by Lauryn Lormand
"It has been a blessing to be able to go on this trip and experience the power of the Lord in a whole new way."
It’s day 8 here in Israel. This morning we loaded up the bus and went to Mount Carmel, where we read about Elijah and went to the top of the monastery to see another beautiful view of Israel. After that we visited the Holocaust Survivor Center in Haifa, where we listened to Mania Hermon share her story.
Mania is an artist and shared her story through a translator and her own artwork that depicted what she experienced during the Holocaust. She was eight years old when the soldiers came and took her and her family to a village that eventually turned into a concentration camp. She told us about losing her grandmother during their long journey to the village, the exhaustion she experienced, and the horrific things that happened to her and her family during the Holocaust. However, throughout her story, she continued to use the Hebrew word, “ness” which means miracle. There were multiple times where death was just around the corner for Mania and her family, however every time there was an intervention. Her story was so moving, not only because of her perseverance but her hope. She clearly knew that surviving the Holocaust was a miracle and she explained some of the struggles that came with surviving and then returning to society. Her story will be one that I will never forget.
While Mania practices Judaism, her story has made me reflect on suffering in general and what we as Christians are supposed to do in the midst of suffering. Romans 5:2-5 states, ”Through him we have also obtained access by faith into grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
We ended our day by swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. This was a nice time to reflect on the day and enjoy the company of others as our days in Israel are coming to a close. In conclusion, it was another great day in Israel. It has been a blessing to be able to go on this trip and experience the power of the Lord in a whole new way.
