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The highs and lows of short-term missions in NYC


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#1 Abraham Sandler

Abraham Sandler

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  • Willow Grove Bible Church of the C&MA

Posted 08 September 2015 - 02:03 PM

Here is an account - our daily Prayer Warrior requests sent each day to our prayer team.  We are so thankful for how God answered prayer.  Join us on how our 5 day trip went:

 

Prayer Warrior Report #1

Thank you for being a part of the NYC witnessing campaign this week with your prayer support. 

 

How is the heat in your neck of the woods?  Ours has the team quite exhausted – even if the target area is not in the subways, we need to get to our area through the subway system and it feels very much like an oven. Today, they were out between 9 and 10 hours.  One of our team members said it almost takes too much effort for someone to reach out their hand to receive a tract and that people are scurrying between buildings to escape the heat. 

Pray for a cooling trend.  Pray that the weather people are wrong in their predictions from the weather models – it has happened before, right? 

 

Our outside team has 15 amazing people, inside we are [also amazing?] small in number – 3 to 5 people.   The team, in addition to being very brave and anxious to share the Gospel, are stellar people, so dedicated to this holy task.  The team has gathered here from Seattle; Georgia, Philadelphia, NYC and from Hong Kong – we are all handling the language differences quite well and while we are in chapel, we all raise the sound of praise to our King Yeshua in precious unity.  One example of the kind of people the Lord has sent to us is, shall we say, a “seasoned citizen-plus” who fasts all day so he is focused on the Lord.  He breaks his fast at midnight with a very light meal and that is all that physically sustains him, other than water on campaign. 

Pray for the health and stamina for our team members and for focus on the Lord when they get weary.

 

Praise the Lord!  Our team gave out 5,100 tracts our first day and shared the Gospel with many unsaved Jews and Gentiles.  Two unsaved Jewish people were very interested in our “Can You Be Jewish and Believe in Jesus” tract and gave us their contact information so we can contact them and do follow up.  Three other unsaved Jewish people were very interested but would not give us their contact information, but did take our literature.  Pray they will contact us.  Several Gentile believers want help in witnessing to their Jewish friends. One unsaved Gentile took literature and gave us his contact information. An orthodox man would receive only the scripture portion of our tract, which will lead him, if he reads the passages, to consider prophecy about Jesus from the Old Testament. 

Pray for our contacts today, 8/17, and for those to come this week.  Pray for divine appointments.  Pray for more opportunities and that the team will remember their training and receive wisdom and discernment.

 

God bless you as He promised to bless those that bless the Jewish people.  Thank you for partnering with us. 

 

Blessings and thank you for praying – the team said to say hello and THANK YOU for supporting them.

 

Day #2 at AOIJM in NYC:

 

We can feel your prayer support!  It means so much to the team each time we tell them of another Prayer Warrior interceding on their behalf this week.  What they thought was impossible, is happening:

 

  1. They gloriously survived a second day of ministry despite sore backs, shoulders, knees, feet, headaches from the heat and the physical and emotion toll this all takes as we push back the darkness in NYC. 

Please pray for health and protection for the team and for cooler weather to prevail.

  1. The training they received actually works!  We knew that, but now they know that for themselves as they have engaged in conversation and received contacts on the streets.

Pray that they remember to ask questions, and be brave in the Lord as they share Old Testament prophecies with Jews and Gentiles and Muslims.

  1. They are eating healthfully [with a few treats here and there…] and hydrating well which results in energy for the task at hand.  Early bedtime seems to be working for most – as long as the NYC trash trucks don’t show up at 4am and cause some of us to jump straight up out of bed with a “what was THAT??” response.

Pray for supernatural rest at night.

  1. One team member shared today that she would never have been able to share the Gospel in such a powerful way.  Until this experience – her first mission trip – she said she was content to write a check or send an item to help with missions.  Now, SHE is doing the work, and she can tell that her “inner man” is growing fast just in these few days.  She also shared that she understands in a new way about the debt we owe to the Jewish people to share the Gospel – “I feel so strongly about this now, and I know it will impact me the rest of my life, it has truly propelled me into new arenas in my faith.”

Pray for all of the team to grow in their faith and in the knowledge of Yeshua.

  1. And now the best news: today 2 Israelis have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!  We tried a new approach, and had a few of the team set up a table in a park area.  Yesterday the team did the usual broadsiding but felt an unusual heaviness and darkness in that park, but returned today to share Jesus.  The table ministry was a great success on many accounts as a constant stream of people came either to the table to talk or to our broadsiders.  One of our team members approached the two young Israelis and asked them what they thought about Jesus.  Moments later, with true repentance and tears in their eyes, prayed to receive the Lord.  These two Israelis are teens – with parents that don’t have a religious agenda for them.  Please pray that they will be filled with the Holy Spirit and return to Israel with courage to share all the God has done. 

Pray for these two that received the Lord, and for all those that received our broadsides and engaged us in conversation.  We have already received some follow up calls.

 

 

Prayer Warrior Report #3

Thank you for praying!  We NEED your prayers today: several members of the team have experienced major pain issues through the night.  This morning there was no bounce in their step as they gathered for prayer prior to going out.  Still, they knew that going out ["And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" Romans 10:14] and preaching the Gospel, accompanied by signs and wonders, was the focus.

 

Please pray that signs and wonders would accompany the preaching of the Gospel - not only for those they reach but for themselves as well.  Please pray for healing for all on the team that are suffering in pain. 

 

They are a brave crew and an extraordinary group of Believers!

