Quick update. As you may have read in the news, there is much craziness in Leh right now because of a “cloudburst”. We didn’t have a team in Leh at the time, we are all fine, and God’s grace has continually been shown to us in our travels. Everyone on Massah is doing great! Thanks for your prayers.

Aaron

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Cor. 4:7

Coming to Israel to share the gospel with my people is a great challenge. I am reminded constantly how difficult this work is. Sharing the gospel with another person is also very intimidating. But God has reminded me throughout this trip that God is the one who is really in charge. He’s the one who has the power to save. He has asked me to do one simple thing: to be a witness for him. Last Shabbat, we visited a Messianic congregation, and the Pastor said something simple but very profound: the plans of man can’t stand against the plan of God. That is one of the most elementary truths we learn, but for some reason that struck me more powerfully then than it ever had before. God has promised that He has a plan, and that plan includes the salvation of the Jewish people. So even though we are faced by so many challenges, we can rest in God’s sovereignty. We know that we are taking part in God’s plan, and we are acting in obedience to his will.

It is very encouraging to realize that ultimately the success of our trip does not depend on us or anything we do, it depends on God. God has chosen to work with people like me, with our weaknesses and insecurities, but he is using our weakness to draw people’s attention to Him. Through being weak but obedient we demonstrate God’s greatness. I have learned a lot about sharing the gospel, but I have learned more about faith. Real faith has caused me to put myself in uncomfortable (and slightly dangerous) situations simply because I am obeying God.

It’s been a long and exciting week, so much has happened. We’ve been learning about evangelism, both in a classroom setting and on the street. It’s been challenging and rewarding. The week was packed with a variety of methods of evangelism, which culminated in a sortie at the gay pride parade. I was able to have a few really awesome conversations with people before the crowds came, and once they did come I was able to hand out hundreds of broadsides (tracks) and had a few, lets call them interesting conversations.
Our team has come together as we have been challenged by the difficulty of the work we are doing. I’m specifically learning how to trust God and just put myself out there. It’s a lesson I learned when I was making phone calls offering people a free book on Y’shua. That was by far the hardest thing I have done all week, since the reactions were almost always very negative. However, four of the people I called asked for the book. Keep praying for our team’s trust in God, unity, faithfulness, and safety. I pray that you all are doing well!