To let them go their way

Do you recognize these tea cups? We brought them from Zhitomir! – says Tatiana Didkovski.

Koen Carlier recently visited families that went through the program First Home in the Homeland to find out how they live today in Israel. The team of Christians for Israel in Ukraine brought some of them to the airport in Kiev.
Do you still remember them?

http://www.c4israel.org/news/heartbreaking-farewell-update-from-our-aliyah-fieldworker-koen-carlier/ http://www.c4israel.org/news/on-the-threshold-the-story-of-the-didkovski-family-part-1/

Didkovski family made Aliyah in the beginning of 2016 from Zhitomir, central Ukraine. Now they are already more than two years in Israel. What happened to them during this time? Do they feel at home? Do they miss Ukraine? Do they feel that they belong to the Land? Are they connected to Israel, spiritually and practically? These and many other questions went through our minds when we drove to Rechovot, a small town near Tel Aviv, where the family lives today.

We arrived almost three hours later than expected, but Didkovski were still happy to see us. Sergei and Tatiana open a door with mezuzah on it, “And you shall inscribe them on the doorposts (mezuzot) of our house and on your gates” Deuteronomy 6:9.

The mezuzah on the doorpost of a Jewish house shall remind those who walk through about the covenant with G-d.

Today Didkovski have a special evening: their children spend this weekend at home. Normally it happens once every two weeks. Already for two years Nastya and Dima live and study separately from their parents. 

In the framework of the First Home they were enrolled in the boarding school in the center of the country. It was such a big issue for the family two years ago! So many worries! How will they communicate there? Are they mature enough to live separately from the parents? Together with a school psychologist we spent hours explaining to the parents in details what they can expect from a new school.

“It was so hard to let them go their way” – says Tatiana.
Two years passed from that time, Nastya is an excellent student with specialization on physics and electricity, Dima is preparing to start his army service in some months. Both of them speak fluently Hebrew and feel themselves real Israelis!

And what about Sergei and Tatiana? After finishing First Home in kibbutz Gvulot they moved to Rechovot where the family of Tatiana lives. Sergei works at a factory, Tatiana is a kindergarten teacher.

From time to time Sergei and Tatiana come to the kibbutz, to their first home in Israel. And of course they still remember one February night in Ukraine when the team of Christians for Israel drove their family to the airport, sharing with them this special moment of Aliyah…
The second family that we visited that day was Goldman family from the East of Ukraine.

Remember this article from 2016?

http://www.c4israel.org/news/long-and-thorny-path-home

Are you curious of where they are, how they feel and if they found their place in Israel? Read about it in the next article!

And now look into the family photo album of Didkovskis:

2016 – Leaving Ukraine, farewell in Zhitomir

2016 – Kibbutz Gvulot. New Israelis!

Every year over 250 families make Aliyah with the help of the First Home in the Homeland. The successful Aliyah of Didkovski family came true thanks to the spiritual and material help of Christians for Israel. We receive around 5 new applications every day! Thank you for taking part in the main change of their lives!

With gratitude,
Orly Wolstein
‘First Home in the Homeland’ Projectmanager Jewish Agency for Israel

Please support the “First Home in the Homeland” Project. Any amount is welcome!
Assisting a family in the “First Home” program costs € 230 euro / US $ 250 a month.

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