Montreal November 18, 2019
Two of us gave out three sets out on a cold, windy night. In this religious neighborhood, we had some refusals at first. We gave out one set to a grateful woman in her 40’s who was surprised we would venture out in the cold. She offered us a glass of water and exclaimed that the work we did was beautiful.
Another set was accepted by a woman in her 60’s, who received us in much the same way. She was surprised to hear from us Gentiles about God’s promises, which she said isn’t even discussed by her fellow Jews. She’s used to such different treatment by others, so our meeting touched her greatly.
A third woman also took a set, but quickly closed her door, perhaps because of the cold.
Montreal November 25, 2019
On this night, three of us were on the team. We gave out three full sets and one Tanach.
Two different ladies opened their doors with a big smile, took a set and thanked us, without any further conversation.
We walked up to a house where a man was comfortably seated on his porch, enjoying the night air. He seemed quite relaxed and greeted us warmly. After we explained why we were there, he said that maybe he’d already received Scriptures from us a few years back. We asked him if he’d done any reading and eventually, he mentioned the story of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah. We said that Abraham promised that God would provide the lamb and He did. We spoke of the Son who God provided. Someone on the team suggested he read Prov. 30:1-4. These verses ask if we know the name of God and His Son. Intrigued, he read the verses in Hebrew right then. He stopped in surprise when he read about the name of God’s Son. Then we showed him Isaiah 53, but he said he’d have to check his book to see what was really written. Altogether, we had over 20 minutes of pleasant conversation with him. He accepted a Tanach as we said our goodbyes.
A middle-aged man also received a set but didn’t engage in any conversation after thanking us.
Toward the end of our time, we met a lady who said, “We have all the books we need; my husband is a rabbi. In fact, he’s at the synagogue right now.” She listened to us speak about messianic prophecies, but with no real reaction, except to offer some non-biblical legends that good deeds would provoke the coming of Messiah. We were glad she didn’t refuse us altogether. We left her with a pamphlet of rabbinic ideas which correctly identify the Messiah found in Isaiah 53.
Montreal Dec. 2, 2019
On this cold night, we found people didn’t want to leave their doors open for long and kept their interactions to a minimum. We felt the enemy more at work as so many seemed fearful, not answering the door, or simply weren’t home. A few were more obvious in their rejection. We were walking in a neighborhood that has a nearby synagogue. Three of us formed the team that night while one person drove the car for us. A total of two sets, two Tanach, and some other pieces of literature were given out.
The first set was given to a man who asked why we were distributing the Scriptures. He asked if we were Jewish, and one team member said she was. We explained that we wanted to bless the Jewish people with God’s Word.
At another door, a French speaking woman took a Tanach, but said the New Testament was not for Jews. Inside, at Isaiah 53, we had placed a bookmark of Messianic prophecies.
Another French Tanach was given to a lady.
Sadly, one man slammed door on us and yelled, “Don’t knock on Jewish doors! Can’t you see we have a mezuzah? You are Jews for Jesus!”
At one home, a lady was quite rude and quickly closed her door after speaking angrily, pointing to her mezuzah. After no answer at the next door, we were headed to the following one, when we saw her husband had come out into the cold without even a jacket in order to speak to us. His two children were watching nearby. He was wearing a kippah and was dressed in orthodox fashion. When he approached us, he did not have angry words. He asked to see the Tanach and he opened it as if looking to verify its contents. He told us that at the synagogue, a group of rabbis had already verified another English/Hebrew Tanach and there were some English words which were incorrectly translated. We told him that we were confident that the Hebrew, as the original language, was intact and correct. We also told him that we believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that there is only one God. We noticed his countenance change at that point, and he became even more gentle. It was touching to see his care for and defense of the Word over religion. We wondered whether he came out to cover, in a way, the rough treatment we received from his wife just a bit earlier. May his children adopt his desire to see the Scriptures respected and also yield to the Promised One found in those words.
Reticent at first, another lady did take a set toward the end of the evening, even offering to give us something in payment. Of course, we don’t accept anything except our heavenly rewards!
Calgary, Alberta November 12, 2019
We had excellent weather conditions, making it easier to have conversations. All 6 homes we visited responded to our knocking. One respondent was not Jewish, but asked us to visit 3 Jewish neighbors of hers.
Only one Jewish gentleman refused our gift, saying he was not interested in religion. The next person to open their door was a nice Jewish lady who declined our offer of the Tanach, saying that she already had one. When we began exposing prophecies, she was clearly drawn to the Messiah. We pointed out that the Brit Chadeshah or New Testament had been promised through Jeremiah to the Jewish people and then to all the nations of the world. She smiled after that statement, and gladly accepted our offer of the New Testament, under the condition that we weren’t trying to convert her. Before leaving, we encouraged her to search the Messiah in the Scriptures. She thanked us for our visit.
A Jewish man reluctantly took our gifts, scanning throughout, trying to identify who the publishers were. We showed him and then enumerated several prophecies. He finally accepted to keep the full set of Scriptures and thanked us.
Another Jewish man refused our gift of Scriptures but accepted the Isaiah 53 leaflet, which shows the suffering servant.
The last Jewish man to open his door identified himself as Lorne. As we pointed to Messianic prophecies, he amazingly agreed that they all pointed to Jesus! He asked us to come back at another time to talk since he was preparing to go to bed. We praised the Lord for this incredible encounter and ask you to pray for our upcoming visit with him.
Before starting out, we decided to put more emphasis on the bookmark of prophecies. We prayed God would lead us, and He surely did.
Our fear is that we are not up to the task, so we strongly plead for your support in prayer. In the last two outings, almost all the 15 previously absent homes have now been contacted.
Buffalo, New York November 13, 2019
Praise the Lord, we had a very successful handout of the Scriptures at a Jewish apartment building. We gave out 2 Russian Bibles and 4 Hebrew sets! Everyone was so thankful. One lady couldn’t thank us enough as her heart was overflowing. We asked her to read Isaiah 53 as she said with much joy, “I’m going to read it right now!” She also remarked that her son was going to be delighted to read the Scriptures as well when he comes to visit. Another lady who is turning 100 next week was very happy also to receive the set. She has impaired vision and has invited us to come and read the Scriptures to her. What a great opportunity! We only had 1 refusal. When we revisit the building, we’ll go back to the two doors where there was no answer.