Last week I shared with you my first day at camp and the “random” timing of meeting the rabbi here as we were about to go to our first activity. It didn’t take long for HaShem to answer my pondering. . .

The very next morning I went to one of the common buildings to get a cup of coffee. And there stood the rabbi, a truly divine appointment. He couldn’t wait to talk with me, actually, and we did so for two and a half hours! I was the one to end our time together since his wife, children, and grandchildren had been waiting for him for at least the last hour. He was wanting to speak with our other leaders as well. A time of interchange beyond belief.

The next day I “randomly” met the teacher of an Israeli dance workshop to be held later that afternoon and she invited our group. It was such a joyful experience. At the end of the hour all I did was ask her if she taught any other classes and she spontaneously invited Anna Feldman, one of our amazing campers who is an obvious Israeli dance maven, to teach the whole camp an Israeli dance the next day during their good-bye ceremony. Another divine appointment.

The week has been filled with amazement. Even when times got challenging during the camping trip, HaShem’s Hand was all over it.

Last evening our talent show performers ranged from seriously Broadway quality singers and dancers to card throwers and plastic cup head crunchers. The point was the engagement of the teens and counselors. Such fun times. And our amazingly gifted Rabbi Nathan could take the group from that point of hilarity and team competition, within moments, to a healing prayer session bringing most in this same group, girls and boys alike, needing tissues as they dealt deeply with inner healing, drawing them closer to our Messiah Yeshua.

Later as Sid and I were walking late at night back to our RV, I heard someone behind me say, “I love your hair.” When I didn’t hear a response I turned around to a group of our host teen campers and I realized the young lady was speaking to me! So I immediately said thank you, to which she replied, “Wait, you’re the same person I spoke to last week about your hair.” It was like a déjà vu of then. But at that time I didn’t acknowledge the compliment because it never crossed my mind the comment was directed at me. So a week ago, she no doubt thought I was just a bit of a snob. This time, after I replied, she went on and on, even commenting that she has the same shirt as the one I was wearing. She said, “It’s like we’re the same person”. She said she hoped we meet again since she was leaving the next day, so maybe next year.

“Random” that with literally hundreds of campers and so many hours and days, our paths would cross at the same place in the same way?

Usually when Camp Or L’Dor goes to a mainstream Jewish host camp as we do, our sensibilities are to be a bit concerned about what they think of us. Here HaShem was teaching me that a week ago, actually, I acted in a way, even though innocently, to make our host camper feel slighted. So He gave me a second chance, take two, same place, same dialogue, with new eyes to see that His love breaks down all barriers.

It is a time to fight our natural defensiveness about being Messianic Jewish, even and especially when we are among our Jewish brothers and sisters. We are the same person, united in His love.

Shabbat shalom.
Diane