This week I had a really interesting conversation with a group of six young Israeli policewomen on their break from policing a large anti-government protest.
The girls in the group were all around eighteen years old. I realised this meant they would have been only sixteen on October the 7th 2023. I asked how it made them feel to have gone from being children watching such a horrifying and momentous event on the news, to being adults doing their military service in such a short time.
I was impressed when all of them said how proud it made them to be serving the country in its hour of need. Here in Israel, there has been a palpable sense of the need to band together and serve the country since that dark day .
Going deeper
Since the girls were about to police a protest of thousands of “justice seekers” (as they see themselves) I was able to naturally steer the conversation in a deeper direction. I shared how even though we are all searching for justice, peace and truth - I believe that the real problem is the state of our hearts, not that of our government.
I explained that I am a believer in Yeshua as Messiah and told them my testimony of how God began to transform my life when I was just a little bit older than they were.
The girls reacted with a mixture of interest and scepticism. Most had never heard of the gospel, as is the case for many if not most Israelis.
I tried my best to explain who Yeshua was in the simplest way I could, and to encourage them to seek God for themselves. I shared how he would reveal himself to anyone who genuinely seeks him.
This week’s takeaways
Group Dynamics
During the conversation a natural group leader emerged, who I spent most of my time speaking to. This was useful to keep the conversation going. However I didn’t want anyone to feel left out or to miss an opportunity, so I made sure to be careful to include the others too. I was glad that I did because the most open person in the group turned out to be one of the more reserved ones. This reminds me that most confident person in a group is not necessarily the most open to God, and to be careful to take time to speak to them too, even if the easy thing to do would be to just speak to the “leader”.
A missed opportunity
I ended the conversation with a friendly encouragement and goodbye. I felt afterwards that I missed an opportunity to offer to pray for them. The more conversations I have, the more I realise that people love to be prayed for. I think from now on I am going to try to “err on the side of prayer”!
Summary
Whether or not I made a mistake, it is all a learning experience. I am so glad to have a father who is on my side in the journey - helping me in my weaknesses and growing me through our mistakes. On to the next opportunity!
Thank you so much for your support and prayers.
In love,
Adam