The End

Well, I feel badly that I have not written in such a long time. I don't know if anyone is still reading this or not, but for those of you who faithfully continue to check for updates, this goes out to you =)

My trip was cut short by two weeks. I came home last Friday, the 26th, on a direct flight from the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv to the Philadelphia International Airport. It was a really smooth 12 hour flight, and I was able to get 6-7 hours of sleep. My bag was lost in the airport and I needed to report it once I realized it was missing. I honestly felt like I was going crazy .... because that had never happened to me before. Maybe I was tired, but it was inconceivable to me that it could have been lost on a direct flight. The next day as I walked into the house, our neighbor children came running over and said "Hey Jess! Some man came and put a suitcase in your shed! Hahahaha!" I felt so relieved!

I was disappointed to leave early, but at the same time, the program was not what I had been expecting in terms of ministry opportunity. Nonetheless I had an incredible experience. My favorite part by far was being able to get my bearings almost anywhere in Jerusalem. Also, mastering public transportation was quite a feat. Well, not exactly mastering, but being capable of getting from one major city to another. I was able to go to the CBS (central bus station) by smaller bus and navigate my way to my mom's friends in Haifa. It was a highlight of my trip. It made me feel so independent, being in a country so far from home and not speaking the language and yet getting where I needed to go with ease. Israel has a really awesome public transportation system. You can basically get a round trip ticket to and from any given city for an insanely cheap price and be at the opposite end of the country in less than 8 hours.

All in all, I would totally go back and do the entire trip over again. I absorbed a lot of Israeli culture, even from a distance, learned a lot about myself, made great friends, and grew in my understanding on multiple levels: faith, prophesy & how strong the pull of the world is. I've come to the realization that at times, life is crazy and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. You have to accept your circumstances and rise to the occasion. Do the best you can, and don't look back.

Psalm 73:

²¹ Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was vexed in my mind.
²² I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
²³ Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.

Haifa!

Haifa is a coastal city located in northern Israel. My mom has friends who lives there and I'm taking a 2.5 hour bus ride to visit them for the weekend. I promise to take tons of pictures! I am looking forward to seeing a part of Israel that I have never had the chance to see thus far. It will be nice to have a change of scenery for a few days.

I should be back late Sunday if all goes well!

I'll post of my adventure as soon as possible.

xoxo

Cleaning Day . . .

Well, I wish I would have had something super awesome to share about yesterday, but finding motivation to write about everyday activities is a bit challenging. I went to service in the morning (as I always do. Thats a given) and afterwards walked around the city center with everyone. We celebrated Tristan and Cheryl's engagement with some amazing Thai food. Mmmmm mmmm was it good (but when is the food here not good..?!). After lunch we went to the Coffee Bean for some decadent cheesecake that was out of this world. I talked to my family last night and they said I seem enamored by the vast amounts of food I have tried here. Honestly, I'm not. We just eat out so often and there are so many good restaurants around that a lot of my time (and finances haha) have been invested into divulging into the local cuisine. Because of this I share my experiences with you.

Today, like the caption says, is "cleaning day." I'm not sure why... Because we clean everyday. I guess we go all out today and dedicate this day to nothing else. Regardless, I'll try to do something interesting if I have the opportunity and post later on. :]

Day # 25 :]

I've spent the past two days doing a lot of cleaning. On Monday after the service we had a team meeting and went over many different aspects of living together, responsibilities, etc. My is job basically is as follows:

• clean the house,
• help Rachel with the preperation of the children's sunday school craft materials,
• make dinner every night,
• attend all Living Bread services (6x mornings and 1x Wed. night service)
• help out in Yeriho with the children
• do whatever Karen or Tristan (or anyone really) needs me to do

Seven services a week sounds like a lot, but the worship is so awesome that the hour and 30 minutes or longer goes by very quickly. Honestly, I have really grown to enjoy beginning my day praising God. I have to admit I thought I would begrudgingly walk to church every morning and dreaded the thought of having to do so on Living Bread's website. I really had no idea what coming here and working with this ministry entailed - I thought I would be doing legit outreach day in and day out. By 'outreach' I mean giving out food, laying hands on the sick, passing out clothing, teaching refugee children English, etc. Being here has been more of a personal journey and time of growth and developing of my own faith and values however. For the first week, I had a really hard time almost coming to the realization that I wouldn't be going to refugee camps everyday and serving 'the needy.' I did not want to take the time to realize my shortcomings and take the time to look at my own heart and begin to take out the trash. It is really easy to go on day to day and lead the 'normal Christian life' per say and not have to push yourself out of your comfort zone very often. But when you're at church seven times a week being asked to pray and prophesy, share dreams and visions... You can't be lukewarm and go with the flow simultaneously. The two do not mesh very well :]

