Passport DC is an event sponsored by Cultural Tourism DC. During this time many of the foreign embassies in Washington DC open their doors and invite the general public to visit and to learn something about the culture of their country.  There are “passports” provided that people can have stamped at the various embassies that they visit.

We did not have an embassy building to invite people to visit, or ethnic food for them to sample, but  as Ambassadors for Christ we handed out fliers that greeted people in the name of Yshua and His kingdom, and offered citizenship to all who would accept it.

For Dennicine it was her first experience doing outreach of any kind.  She has been attending the video outreach training  online class that Steve Cohen, founder of Apple of His Eye, has been conducting and felt ready to step out in faith.  She is still not certain that this form of outreach is her gift, but after taking the classes and working closely with me this first time, she says she is willing to try it again.  May the Holy Spirit strengthen her and help her again.

There were people who thanked us for being there.  I had a conversation with a Jewish family from New York.  They did not take literature or give me their contact information, but they did listen politely to what I said about Yshua.  They said they are looking for the coming of Messiah (soon and in our time).  I agreed that both of us have that hope, but that believers in Yshua know that it will be His second time here.  First he came as the suffering Servant, and next he will come as the conquering King.

Because  it was the 100th anniversary of the gift of the trees to the United States from Japan in 1912 the Cherry Blossom Festival had been extended to 5 weeks. It was an early spring this year, and by this time the blossoms were long gone.  People commented ‘Oh, is that still going on” or “oh, where can I see the blossoms” when I handed out the Cherry Blossom Festival flier.  .  The flier had some good informative  history of the festival, and the segue to a faith sharing message was “But after the blossoms fall to the ground, then what?”. It was a beautiful day with Street Musicians and a major Scavenger Hunt event that brought out people in crazy costumes.

After distributing the fliers I sat on a bench to rest my legs for a while.  I had a long conversation with a visiting teacher from Beijing.  She did not speak any English and my Chinese was even weaker than the few polite phrases I had learned last year when I went to Macao to support the Concordia  English Language School there, I think she just appreciated someone taking the time to listen on a beautiful afternoon.  I do not know how the Lord will use that conversation, or the fliers I distributed, but we are assured that when His Word goes out it will not return empty.

One of the “perks” of outreach on the Mall is the proximity of the Smithsonian and I took in the exhibit at the National Art Gallery of “Colourful Realm of Living Beings” , Bird and Flower paintings by Ito Jakuchu (1716 – 1800).  This 30 scroll collection has never been displayed in it’s entirety outside of Japan before. No pictures were allowed inside so unfortunately I can’t share an example of them here.

It was a rainy day.  A March of Remembrance was scheduled for Yom Hashoah (the Holocaust) The web site said the speakers (Paul Argiewicz: liberated from Buhenwald April 1945, Peter Loth: Born in Stutthof Concentration Camp, Avi Mizrachi Executive Director Foundation for Holocaust Education Projects, and Pastor Jobst Bittner, founder of March For Life international) would not be there because of the weather, but the little group under a pavilion tent grew to well over a hundred.

The speakers were there, and after a short prayer service the group marched from the Washington Monument to the North side of the Capital for more prayers in solidarity with Israel and the victims.  The group was a mix of Jewish people, Messianic as well as non-Messianic, and Gentile Christians, Most of the prayers were specifically in the name of Yeshua (Jesus). This was a day to stand with others in Remembrance, with forgiveness and also a resolution to never be silent in the face of such horrors.

It was the day before Earth Day.  Many of the exhibits were open and people were participating.  It was still Cherry Blossom Festival too (and will be through next weekend, but spring came early and the blossoms are gone).  I passed out fliers about the Cherry Blossom Festival and what it can be like when the blossoms are gone in life too.

After handing out 600 fliers with only one conversation while I was distributing I sat down and the Lord brought 3 people to me.  One was from Montana, one from Belgium by way of Brooklyn, and the third from Myanmar. Please pray for them and for the rest who did or did not take fliers that day. I was not the only one offering solutions to life’s problems that day, the Hare Krishna people were also on the mall.  Please pray for them too that they will find that the real answer is Yeshua.