Growing up in Miami in the 60s and 70s, I led a pretty typical life for a Jewish boy. I did well in school, played Little League baseball and went to Hebrew school. Then in February of 1971, at the age of 13, I became a Bar Mitzvah at Temple Or Olom. It was a very proud occasion for my family, especially my Grandparents. Although I spent several years studying for that day, I really didn't understand my Haftorah. Sure, I sounded great that Saturday morning before the entire congregation, but did I really understand the true meaning behind the words? My Haftorah was from the Book of Jeremiah. Little did I know then, the significance that the prophet's words would hold for me later in life. He writes prophecies of the Messiah that would one day come. Jeremiah Chapter 31 Verse 31, he describes the New Covenant that was to come through the Messiah, Jesus.

For the next 29 years, I had almost no relationship with God. I observed the Jewish holidays like Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. But did I really know God?
Then in January of 2000, I heard a voice inside of me telling me to read the Old Testament. This was very out of character for me, as I was neither a religious person nor an avid reader. Something kept pulling to read each and every night for at least two hours. As I got deeper and deeper into my studies, I began seeing the many prophecies that were written about the coming Messiah. I began seeing Jesus and his life being described. These prophecies were written in such great detail that I concluded that it had to be God's words that I was reading!

But I had a dilemna.....I was Jewish. Jews don't believe in Jesus. How could I believe? What would my wife think? Then I read two books that helped me put it all into perspective for me. They were "The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict" by Josh McDowell and "Answering Jewish Objections To Jesus: Theological Objections" by Michael Brown. These two books explained and clarified everything I was studying in the Jewish Old Testament. But I was still resisting. Intellectually I understood that the Messiah described in the Old Testament was Jesus. But emotionally, I didn't feel it or agree with it. Then something happened that changed my life.

I arrived at my office early on Tuesday July 11, 2000 at about 7:30 am. As I began to get my desk organized for the day, I heard a small voice inside of me saying, "I wonder what it would be like to go to Church?" After pondering this question for several hours, I opened the Yellow Pages and "randomly" called a church. When someone from the church answered, I asked, "What time are your services on Sunday?" The pastor, who happened to answer, told me the times and then asked me what church I go to now. When I told him that I was Jewish, he insisted I visit his church that week on Sunday. He proceeded to tell me that this Sunday, he was having a special presentation for Jews. In disbelief, I snapped back, "You'd say anything to get someone to go to church!" He insisted I show up and said he looked forward to meeting me. Upon hanging up the phone, I couldn't believe that a pastor would go to those lengths to get someone to go to church. I quickly called my wife and told her what had happened. She shocked me by suggesting that we go to check it out. So we did.

Upon arriving at the church, we noticed something very odd. On the stage, was a long banquet table with what looked like a Passover Sedar. When the service began, the pastor announced that they had a very special guest speaker that week. It was a missionary from the organization Jews For Jesus, and he was there to explain the significance of Jesus to the Passover Cedar. I thought that this was odd for a church. But upon listening to the missionary's explanation, it all made sense. I had never heard Passover explained that way, but boy it was crystal clear to me. Maybe there really was something to this Jesus that I had been reading about. But then, just when I thought things could not have gotten "stranger", they did. The pastor proceeded to ask the missionary a few questions and then explained that he and his family love Passover. In fact, they have celebrated the holiday with Jewish friends of theirs, the Freistat family. My wife and I looked at each other in disbelief. Freistat was not a very common name, and my wife's cousins had the same last name! Then the pastor said that they love spending the holiday with Mitch, Cindy and the kids. My wife and I were floored. It was her cousins! Could it be one giant coincidence? I wondered. At the end of the service, the pastor proceeded to greet us. I told him that I was the Jewish guy who had called earlier in the week and that it was quite a coincidence that of all the churches that I could have called, I chose his. I also told him that it was also quite a coincidence that he they were doing this special Passover presentation and that my wife's cousins were friends of his. I was in total denial! Then the pastor said something that changed my life. He said, "It's not a coincidence, it was a God-oence." Wow!

After reflecting on that day, I decided to go back to that church the next two weeks, and on August 13, 2000, during the service. It hit me. The pastor was teaching from the Book of Acts. The message was entitled, "How God Guides." One of the prinicples that the pastor spoke of was faith. I never really understood what faith was until that day. During the service, a flush feeling came over me and I began to cry uncontrollably. That day I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. For the first time in my life, I know what it's like to have a personal relationship with God. And let me tell you, it is a wonderful feeling. It's a feeling that I hope everyone has someday.

Great news to report.....On July 21, 2001, my wife Cheryl was saved! After several months of studying the Old Testament and praying to God to reveal Himself to her, she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. God is wonderful and works in awesome ways!

More great news to report......My mother and I have not been very close for the last 20 years. She had a very serious stroke in May 2002 and in my first hospital visit to see her, she revealed to me that she was saved in 1978 & accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord & Savior! WOW!!! As you can imagine, I was both thrilled & shocked. She said she never wanted me to know because she didn't want to "impose her views on me". During that hospital stay, my mother & I mended our fences and put our past differences behind us. A week later, she passed away. The day before her funeral, God did something else that was incredible. He gave me a scripture to share with my brother and two sisters. The four of us had certainly "had our differences" over the years and were not very close. The night before her funeral, God spoke to me and told me to share Genesis 50:15-17 with my siblings. "When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him." So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, "Before your father died he commanded, saying, 'Thus you shall say to Joseph: "I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you." 'Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

WOW! God is great!

I'd like to share some pictures with you of another life changing experience. On April 15, 2001, on Easter Sunday, I was baptized in the Atlantic Ocean. Below are some of the pictures.