Actual Fair Booth Conversations
** A young Jewish man laughed at our “My boss is a Jewish Carpenter” bumper sticker. I said that Jesus was Jewish and was “one of us”. I offered him a prophecy flyer and he took it.
** A husband and wife came asking for a star with a cross. She said she was Jewish – he was Catholic. They bought two necklaces to show their union. When I asked if she believed in Jesus as Messiah, she said no. I asked if she would read at least one testimony from a book of testimonies if I gave it to her. She said yes and was excited to receive it.
** A woman was excited to see our booth. I asked her if she was Jewish. “Yes,” I asked, “Are you from NY?” She said, “Yes – The Bronx.” I said, “Me too!” She gladly took a testimony book after talking with me for some time.
** A Snowbird Jewish couple from Toronto came over. I said, “Toronto? We go to the CNE there every year” and they knew about it. They were surprised that we travel all over. I explained who we are.
** A Jewish young girl came up and asked very curiously “Which religion are you?” I explained that we are Jews and believe that Jesus is the Messiah. She obviously had a Jewish education as she asked several good questions about the Beit Hamikdash and the galut (Jewish exile). She listened to everything I said and then thanked me, but walked away.
** A Jewish couple stopped. He said he was not brought up religious. He asked why the menorah had only seven branches and not nine. I explained that this was not a Hanukkiah, but from the Torah. He laughed, “I never knew that. That shows you I am not religious.” Anyway, he didn't want a testimony book, but actually, his wife did take it.
** A guy from the Catholic booth came over today. As the conversation progressed I shared on how wrong the Catholic Church is on many theology issues. He said he did not agree with all the Catholic things anyway. He has the Complete Jewish Study Bible and loves it. He also shared that his best friend is an old Jewish doctor who is dying and asked how to share with him. I gave him some pointers and then we prayed for the Jewish man. He left thanking Pat and I profusely.
** An elderly Jewish couple stopped and loved all the products. They bought two mezuzah. I explained that we are Messianic Jews and she was curious. She said she grew up in Germany and I offered her a book of testimonies making sure to tell her that the fourth testimony in there was a Holocaust survivor. She gladly took the book and our card and said she would read all of them.
** A well-dressed businessman type man comes up excitedly to the booth. He says he is Jewish, wife is Catholic. He said he was not religious, but some things happened to him so he has started going to Chabad since they are so very friendly. He and his wife are going to Israel in April (flying first class, no less) and so I talked a bit about what he can expect. His wife came over and was very excited to see the booth. I explained about MJ's and they both agreed about the Jewishness of Jesus, the Last Supper, etc. I told them to attend a Messianic Congregation as the “best of both worlds”. (Sadly I had no card to hand them about a local congregation) but I offered him a book. He said he was not a reader, but his wife gladly said she would read it.
** Two men come up – obviously a couple. One was Israeli (the other man was Spanish) who said he was from Jerusalem. They loved all the items and even bought a Challah cover. I explained I was a Jewish believer in Yeshua and my father was from Israel. I gave him a testimony book in Hebrew which he looked at and then said he would take. Then his Spanish “friend” discovered our Spanish book section. He ended up buying several of our books. Hopefully, the books will speak to him about his lifestyle.
** A gentile couple stopped for about 15 minutes. He told me he has been watching Rabbi Tovia Singer's (anti-missionary) YouTube videos and it made him lose his faith in Christianity. I asked him if he ever watched (or read) the Messianic Jewish response to those arguments. He said no. I told him about Dr. Michael Brown's book series and videos. I also told him that I too read similar arguments as a young Jewish person and then read the Messianic response – and the Messianic response was much better. I also gave him some arguments that he had not heard before. All the while his wife was listening in, nodding in agreement with me and motioning to her husband as if to say, “Listen to him.”
** An Israeli stopped on Shabbat and was amazed to see our booth. I shared about MJ's. I shared that if Yeshua is not the Jewish Messiah then close every church down as a lie. He agreed. But then I said, “Then who will tell the world about the God of Israel? Islam will not, Buddhism will not, and even the Jewish people don't spread the message of the God of Israel around the world. But God clearly wants the world to know Him. How will it happen then?” He looked at me speechless and did not have an answer. Then I offered him a Hebrew book and he took it. We shook hands. It was a great conversation.
