“Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord: The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death” (Psalm 102:19-20).
It has been CFI’s great privilege to welcome a group of volunteers from Colorado this month. We especially enjoyed making them part of our FTN team. All together as one team, we were able to visit various parts of the country, spend quality time with our friends, and manifest the solidarity and love of Christians towards Israel and God’s chosen people. For the hosts - Holocaust survivors – and their guests - volunteers who responded to God’s call to come to Israel in this challenging time – the impact of these meetings proved to be as significant as mutually favourable.
Alexander, the leader of the organisation for Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem, was deeply touched after engaging in a conversation with a young couple who came to visit him at home. Alexander dedicates his life and all his material resources to upholding the memory of the Holocaust. He does historical research and writes articles on the topic of the Holocaust and antisemitism. What Alexander likes most is meeting with people and sharing his life’s wisdom with them through his personal story of survival.
The fact that this young Christian couple came to Israel to spend time with him and learn from him was a source of encouragement for Alexander. After listening to the way he and his family were condemned to death three times, and three times miraculously survived, the two visitors were greatly impressed. Beth and Kelen promised Alexander to spread his story and its wisdom around to other people. This promise gave Alexander a lot of joy and comfort.
The group brought a great many letters written by students of the Christian Dayspring Academy, to Holocaust survivors as an outcome of their class study of the dark Nazi period. In these letters, the students were able to express their appreciation for the life and heroism of the survivors. They shared their love and support for Israel, voicing the hope that such atrocities would never happen again.
We witnessed how the survivors’ facial expressions changed as they went on listening to these letters. They were exceedingly moved by the initiative of their authors and the words that came out of their ingenuous, generous hearts. This reading earned us the boundless gratitude of the Holocaust survivors and their siblings. They made us promise to thank everyone who took part in this initiative and our entire work. Acting on our promise, we want here to transmit the heartfelt gratitude and profound appreciation of these survivors and their loved ones. May you feel something of the warmth of their hearts wherever you are, dear co-workers, supporters, and prayer partners.
Tanya Lukomsky, Project Supervisor