April 25th, 2018 – Today Helping Hand Coalition for Israel (עמותת יד חעזרה ישראל) hosted a Shalom House for 15 Holocaust survivors at Caesarea Villa.
A team from the US West Coast came to present wonderful live music, their warm hearts and beautiful handmade patchwork blankets, made by a friend of the leaders of the US team, Carol and Jeff, who have been involved in serving the Holocaust survivors for many years. When the survivors received these gifts they were so happy, thankful and overwhelmed.
The team prepared a delicious meal with a broccoli chicken dish, fresh salads and ice cream for desert that was highly praised by the survivors. Jeff shared how he and his wife fell in love with the land of Israel and the Jewish people and how they especially got a heart to serve the survivors of the Holocaust.
Samuel and Claudia Winkler, a family who serve the Holocaust survivors through Helping Hand Coalition with their daughter Gloria were there to add to the musical program with violin play and dancing. They brought a little handmade flower stick pin, made by an elderly lady friend they have in Germany, who is sending those flowers specifically to be given as gifts to the Holocaust survivors. Immediately those flowers were pinned on, that was a great joy.
One of the survivors was a German language school teacher in Russia, and she loved to speak in German with the German Winkler family and Petra, who was serving amazingly as translator mostly between English, Russian and German. After discovering that one of the survivors is a great musician on the piano, the whole fellowship, through her lovely playing and singing of well known Jewish and Russian songs, turned into a joyful celebration with clapping hands, singing and dancing.
A statement in German was made by Samuel, what a blessing it is to now be able to speak this in language in this blessed framework of Shalom Houses, where it is a sign of hope and walking together in love.
Before leaving the survivors expressed how much they were overwhelmed and thankful after having such a wonderful experience.
