We moved from downtown haifa to a community of believers, Or Ha Carmel situated within the Mount Carmel region in a Druze Village. Our purpose was to bless and serve the community in true GTS fashion. We arrived and were given a short tour by Amy, a long standing friend of the Rudolph family. We saw the shelter for the Sudanese and Eritrean women and children. The ministry centre and the congregation building with prayer cave.
Amazed by the beauty of the place, we started work playing with the children. I headed up most of the games from duck duck goose to capture the flag. It was such a special time for all, running in and out of the trees, chatting to the parents sitting on the rocks and watching the children laughing and playing free.
Preperations began for our shabbat meal as the games drew to a close. The peace of God rested on each one as we breathed deep!
After the meal, Rita the founder and director of the ministry centre came and showed us two DVD shorts that had been made in 2007 of the children and the women from the shelter. Tears flowed as we heard tales of abuse and torture. God’s heart being transplanted to ours as we continued to watch. We closed with a time of prayer and again the presence of Almighty God was overwhelming. Rita was struck hard by the compassion she saw in each of us, in her words, ‘I don’t know if it is just the relationship that I have with the Rudolph family, but I am truly overwhelmed by your even wanting to see this movie and to pray for a deeper revelation of God’s heart. It is not like others who volunteer here- it is a unity of heart towards those here who are strangers, widows and orphans, just as we Jews have been for many years.’