November 2011

A JOURNEY WORTH TAKING

The life of Abraham gives us a wonderful picture of walking and serving by faith. You know who's leading you, but you don't how the journey will transpire. You have to get on the road if you want to find out. That's the way it was this time when I traveled to Israel.

Leading up to the departure date, the boardwalk ministry in New York seemed to be booming. On one of the last days in July, fifteen people approached me as I sat with guitar in hand. The first Russian man was the chief engineer on a merchant ship. I just "happened" to be playing his life-long favorite song as he walked up behind me. We had a good conversation.

At one point, seven young Cossacks were perched on the boardwalk banister like blackbirds on a telephone line listening to me crow a few songs of their choosing. We became good friends, a precursor of my style of evangelism.

At midnight, I called Marilyn. I was trying to get away and head home. A young couple came along as I ended the call. Interestingly, the young man asked me what Jesus added to Judaism. It was a great after-midnight chat. Due to tiredness, I had to excuse myself at one o'clock. Their last words rang in my ears, "When you get back from Israel, if you don't call us, we'll call you." How can a person be so blessed and tired at the same time!

I left a few days later to Israel. While there, I fulfilled all of my preaching obligations. I taught Bible classes as well. My conversations and counseling with many individuals were amazing. Many told me that the prayers mentioned two years ago had been answered! One young Israeli, who had been a victim of a terrorist bombing in a University dining hall, came to me excited. He had been miraculously spared whereas others right beside him died. A woman in the church had asked me to pray with her for a husband. She was all thrilled to introduce me to her "man."

There was an occasion in a park where Orthodox Jews gathered around me. A rabbi came up and placed a yarmulke on my head and wanted to pray a blessing on me for making the people happy with my music. I was able to witness with one of those happy people. The outcome of evangelism is not always known to us, but God surely knows.

Once I returned to the United States, all phases of the New York ministry resumed. One interesting event happened with two new acquaintances - Kerrill and Kostya. They had been in Ohio about four months on a student work visa from Russia. They came to New York for a short stay before their journey back home.