Thursday, September 1
Two team members went to a West Island neighborhood to distribute Scripture sets on a mild evening. We simply greeted those who answered the door by introducing ourselves. Then we said that in this month of Elul (the month of preparation before the beginning of the fall feasts) and to get ready for the high holy days, we were offering gifts of Scriptures. There was no need to offer tzedakah (charity donation) since the volumes were pre-paid. We showed them the bookmark already placed in Isaiah 53, with verses which described the identity and mission of the Messiah.
Very calmly, and with great appreciation, four received a set. Another took just a Brit Chadashah. Everyone who declined the set (except for one more religious home) took a gospel pamphlet on the holidays.
One woman asked if we were “the Jesus Christ people”. The member said she was Jewish and believed that Yeshua was the Jewish Messiah. Not knowing what that meant, she turned to ask her husband. He affirmed their lack of interest in what we had. We wished them well as we left.
A young woman with many tattoos was sitting on her front step. Practicing Jews do not get tattoos, since it goes against the Law of Moses. She was very friendly and said she was open to hearing what we believed about the Messiah. After sharing for a little while with her, she happily took a full set. She wished us a Happy New Year (Jewish people celebrate it in the fall) as we left. We wished her Shabbat Shalom.
A young man answered the door and began to grin sheepishly, looking down as we introduced our reason for being there. Detecting he was not practicing his faith, we asked if that was the case. He said it was but continued to smile widely. After confirming that he was 18 years old, we said we would just offer him the smaller Jewish book, the Brit Chadashah. He was surprised that it was a New Testament, but we said he would find it interesting and encouraged him to be sure to read the first book, Matthew. He thanked us for the gift, and happily returned back inside.
We needed to re-stock our supply of Bibles from the car so one team member walked back. Suddenly, a large, unleashed dog began to run after her, barking loudly and growling in a menacing way. She kept walking straight ahead, even though she felt the dog’s muzzle touch her leg. Finally, the owner yelled at the dog to stop, and it left. We are so grateful she was unharmed.
Another team went out earlier that same day and gave out 3 gift sets in English, 1 Brit Chadashah, 30 Antisemitism pamphlets, and 3 bookmarks. Here is their report:
It was a quiet, overcast day and at first there were not too many people for this team of two ladies. However, after about one hour the number of Jewish people arriving at the shopping mall increased and there were quite a number of conversations.
There was one touching conversation in particular which we had with a woman from Hungary. One of the team members was able to speak some sentences to the woman in Hungarian as she had spent 3 years there in the mission field. The lady, “J”, mentioned that her husband was Jewish and received the gift set with a grateful heart. She said she could not believe that they were giving out such beautiful gifts. The other team member saw an opportunity to present the gospel of salvation and the woman agreed with all the scripture read to her. Taking the small gospel booklet, she tenderly folded it and placed it in her pocket and said she wanted to continue reading at home, taking in more of the meaning of salvation. Afterwards she received a hug and prayer from us which was meant for her husband and family. We had a long conversation, but the woman thanked us again for the gift set for her husband.
There was one opposition from a man in his thirties who received the pamphlet on Antisemitism and seeing the contact information he said it was about Jesus not the Messiah and what the team was doing was itself antisemitic as we were trying to convert people to Christianity. The conversation was going nowhere so the team member, wanting to be kind simply said, “Hag Sameach”. We hoped this greeting would somehow soften his heart.
After a short conversation a beautiful, young Jewish lady accepted the gift set in English to give to her boss who worked at the hospital close by. She was so thankful that she could offer this to him and what made it even sweeter was that it was free.
Tuesday September 6
This team went door to door in the same neighborhood as September 1, 2022. Here is the report:
We continued in the same area as the last time, again thankful for good weather. We gave out four full gift sets and several additional pamphlets as we had the week before.
Interrupting her late supper, an Israeli Hebrew teacher refused the version of the Tanach we had, after quickly turning to the end and inspecting it. Remaining quite friendly, she immediately said she was not interested in the Brit Chadashah. But she was curious about the prophecy bookmark, and before returning to her meal, she gladly took one, along with our pamphlet.
A young man answered the door and said he couldn’t talk because he was in a Zoom meeting to prepare for his conversion to Judaism. Taking advantage of his rush, we quickly offered him a full set while carefully pointing out that one book was a New Testament. We always clearly tell the recipients what it is, in English or French. He smiled, thanked us, and hurried back to his meeting. We were so happy he took the time to answer the door.
One woman thanked us in Hebrew after she took the set, saying, “Todah Rabbah!” We replied in Hebrew “B’vakesha!” which means “You’re welcome!”
We look forward to continuing in the area twice a week until the high holidays begin at the end of the month. Please pray for good weather, open hearts, protection, and for the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) to prepare those we greet. Thank you for participating with us in this special season.
Friday, September 2nd
7 gift sets (3 English, 3 French and 1 Russian) were given out.
On this particular Friday, there were two ladies who went out distributing our new pamphlets titled, “The Book of Life”. It is geared especially for the upcoming Jewish holidays. Of course, they set out to offer gift sets as well. All the sets were received with joy and the ladies were thankful that God had opened the door for willing hearts to receive His word.
There was one gentleman in particular who received a set who stated that he was going to take it to his daughter who he was visiting in New Jersey. He was alone in Montreal. The ladies spoke about the upcoming Yom Kippur and how sin separated man from God, but there was good news in that man could have cleansing from his sins through the Messiah. They referred him to Isaiah 53 and Leviticus 17:11 dealing with the atonement through the blood offering upon the altar. They spoke also of everlasting life, and everlasting shame which Daniel mentioned in his 12th chapter. Thanking them once, he returned to their car to thank them a second time and the ladies were very touched by his gratefulness.
Once again, the teams want to thank those who have been praying. Some days are difficult because it is hard to listen to sad stories or to be on the receiving end of angry individuals, but through it all the team members so appreciate the prayers especially when someone accepts the gift sets and wants to know more about the Messiah.