Here at Home of Jesus the King Church we have set our hearts on being lights that shine in the darkness by sharing the love and the Gospel message of Jesus wherever we find ourselves. This vision also flows into our different humanitarian projects, especially when it comes to working with Holocaust Survivors.
Holocaust Survivors in Israel are a forgotten and forsaken people, experiencing financial lack and deep loneliness during their twilight years. These dear ones have lived through so much suffering as children during the Holocaust, and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. The Lord had specifically directed us to reach out to these dear ones, to build bridges between Jews and Arabs, to comfort them in their time of need, and above all, to show them real Christianity, and not what they witnessed when they suffered through the Holocaust.
On a monthly basis we provide food baskets and other aid to Holocaust Survivors through our partnership with the city hall of Nof Hagalil, but this time we decided to visit them and spend proper time with them. We wanted to sit down with them and hear their stories, and to show them the love of God. As we entered the old-age home, we prayed that the Holy Spirit would take control of the spiritual atmosphere, and that he would lead us in our words.
We ended up spending wonderful time with these dear people, who spoke different languages and who came from different backgrounds. I shared that what happened in the past does not belong to Christianity, but that Jesus taught us to love one another unconditionally. I told them that we were there to say we loved them, and not just to give them aid and gifts. We had come to tell them that we are praying for them and that we love them.
These precious Holocaust Survivors were so excited to receive us and so happy to have someone to talk to them, and to listen to their stories. One dear lady whom we visited in her apartment, Anna, received us warmly and immediately started handing out knitted gifts to our entire team. This was such a humbling experience!
Before we could even give her the gifts we had brought her, she already had blessed us with gifts!
The hampers that we prepared for the Holocaust Survivors consisted of toiletries, hygienic products, and towels. In addition for Rosh Hashana we also prepared special packages for them containing honey, apples, and chocolate. Anna was so happy with the gifts we blessed her with and it brought tears to her eyes. Even more than that, she was overjoyed that we were willing to sit with her, and to listen to her stories of the Holocaust and her journey to Israel.
We then met with a dear lady called Rinata. She received is with a special cake that she had baked just for us! When we entered her apartment she was so excited to receive us. Despite the fact that she is very old, she had spent the entire day working on having the cake ready by the time we arrived. We felt so honored and humbled!
Rinata apologized because she said that she had burned the cake a bit, but we ate it all the same, and praised her for the delicious cake. That really blessed her heart. For me, even if the cake was entirely black, I would still have eaten it because it was made with love. We sat down with Rinata and had cake and tea with her.
She shared her journey from the Holocaust concentration camps as a child and spoke about how God protected her through it all. At the end she asked if we could pray for her, and we were so happy to oblige her. I asked her if it would be ok to pray for her in Jesus’ name, and she said that she had no problem with that.
I realized afterwards that we need so much more time to spend with all of these dear ones, as we would love to hear all their stories, and to pray with all of them. Therefore we plan on continuing to keep up this project and to spend time with the Holocaust Survivors on a monthly basis.
Afterwards we were all gathered together, and they asked me to share a few words with them. I was glad that we were able to meet as a group, due to the fact that we didn’t have enough time to meet with each person individually. I asked the Lord to lead my words and to change their concepts about Christians.
I share that what had happened in the past during the Nazi regime was not Christianity and not what Jesus taught and represented. I encouraged them by saying that we here at HomeJTK are with then, and that we will fight that this will never happen again. There were so many tears in the house, and many hugs all around.
I would like to thank Yehudit and Simcha, and their team for allowing us to do perform these visit and to bring about opportunities for reconciliation between Arabs and Jews, as well as for us to be bridge builders and peace-makers as the Bible instructed.
Afterwards one of the dear ladies came up to me and whispered in my ear. She said that my words had completely changed her thoughts about Christianity. Hallelujah! Hearing those words had made it all worth it! Pease keep these precious Holocaust Survivors in your prayers, that they will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, for good health, and for peace of mind.
As part of our Holocaust Survivor outreach during the Jewish high holidays, we’ve already distributed 200 food boxes to Holocaust Survivors, Ukrainian and Russian Refugees and Jewish Immigrants. We would like to supply another 100 special holiday food boxes to Holocaust Survivors, Refugees and Jewish Immigrants over the next few weeks, and we are standing in faith for $5000 to cover the expenses. We invite you to partner with us in this worthy initiative, to provide in the needs of Jews in need. To sow a seed during the Jewish high holidays, please visit our Donate page HERE. Thanks and God bless!