** A Jewish woman who works at a Reform Synagogue came to the booth and looked at all our mezuzah. She bought like five of them (the inexpensive ones) as she said the Synagogue likes to put one in each welcome packet for a new Jewish family that attends. I told her that we were Messianic Jews and she said she knew that. I put our bookmark in the bag with her items.
** A family of at least eight Muslims stopped by (the women all wore head coverings). They were very nice and asked if we were Jews or Christians. I explained and they said - we thought Jews don't believe in Jesus? I said most do not, but a few of us do, and that I accepted Him and my family kicked me out years ago. I said that I was sure He is the Messiah and that He died as my substitute. After a few minutes of conversation, they said thank you and they smiled and all walked away.
** As I was at home packing my suitcase last week, I found one lone Russian gospel booklet floating around in my closet. Something told me to “pack it” so I did. Sometime at the booth this week, a Jewish older woman stopped. She was talking to someone and I heard her accent. I asked, “Where is your accent from?” She said it was Russian. I immediately offered her that one Russian booklet I had and she read the cover and took it. That was the only Russian person I spoke to all week long. Apparently, it was meant for her.
** While in Tampa I was at a counter paying for something and the clerk asked about my work. So I explained how I teach Christians about the Jewish roots of the faith. She then said, “I’m Jewish” and so I switched gears. I explained the gospel to her, why Christians love Israel, etc. She listened intently and then asked wasn’t Jerusalem where Jesus' grave was? I said yes, but I then explained about the resurrection and hope for eternal life. It was a great conversation and she even wrote down the name of Shoresh David (a local congregation) and I encouraged her to visit them soon.
** Barry, a Jewish man came up to the booth. Said last year at our booth was the first time he ever heard that Jesus was the Messiah. He said he told his 82 y/o mother at home as well. We had a short discussion and he took a prophecy sheet.
** An Israeli family stopped and thought I spoke Hebrew. I said, “We are Messianic Jews” in Hebrew. They just smiled. They said it was nice to see a booth about Israel here. They were looking in amazement at all the items. The grandfather read the Robin Williams quote and laughed and then called over his son to read it.
** A Woman was looking around at everything for a while, but I didn’t think she was Jewish. Then she came up to me and said something in Yiddish. I responded in what Yiddish I remember from childhood. Then she asked me if I spoke Hebrew too. I responded again with a bit of Hebrew. So I apparently passed her test and she opened up and said she knew about Messianic Jews and lived in Israel for five years. She said Christians try to tell her about Jesus all the time. I told her about the large Messianic Congregation in Dallas. She said she knew all about them. She asked if I knew what the Rabbi’s name was there. I didn’t. She said, “Rabbi Waldman.” She asked, “Do you know what my last name is – Waldman.” (She was unrelated to him, however.)
** A Jewish boy about 8 came up and excitedly asked “Do you speak Hebrew?” I asked, “Do you?” He said yes. I said, “I speak a little Hebrew” in Hebrew. He then got a big smile. I let him go without saying anything since he was so young and his parents were a bit away from the booth.
** Noah a young man wanted to argue that Isaiah 53 was about Israel. I asked if he read it. He pulled out his cell and read it and said that Rashi explained that Isaiah in other places calls Israel he. I said it doesn't make sense that Israel was wounded for Israel transgressions. I challenged him to pray and ask God to reveal the Messiah. He wouldn’t take our materials. But noted our website.
** I had a conversation with a man who is a CPA for a tech firm. He wouldn't take a book or bookmark but said his Christian wife could take it.
** The first person I talked to at the fair today was a Jewish believer. We had many of the same experiences coming to Jesus: youth group attendance because of girls, starting to consider Jesus at the youth group, and reading More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. It was so encouraging.
** A 20-year-old woman came up with the "Texas cowgirl look" (dress with cowboy boots.) By the way, this is how many dressed this week, especially at the University of Texas vs. Oklahoma University game. She bought a Shalom Y’all mug, and I thought she was a believer. She was a Jewish non-believer and she had never heard about Messianic Jews. I gave her the Gospel, the Sid Roth book, and a bookmark. She did say she would "Check it out."
