By Stuart Prescott, Dallas, Texas

Four to five years ago we hosted some P2K JCC camp counselors in our home for a number of days. We developed a nice relationship with a couple of the boys, Oded and Shalev, and have kept in touch with them via e-mail. They've sent digital pictures and have kept us up to date on events in their lives, family Bar Mitzvahs, sisters getting married, school, induction into the army, holiday greetings, etc. One of them joined us for a party in the north on the '02 mission.

Before the kids left for the "Dallas" Birthright trip, Myra e-mailed the boys to tell them they'd be there and to see if they could rendezvous in Acco. There was no answer so she figured they must be doing army stuff. (It turned out that Shalev had changed his address and never got the e-mail). When the group got to Acco on day two, they were joined by eight Israeli youth for fun, cultural exchange, etc.

Matthew asked one of them, "do you know Shalev?" Now exactly how many Shalevs do you think there are in the Western Galilee? Thousands? The Israeli youth whips out his cell phone and calls someone he knows named Shalev. "Shalev, there's someone here named Prescott looking for you." "I'll be there in 15 minutes", he replied. It was THE Shalev! And on his only day of leave in a four month army tour! He spent the afternoon hiking, hanging with the "Dallas" group.

Our phone rang at 6am last Friday. It was Matt, who put Shalev on the phone. Very exciting! He plans to come see us when he's done with the army.

All reports from the trip are excellent, but this story is a great one among the incredible ones we all can tell from our trips to Israel. As for making the case for Partnership 2000, this one oughta do it!