GoodNews Florida

GoodNewsFL.org 31 JUNE 2018 TESTIMONY be confined to a bed and wheel- chair for the rest of their natural lives. Their nurses beamed with joy at the opportunity of discard- ing the strollers and providing themwith individualized, comfort- able and safe mobility. The wheelchairs had been transported to Israel disassem- bled in boxes, and our job was to separate them and recon- struct them. As soon as the ma- terials arrived, the whole countenance of our volunteers changed. They morphed into passionate, talkative, involved and driven people, who worked diligently and efficiently with the nurses and local technicians. It was an incredible sight to ob- serve how they worked as a team, men and women, young and old, fit and ailing to provide such a pivotal resource to these children. And before us stood the reason why Christ came to this part of the world more than 2,000 years ago; Christians and Jews working hand in hand for a just cause. He showed us the way first; to give sight to the blind, to heal the lame and to sacrifice for the least. And be- cause of His perfect lesson, 184 Israeli children received their own wheelchair that week. We then spent several days touring the country, particularly the holy sites. Although this was our second trip, the experience was as powerful as the first, just for the mere joy of walking where Our Savior walked and with the extra benefit of sharing it with our newly found Midwest Christian brothers and sisters. We shared communion as a group, and as our souls turned to Jesus, we were so thankful that God put us together for such a lofty mission. Soon it was time to leave... so quickly? We said goodbye to our newly found friends, boarded the plane for the long trek home and used the ample time to recount our newlyminted memories. I, for one, could not shake the two-year-old girl with mouth agape and beautiful brown eyes who sat patiently in the chair as one of our young volunteers worked to get it to her measurements. As he drilled near the handles, the child sud- denly broke into a smile, which turned into quiet laughter. The vibration from the tool had caused a pleasant sensation on her neck. The child's father, who was helping us, remarked this was the first time in several weeks that she had laughed so heartily. It was not easy to re- strain the tears. This was truly a unique ex- perience for us. At first blush, one would conjure up the many cultural differences between our volunteers and our hosts. But the more that we spent sharing with both, the more commonali- ties we saw. Our Israeli brothers share a communal personality, strong religious beliefs, hard work and dedication, a national- istic worldview, great support for their armed forces and a sacrifi- cial spirit. And guess what? Those are the basic character- istics of our Midwest brothers. So as we Floridians watched this unfold before us, we were taken aback by how these two people groups came together to share love, empathy, experi- ence and resources on behalf of these children. After all, it was Our Savior who said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not re- ceive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. And He took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." $WWRUQH\ $W /DZ 2YHU \HDUV EDQNUXSWF\ H[SHULHQFH