MAY 2018 / THE CHOSEN PEOPLE - 7
DIVINE APPOINTMENT AT
THE COFFEE SHOP
Every Monday, Anna and Vladimir,
staff members in Toronto,
meet with two friends at a
local coffee shop to spend a
couple of hours in prayer, Bible
reading, and ministry planning.
As the four of them sat sipping
coffee and strategizing, suddenly
Anna said: “I feel that
there is a person in this coffee
shop who is waiting for us to
share Jesus. Let us pray that
the Lord shows us this person.”
In a few minutes Kari*,
the barista who had made
them coffee, came to check
on them. Not knowing how or
where to start, suddenly Anna
asked, “Are you a believer in
Jesus?” Kari answered, “I
am Jewish! I only read the
Old Testament.” Anna shared
prophecies with her, especially
from the Book of Isaiah. Kari
was touched and said: “Oh,
you know the Scriptures!”
Anna and the group shared
how they love the Scriptures,
love the Jewish people, and
pray for peace in Jerusalem.
They also gave her a salvation
tract which she promised to
read! Pray for Kari to find her
Jewish Messiah!
STAYING FAITHFUL TO
JESUS IN RUSSIA
Mira, our staff worker in
Russia, vividly remembers
the repentance of a Jewish
woman on the streets
of Dnipropetrovsk. Antimissionaries
tried to prevent
Mira from talking to Bella*
and threatened her by saying
that she would be deprived of
any help from the synagogue
if she believed in Jesus. Bella
turned her back to them and
prayed the sinner’s prayer,
calling Jesus her Messiah!
When Mira told this story to
her “dear children” (her group
of elderly Jewish believers),
she asked: “If renouncing
Jesus means losing the help
of the synagogue, would you
do it?” All of them said without
hesitation that they would stay
faithful to Jesus!
TUESDAYS WITH JOSEPH
While leading ministry work
among the ultra-Orthodox
Jewish community last summer,
staff member Rich met
Joseph,* a young Orthodox
Jewish man in his early 30s.
Joseph wants to make Rich
into a good Jew (i.e., Orthodox).
Rich, in turn wants to
make Joseph into a good Jew
(i.e., a Messianic Jew). They
get together periodically to discuss
spiritual matters, but Joseph
does not yet seem open
to considering the Messianic
claims of Jesus. Recently, Joseph
reached out and they
met up again. Rich prayed that
this time it would be more relational
and the Lord heard his
prayer. Rich and Joseph shared
their lives and became more
open and transparent with
each other. They parted warmly
with the intention to meet
again. Joseph is helping Rich
understand the fast growing
ultra-Orthodox community and
is providing him with a window
into a world that he would not
otherwise have. The future
of Jewish missions is among
these unreached people!
WOMEN’S HOME GROUP
BEGINS IN ISRAEL
Sergey and Rita, staff members
in Israel, are starting a new
home group just for women.
They wrote: “There is a need
to develop a separate ministry
for women since some of the
women in our congregation
have unbelieving husbands,
in addition to having specific
needs that are better addressed
solely among other women.
Likewise, there is a tendency
that unbelieving women are
more likely to join women’s
groups.” Rita will lead this
group. Please pray for God’s
blessing on this ministry!
*names have been changed