I was asked by Rachel to go and be a part of the pastor's Bible study yesterday in Yeriho. I wanted to escape more cleaning so I said yes, of course I wanted to go! Please understand, I do not mind cleaning in any way whatsoever. On the contrary, I actually enjoy cleaning because it is a great opportunity to completely zone out and pray, think, or let one's mind wander freely. But I had already swept the roof,washed the dishes, and emptied all the trashcans so I was ready for a role switch. It was totally ironic though because none of the pastors came to the meeting, but the inside of the Prophet's House was incredibly musty and the floor was cakes in wet mud!! I scraped the bare cement floor with a pitchfork and ax and then mopped out the mud. It was really hot yesterday, so all the cool water on the cold floor was refreshing. Rachel, John and myself were the only Living Bread members who went and Abdu Ali was the only one who came, so we had a personal prayer time for him and broke bread together. It was personal, which I think he really enjoyed. Actually, John is a dentist from South Carolina, and looked at Abdu Ali's teeth. He had 8 that had been broken and the roots were still full intact and need to be removed. John immediately volunteered to do the job sometime next week. After the meeting we went to a house that had been previously rented by Living Bread staff. There had been a discrepancy between the landlord and our staff, and... long story short, we had to go back and clean. Ahhhh, it only gets better. I cleaned black mold out of the freezer and scrubbed poop (nice, brown chunks) out of the toilet. Nothing like a good toilet cleaning to bring you back to being humble again!

I am really impressed by John's bravery, to be honest. Yeah, he practiced in the States for 31 years as a pediatric dentist, but extracting teeth without any electricity while the kid sits in a chair seems so rudimentary and obsolete... I could never do it. Today in Yeriho there was one boy who had a tooth growing way up above all the others. I think the medical term for the case, if I remember correctly, was an "impacted canine." The boy agreed to have it pulled and sat down. John prepped all his supplies and got right to work only minutes after we arrived at the wedding hall. Christine held a light as Cay filmed and Kat took pictures... I was feeling really uncomfortable about the idea of sticking my camera in this poor kid's face as he winced in pain. Luckily for me, and unluckily for all of you reading this, my camera was dying and wouldn't allow me to take any pictures! Woo hoo! I was trying to stomach all the blood and struggling to get over the fact that I was sitting in Yeriho watching an American dentist pull the tooth of a Palestinian refugee. John said Israel is incredibly reluctant to allow that form of medical aid into the country. The state does not want to be seen as "third world" or as a "developing nation," so they hold a tight grip on the type of charities and organizations that are permitted to enter the country. As far as John was concerned, he was the first dentist to ever come into Israel and do that type of work. How cool is it that I got to witness history being made!? The tooth came out relatively easily and the boy (Ali) was totally fine. He was really still and did an awesome job overall. Initially I was afraid he would move a lot because when John injected the needle, he jerked his head back and pulled away. John spoke really softly to him and coaxed him back to a position where he could finish injecting the numbing solution into his gums. After that, the pain was over (or so I was told!... I'm sure his mouth is really sore right about now. The medicine wore off about three hours after John pulled the tooth). The word didn't spread because no one knew John was coming, so only 2 people underwent extractions. Several others were evaluated, and most needed to have some teeth yanked but the women were very reluctant and refused to do so. I think the fact that the women were probably embarrassed about the state of their teeth and that John was a guy (a foreign male; touching their faces) was a bit too much for the conservative women from a Muslim background. Yeriho is very traditional and reserved in terms of modesty and social conduct between the genders.

Another great day in Israel. 25 days so far! I feel like if I had a few of you here with me, I could really stay here forever. I love how close all the stores are, eateries, and how you can walk to get anywhere. I love that this country has arid desert, rolling hills, hot springs, canyons, waterfalls, sandy beaches, snow covered mountains, sprawling cities & towns all within her small borders. I love that two religions live side by side and have so much in common and don't realize it. I love that the people are so outgoing and hospitable and welcoming. I love the extensive history and rich tradition mingled with the upbeat pulse modern everyday life. I love Israel.

3.8.2010

sometimes, does your heart feel so much love you feel as though you're going to EXPLODE?

its a really, really good feeling.