** A Sephardic Jew came by our booth. He said he had been looking on the internet about Jesus. He seemed generally open. He took a bookmark and my card.
** A woman came by and wanted to wish me a Happy Rosh Hashanah. She said she was Jewish. I told her I was a Messianic Jew. I offered to give her a book called God the Final Frontier. She said no, and she said I try to be correct. I asked her how she knows that right, and she said she tries to be kind to others. I said that's a good start, but not enough.
** Greg’s wife was witnessing to an unsaved Jewish woman. Susan offered her the prophecy sheet, but the woman did not want it. Susan showed her the book of Jewish testimonies. Susan was about to explain what it was about, and the woman grabbed it out of Susan's hands and said, "Actually, my husband will like this."
** A Jewish man with his gentile wife came up to the booth. I asked them if they were Jewish, and he said I am. I asked him about Jesus being the Messiah, and he said, “Can we really be sure?” I took him through the scripture that talked about Jesus being born of the seed of David, that he would be born in Bethlehem, and that he was the perfect sacrifice in Isaiah 53. He didn’t realize that his own Tanakh would be so direct about who the Messiah would be. He gladly took the materials that we had to offer and was really thankful and appreciative.
** I had an Israeli family stop by after the war began. The parents are here as teachers at a Hebrew school in Dallas. They had five kids with them. Their extended family is still in Israel. I let them know that we were Messianic believers, but they didn’t care. They said Israel needs all the support they can get. But what really grabbed my heart was the daughter. She must’ve been 13 years old and said, “Seeing all these things from Israel makes my heart warm.”
** A man with a kippa stopped and spoke in Hebrew for some time with our Israeli evangelist. At first, the man refused the literature, but then after they spoke for a while, he ended up taking a prophecy flyer from him.
** A Christian booth not far from us was giving out 'free walking sticks' with the gospel story in color beads on them. After the people heard the 2-minute gospel presentation they got to keep the walking stick. I would see people walking with these sticks all over the fair. So, a Jewish guy came to the booth with a stick and I spoke with him. He asked me what he could “trade up for” Jewish with his Christian stick. We laughed and I explained that I agreed with the other booth and shared a bit with him.
** A Jewish lawyer came to the booth looking for me. Jeff has visited the booth every year for the past 10 years and we are friends now. He always buys from us and while he does not agree with us, he is open.
** We had many “FREE Palestine” comments. Our Israeli evangelist was there when a group of about 7 stopped and gave him a dirty look – then mocked spitting into the booth. He is a strong guy and said he wanted to punch them. I said, please don’t!
** I had two kippa youths stop about 19 years old. They obviously knew who we were as they mentioned anti-missionary Tovia Singer and heard about Michael Brown. We had a pretty intense conversation going when a Muslim butts in and asks “What do you think about Palestine” But he assumed they were with me working at the booth! One of the youths started answering him and I had to cut him off saying he (the kippa guy) was not with us (I did not want a war at the booth!). So, the Muslim guy eventually left after I spoke to him and they asked me if I get a lot of that at the booth. I said quite a bit and they seemed to sympathize with me. A moment of Jewish bonding, LOL. I explained to them about the Akediah and how Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac and how that is a picture of Yeshua! One clearly looked like, wow – I never thought of it that way before. Anyway – they were both very antagonistic, but we all kept our heads, and I ended up shaking their hands before they left.
** One Hindu guy looked hungry for the truth. He was taking all of our literature. I told him that Jesus is the one who died for the world's sins, and He rose from the dead. I said this is different from your 2 million gods in Hinduism. He tried to tell me that Hinduism only believes in one true God as well. And all the other gods came from him. I told him that was not what I had heard of Hinduism.
** A Jewish man argued with me that Daniel was not in the Tanach. “Only Moses, Jacob, and David were prophets,” he said.
** A Jewish woman came to our booth and said she comes every year. I thought she was a believer but she said she believes in Jews for Judaism. I told her, “You’re missing the Messiah. You need to read Isaiah chapter 53.” She says books put me to sleep. I said, “Well, you can read it tomorrow when you’re wide awake.”
