Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine Jewish Outreach 2000!

Shalom Aleikhem Mishpochah (Greetings, Peace, and Spiritual Wellness to all, Family)!

I want to thank all of you who prayed and interceded spiritually for this missions trip and also for those who contributed financially. I also wish to thank Pastor Bob Collins and the World Outreach Worship Center who financially sponsored over 75% of my costs for this international Jewish outreach with Sid Roth of Messianic Vision and his head prayer intercessor Carol Howell. I would like to share with you some supernatural stories of Hungarian, Russian, and Ukrainian Jews and Gentiles that accepted Messiah Yeshua as their savior, experienced supernatural healing, and celebrated the joyous biblical festivals of Yom Kippur and Sukkot. We left John F. Kennedy airport in New York city on October 6th, 2000 for Budapest Hungry, our first stop on a two week mission trip to spread the "Good News" of Messiah Yeshua. Budapest is the capital of Hungary with a population of two million people. Situated on the Danube River, it is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Because of the great spiritual vacuum left behind after 70 years of communist rule that ended ten years ago, less than 1% of Hungary's population of 10 million people are born-again Christians. The Harvest field in Hungary is large and workers are few but God is moving in Hungary in a mighty way. We spent three days and three nights in and around Budapest,

Budapest

participated in three Jewish outreach/festivals and ministered in several home group prayer meetings. A Pastor name Joseph Gere who pastors the 300+ member "Free Christian Church" in Szigetszentmiklos (a suburb of Budapest) invited me to speak to his congregation about the "One New Man" of Ephesians 2 that following Sunday upon hearing me blow the Shofar Friday night at an outreach! The preceding Saturday Carol Howell and I meet with a group of 20 Messianic Jews for a home group prayer meeting in a Budapest ground floor apartment. Upon covering and shutting the windows and locking the front door the prayer meeting began. Every time the door bell rang or there was a knock at the door the meeting came to a stand still and every person there would freeze and anxiously sit silent until someone answered the door and gave the all clear nod! Upon my inquiry into this bizarre situation, it was gently explained to us that although communist rule ended ten ears ago, Hungary is still not a completely free society like America and that they (the Messianic Jews and Orthodox Jews) are routinely harassed and followed because they are Jews! This was a common thread throughout every eastern block country we visited. We (Sid, Carol, and I) were followed and trailed continuously while we were in all three countries! Although being followed can be uncomfortable we were comforted and emboldened by Psalm 118:6 "With the Lord on my side, I fear nothing - what can human beings do to me?" In these three outreaches/festivals, hundreds of orthodox Jews received Messiah Yeshua into their heart as Lord and Savior, thousands of non-Jews received Yeshua into their hearts as Lord and Savior, and dozens of miraculous healings took place (everything from headaches to birth defects). I experienced in Budapest the first of three profound observations that would be common to Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine. The first was basic survival needs!

Electricity, clean water, running water, and available housing are all taken for granted here in America, but in these three countries they are in short supply or not available at all. God's children in these countries depend on God for their basic everyday survival as the electricity, water, and housing are intermittently available or not available at all.

The second observation I saw that was common to Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine were the extremely young age of the Pastors, Associate Pastors, Worship Leaders, and Staff. With the rare exception of an isolated older pastor who ran an underground church during the communist reign, most Pastors are under the age of 25!

Worship Team (Levites) in Odessa Ukraine Shabbat Candle lighting, Odessa, Ukraine.

They are hungry for God and submit themselves to His leadership and guidance as a young and new generation is being raised up to shepherd these former communists into reclaiming their "Promised Land". As Jews and Gentiles come together they are creating the "One New Man" of Ephesians 2. God brought one of the worlds most powerful nations ever known on the face of the earth to their knees, to turn an atheist government and it's people back to Him! Hallelujah! This is also a warning for us here in America as well. God's word is clear, He will punish those who become hard hearted, stiff-necked, and turn from His ways! America must return to God or face the same outcome!