Recappp

Would it be wrong to use a larger font to make it appear as though I wrote more than I actually did? :) 'll just give a recap on the past few days:

• Friday 3.5.2010

1. Church! Lots of fun worshiping as usual
2. Shabbat dinner with Christine and Kat. This week was a bit of a bummer because I was surrounded by women who spoke only Hebrew. Regardless, I had a wonderful time, but a different experience than in my previous visits. I was able to personally thank the Rabi's wife for having me as I helped her pass chairs over the heads of her guests!
3. Sleep. Ohhh how I have come to love bedtime. For some reason, I stay up really late these days. I think it most likely is because I have a lot of time on my hands at the end of the night and love catching up with everyone from home via Skype and Facebook. The time difference makes it challenging for me to be online at a time that is convenient for communicating with the loved ones.

• Saturday 3.6.2010

1. Slept in! YAY!
2. Walked around the Old City with Tristan, Cheryl, and Kat. We tried this delicious drink called 'almond milk'. It was one of the best drinks I have ever tasted easily. For not having artificial sweeteners, it was amazingly good. I hope it is available in the US.
3. Kats grandparents flew into Israel the night before, so we met up with them for pizza in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. I've got to tell you, I never go hungry here (ever). Israelis know how to do food. I have never once eaten anything here that was short of incredible. Something about the food here makes me perpetually hungry. Olives, hummus, pita, pizza, ice cream, falafel, shawarma, smoothies, soup, French fries, burgers, chocolate, honey... Am I making you hungry? Being in an the center of an internationally diverse city only makes my predicament worse, because all of the deliciousness is at my fingertips 24/7.
4. Went back home, took a nap, did some reading: C.S. Lewis, "The Screwtape Letters." Good book!
5. Went back out AGAIN and had MORE awesome food. One of our collective favorites is definately Burger Bar, so we decided to go there for dinner. I had fried eggplant, which of course, was really tasty. Tristan shared his fries with me also (yummm!).

• Sunday 3.7.2010

1. Church! We had a lot of people at the service today. One family from New Zealand was there and I got to talking with them. They're had just gotten here the previous night at 2AM! They're going to be living here for the next year and home school. They had a son around my age and 12 and 14 year girls. Very, very nice family. Cay and I showed them to a grocery store and to the party street of Ben Yahuda. They're coming to Jericho with us on Tuesday and I'm excited to get to hang out with them again.
2. Walked to buy pants for Karen, the amazing kind of Aladdin pants I spoke of in a previous post. We found 2 pairs I believe...
3. I walked from buying the pants ALL the way home to realize that I had to walk BACK to the SAME exact place to go to the King of Kings church service. Oh well, at least I was able to get a falafel for dinner on the way :)

Overwhelmed

That last post was incredibly weak and I know it.

I have so many thoughts running through my mind that I feel as though writing them ALL down would be cumbersome and would take forever. . . Not to mention they most likely wouldn't make very much sense to anyone other than myself. I am still having an AMAZING time, and actually, because I've been out and about so frequently the past few days, my blog entries have been effected. I promise tonight I'll take the time to sit down and pour my thoughts & adventures once again.

Being here in this spiritual center of the universe is really hard to articulate.

My Week

Hey!

I'm sorry I have been lazy about posting these past two days, but I honestly have been relatively busy! I've also been really tired at the end of the day and didn't get around to writing... my apologies.

I had an awesome birthday - 17! To my dismay, I don't feel any different yet. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel older. I looked in the mirror today though and noticed bags under my eyes and felt old for the first time in my entire life. Hopefully I was just really tired today and they're not here to stay . . . I want to feel mature and everything, yes... But I'll wait for the sagging wrinkles. Haha.

For my birthday I was taken out to eat at Burger Bar and treated to dinner by Christine :). After dinner we went to the best ice cream shop on Ben Yahuda and I got an amazing fruit smoothie: strawberries, bananas, coconut, white chocolate, regular chocolate, milk. MMMM mmmm good! On my birthday morning, Karen and the team prophesied over me and it was phenomenal.

My Day (Happy Birthday Kat [19] and Samah[13])

Hey Everyone!

I had a really awesome day - another opportunity to go to Yeriho! Thats where my newest picture was taken. The girls there are so amazingly sweet and kind, and are always asking to use my camera. Today I had it with me and said sure, why not?! We had so much fun goofing around and I really loved being able to show them different settings and how to use the zoom. Each one had the chance to take several pictures and we had such a great time posing and making crazy faces for the camera! These few moments were some of the best I've experienced so far. Those elated, beaming, bubbly faces made my whole journey worth it. Today was also Samah's birthday, who is the girl who took the picture now on my blog. She turned 13 and I explained that in America, she is now considered a "teenager"!!! I was just smiling and laughing with girls... They all speak relatively good English and we have been able to hold basic conversations. Their English is tremendously better than my Arabic, because I can't get farther than "hello" and "thank you," unfortunately. Despite the language barrier, laughter transcends any communication difficulties. I was so happy to be there at that moment; able to love on them and give them attention and just show interest in what they had to say. I'll get to see them every Tuesday until I leave. I'm looking forward to building somewhat of a relationship with them.