** Susan and I were blessed to speak with a Persian woman from Toronto who strongly believed in the Lord. Later, Susan found the woman washing her hands in the bathroom. Susan and the woman were talking about the Lord. A Jewish woman next to them heard and asked if they were talking about God. She told Susan she was very worried about her eternity. She asked, “Is there really a place we go to after we die?” Susan reassured her with Jesus’ words to the thief on the cross: “Today you will be with Me in paradise.” Susan also shared in John 3:16 that we can have everlasting life. She said she wanted to come to our booth tomorrow to receive some literature. She then told them she was filled with cancerous tumors and went to the fair to get some joy. I called this: How to witness in the bathroom.
** There were a few encounters with Christians from Palestine. We were united in the Lord, but we disagreed on The Land. Of course, I believe in the Jewish people residing in Israel, but I try not to debate this.
** An unsaved Jewish woman bought earnings for her Messianic son. I did not inquire why. I gave her a prophecy sheet for her son, but I asked her to read it. I explained how we can be Jewish and believe in Jesus.
** A young Jewish man who was engaged to a Catholic girl was checking out our rings. He was talking to me about Birthright in Israel. He took a prophecy sheet and God the Final Frontier book, and we encouraged him to read it. Susan also gave him my business card and told him to contact me for any questions. He seemed open and friendly.
** Our Israeli evangelist met a young Israeli guy, maybe 24, with his girlfriend at the booth. After a long conversation in Hebrew he was so excited. He turned around and told me, “That guy is going to come to faith.”
** Our Israeli evangelist spoke with a man (whole conversation in Hebrew) who said he was Orthodox, but not a regular Orthodox. That he follows Judaism only because of his ancestors. He reads Tanach, but not the prophets. Our Israeli said, “But that is how you will find Yeshua, in the prophets.” He was very laid back. His small son was dancing around his legs the whole time. The Jewish man said if Jesus is the Messiah, then, “Oh boy...” (Our Israeli evangelist translated it for me and laughed). Anyway – it was a great conversation.
** An Arab man came up to our Israeli evangelist and said he grew up hating Israel. After he found Jesus, he said he loves Israel. He knew our evangelist was an Israeli believer and said, “Can I hug you?” Then they took a big smiley photo together. What an amazing testimony. Our Israeli evangelist said he wishes his father (unbeliever) could understand that only Jesus could change such an Arab heart into love for Israel.
** One older woman was very gentle and asked if Jesus forgives all sins, then why not go out and murder – he will forgive you. I said a true believer will not want to do that. She said the standard, “if Jesus is the Messiah then why is there no world peace?” I replied – that is Part 2 of the story. Part 1 is the Messiah being our atonement. We talked for at least 15 minutes.
** I met a woman who was a flat-earth person. She tried to tell me that God does not make people that spin around the globe. She wanted to know my opinion on that observation. I did not want to debate such elementary subjects, so I just said that I believe God made the heavens and the earth. She still asked me for my opinion, but I kept telling her my views were interesting. I argue enough about God; I do not want to waste my time debating that the world is flat.
** I thought a woman was Jewish because she was looking at our Jewish rings, but she was married to a Jewish man, and she was a Christian. I gave her the messianic prophecy book. I also gave her my card, asking her if her husband was ever interested - give me a call. That's a huge long shot, but I thought I'd offer. I have been giving my Rock of Israel business card to more unbelieving Jewish people.
** An Israeli woman asked me if I spoke Hebrew. I said, "Bar Mitzvah Hebrew. " I asked her if she believed in God. She said, " No, I am an atheist." I gently asked how something could come from nothing. The woman's face became agitated, and she said, "I don't want to debate." I told her that I just asked her a question. She walked away, but I wish we could have had a conversation.
** A Jewish man came by and said, "What is your deal?" I explained to him the Gospel. He said he could not believe a person could atone for his sins. I shared that this model is easily seen in the Temple sacrifices that an animal took on the unintentional sins of national Israel in the Bible. Then he said that this atonement is not in the Bible. I told him maybe this is not there in his mind, but this model of atonement is clearly seen in the Bible. Then I quoted Leviticus 17:11: "That the life of the flesh is in the blood, and God has given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes and atonement for your souls." He did not have an answer and walked away. I did not want to slam-dunk the guy. My goal is a conversation, not winning an argument.
