Chosen People Ministries sent an outreach team to New Zealand to minister to the thousands of Israelis who hike through the country after their time in the Israeli Army. Typically, these backpackers are sensitive, intelligent, thinking people, and very open to discussing spiritual issues. Our team shared the Gospel with these young men and women through evangelistic BBQs, Shabbat dinners, and spiritual conversations during long hikes.

Robynne:

• We all arrived in New Zealand after quite long journeys, and began our time together by praying and bonding as a team. Scott, our New Zealand staff member, gave us a great orientation to the lay of the land and to the many opportunities for ministry here. On Friday night we hosted a Shabbat dinner at a large backpacker hostel and invited people we met throughout the week. On Sunday night, together with a contact of Scott's, we hosted a BBQ where one of our team shared her testimony and the rest of us sat among the backpackers to continue the dialogue about spiritual topics. The next day, a couple of members of the team went on a four-hour hike with a European couple they had shared with. Some of us visited an acquaintance who was studying there, an Israeli who heard about Yeshua for the first time a couple of months ago in New York, and was looking forward to connecting again. Some of us visited an Israeli family working there who heard about Yeshua from friends in Goa, India, and said they'd like to meet Israeli believers.

• On our first week there, we invited six young Israelis and two Germans in our backpacker hostel to share a Shabbat dinner. Over dinner, each member of our team talked about being connected to God and being motivated to live a certain way by our love for Him. Shira,* a girl who had joined us earlier for a hike, was especially curious; she kept saying, "You are blessed... I can see that." She then sat with our team member, Dan, who opened the Scriptures with her and another friend. They asked lots of questions and listened seriously to the answers. I gave Shira the book of Matthew with a note connected to our conversation.

• With the partnership of a local church, we hosted a barbecue in a park and spent the afternoon handing out invitations at backpackers' hostels and internet cafes. Thirty-five backpackers attended, mostly Europeans. As two of our team members served the food, the others mingled and chatted. Our team member Dima gave his testimony, and each of us sat in a group to discuss what he said. Every team member had significant conversations with people asking great questions about faith and had the opportunity to share their life stories. Many of the backpackers gladly received Bibles.

• God created amazing connections and deep conversations. We were constantly amazed! Each week we hosted a Friday night (Shabbat) dinner, cooking together and inviting the Israelis at the backpacker hostel to join us. After prayers and over dinner, great one-on-one sharing happened. One week we were at the Milford Sound on Friday night. It was half an hour before the meal and we didn't have any guests yet. I went to wash my hands and heard two women, Osnat* and Nili,* talking in Hebrew. I asked, "Do you have plans for Shabbat?" They accepted my invitation and joined us along with several more Israelis, a Syrian/American Jewish traveler, and two Europeans. Osnat was very open to hearing my testimony. She asked many questions as I explained the themes of sacrifice and atonement. She said she would like to read the New Testament, so I gave her one in Hebrew at the end of the night.

• On Saturday we spent time with a group of Israelis while waiting for other team members to return from a hike. One Israeli man was really interested in travel in Africa, and when he asked how I got involved with Africa (I have been there many times as part of relief/development programs to Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa), I was able to share my testimony and how it was God's love that motivated me to go there. Another team member and a young man he met had a Jewish believing friend in common in Israel. It led to a really good conversation, and the young man was really excited to receive a New Testament. A third team member was talking with a small group of Israelis as well. It was the best afternoon one could imagine, as there were divine appointments throughout the room. Praise God!

Dan:

• Please pray for the Israelis we had dinner with on Friday, especially Uri* and Ilana.* It was such a blessed time! After the dinner and the prayers, the whole table turned into little pockets of sharing. Uri, who had attended a religious school, studied Scripture with me for quite some time. Ilana was more open than anyone I've ever encountered---she just kept asking more and more questions! She said that she is interested in the afterlife, and wondered how to have a relationship with God.
  

Rachel:

• During preparations for the barbecue, team member Steve and I were walking around a weekend open-air market, handing out invitations.  We stopped to buy a bracelet from a young Israeli man, Ayal,* and began a conversation with him in Hebrew. The topic turned quickly to the Lord and His salvation.  It was a simple conversation; we were able to share our faith and he did ask questions. Steve and I commented to each other that if the whole day's efforts (the invitations, the shopping, the setting up, the cooking of the barbecue) were so that we could meet Ayal, it was totally worth it.  He is in God's hands, and if we played a part in helping him come closer to knowing Jesus, we are thrilled.  You never know how a small conversation can get someone thinking Kingdom thoughts!

*Names have been changed