 

Prayer Warrior Report #4

The AOIJM Witnessing Team says, “Blessings upon blessings to you all and thank you for praying for us!”  They can sense your prayers, and thank the Lord for you. 

Please keep praying for health and strength for the team.  At the beginning of the day many thought they would not be able to last the day but they did, victoriously!

 

Our day began with energy bars, fruit and nuts as we gathered to begin our early morning sortie.  We leave very early to catch the subway riders, and then return to home base at 9:30am for breakfast.  There is always a time of checking materials packed and a time of prayer: “fill us up and then send us out”.  One of our team members came in late and as he walked in said, “This looks like the upper room, and this may be the last time we gather to share the Gospel in this manner before Jesus returns.  Let’s allow Jesus to fill our hearts with His passion for the lost and tell the world!”  We don’t know about the time of Jesus’ return, but we do know the statement had a sobering and powerful affect – allowing God’s love to flow through us and to seek and save the lost.

 

Conversation about Jesus abounded at our street and table ministry!  Michael: shot 5 times in his life and never heard the “why” that Jesus died on the cross for our sin.  He listened intently to our team member, but needed time to think.  George: he uses “positive proclamations” to feel good about his life but didn’t know Jesus would help him when temptation comes.  “What is powerful enough to help me?” Our team member shared the powerful name of Jesus and that He was raised from the dead.  George took a Gospel of John.  Central-American Man: in the US to study English and has begun to seek God.  This man prayed to receive Jesus on the street with our team!  Atheist Chinese Woman: She quit her lucrative job in China two months ago to come to the US to find God.  Always interested in the Jewish faith and Old Testament prophecies, she was intrigued by our signage and T-shirts.  A team member shared with her six prophecies and that Jesus is the fulfillment of those six [and many more!].  It was evident that Holy Spirit led her to us, and she, too, prayed to receive Jesus and became born again!  There was also an encounter with two unsaved Jewish people who provided their contact information to us.

 

Prayer requests:

  1. The 2 new believers today and for the 2 yesterday, that they would be filled with Holy Spirit
  2. Michael, George, and others not mentioned above that talked at length to us, that they would receive Jesus as their Savior
  3. We would finish strong in the Lord on Friday late afternoon.  So many of the team are astounded at their spiritual growth and new passion for sharing Jesus with the lost – they are so excited!

 

Prayer Warrior Report #5

We rejoice in all that God is doing through the team.  Today one of our shyer female team members, F., had 2 victories!  She is challenged a bit by English, as she is Chinese, but God used her in the subway and on street-level.  Rarely do Orthodox women, much less with a baby in a stroller, will take our literature, but today a woman approached F. quietly and asked for a tract.  Shortly after that another Jewish lady walked toward F., and received a tract with great joy.  Due to the heat, F. went upstairs to get air and hand out tracts at street-level.  The second woman came up the stairs, apparently had followed F., and asked for more tracts.  We are a bit concerned when that happens because sometimes Jewish people will ask for a stack, feigning interest, then walk over to a trash can and rip them in half rendering them useless.  But, F. sensed something different about this Jewish woman and asked her if she believes Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.  “With all my heart”, she responded.  The Jewish woman went on to explain that she is the only believer in her family and has experienced much persecution.  She longs to see her family saved and, as she said, “Jesus leads me to fast for 7 -10 days at a time, no water, no juice, and He speaks to me.” F. took time to pray and encourage her, letting her know we will pray.  Soon after that, F. was approached by a security guard who said he wanted to know Jesus but wasn't sure how to begin.  F. led the security guard to the Lord – they prayed with eyes open as he said he'd lose his job if it looked like he was sleeping, so F. prayed and he repeated as he felt he didn't know where to start.   He received literature and provided contact information to us!

 

Another team, led by P. was coming back to home base on the subway when P. noticed there as an Orthodox man reading Isaiah 53.  P. approached “Gabriel” and asked him if he knew what he was reading.  I know what you may be thinking – like a story right out of the Bible, right?  Yes!  P. and Gabriel had a great discussion, with P. sharing the Gospel from the OT.  During the discussion, P. cited the Ruach HaKodesh – the Holy Spirit – and the man corrected his pronunciation [we can share that part later if you are interested] and the discussion ensued.  Gabriel said he would like to have people praying that he would know the truth about why he never heard Isaiah 53 in the synagogue and that he would understand the true meaning.

 

Will you join with us in praying for:

  1. Jewish woman experiencing persecution and for her family to be saved
  2. Security guard that received Jesus that he would grow in the grace and knowledge and love of the Lord Jesus
  3. Gabriel – that he would understand about Isaiah 53, that Jesus came to die for him, and that Jesus is the Atonement for sin, and receive Jesus as his Savior.
  4. As we face the close of campaign for everyone on the team to receive a contact, and the opportunity to lead someone to the Lord – they are pressing hard for the last two Friday sorties!
  5. We are heading to Atlantic Ave, at least 10% Orthodox and Hasidic population, on Friday.

We have many more stories, and will get them out to you in our regular monthly email letter.  And we must close this prayer letter: the team has a plan afoot to get gourmet gelato before bed!

 

Thank you for being a member of our team by praying!

 

For more info on future short term missions to reach Jewish people, contact Abe Sandler at awakeoisraeljm@aol.com or at www.awakeoisrael.org or by phone: 215.676.5122

 

Attached Files


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Rev. Abraham Sandler
Director Awake O Israel Jewish Ministries and C&MA National Evangelist
Presenting: Jewish Evangelism Seminars
We will teach you about reaching your Jewish friends and neighbors!