Coming Events
Thursday September 3, 10, 17 Hanging banners on 580 Freeway, Oakland
Friday September 4, 11, 18 Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Saturday September 5, 12, 19 Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. Contact me at mail@sosmin.com or (510) 282-5629 for details.
October 7-10 SOS-San Francisco. Year 41.
DO LOCKDOWNS STOP PANDEMICS?
Dear Christian friends,
Dr. David Katz, the founding director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, has warned that while social distancing is helping to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, it is also preventing the development of the “herd immunity” needed by the public to resume their normal lives before a vaccine is developed.
Katz cited the case of some Asian nations who appeared to stop the spread with lockdown-style mitigation strategies, only to see an increase in cases once restrictions were relaxed.
“That’s what will happen if you lock everybody away from everybody else and wait until things get better and then let everybody out into the world.”
“The virus is still out there,” Katz added. “We don’t have antibodies. We’ll just get it later.”
“[I]f all you do is flatten the curve, you don’t prevent deaths or severe cases. You just change the dates. We don’t want to do that,”
Katz said the only two options for staving off COVID-19 for the foreseeable future are herd immunity or a vaccine. Scientists say a vaccine could be a year or more away, while President Trump, businessmen, economists and many out-of-work Americans fear the U.S. economy may never recover from an entire year of stagnation and unemployment.
“I am deeply concerned that the social, economic and public health consequences of this near total meltdown of normal life — schools and businesses closed, gatherings banned — will be long lasting and calamitous, possibly graver than the direct toll of the virus itself…Many businesses never will [recover]. The unemployment, impoverishment and despair likely to result will be public health scourges of the first order.”
“Worse, I fear our efforts will do little to contain the virus, because we have a resource-constrained, fragmented, perennially underfunded public health system. Distributing such limited resources so widely, so shallowly and so haphazardly is a formula for failure.”
Risks and Rewards
COVID’s death rate varies a lot with a person’s age. A person who is 85 or over is 360 times as likely to die of COVID as someone under 35! A person 75 to 84 is 108 times as likely to die of COVID as someone under 35. A person 65 to 74 is 42 times as likely to die of COVID as someone under 35. The median age of those dying from COVID-19 is 78.5 in the US and 86 in Canada.
So where does that leave me? I am 74, which makes my risk of dying much higher than for younger people.
Fortunately, I have no pre-existing conditions, which greatly increases my chances of survival. (About 94% of those who die from COVID have pre-existing conditions. About half were in nursing homes.)
But I’m still taking considerable risk. I live in a ministry house with 7 other people. One of them works at a grocery store, where he is in contact with hundreds of people daily. Twice a week, we ride together in a van to San Francisco outreaches, where we are in contact with other people.
So I am taking a lot of risk. Why do I do it? Like the apostle Paul, I do it to obtain a crown that is imperishable (1 Cor. 9:25). For 2000 years, Christians have willingly taken on incredible risks to bring the gospel to the unsaved. Besides the risks of being killed for the gospel, there have always been great risks of dying from disease, and many missionaries died at a young age from communicable diseases.
From the 17th to 19th centuries, many missionaries would leave their wives and children to go to a foreign land, and would not see them again for decades, if ever, because they did not want to endanger their families. Yet they willingly made that sacrifice for Jesus Christ and the gospel.
If you had the cure for cancer and knew someone who was dying of cancer, would you not share it with them…even if they laugh at you and reject the cure? Everyone is dying from sin. And we know the cure. We must let them know – regardless of the personal price.
On the Streets
On Sat. March 7, we witnessed at 5th and Market St. San Francisco had declared a Coronavirus state of emergency. Most conventions and events had been cancelled, and a lot fewer people were on the streets. Alex witnessed to B.D. who was trying to keep the law. Alex shared with him about how we are saved by God’s grace, not by our works. He was receptive. Alex also spoke with Deena, who was listening to Scott preaching. She was waiting to pick up her husband at the hospital and was planning to go shopping, but decided instead to listen to the preaching. Her husband is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer and she asked Alex to pray for him. She gave him his phone number, so Alex could text him and let him know he was praying. Mike witnessed to Malcolm and David, both meth addicts. David was more coherent than Malcolm. He grew up a Jehovah’s Witness. Mike shared the gospel with him and invited him to church.
On Fri. March 13, we witnessed at Powell and Market. There were quite a few people on the streets. Mike witnessed to Miguel, who was watching Alex preach. His mom is a Jehovah’s Witness and he grew up in Concord. He is quite intelligent but he got involved with prostitutes and low living. He said he hit bottom and is now homeless. Mike told him he needed to commit his life to Christ, but he expressed doubts about the Bible. Alex witness to Vishop, from India. He is homeless and was touched by the preaching. He also witnessed to Jacob, a Buddhist. He said, “Every one has their own faith.” Alex asked him if he had ever lied. At first he said “no.” Afterwards, he admitted to doing some evil things. Alex shared the gospel with him.
The next day, we witnessed in downtown Berkeley. There were far fewer people than usual, since the University was closed. It rained for a few minutes, but the rest of the day was dry. Alex witnessed to Jelisa, who was heavily demonized. As he listened to her, she started weeping. Eventually, she let him pray for her. However, she interrupted the prayer and ran off. Mike witnessed to Rachel. Her father is the founder of one of the largest Christian apologetics websites. She said she used to be a strong Christian and used to debate atheists on the internet. However, at one point she started doubting and says she is now an atheist. Mike spoke to her about spiritual warfare, that the Devil is real and that he attacks Christians with doubts. He spoke about the fact that if something is true, it is true for everyone. He encouraged her to seek the truth with all her heart.
Ministry News and Needs
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. God continues to protect us and bless our evangelism outreaches during this difficult time. Here is a brief recap of our outreaches:
On Sat. June 27 we witnessed at 24th and Mission and at Dolores Park. About 20 Christians joined us. We preached on 24th, 23rd, and 22nd Streets.
On Thurs. July 9, Corey joined a group of 200 Christians who were protesting California’s ban on singing in churches by gathering on the Golden Gate Bridge and singing worship songs. A police officer who had been called to the scene approached them and asked for prayer.
On Sat. July 11, we witnessed at 16th and Mission and at Dolores Park. We preached with Matthew’s large portable PA right outside the only open bathroom in the park. We preached and witnessed to those who were waiting as long as an hour to use the bathroom, as well as those who were sitting nearby.
On Sat. July 18, we held our first Fisherman’s Wharf outreach since the lockdown began. We set up our PA at the best spot on the Wharf, next to the Franciscan Restaurant on the waterfront. We also sent two teams to preach down the street with smaller amps. We had not invited any musicians, but Caleb Mills showed up and sang worship songs.
On Sat. July 25, we returned to Fisherman’s Wharf. Paul and Noreen Coca, Tim Moon, and Caleb Mills all played music. About 20 Christians witnessed in three locations.
On July 31, we resumed our Friday night outreaches. Our first Friday outreach was at 16th St. and Valencia. Two blocks on Valencia St. are now closed to traffic so that people could eat outside of restaurants. Fifteen Christians joined us and the street was quite busy.
On Sat. August 1, we again witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Tim Moon brought eight musicians. Again we preached at three locations. Many people gathered to listen to the excellent music.
I hope you will seek out ways to bring the gospel to others during this difficult time.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
