BRONX CONNECTIONS!

I’m from the Bronx.  Have I told you?  Please take note that it’s “THE” Bronx.  It’s something special…it’s set apart.  Do you know of any other city, in this case “borough,” that has a definite article preceding it?  “The” seems to herald “Bronx.”  An English grammar document on the Internet states that we can use “the” to refer to people or objects that are unique!  OK, I’m not getting uppity about my hometown.  “The” reminds me of its uniqueness to me.  I have fond memories of my childhood in the Bronx.  And, I always smile when I reflect on God taking me out of the Bronx, out of New York City with its massive Jewish population, and bringing us to the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona to engage in a ministry to the Navajos and Hopis…ultimately moving us to the Phoenix metropolitan area where He called me to share Jesus with Jewish people.  WHY did God lead me away from NYC to the desert?  Well, we do find the desert in the Hebrew Scriptures!  And, there are more Jewish people than I’ll ever meet face-to-face in the Phoenix metropolitan area alone…approximately 120,000.  I’ve been told one out of four families in Scottsdale, where we currently reside, is Jewish. 

AND, God has brought many Jewish people from the Bronx across my path…and has brought me across their paths.  Coincidence?  Of course not!  Our Bronx context/background creates instant bonding.  The day following Christmas, 12/26/16, a few of us gathered to engage in a Chanukah/Christmas sing-along at a local retirement facility.  We began speaking to a lively little woman whose accent smacked of NYC.  I asked her, “Where were you born?” 

Ellie replied, “New York.”  That means NYC. 

My next question, “Which borough?” 

“The Bronx,” she professed with a “What else?” tone.

We talked about Fordham Road, “the Italian neighborhood” (Arthur Avenue), the Bronx Zoo and Botanical Gardens.  Ellie began speaking of Route 4 across the George Washington Bridge and the New York State Thruway/Route 17 to Suffern.  I thought it rather odd that she took me, in her memories, across these particular roads and mentioned Suffern.  I’ve traveled these roads; I’m very familiar with these thoroughfares.  My father lived in Suffern, NY during part of his childhood.  I’ve visited the family cemetery off Rte. 17 many times.  Ellie and I shared our knowledge of these former “stomping grounds.” I must tell you at this point, I didn’t know if Ellie was Jewish.  I was prompted to tour further on Rte. 17 with Ellie to where my family vacationed in the summer.  We escaped the Bronx during July and August in Winterdale, PA near Hancock, NY.  Ellie then told me that her children summered at Starlight Camp in PA.  I knew of Starlight Camp; we always ran into kids from Starlight Camp in Hancock, NY.  The boys from that camp wore yarmulkes.  “Oh,” I said, with a smile in my voice, “that’s a Jewish camp, isn’t it?”

“Yes!” 

I love these divine appointments with Jewish people from the Bronx.  We continued to visit and to bond.  Ellie sang the Chanukah songs with us.  Another visit with Ellie is in the works.

During the Chanukah/Christmas sing-along that day, I met John.  John is Jewish.  In no uncertain terms did he agree with me about Jesus.  We bonded, however; he’s from “the” Bronx.  John invited me to return!