Best Job Ever!

June 19

Shalom, shalom! Yet another great day here in Israel. We woke up bright and early to go to the hospital. Good thing I’m so used to not sleeping that much in college because I love staying up to get all my thoughts together and reflect on the day.

I’m having some trouble trying to remember everything that happened! I got to clean the air conditioners on the 4^th floor today with the babies! So cute. It was kinda funny because we ended up waiting for Chris a while because we didn’t know how to clean the different types of air conditioners. So, we entertained ourselves by making a bunch of videos and just having fun. We finally, after some confusion and getting a little bit lost, found Beibier and he taught us until we went to lunch and found Chris again! So, it was a good day for the air conditioning crew! I love getting to talk to all kinds of different people. We got to talk to several women today just getting to know them. One woman had just had twins that morning! Everyone is so kind and they are just in awe that we came here just because of our love for Israel. It’s truly amazing. 

We also got interviewed for the Jerusalem Post today which was pretty cool. I mean, it's an international newspaper! But the stories of some people on my team are so awesome. One of the girls on my team is actually getting married in September and she gave up a month of her summer of wedding planning to serve in Israel. I believe we have four birthdays here in Israel. And there's one girl who's mom gave up going on a nursing trip to Ecuador so that her daughter could go to Israel to serve. The hearts of this team is absolutely inspiring. They are wonderful! 

Oh, and the tomatoes here are so good. They have so much flavor! Haha, sorry. That was random.

Anyway, other members of the team are building great relationships. Some of them were even invited to Shabbot to their homes on Friday! It’s so cool. We’ve been learning to speak their language. Not necessarily Hebrew, but to speak in terminology that they understand. And they are listening! They are watching everything we do. I always try and have a smile on my face which isn’t hard because I really enjoy what I do. They love it.

It just makes me realize how much joy I get from serving the Lord. I am always the most happy when I am doing some kind of service. I mean, who knows what God has for me in the future but I am truly willing to serve and to follow what He has for me.

We talked about Philippians again tonight during devotions and we talked about how Paul writes to them and thanks them over and over for partnering with him. Their support meant everything to him. It just reminds me how important the people are who work for the Lord and how impactful people like us can be to them. In some way, whether I end up being a worker for the Lord myself, or if I end up serving Him elsewhere, I will support someone in the ministry. We can’t take them for granted. They need us just as we need them. This is what God has called us to do. 1 Thessalonians says, “Rejoice always, pray continually; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Sometimes, it’s not exactly clear what God’s will is, but THIS is God’s will. Rejoice and pray. This is what life is about!

The girls also got the chance to go to Kehila tonight for a ladies Bible study which was really interesting. We talked about how God created each gender with different characteristics which you can basically learn from the book of Genesis! When they eat the forbidden fruit and they are cursed, they are cursed with certain characteristics. Woman, childbearing, mothering, love and affection… it all includes emotion. Men, hard work. They need strength and patience which requires them to think logically and rationally. Women are more based on emotion which is why they're more easily deceived. In God's Word, it says that only the woman was deceived. That's because when Adam ate the fruit it was a deliberate CHOICE. When he realized that Eve ate the fruit, he had a decision to make. He knew that something bad was going to happen to her, so his choice was to obey God but then live a life without his beautiful wife, or to follow his wife into death. He chose to go with his wife because he could not imagine a life without her. This is why it says for women not to teach in the church. They are more easily deceived. Not meaning that men are never deceived, of course they are. But they are more logical and rational because that's the way God created for them to be. They are complimentary to each other. They fit together. It's not a good or bad thing that each one is created this way, it just the way the world works.Man, I can’t even remember all the stuff we talked about at the moment. We talked for about two hours (of course we had to pause for the Hebrew translation as well) but our speaker is so intelligent and wise and I respect him a lot. And of course they fed us ice cream. I LOVE ice cream. I could eat it all day. They have these things called Magnum bars. DELICIOUS. I could eat all of them. Seriously. The people in the Kehila are just amazing people as well. I’m so excited to get to know them more and more. They have so many questions and they have such a zeal for God.

When we got back we were able to just laugh and hang out with the guys and watch funny videos. And before we knew it it was midnight! We’ll see how I feel tomorrow, but hey. Six hours is plenty for me!

I love relationships. I love getting to know the Jewish culture and all about the people that live here. I also love getting to know my team. I thrive off of relationships so I am absolutely loving this experience.

