***Team Yeshua engages with Israeli travelers along Upper Changspa Road in Leh***

Why do I use the moniker “lost sheep of the House of Israel” when referring to Israelis or Jewish folks in need of Messiah? Simple, the Messiah used that moniker. That’s how our Lord described His people after the flesh (Matthew 10:6). And though that flock remains full of lost sheep, it is still a HOUSE which He has promised to restore. The Apostle Paul writes:

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Romans 11:26-27).

Every time I use that moniker, I am also reminded of something Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, once said in speech before the “British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Jews”:

"I think we do not attach sufficient importance to the restoration of the Jews. We do not think enough of it. BUT CERTAINLY, IF THERE IS ANYTHING PROMISED IN THE BIBLE IT IS THIS. I imagine that you cannot read the Bible without seeing clearly that there is to be an actual restoration of the children of Israel … May that happy day soon come! For when the Jews are restored, then the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in; and as soon as they return, then Jesus will come upon Mount Zion to reign with his ancients gloriously, and the halcyon days of the Millennium shall then dawn; we shall then know every man to be a brother and a friend; Christ shall rule with universal sway."

Yes, may that happy day soon come. Every time I use that moniker, I am also reminded of Job’s plea in 19:21-22:

“Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?”

Every single Gentile believer who reads Job’s words here, ought to pause, take heed, and beware. What Job earnestly desires here of his friends should be OUR ATTITUDE toward Israel and the Jewish people in this 21st Century (not the antisemitic tripe suddenly so hip amongst many believers). Since about 605 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar carried away the first of the captives from Judea (including Daniel and his three friends), Israel has been suffering judgment after judgment by the Hand of God. That is enough suffering without anyone else, especially professing Christians, adding to it.

Whether or not Jewish people reject or believe upon Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) their Messiah these days should have no bearing on whether or not Gentile Christians should deal with these as with FRIENDS and have TRUE PITY upon them in their sufferings. Do you not understand that we, the Body of Christ, reap the blessings of God given to the world through the Jewish People? Through Israel, the God of Israel gave to us the Holy Scriptures (Romans 3:1-2), the Messiah (Romans 9:1-5), the Prophets and Apostles (Ephesians 2:19-20), as well as the FIRST Christians, the FIRST New Testament Churches, the FIRST pastors, and the FIRST missionaries (Read Acts 11:29-23). If it weren’t for faithful Jewish believers faithfully carrying out our Lord’s Great Commission long ago, none of us would ever have heard the Gospel message. For these simple historical facts alone, our earnest desire for Israel ought to be that of Paul in Romans 10:1 and that of the Psalmist in Psalm 126. We ought to look upon these lost sheep with compassion, as did the very Messiah they rejected (Matthew 23:37). We ought to be a friend to them and seek every opportunity to minister to them in earthly matters, for we, in Messiah, have been made partakers of their spiritual matters (Romans 15:27)

Such was our desire this past summer, not knowing what to expect and simply asking of the Lord to establish the works of our hands. Amazingly, we enjoyed more than TWO HUNDRED encounters with lost sheep from the House of Israel … far more than any previous Team Yeshua. And the terrible events of October 7th, 2023 coupled with the ongoing conflicts resulting provided an open door of utterance, opportunity to communicate genuine love, compassion, and pity for those who have enough enemies in this world. Not a few times, I shared very clearly with an Israeli thrust into our pathway this summer: “You have many enemies in this world, many in my own country, who hate you. A man with many enemies needs some friends. I am a friend of Israel and the Jewish people.” A young Israeli man we engaged in the main market area of Leh replied: “I have traveled extensively in five countries since I left Israel to go on this trip, and no one in any of those countries has said such a kind thing to me. In fact, very few in the places will even talk to me.”

As a token of that pledged friendship, and with the help of a dear sister in Jerusalem, we made some Hebrew signs and posted them around Leh. I also prepared a handwritten version that we gave out along with Hebrew trekker tracts as invitations. These roughly translated:

“A WARM HOME FOR ISRAELI TRAVELERS: Hello travelers! Welcome to Leh. We are an American family living down the hill in a quiet area near the airport. We love and appreciate Israelis and would like to invite you to our place for a meal or just a cup of coffee. It won't cost you a dime! In the wake of the horror of 7/10, and in light of the wave of anti-Semitism in the world today, we simply want to welcome you while you are here in Ladakh. Interested?” … I then provided my contact information.

***Posting Hebrew Invitations Around Leh***

In years past, it’s been a blessing to host folks who respond to these invitations and to get copies of God’s Word into their hands. Back in 2015, we had 27 Israelis show up to our place for dinner one Friday night. With people seated in the floor and overflowing into the hallway, I shared my testimony of how the God of Israel and the Messiah of Israel changed my life. I spoke of Messianic prophecy, Jewish eyewitnesses who wrote down the New Testament, and the Gospel message.

This year, folks also responded, and we were able to host them for dinner, both in Montana and Leh. All of those dinners were good times and were a springboard to some long, intense, and fruitful conversations about the God of Israel and the Messiah of Israel. I was so blessed to watch our volunteers engage and put their training into practice.

