Volunteers Have This to Say…

Could I Possibly Make a Difference?  by Debra Rowe

In March of 2018 at the age of 65 I took my first trip to Israel. My friend and I searched and prayed for the right tour/trip for months.

When we learned about Abundant Hope and Susan Heagy’s plight to serve Israel’s Holocaust Survivors we knew immediately this was it!! For 10 days the Shalom House became our home. A small group of strangers became family. Susan, a woman I only read about and admired for her strength and courage to listen to God’s plan for her life became my friend.

I visited a land I only ever dreamed about and saw sights more beautiful then any words could ever describe. What a wonderful blessing it all was. BUT what impacted me the most, what has changed me so profoundly, what has opened my heart to a new found love and respect and what will live within me forever is the “smiles”. The smile of a Survivor that says, “Someone cares… you care! Someone remembers… you remember!”

Before leaving on this trip I wondered if the small amount of time I had to give could possibly make a difference. The answer is YES!! If just for a short moment in time you can honor a people who have endured such horror and give them love, then they will know that we remember and we will never forget!

Thank you Susan Heagy and Walter Kuhn for the opportunity to Bless others while receiving an incomparable Blessing myself!

 

 

Dreaming of Going to Israel?  by Cindy Elder

Someone once asked me, “What is Israel to you?”
That’s a loaded question.

Israel is much more than a geographical location. Israel is a love story.
It is a promise given to both a Land and a People.

On my trip with AHI I was blessed to be able to fully experience quite a number of things: Through viewing the land itself and through meeting the people whose suffering became the birth pains out of which it came forth. Intimately and infinitely bound together, this land could not exist without it’s people and it’s people without GOD’s Promise.

I was enamored by the sights, to be able to tread in the land of the Scriptures and behold the glory of those things which previously I could only imagine.  The Bible came alive as I walked in the footsteps of Yeshua and saw where Elijah, and John the Baptist, and many of my heroes had been.

More profound than that was the ability to touch GOD’s people. To be invited into their hearts and homes as they shared their lives with you. His Love for them is stirred deeply in your soul through these experiences.

THIS is Israel. Not just a place on a map full of beautiful war torn ruins, but a people as well, just as beautiful and war torn. All of it beckons you to come and be a part of GOD’s beautiful love story. It’s going to be a happy ending….

 

 

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