Staff Member Engages Religious Israelis in Hebrew
Many of our staff have learned Hebrew and regularly seek opportunities to practice, especially with not-yet-believing Jewish people, as this can lead to opportunities to present the gospel. One of our American non-Jewish staff members recently overheard three religious Israelis talking on the subway. Our staff member prayed for an opportunity to talk with them, and then jumped into the conversation—in Hebrew.
After the initial shock of being spoken to by a stranger on the subway wore off, the Israelis leaned in and peppered our staff member with questions: “You are not Israeli? Where did you learn Hebrew?” After explaining she studied Hebrew as well as Bible in Israel, she told them she was not Jewish but loves Jewish people. The Israelis paused and reflected. They asked again, “But why?” Our staff member was able to explain she is a Christian and her Savior is the Jewish Messiah from the Hebrew Scriptures. As the train pulled up to their stop, one of the Israelis asked yet again, “But you are Christian, and you care about Jewish people?”
These religious Israelis could not fathom a Christian caring about Jewish people. For centuries, many Christians have harbored contempt for Jewish people. Our staff love having these opportunities to be representatives of Jesus to Jewish people in a loving way. It always surprises those they speak with! Though there were only five minutes to chat, this staff member was able to plant seeds and show how her faith in Jesus is rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Christian Hosts in New Zealand Bring Israeli Backpackers “Living Water”
New Zealand is a very popular destination for traveling Israelis, and our staff in this country have been faithfully hosting many of these Israeli backpackers and expressing the love of Jesus to them. During a recent visit to one of our host families, two Israeli travelers, Leah* and Naomi,* got to hear the gospel after a series of “coincidences” involving their host family. Leah told her hosts her family’s surname was very rare in Israel. “What does the name mean?” our staff member asked. After hearing the translation, our staff member was stunned, as her maiden name in Spanish had the same meaning!
A few days later, our staff member continued the conversation with these two girls who began to ask a lot of questions. Our staff member answered their questions by reading a lot of Scripture with them. Eventually, they came to the account of Jesus and the woman at the well: “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water’” (John 4:10). Both Israelis expressed the desire to continue reading more of the New Testament, which by “coincidence” another Israeli traveler had given them a few days before. Please pray for Naomi and Leah to find the living water only Jesus can give!
*Names changed
Jewish Doctor Hears Young Christian Man’s Testimony
Our staff often get unique opportunities to speak about the Lord in unexpected situations. For example, the son of one of our staff members recently received the Male Student of the Month award at his school. The female and male students of the month are then invited to a luncheon along with the Rotary Club, school officials, and the student’s parents. This young man was asked to give a short speech at the luncheon.
Amazingly, our staff member discovered their family dentist (a not-yet-believing Jewish man) was at the lunch. In the young man’s speech, he spoke about growing up in Israel and the difficulties of the transition to the United States. He also mentioned he was a part of a local church and a member of a prayer group at school. This is something only God could have orchestrated. Our staff family was so encouraged to see their son boldly speaking about his commitment to God—including to the family’s Jewish dentist. Please pray for future opportunities to speak into the life of this dentist and others the Lord brings into our staff’s paths.
