Life of Fei: Snapshots: Rosebank

While in South Africa we spent one day seeking and sharing with a specific people group. This group was the Jewish people. Of the countries with the most Jewish people living in them South Africa was number 11. I had no idea that there was a large group of Jewish people living in South Africa. I guess South Africa is not called the "Rainbow Nation" for no reason :) There are about 75,000 Jewish people living in South Africa with 50,000 in the very town we were staying in. We had a hard time finding Jewish people to share with but found a few. I was able to talk with a guy named Gabriel who was from Israel and was working at a Dead Sea products kiosk. He was very intent on selling us his product so it was a bit awkward talking with him. The gospel was not really shared but we did ask alot of pointed questions about the afterlife and shared what we believed about each topic. Gabriel was living for the moment and insisted he had no regrets in life and wanted to do what was satisfying. Sharing with people who are working was difficult for me and this was the first guy we shared with so i felt very uncomfortable as if i was bothering him. I could share with a stranger on the streets any day, but a person who is trying to work and make a living is a different story. It was a hurdle I had to overcome while in South Africa. Please pray for Gabriel's salvation.
I was also able to share the gospel with Lisa who worked at a wig shop on the third level in part of the mall. She said many Jewish women wear wigs to cover up their hair so only their husband sees their natural hair. She was very confused by this (as were we). Lisa shared that she was a former Jehovah's witness who was starting to attend Seventh Day Adventist services. She seemed a little confused, naturally, so I was able to talk with her and encourage her to read the bible, which she admitted to not really doing much of. I shared that salvation is a free gift, not of works and that she needed to repent and trust in Jesus for salvation. She seemed genuinely interested and thanked us sincerely for taking the time to talk with her. Please pray for Lisa. Pray that other Christians would be burdened to share the gospel with her and to love her. Pray that she would be convicted of her sin and that God would draw her to Him. Pray for her salvation.

Just a portion of this gigantic mall!

some portions of the mall were three stories or even four!

Another portion of the mall (three stories!!)

After a few hours of struggling to find our specific people, I decided to find anybody willing to talk. We went into a store called "House of Isis" that sold religious icons and paraphernalia from every religion I could think of. What really struck me about this store is that it was in a public mall. Where I live I do not really see stores like this in the mall, I only know of one in down town that sells items that are used to cast spells and such. This store was also pretty busy, people were going in and out and buying things, asking the workers where certian icons were. It was filled with people searching, it was very sad and eye opening at the same time to see these people believing in rocks and statues that have eyes but cant see and ears but cant hear. There was a tarot card reader, an aura reader, fairy dust, dream books, pictures of Jesus, Buddhist statues, Jewish icons, Chinese blessing and luck charms, the evil eye, Hindu gods, religious books, pagan items, crystals, healers, hypnotherapy, essential oils and so on. I walked in and looked around the store. I started praying about who I should share with, knowing I needed to share in this store. I went and grabbed an icon I came across while I was in Israel, the Hamsa Hand. I took it up to the woman working at the register and asked her what it was. She did not know and started referencing a guide book for religious icons. She discovered that it was called the Hamsa hand which protected the wearer from the evil or envious eye. After she told me about it, I asked her if she believed that it worked. She shared that she was unsure. I continued by asking her what items in the store she used or believed in. She told me that she had been raised Christian but was starting to follow the teachings of Buddha. I started asking her what Buddha taught, but she could not answer anything. She had just started studying she said. I was able to share the gospel with her and encourage her to read the Bible. She seemed receptive but not willing to repent at that moment. Please pray for her salvation and that she stops working at that store.