A Getaway…with tracts in tow

Dona and I were in Rome towards the end of the year; a five-day trip to spend some time together after a busy period of ministry.

Rome is a city Dona has always wanted to visit and we enjoyed seeing the archeological sites with all their history. We walked on the Via Appia, the very stones that Apostle Paul walked upon on his journey to Rome. We crossed an ancient bridge, Ponte Fabricio, built 62 years before the Messiah was born and still in use. It was amazing. There is a glimpse of what is called the glory of ancient Rome. From the ruins you can certainly see the beauty that Rome was. We stood right next to the Arch of Titus with its sculptured stone depiction of the Temple treasures being carried into Rome in triumphal March and were reminded of Jerusalem. When we think of Rome we think of grandeur, the height of man, but when we think of Jerusalem, what comes to our mind?  The Bible. The Bible calls Jerusalem the City of God.  Jerusalem never was as grand in design as Rome, yet it is a City the Creator chose to name His own. Rome has ample water and lush hills. Jerusalem is sparse on water and bordered by desert. If man would choose paradise on earth he would not choose Jerusalem. For in Jerusalem we are totally dependent on the elements and resources are sparse. We can wonder why God, of all the places upon the Earth, chose Jerusalem and set His love upon her. Rome may have her glory, yet the glory of Jerusalem is the Creator of All, and that is indeed glorious. 

Wherever we went we took a bag full of gospel literature in several languages, as in the words of a famous preacher "Brothers we are not Professionals", we are never truly on holiday from trying to spread the Gospel. And the Lord gave us many opportunities to hand out literature and to talk with many people.

We met one young lady while we were traveling on the subway, she was from Peru and a Jehovah’s Witness, which we guessed by seeing her read their well-known publication (which even in Spanish looks the same). Muddling through with words in Spanish, English, and Italian (and with the help of fellow passengers) we managed to convey our concern. She struck us as a woman earnestly interested in pursuing spiritual truth. Our only problem was that we could not fully communicate but we did manage to get her email so that we can send it to some Spanish speaking Peruvian missionaries who can share with her more fully. Later on we went for a meal in a restaurant and at the table next to us, almost joined to our table, were four Chinese students from Mainland China who were studying in Europe.   Being so closely packed together we could not help but converse, first on food, then Communism and the emerging materialism in China, and later coming on to faith and belief, contrasting the philosophy of Confucius with the person and words of Jesus. It was a natural conversation and there was a true interest and desire to know and ask. We spent more than half our time talking before they had to leave and managed to leave them with some literature before they left. 

The most difficult people to speak to were the British. It was very difficult, as most of them would not take our literature and were not at all interested in anything spiritual. Talk art, architecture, history, no problem - but spiritual matters?  Almost never. Even casually speaking brings up a brick wall and almost a defensive streak.  Once when Dona was shopping and I was waiting for her, I started giving out some of the literature I had, and I met an English couple. I asked if they wanted some literature and the man right away refused so I asked him politely if he was a Christian and he answered by saying that this was not my business in such a cold manner. So I replied warmly that I could tell he was not as the Lord said whoever confesses me before men him will I confess before my father and whoever denies me, Him will I deny before my Father. He was dumbfounded and I wished him well and left.

 
A few minutes later when I was about to cross the road, which is very dangerous in Rome (looking left and right doesn’t help, you need to stop the car with your eyes and stare the driver down!) I heard some people using bad language in English and then in crossing the road (nearly getting themselves run over), I thought, should I ask? So then I asked them that if they were to get run over where would they be? Knowing right away what I meant they replied, “I don't know,” and so I said, “you better take this then,” a John’s Gospel, which he took and did not object to. And I am actually sure that he will read it. I am aware that sometimes people take literature to be polite and then throw it away. So I do take care to whom I give to. Sometimes it is to a casual acquaintance, someone I have talked with very briefly, and at other times it is with someone I have shared with in more detail. I always hope and pray that He will lead me to the right people however briefly we meet.

So next time you go on holiday, even for that short romantic retreat, remember to take some Gospels with you - Does it not say that we should always be ready to give an account of the Hope that is in us, even if it is to one person? I have heard enough testimonies to know that sometimes that tract given to the stranger we briefly meet, or the few words we share, have eternal consequences and are sometimes a major part in that person’s journey to faith. As the phrase goes – little is much when God is in it – and we may never know how much or little, we just do our part.  We enjoyed very much our time in Rome and returned to Jerusalem refreshed.

Family Funeral

Not long after returning from Rome my uncle died. He had been sick for a few years with cancer and finally lost his battle. He was not a believer and considered himself an atheist and I had tried to talk to him many times.   I traveled with my father to the funeral in the UK.