***Hosting Israeli Travelers for Dinner this Summer***

THIRTY-THREE copies of the Hebrew-English New Testament were received by Jewish hands this summer. Our previous Team Yeshua record was 28 (2016), and we thought there was a chance to break it. In fact, because of the October 7th massacre and the conflicts on the ground that continued to necessitate the calling up of IDF reserves, I really didn’t know what to expect in Ladakh. I really didn’t think the Israelis would be traveling as in previous years, and we didn’t pack the amount off Hebrew material and Bibles we characteristically carry over with our volunteer teams. Thanks to Eric & Mindy Trent, who took the time 8 years ago, while living in Leh and enduring very difficult hardship, to inventory, box up, and safely store material for future use. I had completely forgotten about this. Those boxes collected 8 years of desert dust and had been moved a few times, but my God’s grace, I stumbled upon then in a garage below where our team based this summer, buried amongst other things They proved very needed, including the extra Hebrew-English New Testaments. Never underestimate the power of a seemingly insignificant act of service amidst great trial to bear fruit way on down the road. Long ago, Eric and Mindy were faithful when many Christians would have quit and gone home. That faithfulness truly bore fruit this summer. “For who hath despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10).

Here is a bit of testimony I journaled this summer concerning the FIRST Hebrew New Testament that was received by a lost sheep from the House of Israel, the New Testament that broke the previous Team Yeshua record, and those that got out while we were stranded in Manali:

July 25: Back at the hotel, as the team ate dinner together in the common area, another group was finishing their supper. They were speaking Hebrew. As I was finishing my masala chai, I turned by chair toward them and then boldly asked, “Are you all from Israel?” What followed was a long conversation with Oded (a 58-year-old husband and father who served in the IDF during the 1980s) and Inbal (who has been to Ladakh many times since 2002). Both were born in Israel, and neither consider themselves to be “religious.” We spoke of many things, including the Messiah and Biblical prophecy. I spoke of Isaiah 53, Messiah’s sacrificial death for the sins of the people, His resurrection, and His soon return to sit upon the Throne of David. I warned them of the coming “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” and that many bad things will happen to Israel before they finally wake up and call upon their true Messiah. In that day, He will hear, and He will come (Hosea 5:15, Romans 11:26). Oded admitted that he just didn’t know about any of this stuff. I encouraged them both to seek out of the Book of the Lord and read for themselves. “You don’t need a rabbi to tell you what is true or what the Bible says. Look for yourself.” It was such a great conversation, but I didn’t expect either of them to receive anything from my hand. I was wrong. They both gladly took Hebrew Gospel tracts, and Oded was genuinely thankful for a Hebrew NT after I showed him Matthew 1:1 and affirmed it to be a testimony of Jewish eyewitnesses, his people, his ancestors. This group is on a motorcycle journey that will eventually take them to Leh. What a strange thing that the God of Israel put them into our path in a place I never wanted to return on a rough night back in 2014.

August 22: For several days, we have been praying to break the Team Yeshua record for number of Hebrew New Testaments put into Jewish hands. That record of 28 was set here in Ladakh back in 2016. We tied the record a few days ago, but then ran into consistent refusal. About 30 minutes prior to meeting up with brethren for a farewell dinner this evening, it seemed as if we would have to settle for tying that record. But then everything changed. While Jamie, Josiah, and I were witnessing to my Kashmiri Muslim friend of 19 years down on Fort Road, the rest of the crew ran into a very open Israeli young man named Edan who was so happy to receive a copy of the New Testament. Record broken! After bidding farewell to my Muslim friend, we navigated a series of narrow alleyways to rendezvous with the rest of the team at a particular restaurant. We literally walked up on them speaking to an Israeli couple who had been wandering those same alleyways. Jephthah and Hagal, too, were very open and gladly received a Hebrew/English New Testament. That makes 30. The last two encounters were two of the most fruitful of our entire time here. Praise the Lord.

It didn’t end there. Three days later, I shared this testimony. By this time, and thanks to monsoon fury in Himachal Pradesh, we knew we wouldn’t make our scheduled flights back to the States.

August 25: Praise the Lord! In the pouring rain, we still had 5 encounters with lost sheep from the House of Israel in Manali today. One was a couple we witnessed to in Leh our last night there outside a restaurant gate. They are stuck here too. Another was a young couple on their honeymoon. He has been called back up IDF reserve service and they will have to cut their trip short. They gladly received a Hebrew New Testament. That makes 31 this summer. No regrets over being stranded here today.

When it comes to lost sheep from the House of Israel, 33 copies of the New Testament is A LOT for an entire summer, my friends. The Lord is good. As for the two extra weeks we got stuck in South Asia, all the logistical hardships and added costs that came with it, these resulted in FORTY added encounters with lost sheep from the House of Israel, and THREE added Hebrew New Testaments happily received. The Lord is very good. No retreats, no reserves, no regrets.

Ironically, the summer’s last Jewish encounter, resulting in the last set of Hebrew Scriptures happily received, actually occurred in Madison County, after the team members had returned home and I remained behind in Montana to tie up some loose ends and to complete a few cross-walking spurs the team had begun earlier in the summer and had not time to finish.

Jesus told His disciples to first go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel (Matthew 10:6). The Apostle Paul testified that his heart’s desire was for Israel to be saved (Romans 10:1-4). We share that same burden today, and as Gentile believers who have directly benefited from the first Christians, the first pastors, the first missionaries, and the first local churches—all of which were JEWISH—we count it a real blessing to cross paths with lost sheep from the House of Israel, to host them, and to testify of the Jewish Messiah who is also a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6).

***It’s a real blessing to host Israeli travelers along their journeys outside of Israel.***

Thanks for covering this summer’s work in prayer. This is your fruit.

lost sheep?