Ft Lauderdale BYG

When Sheldon, and I and our daughter Erika, headed for Ft Lauderdale on the red-eye in March to join the Jews for Jesus Behold Your God Campaign for its final week, we had an idea of what to expect. After all, Sheldon & I had been on 2 campaigns before and we filled Erika in on all the tasks a behind-the-scenes assistant steward would be expected to do. But, as usual, the Lord had to switch things up a bit and teach us about flexibility!

We were met at the airport by a lady named Karen who was wearing not only a Jews for Jesus t-shirt, but also a red clown face and a big multi-colored wig. We knew we were in for an exciting time in Florida. After circling the airport for what seemed like a couple hours trying to find the other person she needed to pick up (and not even knowing what he looked like), we were brought to our first assignment, a kiosk right in the middle of a very Jewish mall! This kiosk had lots of free materials and not-so-free books and gifts, but they were just to draw people in. Our main focus was to get people to see the name, think about Jews for Jesus, and hopefully engage in constructive dialog.

People saw the name alright and cursed, stuck their tongue out, shook their heads, and even threw a soda at the booth. But for every person not happy about us, there were three others giving us thumbs-up, smiles, and encouraging words. We did have many fruitful conversations with unbelieving Jewish people who were really seeking. There is a hunger for God and we could see it in their eyes. We pray for all those we met and those who just walked by, because they need to know that the Jewish Messiah is ready to fill the longing of their hearts.

The Bible says some sow to plant the seed, others water, and still others reap the harvest. While our group did all three, it also felt like we were doing one more thing – PLOWING the soil! We felt we were being used of God to till the soil to make way for the Holy Spirit to work on people’s hearts. The Jews for Jesus branch has been in the area for over 20 years, but the leader, Stan Meyer, said he was grateful for the work the team members accomplished.