This is what I came for. I am so happy.

Some Facts About Israel

So what interesting facts can I tell you about Israel? Hmmmm....

1. DO NOT flush the toilet paper!
2. Cats run rampant like squirrels back home
3. Israel has the highest abortion rate in the world
4. Sunday is really the first day of the week here - everyone goes to work
5. Girls get married young in Arab families; around 16-17
6. The Islamic call to prayer sounds 5x a day and you hear it loooud and clear no matter where you are
7. Men stare like nobody's business - it can be really awkward!!
8. Age 18 is the legal drinking age in Israel
9. Israel has two national languages: Hebrew and Arabic. Many people speak both (fluently!!)
10. Teens do not date here in Arab/Palestinian families, but rather, continue to have arranged marriages
11. Honor killings still take place in Jericho
12. If you want to buy something, you will need some shekels (NIS), not dollars (USD).
13. Israel is 7 hours ahead of EST
14. Falafel is Israel's national snack (it is DELICIOUS!)
15. Israelis love to party
16. During the feasts, security is heightened in the country, as the government anticipates religious clashes.
17. Buses are incredibly popular as a means of transportation, and for both travelers and citizens alike
18. Pita and hummus is available at every store (well, almost)
19. The streets are relatively dirty in Jerusalem, like any major city
20. Muslims do not live in the Jewish section of the city, and Jews do not live in the Muslim section of the city
21. The Old City is divided into four Quarters: Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian
22. Most women were some form of head covering
23. In Jericho, rain is almost non-existent. In the summer, the heat can reach 120F or higher
24. Israel has experienced a record amount of rain in the past week (I got to be here for that!!!!)
25. Ultra Orthodox Jewish women only wear long skirts & long sleeved shirts past the elbow, and typically dress in black

Sunday

am used to being in East Jerusalem now, and really am beginning to know my way around the city. I love this city, I love the culture, the cuisine, the atmosphere... It is unlike any other. The indescribable blend of religion and tradition and people is astonishing. Two peoples, two faiths, two entirely different belief systems exist side by side and vie for dominion of this fascinating country. It is an arid, dry, rocky place filled with passionate people who freely share their beliefs with anyone and everyone willing to listen. There is no such thing as being politically correct in Israel. In their own regard, every man's opinion is politically correct. I am extremely careful about what I share with others, but for the Israeli citizen, they freely share their views and opinion of God, Christianity, America... All are very welcoming and quick to ask where I am from, and then welcome me more. I am continually amazed that such different religions can live in such close proximity to one another without constant war 24/7. I have felt safe my entire trip, up until a few fleeting moments yesterday. I was totally safe, but made me think "whoa, I'm in Israel now."

I was going to the Western Wall with Stephania. We left the house around 9AM, like any normal day here in East Jerusalem. When we had reached the Damascus Gate, we were met my a an array of soldiers and police officers. We were waved through the throng because we were obviously not Arab, Palestinian, or Jewish. We continued to walk and about 10 minutes later at the end of the Via Dolorosa was another row of soldiers, UN peace keepers, and police. No Arabs or Palestinians were allowed to go through the blockade. Row after row after row, we finally made it to the Wall. It was crazy seeing that many people in uniform quelling the crowds of people flocking down the narrow streets of the Old City. After Stephania visited the Temple Mount and I went to the Wall to pray, we met again and began to journey home, again met by rows of soldiers and officers. This time though, multiple people had been hit by rocks hurled from atop the roofs of the houses in the Arab Quarter through which we were walking. Stephania wanted to stand and take pictures, but I really didn't want to be in a place where I could easily be hit from above. In certain parts of the alleys, sheets of tin shield passersby from the glaring sun and occasional rainfall. The area where we stopped to take pictures was unprotected from any stones, and through broken English it was explained that it would be in our best interest to keep moving. As we continued to walk, multiple men who had been hit in the head with rocks were being treated on the spot by soldiers. None of the injuries were very serious, but it was a reminder for me that I need to be diligent in maintaining my guard.
The reason for all the soldiers was Purim. Because it is a holiday, and therefore close to the heart of the Jewish people, the Muslims tried to make it as difficult as possible for the Jews to get to the Wall to pray. According to an article I read later on during the day, some Palestinians had barricaded the door of a mosque near the Temple Mount and had been hurling objects at visitors and tourists. Several people were arrested for throwing stones, but other than that, it was a brief bump in the road.