On the flight I spent some time trying to witness to a man from a Scandinavian country. I asked him what is the meaning of Life as we were standing outside of the toilets and the way he answered me gave me the impression that he was believer but when I asked him what happens to Jewish people if they die without faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord, He told me they would go to heaven. I thought perhaps he was afraid to tell me what he really thought when we were on a plane flying out of Israel, full of Jewish people. Perhaps he was afraid of being overheard. I then explained to him from the Scriptures what the Scriptures say about salvation but he refused to agree with me on this matter and was very dogmatic. I think too many go according to emotions and not according to what is written. Loving Israel does not mean making the people of Israel, all Jews, as holy with a golden pass to heaven.  Any person who dies without faith in the Messiah will spend a lost eternity in Hell. That is the scriptural position and that’s why we must go as it is written and preach the gospel though I know it is hard to say. England was not easy for me. My uncle was an atheist and a Rabbi who came out with some outlandish statements conducted the funeral. Later in private I challenged him, “you said my uncle is interceding on behalf of all those present at the funeral, how do you know?” I asked him.  He replied “it was written in a rabbinical book, not from the Bible” was all he would say.  To the funeral director, (who I knew through his son who was a friend of mine) I told him that I am a believer; he said, “yes we heard” not wanting to know anything. Jewish people mourn for the dead for a period of seven days and my father’s house became the house of mourning where all the people would gather. I stayed around the family as much as possible. My father was very embarrassed when people would ask me what work I do and when it was time for the prayers I disappeared (which angered him), for two reasons. One, because they pray for my dead uncle’s salvation and I cannot do so. And two, because we as New Testament believers are not allowed to pray together with unbelievers - what fellowship has light with darkness? My father is always hard with me especially because I am a believer, however much I try. I did not want to embarrass my family but I knew I would. I could not comfort them like they would have me do, nor satisfy their need for them to see me fulfill Jewish expectations. It was not an easy time for me.

While I was in UK I did manage to get some free time and I went to Leeds for the day to visit good friends, believers, which helped me get through the week. On the way back, while waiting for the train I saw a man in a wheelchair waiting and asked if he needed help and he replied thanks I have some help. Talking causally I asked where he was from and he replied Egypt. I replied “Masr” the Arabic word for Egypt and he smiled. At the end I was able to give him literature and a DVD in Arabic as well. (Yes, even in England I carry some literature around just in case.) While in England I met an Arab brother called Hisham who is going to be church planting in France among the Arabs, not an easy task.

It’s great to meet people and if you look for opportunities the Lord will give you many.  People will go to hell if they don't believe and we need to wake up and bring the Gospel to the whole world, and we need to start where we are now.

Such as this common occurrence; recently I went to Tel Aviv to get a visa for Jordan and at the elevator I was talking to the person with me, and I can be a little loud (I imagine it is God’s gift so I cannot be avoided) and a girl standing by was listening to our conversation and started to talk to us. In the end we gave her a lift back to Jerusalem and used the time to speak to her about the Gospel all the way back. Not a wasted opportunity and not a coincidence. God uses our every day life and problems to give us opportunities to share His news, we just don’t do it.

Outreach

Once a week we go to the university to hand out literature and talk to students. It is going very well and we have had many opportunities. We hope to start a bible study for students as we also have a number of students attending our congregation. One girl is a great evangelist and on her birthday she invited her friends to the church. She was baptized recently and brought some unbelieving friends to the baptism including a Muslim. On the way to the baptism we had an accident - a Palestinian vehicle hit the back of my wife’s car and he was very impressed that I was more interested in giving the gospel than the damage done to the car.  Palestinians and Arabs and Jews are all people that need the gospel. Christians waste so much time with political debate at the expense of the gospel. One institution is having a conference called Christ at the Checkpoint. I wish it was not political and that it was about the Gospel and how all men can pass the Checkpoint of Heaven - only if we know the Savoir, as not only Savior but as Lord. Unfortunately for me I live in the Middle East where people live and breath politics and where passions run high and even true believers get enthralled by political passion-which does not serve us well. 

  Jordan

The work in Jordan is going well, we are making contacts with the churches and individuals and there are some good positive results. Last time we went to Jordan we started to give out literature in the street and it was going well, “presents for Christmas,” until one man in an office was unhappy about something and asked us in.  In the end we ended up  giving both him and his neighbor literature which he happily took from us. We also offered our Christmas gifts to the Baker and he actually gave us some pastries to thank us, and we got to give literature to all his workers. Yet trouble was arising again. After meeting other people we went to a restaurant for some food only to be approached by the secret police. They allowed us to finish our meal and then took us to the station to speak to the officer in charge. He was actually very nice to us and apologized even though we had to return the next day to answer some questions. I had wanted to give a New Testament and was about to take it out of my pocket when my friend saw it and said no, but the commander must have noticed me reaching into my pocket as he asked me, “what is in your pocket?”

Thus, I was caught. I said, “A present, and he was glad to receive it. The secret police in Jordan don't have a good reputation but every time I meet with them they have treated me with respect and kindness. We also gave him a disc but the other discs we had were confiscated.  We hope they distributed them to their friends. Upon leaving the commander invited us to come and eat with him the next time we are in Jordan. Please pray for our trips. We try and go once a month and will continue to go as long as there is an open door.  Jordan is a poor country yet the people are kind and hospitable.

