An EOFY letter from Bob Mendelsohn, Director, JFJ AustralAsia

Dear friends in Messiah,
Shalom! As the financial year ends in our region; as the lockdowns ease a bit in Australia and New Zealand; as coronavirus continues to kill men, women and even children worldwide, uncertainty fills the air. When 2020 began, things were good on many levels, but now ordinary and extra-ordinary things seem to bother many and frustrate almost every government and business which is trying to succeed. Here in Sydney we have reopened with regular trade in our Jews for Jesus bookshop, and yet several other businesses on our streets have shut, probably never to reopen. Our national treasurer announced that we are in a recession, and how that will affect things going forward - no one really knows.

With that as a backdrop to my final letter of fiscal year 2019-2020, one would think I would be sad or gloomy. But my forecasting is not based on temporal issues, nor past performances of others, nor of wishful thinking of what might be ahead. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. And if the last 3 months has been any indicator, then if we are faithful in proclaiming the Gospel to Jews and non-Jews, God's people will continue to be faithful to support us in what lies ahead. Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews for Jesus, used to say, "It's much easier to raise funds than to be worthy of them." That ever haunts me and urges me forward. As a result, we continue to proclaim Jesus, not so that we are funded, but so that people, here in Sydney and far afield, will hear of God's great love and be given the opportunity to be born again.

"It's much easier to raise funds than to be worthy of them."- M. Rosen

We have been working to make Bondi Junction aware of the ministry all year by sponsoring Shabbat meals which brought together Jewish believers and unbelievers from the area for a good meal and a bit of religious observance and a message from the Scriptures. Each of those gatherings were lively as we discussed topics of the day and topics that the weekly reading of the Torah gave us. Rebekah, our intern here, originally from New Zealand, organized the food and the ambiance and our guests found each other to be worth their while in sharing together. We were just hitting our stride when COVID-19 knocked out our activities; we anticipate rebooting after the premier allows us very soon.

A donor couple up in Hervey Bay, Queensland, sent us 20 litres, then another 20 litres a week later, of hand sanitizer. We wondered what we could do with these, perhaps refilling other people's little bottles. We offered those initially with little success, but then my wife suggested we buy little 50-60 ml bottles and distribute them freely. I wrote a flyer to attend; James, our administrator drew up the labels for the clear bottles, and within days we were able to distribute hundreds of them. And the good will we noticed and the responses, especially of the Jewish people who took them, was worth every effort.
We continue to serve the global community by fielding comments and questions on LiveChat each week. I continue to teach a new Bible class on the book of Romans each Friday morning on Zoom (and which is now available on YouTube), and we meet and care for Jewish contacts on the phone and now in person as restrictions lift. Rebekah went back to New Zealand during the lockdown and stayed with her family and has now returned to be with us in service here in Sydney.

Could you please pray for the following Jewish people with whom we have been meeting (names are adjusted to preserve privacy)? Sarah, a mainstay at her synagogue who doesn't even believe in God; Harry, married to a Christian woman as they try to sort out their religious lives together; Valery, a Russian engineer whom we see most every day and who is reading the Bible religiously--may it make it deep into his soul. So many others, too. Some we see as they bring in their bottles in the Return and Earn scheme. Some come into the shop to buy a product but really they just want to talk about God. For many we give them a Bible; like Terri, to whom we gave a Bible in her own foreign language and the next day she returned to thank us and to give us a box of specialty tea as a thank you as well. God wants to soften her heart to his love.
Friends, I tell you about these individuals, and each week we see many others who are at one stage or another of consideration of the Gospel. Your donations through the year, and certainly at the End of Financial Year, really help us to have the needed resources to keep sharing Christ. You supply the lights and heat in the shop. You supply the ISSUES magazines we distribute freely. You underwrite the postage as we send resources each week to Jewish people country-wide. And our main resource is our staff; your giving to keep each of us employed allows us to speak individually to each of these Jewish people. For that we are eternally grateful.

Stay warm; stay connected; keep sharing the love of God in Jesus, amen?

Bob Mendelsohn
June, 2020