Jewish Santa Exists.

June 20

Shalom! Today was a very interesting day at the hospital. We were cleaning the air conditioning filters in the ICU unit. Yeah. It was pretty disturbing at first because we saw lots of patients in critical condition or on life support and there were beeps and things we didn’t understand. We even had a dead body get rolled past us. It was pretty freaky and I felt really sad for these people, wishing I could help them more. But then I realized that a lot of these patients were fully aware of everything that was going on around them. They were just diseased and sick. So, I decided to be a little more friendly. I mean, they're just like everyone else! Even just a simple smile and a hello can brighten up their day and help them realize that nothing is wrong with them! They shouldn't be ignored just because they are sick. So, every time I went in the room I would say “Shalom” to every person who was awake. It was amazing the results! In every room I would have somewhat of a conversation. A lot of them didn’t speak English so the conversation would be more like “Shalom!” “Shalom! Ahf uiosfh cs chchchchchchchch!” I would stand there puzzled for a moment and go “Me America! Englit??” And then would say, “HUF cfh chchchchchchch!” Until I finally went, “Lo Hebrew!” Then they would laugh at me. They always laugh when they realize you only speak English. I don’t really know why. But quite a few of them actually could understand and some of them I was able to explain to them that we were volunteers which always put smiles on their faces. It surprises them so much! I got so many smiles today. One of the men that was working at the desk saw and said, “Hey, can you help me?” We thought he was going to ask us a questions about the computer so we went over and said, “Well, we can try!” Then all of a sudden he pulls out this bowl full of fruit! He says, “Here you go!” It made us laugh and we had to decline because our hands were disgusting and told him we would come back later. We did, but he wasn’t there. Bummer.

We also ran into a Jewish man who was literally the Jewish version of Santa. He had this huge belly with a button missing and he was following us all around and singing. He was the most adorable man. In one of the rooms, one of the men was able to translate for us and he asked us why we were here volunteering from America. So we told him, “We love Israel!” And he answered that yes, Israel was a wonderful land and so on and so forth. He then asked us where we were staying and who was paying us. So we explained to him that we were paying for ourselves and he could not believe it! He said, “You pay to work here? You mean you’re not being paid for this? I don’t believe you!” He was so shocked that we would actually pay to come serve in Israel. He followed us for the rest of the time singing songs. He even followed us down the elevator and he started to follow us to the offices before a nurse or doctor got a hold of him! In the elevator every single person who came in he would tell all about us and they would just stand there and stare at us. So we just had to smile and pretend we knew what he was talking about! It’s amazing how quickly the word spreads about the work we are doing there! 

Eurim, the man in charge of the maintenance department, also showed us the largest Mezusa in the world! It's hanging on the wall in the ER of the hospital! We also saw a Coca Cola Bear made out of Coca Cola items. This is such a cool hospital. Like for real. People who don't even know us just come up to us, "Slowly, slowly! Relax! Eat! Coffee!" One of the men brought us into his room and he had loud music playing and he was dancing. He was pretty awesome! 

So yes. It was a good day at the hospital, and then we had the rest of the night off! It was nice to relax, some of us went to the mall and did a little shopping. Of course we had devotions too. We talked more about Philippians continuing on through the verses. But actually, what stuck out to me most during our devotions time was a comment he made at the beginning in passing. Just in comment to a song we sang. It’s “As the Deer” which I’m sure most of you know. But in the chorus it says, “You alone are my heart’s desire.” I mean, when we sing that, are we just singing it or do we mean it? Is God ALONE the desire of my heart? Or am I replacing Him with something else? Whether it be affection or longing for a companion. Whether it be school work or any other kind of relationship. When I sing, “YOU alone are my heart’s desire.” Do I really mean that? Are the desires of my heart lining up with the desire of His heart? In Philippians he talks about how they are always in his heart. He says, “God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.” It is ok to have other relationships and long to be with other people! But notice he says, “with the affection of Christ Jesus.” Yeshua is still the center of his desire. And that is how it should always be.

So, today was a pretty chill day. I dominated at Egyptian Rat Slap again of course. Buttt didn’t do so well in Uno Hearts!! We had lots of fun, got to talk with each other more in depth, and just laugh with each other. It’s just a little family going on and I love it. I can’t believe that it’s already been a week! And I also can’t believe it’s only been a little more than a week that I left home! Crazy stuff. I can’t wait to see all that God has in store for this upcoming week.

Thank you again, love you all!

PS. If you all wonder why I’m loud, I get it from my Jewish side. Everyone here is LOUD. It’s wonderful. I’m the one who actually talks on a normal volume level!! ;)