Joy

June 18

Well, to start off, I just thought I should say, everyone has officially learned of my laughing “problem.” And, Gabby, also has a laughing “problem.” So, lets just say, people have to separate us sometimes…. ;) But it’s good because against what I originally expected, I think I may GAIN weight this trip. So I’m gonna need to laugh as much as possible to lose those extra calories!

Jewish people LOVE to feed you. A lot. Today, at the hospital, one of the reasons they love to work so slowly is that they love to eat! Chris had gone away for about 15 minutes during the day with our screwdriver, so Kaytra, Matt and I were waiting for him when all of a sudden a Jewish woman came up to us. She didn’t speak much English but we understood that she was trying to ask us if we had eaten. So we answered, “Ken! Yes! We had lunch!” And she’s like, “Oh, well coffee then! Tea!” So we’re like, “Ken! P’sedar! Ok!” And the next thing we know we spend the next half hour just eating and drinking and talking with these women. They were so sweet!! I love these people so much.

Another thing I’m starting to love about Jewish people is that they will yell at each other as if they were angry, but then literally in half a second they’ll be getting coffee together and laughing again. They don’t hold grudges! If they have a disagreement they say their opinion with no fear, and no offense. It’s wonderful. They yell at each other and then they love each other.

Anyway, today was another great day at the hospital. We had a lot more people talk to us today and I get so excited every time they are amazed that we are here volunteering. Why? They ask! Why do you leave America to come to Israel to work?? We are lazy! We are thin but lazy. Americans, they are fat but they work hard! They are hilarious people. But it’s really just so amazing to think that as hard as it is to get an Israeli to smile, they smile! They tell us they love us and they are so thankful that we are here. It’s a wonderful feeling and I know God is planting seeds all over the place through our work.

Throughout the month, the team has devotions every night. Starting tonight we started the book of Philippians and we’re going to be going verse by verse through the book. I am so excited because Philippians is my favorite book of the Bible! I love learning more and more about joy and what it means to have true joy in your life. Obviously, tonight we went through verse 1. It seems like it is such a simple verse, but it has so much meaning in just once sentence. For instance, I learned exactly what it means when Paul says that he and Timothy are “bondservants.” Bondservants are slaves that CHOOSE to serve their master for life. They had the choice to be free, but they loved their master so much that they chose to serve them for life. That is what we as believers are! We choose Yeshua and all that He has for us. We choose to serve Him for our lives. And as a servant I must remember that I need to obey what God has for me and serve Him in every aspect of my life and He will guide me in a way that I can’t even imagine. Serving is wonderful and there is no better way to live this life than to serve the one true God!

Since the book of Philippians is primarily about joy, we talked about what we thought the definition of joy was. Obviously there’s no set definition exactly, but joy is being content in any circumstance, and using everything for the glory of God because He will use it for my good. That is joy. And it’s probably one of the most important things in my life. Being joyous through anything is such a testimony to this world because it is something that is rarely found. Nowadays, everything is based off of happiness, which is so temporary! But the joy of God is something that is permanent and will never leave which makes it so amazing. We sang “It is Well” tonight, and it is such a great reminder that no matter what life brings, it is well with my soul. Praise the Lord! He has such a wonderful plan for His people! He will take care of us and it will be full of joy!

We also went to the college and career group tonight at Kehila which was so much fun. They fed us lots of food of course, and we talked about Ruth. What a great testimony she has! A Moabite who joined Naomi to be part of her people and to serve her God. To stick with her until death. Wow. Just think about that a little bit.

I can’t even explain how full of joy I am right now. I am so tremendously happy. I absolutely love Israel and the Jewish people and everyone else here! I love my team. I feel like I’ve known these people for a year now, when it hasn’t even been a week yet!

I cannot thank you enough for giving me this opportunity. It hasn’t even been a week and it has already been life changing. I have grown in so many ways, and I am learning so much! I’m trying to pick up some Hebrew words and learn as much as I can about these people so that I can share God’s love in the most loving way I can. I am just full of so much I love I want to explode and pour it over everyone. Well, maybe not so morbid but you know what I mean.

Anyway, sorry for ranting. I keep finding that I’m the last one awake because I take so long to write my blog posts! I don’t mean to make them so long but I just have so much excitement and I want to share it all with you because you have such a huge part in this! You have made an impact! Remember that!

Well, Yom Tov! Good day! Hope I haven’t put you to sleep! ;)

I’ll keep posting pictures on my facebook page!!

First Day Volunteering

Before I begin, I just have to say, driving in Israel is insane. I would seriously be afraid for my life if I ever drove here. Man. They make their own rules over here.