The third commonality I saw in all three nations was the biblical pattern of evangelism known as "to the Jew first" or the "Law of Evangelism". As Dick Rueben so often states, "When the pattern is right, the Glory will fall." Every Festival, Outreach, and Conference spreading the "Good News" of Messiah Yeshua that we attended was specifically targeted to the "Jew First" as stated in the following scriptures:

John 4:22
Matthew 10:5-6
Matthew 15:22-28
Acts 10:42-43, 45-47
Acts 11:18-21
Romans 1:16
Acts 13:46-47
I Peter 4:16-17

These scriptures do not place the Jew above the Gentile or Vise Versa. Rabbi Paul explicitly stated that through the Blood of Messiah Yeshua, all Gentiles who accept Yeshua as their Savior are adopted into the Jewish root and that there was no difference between Jew and Gentile. What the scripture does say is that the Biblical pattern of evangelism is "to the Jew First." The Jews were to be the world's evangelists (as stated in the above listed scriptures and in Isaiah 42:6 & 49:22), spreading the news of God's salvation through His Son to both Jew and Gentile! God is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow. His plan hasn't changed. These Outreaches would seat between 3,000 and 5,000 people. They were almost always filled to standing-room-only capacity. Roughly 10-15% of those present were Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform Jews. The other 85-90% were mostly unsaved Gentiles. We know that Yeshua said in Matthew 23:39 to Israel "For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say " Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'" This is happening today as God's prophecy's are being fulfilled and Jews around the world are coming to know Yeshua as their Savior. As they come back into the flock they are bringing hundreds of thousands if not millions of Gentiles with them. Time is running short as our Lord and Savior Messiah Yeshua is preparing to return. Paul stated in Romans 11:15 "For if their (Jews) rejection (of Yeshua) is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead." Paul is talking about true world revival in the acharit-hayamim (Hebrew for the "End Times"). When we reached out to the Jews we received Jews and thousands of non-Jews (including over a dozen neo-nazi Skin heads in Hungary who left when God's Glory fell). A solitary Christian outreach would have reached the unsaved Gentile but not the Jew. God has a plan and order. Yeshua is coming soon. AMEN!

Our second stop was Saint Petersburg, Russia. Located in Northwest Russia on the Baltic Sea, Saint Petersburg is a beautiful city of some 4 million people. Spending three days in Saint Petersburg, thousands were saved and dozens of healings took place. As in the other countries, we were followed every where we went but in Russia it was the most obvious and overt. Saint Petersburg is one of the most anti-Semitic regions in the world and Jews are openly hated and persecuted here. We also encountered the greatest resistance here from the Orthodox (Hasidic) Jews who opposed the "Truth" of Messiah Yeshua and the news of His Salvation. Prior to the second scheduled outreach in Saint Petersburg, a group of Hasidic (Orthodox) Jews publicly protested in front of the rented theatre where the word was being preached. They passed out anti-Yeshua flyers, video taped all Jews entering the building, and were chanting Kabala curses over us and the event. The protesters (including the local Hasidic Rabbi) told the attendees that they had been caught on film and would not be allowed to immigrate from Russia to Israel (Aliya). The protestors said the video would be shown to Israeli immigration officials and those attending the outreach would be denied Israel Visa's because they would be labeled as Christians and believers in Yeshua. This was a tactic that was reminisce of the KGB! When we pulled up to the theatre in our taxi Sid said to start taking photographs of the protesters. I began taking pictures as soon as I got out of the cab and this made the protestors extremely agitated but they

Sid Roth (Messianic Jewish Evangelist) Speaking the Gospel
to Orthodox Rabbi, St. Petersburg, Russia

Located on the Northern coast of the Black Sea, Odessa is a lovely sea-port city that is actively seeking a move of God. Odessa was the most spiritually liberated city we visited. Gods' Spirit was sweat and joyous here as God's children Praised and Worshiped Him through song and dance!

Messianic Jewish Praise and Worship Dance, Odessa Ukraine

God is using Odessa as an egress point for Jews returning to Israel via the Black Sea into the Mediterranean and on to Israel. Carol Howell and I went to the Port of Odessa to pray in the Spirit and to blow the Shofar. Significant Spiritual warfare Victory was won as well as thousands of Jews and Gentiles were saved and dozens of miraculous healings occurred through Lord Messiah Yeshua.

I learned far more from our brothers and sisters in Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine then they learned from me. God is moving in a supernatural way in these former Soviet Block countries. He is raising up a generation unto Him. Lacking the American staples of shopping malls, big-screen televisions, cable television, computers/internet, and apathy towards God and life, they are on the cusp of national revival. Seeking Him and depending on Him for daily life, they are profoundly changing the face of their countries and setting them apart as a peculiar and holy people, they are focused on Messiah Yeshua and are hungry for more of His presence! I am honored and humbled by His allowing my service in God's mighty velvet army. We are living in the end times and God is calling forth World Revival as His Son, Messiah Yeshua prepares to return for ONE spotless bride, Jew and Gentile, One New Man in Christ! The Harvest is large and waiting!