Coming Events
(Outreaches subject to change. Contact me at mail@sosmin.com or (510) 282-5629 a day before the outreach for details.)
Friday March 4, 11, 25 3:30-6:30 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Saturday March 5, 12, 26 11:30-4 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
MY COVID STORY
Dear Christian friends,
I first learned about COVID-19 in December, 2019. In March, 2020, when a worldwide lockdown began that was only supposed to last for two weeks, it was clear to me that it would last several years. I asked each house member to ask God how He wanted him to respond to this pandemic. After two weeks, we gathered together as a house. There were five members in our house, and three of us were willing to go out on the street. Alex was in contact with other Christians who were preaching regularly on the streets of San Francisco. He said that there were still plenty of people on certain streets and that the police were leaving the preachers alone, for the most part.
Personally, at the age of 74, I had a choice to become a hermit and shut down the ministry until it ended (probably never to reopen) or to try to continue living life as normally as possible. I chose the latter. From March, 2020 to the present, as far as I know, nobody got COVID from participating in evangelism outreaches. However, many of my friends did get COVID. For some, it was a minor inconvenience. Three were in the hospital for up to a month. For several, recovery took up to 5 months, especially from the pneumonia. One acquaintance died from COVID.
Before long, 20 people were participating in our weekly outreaches, our house was filled with several younger people, and the police were extremely nice to us, giving us even more freedom than we had had before the pandemic (especially at Pier 39). Hundreds of thousands of people heard the gospel through our outreaches.
I spent hundreds of hours researching the situation and trying to find the most effective preventions and treatments, examining the scientific evidence. I got hold of the most effective medicines and used them both for prevention and treatment. Here is one site that examines the evidence: c19early.com.
Obviously no medicine is 100% effective in preventing or curing COVID, but I think the ones I took helped make my case milder and has helped with my recovery.
Sat. night Jan. 8, coming home from an outreach, I felt very sick. I was coughing constantly, could barely eat, and had no energy. After suffering for 2 days, I went to Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley on Jan. 10. I was diagnosed with COVID, double pneumonia, sepsis, kidney damage, and low oxygen. I stayed in the hospital for 5 days. They gave me remdesivir, antibiotics, steroids, and kept me on oxygen, among other things. Fortunately, I remembered to bring my COVID medicines into the hospital.
When I entered the hospital, the doctor scolded me for not being vaccinated. He tried to scare me into thinking I was about to die. I was not eager to take remdesivir, but realized I would probably be thrown out of the hospital if I refused. He viewed remdesivir as a miracle drug. I was well aware that the average person who dies from COVID is 80 with 4 pre-existing conditions. I have none, so my risk of dying was quite low, especially since I was taking medicines that have proved helpful in preventing and treating COVID. I asked him about monoclonal antibodies, but he said they had not been approved, which is false. One thing I insisted on: “no ventilators.” On average, patients using remdesivir improved 20%, compared to 64% for ivermectin: c19early.com.
On Sunday Jan. 16, I was sent home and have been recovering here. My oxygen level has been OK (above 95) and I am using a spirometer to help strengthen my lung capacity. I have been in no pain, with only occasional coughs. I took a two mile long walk today. So I think I am getting a little better each day. I am planning to stay home from outreaches for a few weeks.
Anyway, I don’t regret the choice to keep the ministry going and trying to live as normal a life as possible. If I had lived as a hermit until Dec, 2021, and then gone out into the world, I still would have gotten COVID, probably have less immunity, and wasted 2 years of my increasingly short life.
My biggest concern going forth for our world is that we now know that the virus escaped from the Wuhan lab, financed in part by the US government as part of “gain of function” research — creating viruses that are more deadly to humans. There is no interest or international demand that every virus that was created from gain of function research be destroyed. It is only a matter of time before a far more dangerous virus will be released “accidentally” or on purpose: (tinyurl.com/4rcftkf3)
While the number of deaths from COVID have been diligently (if not accurately) counted, nobody has counted the millions (probably tens of millions) of deaths worldwide from starvation, poverty, suicide, and drug and alcohol abuse. And there has been no effort to determine how many people have died from the vaccines. Or how many died because life-saving prevention and treatment was denied them. One recent study indicated that the worldwide lockdown saved no lives. (tinyurl.com/4pcxu5mr) What it did accomplish is give dictatorial power to world leaders, and prepare the world for the antichrist system in which nobody can buy or sell without taking the mark of the beast.
On the Streets
On October 8 and 9, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. It was “Fleet Week” which brought thousands of extra people to the Wharf. On October 8, Mike witnessed to Jason, a security guard who said he was a Christian. Mike noticed he was guarding a vehicle for distributing marijuana. Mike asked if he worked directly for that company and asked, as a believer, what he thought about working for a company that sells marijuana. He said it bothered him. Mike encouraged him to pray and look for another job. Mike also witnessed to Anthony, 25, who was visiting here from Missouri looking for a job. He said he believed in God but questioned His justice. Mike explained the gospel to him, that we have all sinned but God provided a way we could be forgiven. He was receptive and took a gospel tract.
On October 9, Andy and Alex ministered to Randy, a born-again Christian looking for a good church. He asked them, “Does your church follow the Bible?’ They invited him to Christ Forgiveness Ministries. Andy spoke with two women who claimed to be born again. Because they were dressed immodestly and did not seem serious, he asked them how they knew they were born again. They were offended that Andy had questioned their faith. They asked Andy how he knew he was born again. He said it was because Jesus died for his sins and was resurrected.
Mike witnessed to Jacob, who is from Israel. He told him that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and encouraged him to read Isaiah 53. He seemed eager to do so. Alex witnessed to Makis, who had been listening to his preaching. He was involved in New Age doctrine and Egyptian paganism. They had a good discussion, and exchanged phone numbers. Alex also got to pray with 4 youth from Youth With a Mission, who said they liked the preaching. They were Joseph, Hannah, Helen and Kianna.
On Friday October 29, we witnessed at 16th St. and Mission. Andy and Tats witnessed to Michael, an alcoholic whose wife asked them to pray for him. He admitted he had no power to get free from alcohol and was having the shakes. They prayed for him and are trying to get him into Victory Outreach. It appeared that he would soon die if he didn’t stop drinking soon.
The next day, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. While Mike was preaching, a woman approached him blaspheming God. She said she was a pagan witch and loved Lucifer. Mike warned her that she was in great danger, but she dismissed his warnings.
On Fri. November 12, we witnessed at 24th and Mission. Tats witnessed to Cameron, who was selling his paintings on the street. Tats said that God is the ultimate artist. Cameron admitted he uses drugs, including meth and cocaine, but thought he was communicating with God. He tried to defend his drug use, but Tats said he will never have fellowship with God while he is using those drugs. Tats also witnessed to Santiago, who was a Zen Buddhist. Tats shared his testimony with him, and went through some of the Ten Commandments with him, letting his know that Hell is real and that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Alex witnessed to Robert, a Hari Krishna. He warned him that the gods he worshipped are actually demons. Robert walked away. Mike ministered to Brooks, who professed to be a Christian but did not see the need to live a pure life.
A Final Word
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry.
Thank you all who have been praying for my recovery from COVID and pneumonia. I have been resting a lot. I think I am improving day by day, but recovery from pneumonia is slow. Fortunately, this has given the rest of our house the opportunity to witness without me. It is important that they be able to run outreaches when I am not there.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