** A Jewish older man came by, and you could tell he was trying to become a woman. He said Deuteronomy 22 and 23 were horrible because they banned women from dressing as a man. He was walking away, but I said, “God’s way is always the best way.”
** An unsaved Jewish woman said she was buying a Jewish star from us because she didn't want to support Amazon. This was a first as an unsaved Jewish person who wanted us to be blessed financially.
** A Jewish woman had a Christian boyfriend. Susan said, “I have so much to tell you.” The Jewish woman said,” And I want to hear all you have to say.” She had a long conversation for about 20 minutes, covering many topics. She seemed to be intently listening to Susan.
** I got a Facebook message that a believer who got the Sid Roth book in Ohio gave it to her unsaved Jewish friend. I offered to call him if he was interested.
** An unsaved Jewish woman came back to our booth who came last year. Last year, she got the Sid Roth book but did not read it. I offered her the prophecy sheet, but she said no. I said, “Three strikes, you’re out. I will provide you with this small tract. This is my last thing.” She took it.
** A Jewish student who is president of her Jewish club bought a Jewish star. I asked her if she would look at a prophecy sheet. She said she had seen it on our other table. She took the sheet.
** There was a young man who I asked, “Did you have a Bar Mitzvah?” If so, I wondered what portion of the Haftorah he had read. He said he didn’t know, but it had something to do about God creating a new heaven on earth. I said that’s amazing. I had Isaiah chapter 66, which discusses how God brings forth a new heaven and earth after the Messiah comes again. I explained the first time he reconciled those who believed in him to God, after his resurrection in his second coming part 2. He will judge the world.
** A pagan witch said she was in the process of converting to Judaism. She had some crazy ideas about God. That when the Muslims defeated the Christians, they absorbed their power. Also, Judaism believed in many gods. She also explained to me the three different kinds of Pagans. I pointed out that the prophecies predicated on Jesus and his rising from the dead validated his claims as the Son of God. She seemed to bring up more nonsense about paganism.
** A Jewish woman said she had her truth, and I had mine. I told her I was pretty sure that truth is just truth. She was getting a bit frustrated, and her voice had an edge saying,” That is my opinion, and leave it at that” All I could do was pray, as she wanted nothing from me.
** One Jewish lady was there for a violin concert. I was able to convince her that my dad was a first-chair violinist in the Chicago Youth Orchestra. She was very impressed, and it gave me a point of cognition to share further about Jesus. I also shared that I was looking at my dad's yearbook from 1948. I showed Susan a picture of my dad as the first chair violinist at Lakeview High School. Susan said, "My Aunt Patricia is behind your dad as a second-chair violinist." The lady took all our literature and was blown away by this God-incidence. (Her words)
** Two satan followers had matching Satanic T-shirts. The shirts were black with the pentagram and some upside-down crosses with a sacrificed goat in the middle. Susan and I both asked them what their shirt meant. They both looked kind of confused, and stunned, and they did not know what to say to us. They knew the meaning but did not want to say it. I grabbed two Gospel tracts and said, "You guys should read this because it has something to do with your shirts." They said, "I am sure it does!" They took our tracts but walked away quickly. The darkness does not like the light.
** My wife Susan and I were going to our hotel room after a night at the fair. A Jewish guy came to us as we waited for the elevator. He asked us if we spoke Hebrew. I said a little bit from my Bar Mitzvah. He said he was from Israel. We had only a few seconds before our elevator door opened. Susan would not get off the elevator because she dug through her bag to give him a Jewish gospel tract.
** Six Orthodox Jews were all in town to celebrate a guy's wedding. One guy told the others, "Stop wasting your time talking to these people." I said, “I never find it a waste of time talking about God." One Orthodox Jew asked me, "How do we know Jesus was alive?" I replied He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. I am pretty sure he is alive." They grilled me on whether I was Jewish. Do I wrap Tefillin? Do I keep Kosher? Was I Orthodox? Even if I had a Ph.D. from Columbia University on Semitic languages, I knew that would not have been enough for them. They walked away, mostly laughing and mocking me, but they heard about the Messiah, crucified and risen. They will not laugh when they stand before the Lord. I gave them all bookmarks.