Anyway, today we got up bright and early and left around 7:45 to go to Kaplan Hospital to start our volunteer work! It was awesome. We started the day with orientation and then went to breakfast. An Israeli breakfast literally consists of bread and jam, a hard boiled egg, tomatoes and cucumbers. It was different, but it was actually kind of refreshing! Everything was fresh and really good!

After breakfast we started our jobs. There were some people in the kitchen, oncology, filing, cleaning, ummm... I forget what else! I was on the air conditioning team with Chris, Kaytra, and Matt. We teamed up with a man named Beibier and he showed us the works. Basically, I take out all the filters and hose them down! It's actually kinda enjoyable.

The work ethic here is definitely more laid back here than in America. Biebier took us to his little room and offered us refreshments and we made us sit down and watch Jimmy Kimmel while Chris and Matt finished their coffee. He kept saying, "Slowly, slowly! Take your time!" It was so different from the fast paced way of American work!

Cleaning the air conditioners was great, but I thought one of the best things was not even part of that job. As we walk from place to place, I can't help but have a giant smile on my face and tell everyone "Shalom!" And when I get a smile back, it just brightens up my day. I love it!

For lunch I had some breaded chicken and rice. It's funny because they have to use blue trays for breakfast and red trays for lunch. Like, it's hard core. It's a way to help them keep kosher and keep the dairy separate from the meats. So, we worked until about 2:30 and then headed back to the house. We had about an hour or two to freshen up and then we went to Joppa for dinner! We had pita of course with this really good stuff that I don't remember what it is called! We had chicken and beef kabobs with a side of lamb with lemonade, hot tea and a pistachio honey pastry! Yum!

Joppa is absolutely beautiful. And has so much history! (As does so many places here...) This is where Jonah fled from, and where Dorcas was raised from the dead. It's so amazing that I'm standing on these grounds. It's just so hard to believe I'm in Israel still!! Anyway, during devotions, Chris and Bruce asked us questions to really make us think. We talked about the story of Jonah in a bit more depth and asked us the questions "What are we running away from in our own lives?" and "Are we prepared to have compassion for people we don't necessarily like?"

Wow. Those are pretty tough questions to think through. I mean, sometimes we think down on Jonah as if, if we were in his shoes we for sure would have obeyed God. But think about it. Think of the worst person you can imagine. A murderer. A rapist. Sometimes, we have the attitude that those people don't deserve Jesus. But guess what. God loves them! They don't deserve Jesus just like WE don't deserve Jesus. But that's not the point. The point is that God loves us ALL. And that means we need to have compassion for them all as well. Jesus died for all of us. And that means all.

What am I running away from? Honestly, I'm running away from His control. I want to have a relationship with Him as my Friend, but I don't want Him as my Father. Sometimes it's hard to just TRUST that He has the right plan for me, even though I KNOW that He does. It takes a lot of prayer and reading God’s Word. But I know that it’s a process and I know that if I just stop running and instead embrace the plan that God has for me, that will make my life joyous. That is what will make my life complete.

In order to share God’s love, I have to be IN God’s love. I have to be engulfed with His love. Live in His love in every aspect of my life.

Mediterranean Sea

June 16

Shalom from Israel! Today was yet another wonderful day in the Holy Land. The adventure of the day was going to the Mediterranean Sea! We got to sleep in a little bit and had lunch at noon and then from there we went to the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous. The water was clear and the perfect temperature. We also played some Frisbee and volleyball (both which I am awfully terrible…).

Some interesting things also happened throughout the day. For instance, I saw one of the girls Priscilla by herself talking to an Israeli man so I went over to see what was up. Well, I’ve learned that the Israeli culture is very direct and this man had no problem in telling Priscilla that he took a liking to her. So, for the next half hour or so, I did not leave Priscilla’s side as she continuously got hit on by this man! He even proposed! Some of the guys came over after a while and got us away by saying we were going to play volleyball, so it all worked out. But we did get to share with him a little bit about why we were here in Israel, and he thought we were so weird when we said we were volunteers! He also found out that we were believers in Yeshua, Jesus, and also asked why because he didn’t believe in any God. So, for a few minutes we got to share a little bit before the subject was changed. So, hey, maybe a little something good came out of his creepiness. ;) It was pretty funny, though!

