* A Jewish women (Israeli) and her daughter and daughter's Catholic husband came to the booth to purchase a mezuzah. I asked if she had heard of Messianic Jews and she said yes. I asked if I could give her a book about Jewish people who found the Messiah and she said no. But she wanted to hear what Messianic Jews believe. After a discussion and before they left I asked the daughter's husband if he wanted the book and he said sure. Hopefully they will all read the testimony book!
* A man came to the booth in a wheel chair. He said he was a Rabbi and retired service Chaplain. He said as a chaplain he wasn't allowed to marry interfaith couple but now that he is retired he would be glad to do that. He gave me his card and I asked him if he heard of Messianic Jews and he said of course. He said he didn't agree and when I tried to give him some material he said no. Then he proceeded to tell me some Jewish jokes. Hopefully he will come back and talk with us again.
* A young lady came to the booth and I asked if she had heard of Messianic Jews. She said yes. She was here last year visiting our booth. I asked if she had received a free book and she said she had. I asked if she read the book. She said yes. I asked what she thought of the book and she said it was interesting. She left but I hope to talk to her more next year!
* I asked if a young lady was Jewish and she said yes. We talked and she said her father was Catholic and her mother is Jewish. I gave her a testimony book and encouraged her to read it and email us her thoughts. Pray that she does so we can do follow-up with her.
* A woman and her husband came up and bought a mezuzah (Scripture that goes on the doorpost of a Jewish home). She said, “I'm Catholic, he's Jewish. I want him to learn more of his own religion.” So I then explained how Jesus (Yeshua) is the connection between them both. She agreed and bought the mezuzah, and then I put a testimony book in the bag and a prophecy flyer. She was very excited and was thanking me. Not sure if he was happy, however.
* A man and his fiancé came to the booth just as we were closing. He said he was Catholic and that she had just converted to Judaism due to a previous boyfriend. They listened very closely as I explained I grew up in Judaism and I'm now convinced that Jesus is the Messiah; That the Rabbis got it wrong about Jesus. We had a great conversation. I gave them a testimony book, a book of Messianic prophecies and more free literature. They were extremely appreciative of it.
* A man came up, and I asked him if he was Jewish since he was looking at everything with amazement. He said, “I'm from the motherland,” humorously in his Israeli accent. I said, “Oh, my father was from Israel too.” I gave him something to read in Hebrew, and he looked at it and said, “This is where we disagree.” Just then his wife came over with their two small children. I asked, “Is she Israeli too?” He said no, she's as Catholic as can be. I replied, “Well, Yeshua is the perfect solution. Shelanu. (He’s ours). He’s the Moshiach (Messiah)." He said, “Then why isn't there peace in the world?” I answered, “That's part two of the story. Don’t forget about part one, where the Messiah is our atonement.” We both laughed.
* A Christian man and his teenage daughter came to the booth. He said, “Do you remember us? We were here last year.” He explained how is daughter is a bit mentally challenged, but loves anything to do with Israel. How she watches things on TV about Israel. And how they were at the Fair and she didn’t even care about the rides, but just kept asking to go "to the Israel booth.” She was so sweet. He got several things for his daughter and let me take a photo with them.
* “Lenny” is Jewish and originally from Ukraine. He has a season pass to the Fair so he stopped by on two different days to talk. As a youth he said he was denied entrance to medical school in Ukraine because he was Jewish. He is of the opinion that you can never know for sure if God exists, sin does not exist, etc. I explained that God does exist, sin is real, and Jesus is the atonement for our sin. He said, “If it makes you happy, then ok.” I replied, “I don’t want it because it 'makes me happy'. I want it only because it is the truth.” He wouldn't take any literature but did let me take his picture.
* Two Israelis came by with a baby carriage, and they were excited to see the booth. They bought something in Hebrew, and I explained that I was a Messianic Jew and what that means. They took a book in Hebrew of Israeli testimonies.
* A Jewish man stopped with his wife, asking about the menorahs we had for sale. Turns out she is not Jewish but still lights their Shabbat candles. I explained that Yeshua/Jesus is the Messiah, and they took the prophecy flyer that I offered.
* Julius is 101 years old came by on his scooter. He stopped to look at everything. He said he was Jewish and also from NY originally, like me. He was also in WW2 as a filmmaker for the U.S. ARMY. He was responsible for getting war footage on film. He was even at the famous invasion of Normandy. (Some of the B/W footage you see on TV from WW2 might have been shot by Julius!) I spoke about Jesus / Yeshua and he said he knows all about it since his daughter is a Messianic Jew. That was great to hear. I asked him about Yeshua for himself, and he said he was not a religious man. We spoke for about 20 minutes, and he did let me pray for him before he rolled away.
* A Jewish woman stopped and said, “I don’t get it. Why not just be a Christian or a Jew? My husband is Catholic and I’m Jewish. We go to each other’s services and respect each other’s religion.” So that opened up a great conversation explaining why I am a “Messianic Jew” and not simply a “Gentile Christian” and how it makes perfect sense as the message was about a Jewish Messiah, in a Jewish land, etc. She began to nod and said she could understand my point of view now. I also explained about the Jewish people not looking at the evidence and she interjected, “I’m a lawyer” and I said, “Great, so you can understand why I reject rabbinical “tradition” and instead looked at the evidence for the Messiah in the Hebrew Bible.” It was a great conversation about 15 minutes long and she ended up talking a Messianic Prophecy book.