 Friday Nights in Tel Aviv

We continue to go to Tel Aviv every Friday night and we meet many foreign workers from different countries including refugees from Darfur and Eritrea (next to Ethiopia). There are Nepalese, Chinese, Thai, Sri Lankans and Indians as well as many from African countries, Israelis and Russian speakers. That part of Tel Aviv looks like another country. We hand out literature (Bibles and other books) to them and also DVDs and discs in many languages. If you can help us purchase Bibles it would be good and it is much cheaper than sending them to us by mail, which for those who have done so- thank you so much. I just purchased some bibles in Tagalog and gave some to UN soldiers serving on the Golan. A year ago we had a small group every week helping and now we take two cars every week.  We meet at four for a bible study, prayer, and then we eat, and at six we leave for Tel Aviv, returning home around ten. During Christmas we had a special feeding program in the park and gave out sweets (candies) to the children, cakes and pots of chicken curry and rice, all gone within a short time.  If anyone has toys for the refugee children or can help us to purchase them, the children will be glad, as they have nothing. We hope to have a special program in the summer for the refugee children.

Tours

The evangelistic tours continue with two tours a week with very good numbers attending. The people who come to the tours know about them by word of mouth or through advertising in the newspaper or through our stickers on notice boards. During the tours we are able to present the gospel and give out literature. Ideally we aim to contrast tradition with what the Scripture actually says, as most who attend the tours have never heard a true presentation of the Gospel before and only know of hearsay or tradition. Please continue to pray for them.

Law and Order

Last year we went to a festival in Akko and I was handing out literature with a group.  I encountered a man who under the guise of “authority” became violent in his actions. I was mistreated and my literature was confiscated. Abusing his authority, the man fined me improperly. In order to find justice, as this was not the first time this man had manhandled and threatened believers, a law group defending believers took this matter to court. Another believer was also involved and his whole group was verbally and physically assaulted. At the court in Akko it actually went very well. The Judge asked the prosecutor to answer some questions, especially about the destruction of the New Testaments - I was told they were destroyed and the prosecutor said they were not, so the Judge, a Christian Arab, asked them to look into the matter. It was also mentioned how the city official had used violence, which was added into the court record. I was also able to say that I did nothing wrong. I was just spreading my faith and not selling anything - as was the charge.  We live in a country where you are free to spread your ideas. People in the street have handed me many different kinds of leaflets, and most recently my wife was handed a flyer in Hebrew by a group offering solutions to life with lectures in scientology. Anyway, we are expecting to hear an answer in a few weeks.  Please pray for the next stage.

 
 Woman’s House

In partnership with One Way Mission Finland we have been able to help many women in need. Two of the woman were recommended by prolife groups and have since given birth and have just recently moved on to other places. At one stage we had 6 women and a baby. For some of those women we were a safe haven from the storms of life. One lady who stayed with us was in a life-threatening situation, others are emotionally distraught and beset by a whole host of problems. We have learned many lessons in this first year. It is good to help people and to see them get on their own two feet. Please pray for a woman who is staying at the house, Rachel. She comes from a believing family and at 16 she told her family that she does not believe. This was many years ago and now she has ended up with us. Pray that she will come to repentance and a real faith and deal with her problems. Also pray for the future ladies that will come to the house - that they will not just receive a temporary accommodation but will find an eternal dwelling place.

 
Future projects

We will be supporting a local worker called Michael with expenses for his ministry in order that he can do more work. We also have some gospel projects planned for 2010. For the Passover, we will be advertising for the third year  “Jesus in the Passover.” And we will continue to encourage other congregations and supply a number of congregations with Bibles and other good literature. We also have one or two conferences in planning, it is our aim to encourage the churches in evangelism and in good teaching, and providing good literature to that end.  Another project will be printing Bibles for the refugees and foreign workers, or/and buying Bibles from the Bible Society. Everyone has the right to own his own Bible and I do believe it is a powerful tool in changing lives. We will also be trying to help Arabic speaking pastors in Israel, and the neighboring countries, in evangelism, and in one particular area were we find there is a great need: acquiring really good theological books in Arabic. There are few such books and those that are, are not readily available. We would like to help Pastors increase their knowledge with acquiring a good theological library.

This year our Passover Outreach will be from March 29^th to April 7^th. We’re going to preach the gospel in many different places and in particular to a New Age festival here in Israel. If you are interested in joining us we can send you an email for further details.

Our summer campaign will be from July 25^th to August 6^th of 2010 (which will include two days in Jordan). For details of the costs, timetable, and other details please email us. We also are able to arrange short-term mission trips with your church if your church is interested in arranging one. You can now sign up for the Voice in the Wilderness updates on Facebook. Notice- Change of email address. Please correct our email address. It is now .  If you would like to be put on our mailing list, please write to this address and in the subject line state- subscribe to mailing list - or if you would like to be deleted from our list, or correct or change your email address, do likewise stating your request in the subject heading.

Thank you to all who support and pray for our ministry, and for those who work with us. Thank you also for your prayers for my family. I appreciate them very much.  

May we wish you all a very blessed New Year – may He be glorified by your lives, and lead and guide you as you walk each day and give you His Joy and Strength in each step.

Thanks for all your support and prayers.

 Be Blessed.

 In Messiah,

Antony and Dona

and the

Voice in the Wilderness team