands.
The third team reported:
We encountered a variety of reactions from different individuals as we handed out 43 pamphlets at the shopping area.
We met two elderly gentlemen who were Holocaust survivors. One had been in Auschwitz and the other had been successfully hidden in Hungary for years. The second man thanked us four times for distributing literature on anti-Semitism, although he didn’t seem to have the time to converse further.
One man asked us up front if we believed Jesus Christ was the Messiah, to which we answered, “Yes.” He told us he was raised Roman Catholic but had converted to Judaism and now was “a Torah-observant Jew”. His head was filled with rabbinic ideas, but he knew nothing about the biblical concepts of holiness, sin, atonement, redemption, or forgiveness from God. He said heaven and hell were on earth and said that what was written in the Tanakh didn’t interest him and wasn’t necessarily true. How different for a Jewish team member who grew up not believing in Jesus to try to explain Him to a man who did grow up thinking Jesus was God, and now did not!
Another man drove up in his car, wanting a copy of what we were giving out. Hesitant about his motives, we still gave him one. After a quick look at the pamphlet, he disdainfully threw it on the ground, saying “Jews for Jesus!” and drove away.
When we said anti-Semitism would end when Messiah came, one woman made a dismissive gesture with her hand and walked on, saying the Jewish people have already been waiting a long time. But she did take the pamphlet.
One Jewish man with a high military rank said he was involved in fighting anti-Semitism with force but didn’t believe in God.
But many others said they were interested to read what we were giving out, wanting to know more about when anti-Semitism would really end. Please pray for those who received our literature to read it with hungry hearts.
We thank the Lord for His faithfulness and for His desire that all come to know Him as He has revealed Himself. We are grateful for the privilege of being out in the harvest with you once again. Your prayers are being answered, and we really feel your support. Please pray we would have good weather as we continue to go out on Thursdays and Sundays. This Sunday we hope to begin handing out gift bags for Chanukah. Shalom!