** A Jewish woman bought a yarmulke for her daughter. I told her most women don’t wear yarmulkes, and she said she goes to a JCC school. I told her we believed Jesus was the Messiah. Susan gave her a prophecy sheet, a Sid Roth testimony book.
** A Jewish man came up with the free “Christian Walking stick” given out by another booth. He asked to trade it for the shofar. I said yours is free, done by farmers in Canada and ours is worth $400 from Israel. I don’t think so.
** A Christian man was dating a Jewish woman. He was recently widowed. He bought $200 worth of stuff to bless her. She heard about Jesus, and she was willing to read the Sid Roth book. He should not be dating her; they will have many problems if they both have different faiths. It was interesting that she talked about purity.
** Two kids ran up to Susan, asking, “Who is the Rock of Israel?” She said, Jesus!” The kids smiled, then ran back to their Muslim mother. May salvation come to their home.
** One night Susan was concerned about all the Palestinians coming up, saying “From the rivers to the sea, Palestine, will be free,” and “Free Palestine!” One person put up the middle finger, taking a picture with our Kosher banner.
** Coming up, there were some teenagers, one was a Christian. There was also a Jewish young lady. The young lady had a friend who was a Messianic believer, and her old roommate was a Christian. She said they used to pray together. She said she is open! I shared with three of them the prophecy sheet, the Sid Roth testimony book, Isaiah 53. They all seemed very open. I told the Christian teen to help his Jewish friend in his faith. He said he would.
** An older woman in a scooter bought a mezuzah for her daughter. We got into a conversation and she was not far from where I was born... in White Plains, NY. I mentioned that I was a Messianic Jew and explained it. I offered her a testimony book and she said “Sure I'm open” and she took it and said, “I'll read it.”
** An Orthodox Jewish family walked by - husband and wife and three grown daughters. At first, they looked at the booth (the books) and then they saw some things that made their smile go away and then backed away. I said good morning in Hebrew and they ignored me and just kept walking.
** A Jewish man said, “I believe in the one true God.” I replied, “I do too” and “I believe in the Messiah.” He said, “There's no peace in the world.” I said that's part two of the story. Part one is he came to be our sin-bearer. He smiled and walked away.
** Had a fantastic conversation with Mike, from Long Island, NY who's an industrial designer about my age. He said he was Jewish and an atheist so I told him about an architect existing who designed this building – that chance did not make it. He agreed with me. I said well how much more so did something as complex as our body have a designer? That it didn't come by random chance. That made him think and he said I don't have an answer for that. I said well could it be that God is the designer of life. And then he starts talking about religion and that religion is just a way to explain things that people don't understand. I said “No”. That's man-made religions, but God existing is a separate issue and just because people believe in religion doesn't make God’s existence true or false. We have to look at the evidence. Anyway, it was a great conversation for almost 20 minutes. He actually gave me his email when I asked for it. Mike also said he goes to Shul just to make his wife happy and she yells at him to at least “pick up a prayer book” in the service. He said he attends just out of respect.
** A Jewish couple in their 30s stopped. She said she was in Israel for a month. After a few questions, I could tell they were secular. They did take a testimony book.
** A Jewish man about my age stopped and sadly said he lost his father two weeks ago. After talking to him, it sounded like he was looking for somebody to do a memorial service or similar since he was not connected with the Jewish community here. I gave him the number of the local Messianic congregation he was appreciative. He came back when I wasn't looking and gave our booth volunteer a quick $10 donation for the ministry.
** Two sisters in their 40s bought some things and said only their father was Jewish “so we're not really Jewish”. (A typical wrong Jewish attitude due to rabbinical teachings). I told them they were indeed Jewish according to Scripture. I told them I was a Messianic Jew and they said they were raised Latter-Day saints by their mother, but were not Mormon anymore. I asked, “Do You Believe in Jesus?” One of them flatly said no, so I went into a gospel presentation. She did take a testimony book and she was very much listening to me.
