Today, we went to Shabot service at Ohalei Rachamim (Tents of Mercy) today – this is the Messianic Jewish congregation that Beltway supports. It was a wonderful service and Randy Turner gave another powerful message concerning the family. While we were there, four of the youth counselors from the kids camp were recognized for their involvement in something called Hand-In-Hand. At the kids camp, I had a chance to meet these four outstanding youth counselors – the boys were Vanya and Maxim; the girls were Dasha and Sara.
I am sure you are wondering, “What is Hand-In-Hand”? I am really glad you were wondering this because it is an incredible story. Hand-In-Hand is a program involving believers in Christ from Israel and Germany. It was established to bring youths from the two countries together in a way that would bring healing and forgiveness to the people. Vanya, Maxim, Dasha, and Sara gave us their testimony regarding their recent trip to Germany. They visited historical sites together including two concentration camps, including Auschwitz (where so many autocracies occurred to the Jewish people at the hands of Nazi Germany). As part of the Hand-In-Hand program, each Israeli believer was paired with a German believer, and they walked through these sites together “hand-in-hand”. When you think about this concept, it is really heavy; in fact, it is hard to humanly comprehend and only possible through Christ.
For such young people, they showed a tremendous amount of maturity. They really understood the importance of what they were doing. As they told the stories of what they had learned about the Holocaust before, during, and after their trip, you could see how the whole process had impacted their lives. One of the last pictures they showed us was a picture of all 8 participants in the program carrying an Israeli flag and a German flag tied together – very powerful! Matthew 18:21 & 22 came to mind, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.‘”
After Shabot service, we made our way to the Sea of Galilee, which, as most of you know, is a fresh water lake (not really a sea). We got on a boat and had a time of worship while we were boating around the Galilee. It was a wonderful experience, and our team really bonded while we were there. Experiences like this are hard to explain, but when you consider where we were and the fact that Jesus had done so much in the Galilee area, it is easy to see how Christians can grow closer together.
Until tomorrow – Shabot Shalom!