Venice, CA Outreach
HFI founder, Moran Rosenblit, has a special connection to the Venice Beach boardwalk outreach since he is fruit of this outreach. One of the most popular tourist attractions in California, the boardwalk at Venice Beach in Los Angeles is an eclectic mix of people from all walks of life throughout the world, including many Israelis. We continue to provide this outreach with bibles and reading resources in several different languages including Hebrew for the many Israelis tourists.
[EXPAND Read More…]Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel…~Ephesians 6:19
“It’s scary,” said Ricki, a young Israeli woman from Beer Sheva, before hesitatingly accepting a copy of Jacob Damkani’s autobiography, Why Me?, on the boardwalk of Venice Beach. After showing her Jacob’s Jaffa address and his phone number on the back page of the book, she agreed that she had nothing to lose by reading it—she could even contact the author in person if she had questions.
There is no set script that can be used to communicate effectively with each person who approaches our outreach book table on the Venice Beach boardwalk. Like the apostle Paul, we rely on the Holy Spirit to give us the right words for each individual. We are also able to give materials they can read and assimilate in their own language as we stand at one of the major crossroads of the world – just minutes from the Los Angeles International Airport and one of the top tourist attractions in California. According to Doug Pyle, a long-time presenter of the gospel to the Jewish people (and founder of our book table), there may be no other book table like ours in the world. Each Sunday we distribute many bibles and outreach materials in Hebrew, Russian, Farsi, French, and English.
Volumes could be written about the encounters that have taken place at the book table over the past 10 years. Thousands of people from all over the world – many of them Israelis- have taken material from our table. We usually do not know the long-term outcome of those interactions. But I know of one Israeli, Moran Rosenblit, who first heard and believed the gospel by reading the book, Why Me?, that was given to his friend at the Venice Beach book table. I first met Moran at the book table about 7 years ago. He was an intense, quiet, soulful new believer who observed everything that transpired at the book table without saying much. To me, Moran represented the vanguard of a movement of young believers who could fearlessly take the gospelto the boardwalk of Venice and beyond. I am grateful to Hope for Israel for providing literature that can be distributed on the boardwalk and am confident that in the world to come we will see just how much God used these humble yet sincere efforts for His glory.
Please pray for those who proclaim the gospel on the Venice boardwalk; it is hard work and laborers are few. But most of all, pray that God will bring to salvation those who hear the gospel or who read literature that is distributed each Sunday on Venice beach.
Eric Larsen
Venice Beach Outreach [/EXPAND]
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