Written by Esti Polotsky
Wednesday, August 1st, was an eventful day on Rescue Israel. We started off the day down south in Eilat and drove all the way up North to Tel Aviv. Our bus ride was full of laughter, music and enjoying everyone’s amazing company. We then traveled to Tel Aviv and arrived ready to water ski! We suited up and stood in line while wobbling on our water skis. After the wait, we all had the chance to prove ourselves on the skis. Some of us fell right as we got into the water, while others water skied around the lake more than five times. We all had a blast and we were ready to go onto our next adventure. We then got on the bus and prepared to go to Save a Child’s Heart. Save a Child’s Heart is an phenomenal organization geared towards helping children with congenital heart diseases. Children from all over the world come to Israel to have a chance at a new life. These precious children travel to Israel from Tanzania, Zanzibar, Ethiopia, etc. This foundation has given these children a chance to be saved without having to worry about how to pay off medical bills. We visited the kids and let them fill our hearts with love. We played with them, danced, sang, colored and had an amazing time spending quality uninterrupted time with them. We came expecting to help them out, but we left with a connection built only in an hour. We hugged and had emotional goodbyes soon after just meeting them. The connections we made with these children will stay with us forever. All we needed was a smile on our face and positive energy and we made connections to last a lifetime. After this wonderful experience we traveled to our next location near the Kineret, Ohalo Manors where we would be staying for a few days. Overall, this day was all sorts of fun and meaningful experiences. We had opportunities to be in the water and enjoy the sun, while also giving back to the land of Israel and spending time with children from Save a Child’s Heart. I want to thank NCSY Summer for giving me this incredible opportunity to better my relationships with my Rescue Israel community and also my love for the land of Israel. August 1, 2018 was a memorable day that I will look back upon for days to come.