DECEMBER 2017 / THE CHOSEN PEOPLE - 7
HOSTING ISRAELI
TRAVELERS IN BROOKLYN
Staff members, Joseph and
Sarah R., recently received
their first Israeli visitor through
a Christian hosting network.
Tali* is a young Israeli from
Haifa who traveled to the
United States for the summer
and ended her trip with a
final stop in New York. Over
Shabbat dinner, Joseph and
Sarah shared their faith. Tali
had never heard of Jewish
believers in Jesus before, and
she jumped at the opportunity
to join their worship service
the next morning. On the way
home, she remarked how
much she enjoyed the service,
the combination of Jewish and
Christian elements, and the
freedom in worship. Before
leaving, she thanked them for
sharing and said her time with
them was the highlight of her
trip to America. Joseph and
Sarah are still in touch with
Tali who would like to come
back. Pray that God will send
believers into her life in Israel
and draw her to Himself.
ISRAELI ARCHAEOLOGIST
LOOKS FOR JESUS
A few months ago, our staff
member, David S., was asked
if he would represent Hebrew
University at a conference
along with other reputable
scholars. On the first day of
the conference, one of David’s
colleagues, who is an archaeologist
from Israel, came to
him during lunch and said,
“Professor, can you explain to
me how a Jew can believe that
Jesus is the Messiah?” For the
next half hour, David shared
with him what Jesus said
and why he believes that His
words, His death on the cross,
and His resurrection are true.
The archaeologist listened
intently and afterwards said,
“David, we must continue this
conversation when we meet
next month in Jerusalem.”
Please pray for David’s colleagues
at Hebrew University,
who, although they have the
intellectual knowledge of the
person of Jesus, also need to
accept Him as their Messiah.
LIGHTS, CAMERA,
ACTION! SHARING
JESUS ON TV
Our staff member, Rich F.,
who serves in Brooklyn, has
been interviewed a number
SEEDS OF ISRAELI BACKPACKER MINISTRY
IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
“Your ministry
is comendo pelas
beiradas,”
the man said
and then explained,
“This
is a Brazilian
idiom that
means eating
around the edges
where no
one else is eating….
I’m very
excited about
your ministry because it is greatly needed and no one else is doing
it.” This is what a church planter and missionary mobilizer told
our staff members, Stephen and BJ, after they explained to him the
vision of reaching Israeli backpackers in Rio de Janeiro. The young
men also shared the vision with several pastors who are eager to
be a part of reaching Israelis with the Gospel! They offered to help
in any way they could. Also, several young Brazilians who speak
English very well expressed a desire to volunteer at the guesthouse.
The pastor of their church wants to connect us with the
five largest churches in Rio so that we can train their members in
Jewish evangelism and train their youth to volunteer at our guesthouse.
How encouraging!
of times on a local access
television show. The producer
of the show, Gabriella,* is a
believer and first contacted
Rich about three years ago.
Recently, Gabriella asked
Rich if he would come on
the show and speak on the
topic of depression. A Jewish
welfare agency was coming
in right after his interview
to share on this topic. There
were three Jewish ladies from
the welfare agency at the
television studio. They were
very reserved and did not
interact with Rich. But after
they heard Rich’s interview
on dealing with depression
from a biblical perspective,
they became very warm and
engaging. They exchanged
contact information and
invited Rich to join a group of
city leaders working to provide
social and psychological
support for people in the
community. Praise God for the
opportunities He provides!