I also learned that Ashdod beach that we were on is mentioned several times in the Bible. One time in particular that Bruce mentioned was when the Ark was taken from the Israelites. One thing that he said that I hadn’t thought of before was why the Ark had been taken. It was because they didn’t have the right perspective of God. They were treating Him like a vending machine, or a good luck charm. That is not the God we serve. It really made me think about my perception of God. I really try hard not to think of God that way because of the all-powerful God He is. But now that I think about it, I do sometimes. For instance, in my finances. When I was trying to raise money for this trip I almost just expected God to provide all of it in full. Some of my friends who were going on other trips were managing to get fully funded and I thought, well, why shouldn’t I? I mean, I am going to His land! I was confused on why when it came time to leave, I was still not fully funded. Wow. Was my perception of God wrong! I can’t just expect Him to do things for me, even if it is with right intentions. God is not my vending machine. He is my Father and He does what He knows is best for me even when I don’t always understand. I have to put my full trust in Him and know that He is POWERFUL. I cannot shrink God down into something that my little human mind can understand. When it comes down to it, I CAN’T fully comprehend God. And you know what? I’m glad! I don’t want to serve a God that a sinful human mind can comprehend. I love that God is SO great that it takes a lifetime—an eternity to be able to understand. It gives me the opportunity to learn and grow in Him more and more each day and it’s wonderful! That’s what makes this a relationship.

I am also learning more about the Jewish people and their culture. We talked tonight to give a mini orientation on how to connect with Jewish people when working in the hospitals (we start tomorrow!). Their faith (not necessarily meaning practicing) is what defines them and as long as they stick with what they were “destined” to be, they will make it to Heaven. It is this life that matters most to them. They don’t intermingle, like only Jewish people can marry Jewish people. Arabs can only marry Arabs, etc. So to them, I would be a traitor if they knew I was a Jewish believer. I also learned not to wear a cross because it reminds them of the persecution that Christians have put them through. This saddens me. But I just have to remind myself that we are not the Christians that persecuted them, and I will try my best to be a testimony to them and show them that there is a difference! There is a difference in the way we live and through the relationship we have with God. How Yeshua has saved me from myself and this life. The joy that He can give in your life!

Even if it’s only a smile that can make someone’s day. If only I can plant seeds through the next few weeks, with taking initiative and being helpful. Serving with a servant’s heart.

Why am I here? Because I love God. God loves Israel. I love what God loves. I hope that I am able to show that. I just want to show them God’s love.

Check out my facebook for pictures! 

Life in Israel

June 15

Shalom! Today was another pretty relaxing day. It was nice to be able to catch up on sleep! I was actually the last one to wake up today… surprised, right? We had the option of going to play softball with some people at 10:30 but sadly, I didn’t hear one person get up until they said my name at 11:45. So, I get up while everyone’s dressed and ready… good morning! J

For those of us who stayed back instead of going to softball, we went back to the mall! Some people had money stuff and then we were actually able to shop around and hang there for about an hour. Rachael and I actually had an Israeli come up to us and she started talking to us in Hebrew. We were just like, “I’m sorry! We only speak English!” And then right on a dime she started talking in English to us. Amazing. She asked us where we were from and how old we were. (I had forgotten how old I was and said nineteen and then had to correct myself! Woops! Stupid Americans… JK). She asked us what we were doing so we were able to tell her that we were volunteering at Kaplan hospital and then touring around. She told us we were so nice and then left. It was so nice to be able to talk to her though! She was nice (and gorgeous!). Sorry for saying “nice” so much, it’s starting to sound like a really weird word now!

When we got back to the mall, we thought we were going to be helping a woman move and clean her apartment, but Bruce found out that before we could clean we had to move all the heavy furniture out. So he just sent the boys over and the rest of us girls got to stay at the house. We’ll get to the cleaning next week. We got to talk and get to know each other more and then we played some card games! I “taught” (those of you who know this game will know why taught is in quotations… ) them how to play Mao and then we played Egyptian Rat (insert whatever you call it here). I dominated of course. I don’t think I’m competitive at anything except card games… and the game of Life. J

But anyway. Around 6:00 we got changed for Kehila (the word for congregation). It usually isn’t on Friday nights but we had a little bit of a schedule change this week. We were able to meet the people because we had a pot luck to begin and then after they served snacks! We are well fed here.

At Kehila we talked about the story of Jonah. It’s a well-known story for us, but it’s so nice to be reminded. We all make mistakes but God will still give us another chance. What an amazing God we have!

But yes. I love Israel. I love the people. When we got back (around 11pm) some of the girls and Matt went for a walk around the neighborhood. Everyone has to park on the sidewalks because the streets are so narrow! It’s pretty funny. It’s hot during the day, but its perfect weather at night. Love it. I would almost be tempted to sleep out on the balcony if I knew the sun wasn’t going to scorch me in the morning!