* An Israeli man, whom I spoke with on the first day, returned to the booth a few days later. He shared that since our initial conversation, he has had several discussions about Yeshua. These conversations haven't just been with people here at the fair but also with friends in Israel over the phone. He expressed surprise at how naturally the topic of Yeshua (Jesus) has been coming up in his interactions. As he walked away, he pointed at his ears and said, “I’m listening.”
* A Jewish man in his 40s showed up with his wife. He had a very strong, thick New York accent, so of course we spoke about New York for a bit, and then he said, "Is this Jews for Jesus?" And I said, "Well, Messianic Jews is more of the general term." He said he wanted to understand it, and I explained it to him briefly. He said, "Well, organized religion is a bad thing." I said, “Yes, it can be, but we're here talking about faith in the Messiah, not organized religion.” He did take a prophecy flyer and a book of testimonies.
* A young girl stopped by with her mother, and she said her father was Jewish. She is in her twenties, and she's trying to ‘figure things out’ because she doesn't understand the difference between the faiths. She mentioned that she grew up going to church only a small amount of time, but she's always felt drawn to the Jewish people, and I explained how being a Messianic Jew is the best of both worlds. I pointed her to a congregation locally, and she said she would try to attend. As I gave her a free prophecy book, she said, "I'll take whatever you've got." So in addition to the prophecy book, I gave her a Jewish testimony book, a messianic prophecy flyer, and a small New Testament. She was very appreciative and said, "I'm trying to learn."
* A Jewish man stopped with his wife. He said he knew a lot of the items we had for sale because his dad still had some of them from ‘the old country.’ I explained I was a Messianic Jew and what that meant. He sounded interested, but his wife interjected, “Well, I'm a Buddhist.” I explained how I became a believer in Jesus because of the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible. I did give him a free prophecy book, and he happily accepted it.
* A Jewish woman said. “I don't understand. Do you think he's just a prophet? I have no problem believing he was a prophet.” But I replied, “No. We believe He is the God of Israel, Hashem, visiting us in human form - just like He did with Abraham in the Torah.” I continued, “He is my atonement. Whenever we break something, either we pay for it or someone else does. And that is what Yeshua did for me. He paid for my sins. All of my sins are paid for.” When the conversation ended, she took the prophecy book and the testimony book that I offered her.
* A family of about five Israelis came by. I gave them Hebrew gospel literature and showed them the “Yeshua loves you” (in Hebrew) T-shirt hanging on the wall. They were amazed to see everything. I said I was a Messianic Jew and shared with them.
* A Christian couple came to the booth with their Jewish friend who was ‘hanging out’ with them for the day. The Christian man was very excited to see the booth; he asked me, “So how did you become a believer in Jesus?” making sure that their Jewish friend was listening. So I gave my testimony to him, and the friend listened too. I also explained how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah. The Christian man was so excited over the encounter. He joyfully shook my hand before he left the booth with their Jewish friend in tow.
* A Jewish man came over to the booth with his wife. He was looking at all the items, and we had a short discussion. As he was walking away, he said, “You have your truth, and I have my truth.” I said, “That’s not logical. Truth doesn't work that way.”
* A husband, wife, and their three teenage daughters came by. After they had bought several rings, I explained that I'm a Messianic Jew and that I grew up in New York. She replied, “Well, I'm a Holocaust surviving Jew” (meaning someone in her family was in the Holocaust.) I said I understood the pain, but there was more to life than that.
* A mother and daughter stopped on a Thursday. They were excited to tell me that she (the daughter) is engaged to an Israeli man. Then on Sunday, they came back again, with him this time, to show him everything in the booth. He was excited to see the booth as an Israeli. I explained that I was a Messianic Jew. He said to me, more than once, “Thank you for being here representing my country.” He took a Hebrew gospel bookmark, and he shook my hand in thanks before he left.
* A young couple in their early twenties stopped by the booth. He was wearing a Chai (a famous Jewish word meaning ‘life’), and she said. “I'm really glad to see you guys here because we were just talking about the Messianic faith.” After asking a few questions, it turned out he was Jewish, she was a gentile Baptist, and they were both dating. They were looking for something in common about that part of their relationship and just came across our booth. I explained, “Being Messianic is the best of both worlds!” She had a big smile on her face. I gave him a free testimony book and also gave them a local congregation card where they could visit.
* A Jewish woman visited our booth and expressed appreciation of our products. She shared the heavy burden of having no remaining close relatives left, as her parents were Holocaust survivors who lost most of their family during that time. Since her parents passed away, she has felt deeply alone. I shared that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob understands her circumstances and offers her peace through the Messiah, Yeshua. While she did not outright reject this, she is working through significant pain regarding the persecution that has historically occurred in the name of Jesus. I am praying the Holy Spirit will provide comfort for her.
* A gentile believer stopped by the booth. She was struggling with her faith and feeling let down by her church. She expressed a desire for a more Messianic perspective. I was able to give her a business card for a local Messianic congregation. She seemed quite uplifted by the time she left.
