To many people, an Atlanta rabbi and a Baptist domestic worker from North Georgia would have very little in common. But Rabbi Steven Lebow and Nellie Ward are connected by the nation of Israel.

Each summer, Lebow serves at Camp Coleman, a summer camp in Cleveland, 50 miles west of Gainesville. The camp attracts about 800 children and a delegation of about 30 young adults from Israel performing service projects. Ward is a cook and housekeeper there.

After hearing that Ward had always dreamed of traveling to Israel, Lebow, a frequent visitor to the Holy Land, joined other colleagues at the camp in raising enough money to send Ward on a 10-day trip in December.

Camp leaders and staff presented Ward with a travel certificate last month.

"I had always wanted to go, but I could never afford it," said the 64-year-old mother of three and grandmother of six boys. "It's very special that the people I work for wanted me to do it enough that they came up with the money. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance."

In her 27 years at the camp, Ward has met and befriended many of the visiting Israeli delegation. With each new friendship came a greater desire to see the Holy Land and meet more of its people.

"They are like family to me now," said Ward, who has never traveled outside the southeastern United States. "I can't wait to see them when I get there."

In addition to the $2,000 raised to send Ward on the trip, camp staffers are collecting more funds to send her grandson, Dusty McCollum, to accompany her. The pair will depart from New York around Christmas.

For Lebow, the good deed is another opportunity to strengthen Jewish-Christian relations.

The more Christians visit the Holy Land, the better relations will become, said Lebow, of Temple Kol Emeth. Americans can learn how special the Holy Land is to Jews and how much hard work they put into it, he said.

"I was in the two most important places --- Christ's birthplace and the place of his crucifixion," said Lebow.

"It was an amazing experience for me as a Jew, so just imagine how more so it would be for a Christian."

Information: Temple Kol Emeth, 770-973-3533.