Bitter Sweet Home Comming

Bitter Sweet Homecoming

The past month has been filled with Bitter Sweet Homecoming. As I watch the past few homecomings of released hostages, I see the tears of joy flowing on the faces of the hostages as well as their loved ones and I can’t help but feel blessed and fortunate that you allowed Hope For Sderot to have been part of that.

Your Support Made and Is Making A Difference

From early on in October, then from the beginning of this war, and to this present day, your generosity, your love, and your prayers have played a vital part in bringing us to this day, to these tears of joy being shed.

You made a difference in the lives of the people of Sderot as they grabbed what they could, fled Sderot, and evacuated to a safe area after 7 October.

You provided support for the handful of residents who were not willing to leave their homes, their town,  their Sderot. As the town shut down you provided hot meals and groceries for them. But you didn’t stop there. You provided support to our soldiers as they laid their lives on the line to not only keep us safe but to bring these scenes of joy to reality.

We may not have had a direct part in bringing home any hostages, but we were there and are still there supporting our soldiers.  Warm winter clothing, hot Shabbat meals, and needed accessories to make their lives and jobs a little easier. All of it plays a vital part in the outcome we have seen today and you have been and are part of that!

I Now Know Why There Is A Hell

This past week, Kifir(10 months old), and Ariel(4 years old) Bibas were both killed in cold blood by the bare hands of hamas terrorists. Their little bodies were then pelted with rocks to make it look like they were killed by an IDF air strike and were brought home to be buried. Two days later, their mother, Shiri, was returned to her final resting spot with her two children.

Yarden Bibas was held as a hostage for 484 days. His bittersweet homecoming came without knowing his wife and children were also taken as hostages.  He did not know the fate of his wife and kids. He came home to the harsh reality that they, too, were taken as hostages, but their status was still unknown. That was until this week when hamas released their names as the dead they would be releasing. May Kifir, Ariel and Shiri’s memory be a blessing and a stark reminder of the wickedness Israel is facing.

Are There  Words Stronger Than “Pure Evil”?

 We lived through 7 Oct as terrorists ran up and down our street, behind and in front of our house. Days later, we witnessed Sderot become a ghost town with just one to two thousand people left in Sderot. Hope For Sderot stood its ground and, with your support, brought needed support to those left in Sderot. We also reached out to our residents wherever they were in Israel to support them as well.

 We found ourselves driving down darkened, empty streets making food deliveries, not knowing if they had captured all the terrorists. I say all this just to set the backdrop for the fear, pain, and suffering we have ALL gone through.

Nothing, however, could compare to or prepare us for the kind of “pure evil” that happened not only to the Bibas family, but to all the hostages and those who faced the terrorists face to face.

There were fourteen children, not including the Bibas children under the age of ten, murdered by the terrorists and twenty-five people over the age of eighty that were murdered. There was no reason to chop off the hands of a baby and throw him into an oven while his mother watched, only to be killed also.

Sderot Today

Most of the residents have come back home, and only a few shops and stores did not survive the atrocities of Oct 7. Armed soldiers still guard the entrances to Sderot, and “The Warm Corner” still provides for soldiers who are still in and around Gaza. Hope For Sderot helps support “The Warm Corner” as much as we are able to and fulfills as many requests for Shabbat meals as possible.

But For The Grace Of GOD

Hope For Sderot opened its doors with the understanding that we could go home in a body bag, which is still very much a reality today.

What we do has been a calling, and there is no denying that. The calling wasn’t just to me and our volunteers; it was made to you also. Just as we have stayed fast in the midst of danger, YOU have stayed fast in providing the support that makes it all happen. GOD gets all the glory and credit for what Hope For Sderot has accomplished; that goes without saying.

It is a comfort to know GOD has called and you have responded. It makes my job all the easier! Words will NEVER be able to express my thanks and gratitude to you and for the faith GOD has put in all of us to carry out His work!

Thanks to GOD for the opportunity to serve Him and to you for allowing me to be His and your delivery boy! We still have a long road ahead of us, and much work needs to be accomplished, and “But For The Grace Of GOD,” we will continue to continue!

Thank you for your love and support!