Wednesday September 13 – evening
Two team members continued in the Jewish neighborhood, going door to door. Three full sets were given, five Tanakhs, and a good number of Book of Life tracts for the fall feasts of Israel, as well as messianic prophecy bookmarks.
On any given day, we usually have a full range of responses, from the secular to the religious residents.
When hearing we had a New Testament, one man said, “I guess you want to proselytize me.” We explained we wanted him to know the Jewish Messiah based on the Jewish Scriptures. We spoke a while and he politely refused the set, but took a tract and bookmark, wishing us a good holiday.
We spent some time with a woman who was skeptical about the Brit Chadeshah and asked if all Orthodox Jews read it. We said that only a few do, but she still took one and thanked us.
A man who was busy with someone doing work at his home accepted that we leave a Tanakh and printed literature for him to look at later. We don’t leave a Brit Chadeshah without telling the person what it is.
A somewhat secular Israeli man talked to us for a while, saying he did not want Mashiach (Messiah) to come and preferred to always be waiting. We pointed out that anti-Semitism will end when He comes, but he disagreed and said that it will end when the world sees the good works done by Israel. Without trying to explain the whole spiritual battle behind it, we pointed out that this strategy had not been effective. He took a Tanakh and a tract.
Those who took full sets were surprised we would not take a gift of charity for them. May they all take the time to read the Book of Life tract at this important time of the year when all Jews consider sin and atonement.
Thursday September 14 – daytime
1 French Tanakh, 1 French Bible, and 6 sets were given.
A team of two women were out on this day in a Jewish neighborhood. Two sets were given to homes where the set was accepted by the caregivers as the owners were bedridden and unable to come to the door but both stated that their owners liked to read and would be happy to take them.
A set was given to a woman who had just received her speech back. She had been afflicted with a neurological problem in her neck, eyes and mouth and had to retire her business as a professional dietician. Despite her condition she thanked Hashem for her success and thanked the team for making her day. She was asked if they could pray for her but she told them yes, later on. She was given the contact card for website information.
A young man in his early 20s opened the door. He was dressed with his prayer shawl, tefillin and kippah. He told the team that he had all the books, yet he went to ask his mother if she wanted a Tanakh. She declined and he returned and politely took the Book of Life pamphlet with a smile, thanking the team for the offer.
A woman living on the second floor of a duplex received the set and pamphlet but there was no conversation. She wished the team Chag Sameach and warmly waved us goodbye.
Two more sets were given out to women living o the second story of a duplex.
The first one was surprised to receive such a beautiful gift and wished the team a good holiday. The last visit was to a woman who called down to the team not to go up as she had Covid-19 but asked them to leave the set on the steps.
A French Bible was given to a man holding his young daughter in his arms. He was in his backyard that opened to the street. The team called to him asking if he wanted a Bible and he said, “why not”. He accepted a French tract called Steps to Peace. Another gentleman standing nearby was given a bible as well while working on the driveway. Both men were from Jamaica.
The team was thankful for the prayer covering over them as there were no rejections that day and people were pleasant and thankful for the gifts. They praise God for his faithfulness.
Thursday September 14 – evening
Two team members continued their circuitous route to cover all the Jewish homes in the area. Five sets were given, and much other literature.
A young woman and her children came to the door and was quite kind to us. She gratefully took a full set and wished us a joyous holiday.
Two different young couples also happily accepted a full set from us.
At one house, the parents were not home, and the children were not yet 18, so we had to move on.
A father who had just bathed one of his children quickly took a set from us.
One woman explained that even though there was a mezuzah on the door, she was Catholic and renting the house from the owners. We spoke about some subjects she didn’t know about, such as the Rapture and the Messianic Kingdom. She said she had a Bible and would look up the Messianic prophecies. Hopefully, she will also give the bookmark to the owners.
We spoke to a middle-aged man for a while. Although he was bar mitzvahed, he was not very observant now. We talked about the annual ritual of kapparot that is performed by religious Jews just before Yom Kippur to simulate a sin transfer to a fowl and then blood sacrifice. His older family members had performed this in the past, so we pointed out that they rightfully recognized the need for blood for atonement. He took a full set from us.
Monday September 18 – evening
Two women went door to door and gave out four sets, plus some other literature.
Several residents said they already had a Tanakh, so we gave them tracts plus bookmarks to look up the prophecies for the Messiah’s identity.
Some people refused to come to the door altogether, and others waved us off from one of their windows. Many had video cameras on the door.
A young mother came to the door along with her daughter. We commented on how nicely the little girl was dressed and gave her our “prettiest” piece of literature, a leaflet with four verses from Isaiah 53. She ran to offer one of her handmade beaded bracelets to us. The mother happily accepted a set with literature, and wished us a sweet holiday.
A gentle young man around 20 years old was very touched to receive a gift of the set. Then his father came to the door, took it out of his hands and gruffly said to give it all back. We were saddened yet comforted to know that God is sovereign. We prayed for both of them as we walked away.
It began to rain right afterward, so we walked back to the car and called another regular team member who was not with us. We prayed for the shower to stop, and it did, so we went back out.
A secular man answered the door and spoke to us for a while. Although bar mitzvahed at 13, he knew nearly nothing about the Scriptures or Judaism. He was married to a Catholic woman (his second marriage) so we said that it would be a uniting factor for them both to believe in and follow Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. He said his wife knew Jesus was Jewish but that he would not look at or read the set, not even the “small” book of the Brit Chadeshah. He mentioned that his mother was an avid reader and so he took a full set for her, as well as the Book of Life tract for each of them.
As various teams continue to go out frequently during the fall feasts of Israel, please continue to pray for hearts to be open to the atonement of Yeshua.