Have a wonderful night (or whatever it is when you read this) and thank you again for all your support and prayers. I love you all!

We Made It!

We made it!!! The feeling is surreal. I mean, I'm actually in Israel. In ISRAEL. It's still hard to believe even with the Hebrew language being spoken and written everywhere.

The plane ride was about 10 1/2 hours long. We left at about 9:30pm and got to Israel around 3:15pm. I didn't really sleep at all so I haven't slept since I woke up at 6:30am on Tuesday. I'm pretty exhausted but luckily my excitement is holding me over, but this post is probably going to be pretty short since my train of thought is dwindling. The flight wasn't too bad... we got decent food... I watched "The Artist", "Hugo" and "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" all which  held my attention so they must have been good! I also learned never to go to the casino and play black jack because my computer endeavors have failed me.

Anyway, once we landed in Israel, we went through Customs which really wasn't as bad as I expected. They just asked some simple questions and I got my first stamp in my passport! Pretty excited. Just saying. After we all got through, we headed to our host home. These people are so wonderful! They greeted us with hugs and prepared pita with lunch meat and potato salad and chocolate... we got to introduce ourselves to them and learn about everyone's favorite ice cream. (Mine is Moose Tracks! Can't beat chocolate and peanut butter mmm....) I think the favorite among the group was mint chocolate chip.

We got to hang out with each other for a bit and then the 18 and younger group went to the youth group to help paint and clean an apartment. The rest of us split up. One group went to the grocery store to go shopping and my group went to the mall to exchange our currency. I think I'm starting to understand shekels. I just have to remember when I see something is worth 40 shekels, do not be alarmed! That's only about ten dollars... We got to walk around the mall for a bit which was really cool just to see Israelis in their every day lives. We enjoyed trying to read the Hebrew books (backwards!) but of course, not successful. I have been learning a few words from Chris, such as todah, meaning thankyou! And a few others that I just don't want to chance misspelling...

My group was the first back to the house so I was lucky enough to get a shower before the other 10 girls got back! (We'll see if that luck holds out for long...) So now after unloading all of our groceries and 40 rolls of toilet paper, I think it's time to sleep like a baby. We actually get to sleep in tomorrow and it might be my only time for a while, so I think I better make the most of it!

Ok, so sorry for the misleading sentence of a short blog post, but hey, if you're reading this then you obviously are interested in knowing all the details, right? Anyway, I've posted a few pictures to my facebook page. I haven't taken that many yet, but I'm sure more will come soon!

Thank you again for your support. I love being here already and we haven't even started! So here goes to another day!

Meeting the Team

Hello, hello. So, I wasn't expecting to be typing up another blog post so soon, but already my thoughts are exploding and I haven't even gotten to Israel yet!

My ORIGINS team is absolutely fabulous. I feel completely comfortable with each one of them which is really weird for me. Usually, I'm the quiet girl for the first couple of days and then when I feel completely comfortable, then I'll start being myself. But I jumped right in with this group and the lady at the hotel was even surprised to hear that we had just met each other only a few hours ago.
My roommate is Kaytra Copper and she is wonderful. I was going to take a picture but unfortunately she's in a bit of a dilemma right now as her hair gel spilled all over her suitcase. Just what you need right before you travel to another country for a month, right? So, that'll be coming later.

I am now even more excited for this trip than I was before now that I have met who I will be traveling with. Tonight we got to hear about how everyone heard about the trip and what they want to gain from it and it was just amazing being able to hear what everyone had to say. Their love for God and their desire to learn about the Jewish people and their culture just blows me away.

Something that Bruce, our leader, said was that at the end of the trip, though the touring of course is so important and it will definitely be impactful to be able to walk where Jesus walked, the best part of the trip will probably be the first two weeks when we are able to actually be with the Jewish people. Communicate with them. Learn about them by being with them.

That is how you learn. I have grown up with a love for Jewish people and Israel, but I think I will truly be able to appreciate them for who they are once I am able to spend more time with them and help them and just BE with them. Just being there and volunteering at the hospital will be a testimony to them and I can only hope that I can be an impact on them like I know they will be to me.

So, here I go. Learning to love like I have never loved before. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with this opportunity and blessed me with this wonderful team.

Thank you for all of your support and encouragement. You have no idea how much this means to me and how much of an impact you are making in not only my life, but many others that we may never even know.

So, as my last day in America, I say goodbye (I just learned the Hebrew word for goodnight but I have no idea how to spell it!) and hello Israel. I am ready to sweat!! :)