Tents of Mercy Congregation
Kiryat Yam, Israel
In Israel it would be hard to find more honorable titles than these two: Mothers and Teachers. This week I met three women who are both.
As a humanitarian mini-delegation from Tents of Mercy, we drove 3.5 hours to reach our destination. That’s almost the entire length of our small country. We were transporting classroom tables, dozens of laptop computers, headphones for “Zoom” classes, bicycles and other things we thought might be useful to a community starting over with nothing. Our visit was an outreach to a school established for evacuees from the south – the very people who witnessed and survived the atrocities of October 7th.
After we delivered the items, we were privileged to meet with those three teacher-mothers. They are the beating heart of this new school, responsible for 160 evacuee children. They are true “tigers and go-getters.”
As we sat drinking tea together, one of the moms began to share about her home in one of the Gaza strip towns. They owned a family farm and horses. It was a tranquil, dream-of-a-place to live until that dreadful morning when the attack began and their very lives suddenly dangled by a thread. Many neighbors and some family members died. Homes were turned into ashes.
We heard how, when the evil Hamas militants came, these women shielded their children like mother Grizzly bears. For hours that seemed like an eternity they physically held the bomb shelter door handles, making sure no Hamas demons would come in. Meanwhile their husbands went out with guns to fight and protect the area. These valiant mothers survived the atrocities that day and were later evacuated to a safer community (near the Arava, an hour away from the Red Sea).
Even after making their temporary housing feel a more like home, these moms knew that without creating routines for their rambunctious kids, they would be in for another disaster. So they put on their teachers’ “hats” and began a school for some 160-170 children, all evacuees of various ages.
Upon hearing them recount the life-changing experiences they and their loved ones went through, I wondered, “What could you possibly teach children regarding October 7th, to hate or create room for love? Do you prepare them for the worst in life or equip them with hope and strength?”
Just before leaving we had one last question we asked with a heavy heart, “So what will you do now? Where will you go?”
Their answer blew me away. “Of course we will go back, and we will rebuild.”
After a moment of silence, as we digested her words, we realized that hope is the single most powerful weapon one can possess during such a time as this – Fierce Hope.
Hope is the engine for restoration. I saw it in their eyes and heard it in their voices. From October 7th and onward, our soldiers have not been the only ones fighting this war, they are joined by the indomitable spirit of these mothers and teachers.
Passover opportunity for impact
As the winter storms taper off; the grey Sea of Galilee is full, red anemone flowers bloom on the Galilee hills and pink almond buds peek out from branch tips.
At this time we are also preparing for our annual springtime Passover holiday food outreach. This year we will be increasing our scope to reach 1500 families including hundreds which have been thrust into an unexpectedly difficult season because of the war. As we fill the warehouse to be ready for the outreach, we invite you to pray that God would touch the hearts of the recipients to receive not only a physical blessing but the seed of a spiritual blessing too. If you want to contribute to this outreach you can donate here: www.tikkunglobal.org/tentsofmercy
