May 12, 2010
Pastor Mary Jo Pierce led a group from Gateway Church to visit Ariel on May 12, 2010. American Friends of Ariel Director, Avi Zimmerman, prepared the visit along with Pastor Mary Jo during a recent trip to Texas.
The group began the day at the new Ariel National Leadership Development Center, with a beautiful view of Ariel in the background. The group learned about the site’s significance and how it will contribute to building the fabric of Israel’s society. Explanations were followed by an emotional prayer service with the assistance of Pastor Robb Brewer.
The group’s visit included meeting the IDF soldiers at Antenna Hill, a personal presentation by Mayor Ron Nachman and a tour of the Ariel Holocaust and Heroism Memorial House with Irena and Kuba Vadislavsky.
The visit to Ariel made a strong impression on the group. Pastor Mary Jo pointed out that, although she visited Poland, her experience with Irena and Kuba was far more powerful. The group expressed a strong interest in returning to Ariel. We look forward to hosting them again, sometime in the near future.