** On Rosh HaShana morning, before the fair opened, I walked around trying to find Israeli vendors at their booths with a shofar in my hand. One saw me and came up to our booth a few minutes later, an Israeli woman, and I asked her if she wanted to hear the shofar. She said “Yes!” After I blew it she said quietly “Amen”. (It was like we had a little mini-service together.) She said, “It is terrible we have to work on Rosh Hashana.” Then she said, “Your father was here two weeks ago.” I said, “With the beard? Oh that wasn't my father” LOL.
** A Jewish woman comes up and she says, “I haven't found a lot of Jewish people here.” Turns out she's from New York and her husband lived like five minutes from where I grew up, so we had a lot in common. She took a testimony book.
** A Jewish man in his 40s stopped and asked how come evangelicals are all about politics. I agreed it was wrong and said we need to focus on Jesus and not politics. He took a prophecy flyer.
** Young Jewish teenage women with fishnet stockings took our book and the pamphlet. She had spider tattoos and shorts that could not be any shorter. She looked like a punk rocker from the 80’ s. She said, “This is (The f-word ) cool.” She said she is a reader and loves books. We saw her walking with her girlfriend, who might be a lesbian. Oh well, Jesus came for the sick and sinful.
** An open Jewish guy said he is 52% Ashkenazi, but he was raised nothing. He took everything we offered him. A testimony book, God the Final Frontier book, and a prophecy sheet. He and his girlfriend seemed excited.
** One Jewish woman and her mother said, “We know all about prophecies” in a condescending way. I asked her, “Have you ever read Isaiah 53?” She started to walk away, and I said, “Check it out?” She said, “Why are you yelling at me,” I said, “I am not yelling. I am just asking a question.” I asked two people if I was rude or yelling, and they said, “No, you just asked them a question they could not answer, and they were rude to you.”
** Two Jewish women said, “We are just Jewish.” They refused a prophecy pamphlet. I challenged them to read Isaiah 53 because they would find it interesting. They both nodded and said sure.
** Two Jewish teens were looking at the Jesus Made Me Kosher banner. I inquired about her background. She was Jewish. She took the prophecy pamphlet with a huge smile.
** A young Jewish couple approached our booth at the San Diego Fair. The young woman stated she used to be Christian but converted to Judaism for her husband. I asked her what caused her to deny Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection. She stormed off, saying, "Don’t talk about spiritual things with me.” What surprised me was she bragged earlier about her religion degree, and she was reasonably talkative until I asked this question. I had struck a spiritual chord but only meant to discover why she had changed her faith.
** One of the highlights was meeting three Iraqi Christians on fire for Jesus. They bought a giant ark and our last big 10 Commandments. We also met at least ten other Iranian Christians. What was amazing is that each of these folks was on fire for Jesus. Susan had a great witness with them in that her grandfather was from Iran. We also met several Caledonian Christians.
** I told one Jewish man that the Messiah was rejected, and people were opening their eyes. We shared that when He returns, Jewish people will look upon Him whom we have pierced (Zech 12:10). I asked him about his Bar Mitzvah and what portion of scripture he read. He did not know. I gave him my business card with the Sid Roth book, prophecy pamphlet, and the “God’s Three Revelations” tract. He asked us if it was sacrileges to fold the prophecy paper to put it in the book. He looked up Joe DiMaggio on his phone because I mentioned he looked like him. He and his girlfriend laughed because they both thought he resembled him.
** An unsaved Jewish man bought a huge Jewish star pinky ring. If he hit someone, he would cut their face. He said he was a Reformed Jew. I asked him if his faith believed in heaven and hell. He stated, “We only believe in heaven.” I asked him, “Do you think Hitler and Mussolini are in Heaven?” He was stunned and a bit confused.
** A witch named Serena had a devil symbol necklace — the pentagram. She believes in Greek mythical gods. Susan and I both shared the Gospel extensively with her very clearly. She said she believed in Thor, Zeus, and Loci. I told her that her beliefs needed more faith than the Christian belief that Jesus was God and rose from the dead. We also gave her a book & tract to read and our business card in case she had questions in her search.
** A Jewish, almost blind atheist had some crazy ideas about the Dead Sea Scrolls. He returned later with his wife to buy a “Shalom Y’all” plaque. He could see a little, I guess. She bought it to annoy his mom (her mother-in-law), who detests hillbilly accents. May he receive the Light of the world!
