We couldn’t enter people’s homes - but Jesus could. We couldn’t show emotion through our face because of the masks - but Jesus could reveal His face. The unforgettable outreach to the poor during Corona.
Has God ever asked you to do something that didn’t seem to make any sense? That’s exactly what happened to us at the height of the Coronavirus crisis here in Israel.
But in those moments, if we choose to follow His wisdom, however strange it sounds, He will do the impossible.
We planned to continue reaching out to the poor in partnership with Carmel Congregation’s Hadar haCarmel center by showing God’s love practically and sharing the Gospel, but now the restrictions were more severe.
There was almost a complete lockdown: the streets were virtually empty and many were full of fear.
We couldn’t enter into anyone’s homes (so we couldn’t sit down and talk in more depth), we couldn’t touch them to show God’s love, and we had difficulty talking and couldn’t show emotion in our face because we had to have masks on!
The whole thing felt ridiculous. “Why should we even go? How will there be fruit?”
Immediately we sensed that God answered: “What, you think it’s your work that will save people? What I’m looking for is faith and simple obedience, then I will work the miracle of bringing salvation.”
So we divided into groups and went out. Rina was the first lady that one group visited. As a single mother, you can imagine how difficult this crisis has been for her.
After listening to her, we said, “We’re sorry to hear what you’re going through. But we want to encourage you that God loves you and hasn’t forgotten you during this time.”
We then shared the Gospel with her, and as we shared about Jesus’ amazing love and grace, tears started to form in her eyes.
We asked her, “Have you ever heard this before?”
She answered, “No, this is the first time in my life!”
We asked if she wanted to repent of her sins and receive Jesus, Yeshua, as her Messiah. Standing there, holding the door open, she looked at us in the eyes, and simply said, “Yes!”
Another group visited Yevgeny and Natalia, who had just immigrated to Israel 8 months ago. Being in a new country and suddenly having this outbreak, they seemed quite fearful and lonely.
The group asked them, “Is there anything we can pray for you about?”
It turns out there were a lot of things: Yevgeny needs work, their daughter is having a hard time adjusting….
So they prayed together. Afterwards, they listened to the Good News of Messiah with a tender heart, then decided to give their lives to Jesus.
Ultimately, during this outreach, 5 Israelis said “Yes” to Jesus during the height of the coronavirus crisis. All the glory be to God!
So yes, in spite of the unusual and dismal circumstances, God was able to produce beautiful fruit from our going out!
We couldn’t enter into the people’s homes - but Jesus could. We couldn’t touch the people in order to show love - but Jesus could. We couldn’t even really show emotion through our faces - but Jesus could reveal His face.
Please pray for these and other new believers: that God would help us to be faithful to follow up and help them grow in their faith, and that they would cling to God with all their hearts and never be shaken.
Please pray that God would also provide more laborers in this harvest so that we can hold even more outreaches every month and bring the Gospel of Messiah to the people of Israel.
