I had the opportunity last week to visit the Atlanta/St Louis/Yokneam/Meggido partnership region. It’s been a while since my last visit, and quite frankly, I had forgotten how vital and important each service is to each family.
We visited a high school where kids who needed space and instruction in order to learn differently were given that opportunity. We visited a day care center for the elderly where a class of “classroom challenged” 7th graders were helping the seniors make purim decorations. We went to an afternoon youth soccer league, an after school enrichment program, a teen center where rock bands and leadership programs were operating side by side.
And everywhere I went, I was introduced as someone from “our sister city, Atlanta.” Everyone I met knew who we were, what the partnership was all about, and how vital and important we are to each other. After 3 days of difficult and complicated Board of Governors meetings in Jerusalem, it was refreshing and inspiring to be out in the field, holding hands and sharing smiles with the people who get it, who care, and who want nothing more than a chance to improve their lives and the lives of those around them.
Here are a few of their smiles. I hope they make your day as much as they made mine.
