Coming Events
(Outreaches subject to change. Contact me at mail@sosmin.com or (510) 282-5629 one or two days before outreach to confirm.)
Thursday October 1, 15, 22 Hanging banners on 580 Freeway, Oakland
Friday October 2, 16, 23 Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Saturday October 3, 17, 24 Fisherman’s Wharf 12-4 PM East of Franciscan Restaurant (Pier 43 ½) – Embarcadero near Powell St.
SOS-San Francisco
Outreach Schedule
Thurs Oct 8 24th & Mission 3-7 PM
Fri Oct 9 16th & Valencia 4-8 PM
Sat Oct 10 Fisherman’s Wharf 12-5 PM address above
Sun Oct 11 Fisherman’s Wharf 12-5 PM address above.
THE WORLDWIDE INSANITY PANDEMIC
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corin. 3:17.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” Psalm 33:12.
“Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” Luke 21:26
Dear Christian friends,
We certainly live in strange and difficult times. A year ago, nobody could have imagined that the world’s economies and most of our churches would be shut down for at least six months. Nobody would have imagined that hundreds of millions of people would be forced to wear masks in stores and even outdoors.
In the US, we face an election on November 3. Our cities have been devastated first by the COVID lockdown and later from violent protests that have continued for over 3 months in some cities. Many are warning of a violent response to the November election, if it does not go the way certain groups want. There are many possible scenarios, one of which is that the winner will be decided by the US Supreme Court, as happened in 2000 (Bush v Gore). If so, it is likely that the deciding vote will be cast by John Roberts, who could rule either way.
Our nation has for a very long time been blessed and protected by God, and we have as our national motto: “In God We Trust.” However, for a long time, our nation has been turning away from God, and it appears that God has been withdrawing His blessing and protection from our nation.
In much of our nation, it has been illegal for churches to meet for the past six months. While a few Christian leaders have spoken out and resisted these orders, and some have paid a heavy price for their opposition, the vast majority of Christian leaders have been silent or even endorsed the orders.
In most of California, it is presently illegal for churches to meet indoors. In San Francisco and Alameda Counties, outdoor church services are limited to 12 people. Meanwhile, there are no limits to the size of outdoor protests. I encouraged my home church, New Life Christian Church in Hayward, to begin meeting outdoors. Presently, we meet every Sunday at 11:30 AM outside Hayward City Hall. So far, the police have left us alone. I suppose, if they confronted us, we could say we are protesting the 12 person limit.
Originally, this lockdown was supposed to last for 15 days to “flatten the curve”— prevent hospitals from being over-crowded with COVID patients. Hardly any hospitals were ever over-crowded, but the lockdown has continued. There is no ending date in most places. Over half the storefronts in San Francisco are permanently closed. I have no idea whether San Francisco, or other US cities, will ever recover from the lockdown and riots.
So what does the future look like? Nobody knows. The COVID lockdown could continue for years. Perhaps stores and churches will be allowed to reopen for a short time, but then be ordered to close again. (This already happened in California.)
Or perhaps the COVID lockdown will end but soon after, another virus will be discovered and there will be a new pandemic and new world lockdown. This could continue until the economies of the world are destroyed and the majority of people of the US are living like those in Bangladesh. Or there will be mass protests of the lockdowns and politicians will be forced to end them.
On the Streets
San Francisco’s “shelter in place” order was announced on Monday March 16 and went into effect that night at midnight. This order quickly expanded to much of our nation and most of the world. Basically it shut down all but “essential businesses” as defined by the government. So in California, recreational marijuana and abortion were considered essential, while church services and Christian ministry were not.
We cancelled outreaches for the next two weekends. I spent a lot of time in prayer, seeking direction for our ministry. After discussing the matter with our house, Mike, Alex, and I made the difficult decision to witness at 24th and Mission St. on Fri. April 3. We did not publicize the outreach, but three Christians – Ray, Ryan and Corey — happened to walk by and saw us. Two of them, Pastor Ray of House of Faith Church, Hayward, and Corey Colavito, preached. I had never met them before, but both are excellent preachers. Before he was saved, Pastor Ray sold drugs on this corner for many years. He also spent years in seven different California prisons, including Pelican Bay, the highest security prison in the state. Corey, 21, has moved into our ministry house and is a great blessing to us. Currently, he is traveling around the nation preaching the gospel but he will be back for our SOS outreach on October 8.
On Fri. April 10, Mike, Alex and I witnessed at 4th St. and Market. Market Street was pretty empty, but there were people waiting in line for an hour to get into the Trader Joe’s grocery store. We set up our banners and preached across the street. A two-person band was playing music near the store, so it was sometimes difficult for people to hear us. Numerous police officers drove by, but none of them talked to us or stopped us – or the street musicians. Mike spoke with Ernest, a Navaho Indian who worked delivering food on a bicycle. He was raised in a church and asked what God thought about the virus situation. Mike shared the gospel with him, and got his phone number for follow-up. Several Christians came by, and one of them, Israel, preached. Mike knows him from his work at City Impact.
The next day, Mike and I put up our 10 foot banners across the Interstate 580 freeway near our house in Oakland. This was the first time we had tried this and we were concerned that the police might make us take them down, but so far they haven’t done that. A number of people honked their horns as they passed – probably Christians. Mike spoke with Armon, who was raised in the church but wasn’t saved. They spoke about the virus situation and Mike shared the gospel with him and gave him a gospel of John. That day, Alex witnessed with Ryan and some other Christians at 16th and Mission in San Francisco and three other locations.
On Saturday April 18, we witnessed at the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. This was quite a busy location. We set up our banners and signs and started preaching. Immediately, the vendors started to complain. They called the police. Several officers quickly arrived. Then someone dialed “911” and more officers arrived. We mainly spoke with one officer. She asked us to move across the street and we complied. However, the vendors continued to complain so she told us we could stay there and preach, but could not use an amplifier. She said if we continued to do so, she would cite all of us. If we still continued, she would put us all in jail.
We decided to move to 4th and Market St. Again we set up our banners and signs and preached. Soon, some police officers arrived. They said they had received a complaint and told us we could stay and preach, but could not use an amplifier. Both times, the police only came in response to a complaint and only told us not to use amplification. Of course, amplification has nothing to do with the spread of a virus.
Some of us stayed at 4th and Market while others moved a block away to 4th and Mission. They preached with an amplifier to a two-block line of people waiting to get into the Target store. They were not shut down.
Mike witnessed to two security guards at the Farmer’s Market. Both of them took gospels of John. At 4th and Market, Corey and Alex witnessed to Francis, who was in a wheelchair and was addicted to fentanyl and other drugs. Alex shared about being delivered from heroin and they both prayed with him.
Ministry Needs
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. Please pray that God will continue to protect us and bless our evangelism outreaches during this difficult time. Pray that God will use this pandemic to draw many people to Himself.
Our 41st annual SOS-San Francisco outreach will be held from October 8-11. Chuck Girard, Paul and Noreen Coca and Tim Moon will be with us. I hope many of you will join us for this important outreach.
Also, I hope you will seek out ways to bring the gospel to others during this difficult time.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum