Chosen People Ministries sent an outreach team to New Zealand to minister to the thousands of Israelis who hike through the country after their time in the Israeli Army. Typically, these backpackers are sensitive, intelligent, thinking people, and very open to discussing spiritual issues. Our team shared the Gospel with these young men and women through evangelistic BBQs, Shabbat dinners, and spiritual conversations during long hikes.
Robynne:
We all arrived in New Zealand after quite long journeys, and began our time together by praying and bonding as a team. Scott, our New Zealand staff member, gave us a great orientation to the lay of the land and to the many opportunities for ministry here. On Friday night we hosted a Shabbat dinner at a large backpacker hostel and invited people we met throughout the week. On Sunday night, together with a contact of Scott's, we hosted a BBQ where one of our team shared her testimony and the rest of us sat among the backpackers to continue the dialogue about spiritual topics. The next day, a couple of members of the team went on a four-hour hike with a European couple they had shared with. Some of us visited an acquaintance who was studying there, an Israeli who heard about Yeshua for the first time a couple of months ago in New York, and was looking forward to connecting again. Some of us visited an Israeli family working there who heard about Yeshua from friends in Goa, India, and said they'd like to meet Israeli believers.
Each year, 40,000 Israelis head to India in search of peace and spirituality, as well as parties and new experiences. Chosen People Ministries' team spent three weeks in India, connecting with these travelers on the beaches, over Shesh Besh (Backgammon), at open mic events, by traveling together, sharing long dinner discussions, playing music, and various other creative ways of building relationships and sharing the God of Israel.
Here are some stories from members of our outreach team:
Sharon:
We traveled a ten-hour journey by bus into the interior of India. When we arrived, while I was looking for my room, I ran into Raya,* an Israeli woman who had also been on the bus and we struck up a brief conversation. Later, I ran into Raya again at breakfast, and I knew it was a divine appointment. We sat together and her very first question opened the door for sharing the Gospel. She asked question after question, and I opened the Scriptures with her. We talked about God's love, about sin and separation and the need for atonement. I explained from the book of Isaiah how Yeshua (Jesus) is God, Messiah, and the Lamb provided for our atonement. She listened, captivated and quite open... very rarely have I had this experience. I left her with a book by a Messianic Jewish author, through which she can continue her search.
Berlin was the location chosen for the Muchan Conference: the first-ever worldwide gathering of Messianic young adults. In the very city where senior officials of the Nazi regime met to plan the "Final Solution to the Jewish question," we gathered to worship the God of Israel and of all the nations! Whereas Hitler and his party planned to bring death to the Jewish people, we are actively working to bring life - the eternal life found in Jesus the Messiah.
