Wednesday, August 27th
2 French gift sets, 1 French Bible and pamphlets were given.
A team of two (1 man and 1 woman) were out on an evening in a local residential area. The first set was given to a religious woman who stated that she followed the laws in the Torah. She received the set and warned them not to go next door as they were not “kosher”. At first, she received the Tanakh and an anti-Semitism pamphlet. A team member told her that she was a Messianic believer, and that Yeshua was the Messiah. It was at this point that the woman took the Brit Chadashah. Coincidentally, the woman’s mother had the same family name as this team member. She told the team that she was going through a difficult time due to a flood in her basement and that her husband had cancer. They were able to comfort her, telling her that Israel was suffering now, reminding us of how Israel also suffered through the Holocaust. They told her that God also suffered at these times with the children of Israel. The woman then spoke of her family as she had two sons and grandchildren and was worried for them. She was given a contact card, and stated that she would like a visit after she had finished with the flood cleanup. She asked the team member to write a small dedication inside her new Tanakh and they were happy to do so. The team member wrote: “To — and her husband with love from (team member’s name, including her phone number). The woman was touched and offered a bottle of water to each of them which they gratefully took. A prayer was said in Yeshua’s name and the woman said, “Amen”. It was a wonderful twenty-minute conversation.
Next, a woman met them on the street and disclosed that she was a Buddhist but had read the bible when she was young. She received a French set from them. They asked her if she knew where she was going to go when she died. “I do not know” was her answer. The team spoke to her about sin and how God wanted to have a relationship with her and gave her the contact card and encouraged her to read the bible as it was important for her to know about her eternal future. The woman told them it was providential to have had this encounter saying that she had water in her basement as well and so they prayed with her.
They met a Jewish woman at another door who said that she read and knew everything in the Torah and so they asked her if she knew how she would identify the Messiah when He comes; would she be able to recognize Him? She told them she knew about Rabbi Ben Joseph and Rabbi Ben David, to which the team told her that they believed that there was one Messiah who had come and will come again. They offered her the Tanakh and as she already had one, they gave her a bookmark and showed her some of the verses listed on the back that would help her identify the Messiah. They also gave her the Isaiah 53 leaflet and spoke to her regarding the set up of the 3rd Temple and how a false Messiah would come and she agreed. One of the team members told the woman that she was a Messianic believer and that she believed Yeshua was the Messiah; the woman understood what that meant. They then spoke about the sin nature of man. The woman said she followed her rabbi, and the team told her that her rabbi would not be with her when she stood before God. She took the contact card and was informed how she could find the links to the website and radio where she could listen to Pastor Jacques’s testimony. It is in this testimony where he spoke about Maimonides and the false prophets. She said she knew this also and referred to Deuteronomy 18: 19-20 and understood that there would be false prophets. The team encouraged her to seek the truth as God was calling her, to which she smiled.
A young woman accepted the gift set saying that she had not read the scriptures and so the team spoke to her about how the Messiah would fulfill all the scriptures as written of Him in the Tanakh. She was very thankful and amazed at the beautiful gift. The team was grateful for the amazing evening at the doors and thanked all for their prayers.
Thursday, August 29th
2 French gift sets and 2 English bibles were given.
A team of two were out on this sunny but coolish day that had a hint of wind. The first bible was given to a woman from Iran. She was with her mother-in-law and her husband at the time. The mother-in-law did not speak English, but the daughter spoke some broken English. They told her it was important to know where her soul would go when she died. She took the bible and the team member wrote her phone number on a contact card and told her that she would deliver a Farsi bible to her if she requested it. They showed her where on the card she could go to find the website and listen to the messages concerning the Messiah.
Another bible was given to a woman who was very happy to take it. She was given the contact card and was invited to Beth Ariel congregation. She was very grateful. Just as the team was leaving her as she was getting ready to drive away, a car pulled up blocking her exit. As the way was finally cleared, the team waited to speak with this new visitor. Quickly, they offered her the anti-Semitism pamphlet. She mentioned that she was Jewish and from Lebanon. One of the team members said she was also Jewish and that they had a gift for her. She took the set as she did not have the Tanakh and accepted the Brit while they told her about the Messiah and His two comings. She was given the comfort card, and they had a 15-minute conversation with her.
The team noticed a woman who had been watching them from a distance after they had approached her earlier but at the time she had refused the literature. However, they noticed that she was watching them and finally she approached. With curiosity, she wanted all the pamphlets and the scripture so they spoke for about 20 minutes, telling her how she could be reconciled to God. Accepting the Isaiah 53 leaflet, they mentioned that at the second coming of the Messiah, the religious leaders would mourn. When they mourn, then He will come to them and deliver them and this would take place just before the Messianic times. She was told that they were at the mall to bring this Word so that others could know Yeshua. They spoke of Zechariah 12:10 and how it states that when the Messiah comes, they will recognize Him and He will rule and reign in Jerusalem. She was given the contact card and invited to the congregation. She then asked them to write their names on her card which they did. The woman told them that they were very courageous and they returned that they were courageous because the Lord gave that to them. She was impressed and thankful.
As they walked toward another religious woman who had three children and expecting another, they saw that she had a scarf around her head. She was from France and she told them that her husband was from Morocco. She had a Tanakh so they offered her a bookmark and the Beth Ariel card plus an Isaiah 53 leaflet. They spoke to her about Yeshua being the Messiah and had a good conversation with her. The team was thankful that she was so open to receive this word. It also amazed the team that people, in general, were now receiving the scriptures. They thought about the woman who watched and waited before going to them like a deer that comes quickly to take a morsel to eat. It made them also think of sheep and as they mentioned this later on to the Pastor, they remembered how Yeshua stated that the sheep will hear His voice and follow Him. It was a beautiful day for them, and they thanked God for His hand on them during the outreach and for everyone who prayed for them.