I would love if you continued to pray for my physical safety, as well as every aspect of my being here:

• relationships with the other staff,
• having the heart of a servant,
• continuing to passionately seek after God,
• effective communication to everyone I come into contact with,
• opportunities to share the love of Jesus,
• diligence to work on this blog ;)

Later on that night our team hosted Georgian Banov's group again for one last meeting. We arrived at the church at 9:30 and didn't leave until 1:15AM! It was another anointed, awesome time and as always, a lot of fun.

The Western Wall & Burger Bar

Last night I had the opportunity to go to the Rabi's house again for dinner! It was another awesome gathering and I had a lot of fun listening to what he had to say about the feast of Purim. He said unfortunately, it is often used as an excuse to get drunk and by doing so, most people miss the significance of the holiday. Purim is also the feast of which most charity is given, and people are overly generous to anyone and everyone. I thought that was really neat. In fact, on the way to the Western Wall, I walked past a full-scale meal where the needy were being served a really nice, hot meal for the feast. I almost wasn't going to make the trek out to the Rabi's house last night, which is about a 25 minute walk, due to the rain but decided to bite the bullet and go. The company and food made the walk really worth the trouble. It was really distracting however because there was this one Jewish grandpa type character who had a flask of whiskey in his coat pocket and routinely made a habit of offering me, and anyone else interested, some of the stuff. He was incredibly noisy the whole night and at one point tried to pour some on Stephania and myself! She took it from him and wasn't going to give it back, which of course agitated him immensely and exasperated the situation. Other than that, I had a really great time and would like to try to attend every Friday. I can't adequately articulate the atmosphere.. There is just something really special about being at his house that I really love.

Today I was REALLY tired and slept in until 1! I don't think I have ever slept in that late before, as far as I can remember. Please pray for me if you remember; I have been feeling ever so slightly under the weather. I don't have a fever, but my throat hurts a bit and my head just feels kind of weird. I've been staying up late and getting up early, and after two weeks, I think it is starting to catch up with me. The weather has also been interesting as of late. The first week I was here, the sun was shining, the highs were in the low 70s, and I wore short sleeves everyday. The past few days, the temp has dropped dramatically, and it has been raining since Thursday almost nonstop with scattered thunderstorms throughout the day and night. I like the cooler weather, but I fear it will have a devastating effect on my tan!

After taking it easy this morning and afternoon, I went out to the Western Wall to pray (whenever I say "I", I mean with other people; I don't go out alone due to safety). After being at the Wall for a while, I walked around to Mt. Zion and enjoyed the incredible array of architectural beauty the city offers. I went for dinner at a place called Burger Bar. Of all the places I've been to eat since I've been here, this is one of the best. They serve burgers (obviously), fries, schnitzel, wraps, salads.. I got a schnitzel and it was delicious. Everyone else grabbed something to eat at an Italian pasta place down the road, and I met up with them after I got my meal. Just as I had sat down to eat, the manager came to serve my friends dinner. He saw my food and told me it was not kosher, and that I was going to need to eat somewhere else. Because that request seemed so absurd, I almost didn't know what to say. He kept repeating himself until I "got it" and walked back to Burger Bar. I didn't want to eat there because one of the guys had already asked me out, and another had offered me a beer, so Stephania came with me.
Because tonight was Purim (I was wrong in my previous post - Purim was not on 2/25) everyone was wearing a costume of sorts. I always love Ben Yahuda because there are so many people having a good time, tons of music and dancing, and really, really good food =)

Purim

Today was Purim, the Jewish equivalent to Halloween. Everyone got dressed up and took to the streets and had a blast. I went to a party tonight, as an American.. I didn't have a costume. Haha. We left at 8:35, and the party started at 9... It was raining REALLY hard though and we didn't end up getting to the cafe until almost 10! Regardless, the company was great, the food was awesome (sushi and hamantaschen!). We all danced to oldies and some brave souls did karaoke... It was a really fun night, despite the rain. Finding the right bus to get where you want to go is challenging when the sun is down, the wind and rain are whipping your face, the language is one other than English, and you don't know your way around the city all that well. We (Kat, Geoff, and myself) managed to find the party and have at. It was a really sweet deal.

Earlier in the day I swept and mopped the first floor, changed the waste baskets, and straightened up the media room. Tristan heard me singing and said I was going to have a Mic tomorrow! Yikes.. Maybe he'll forget!? After that I rested, ate too much pita (what else is new), and went shopping for produce.

I love parties. End of story.

Goodnight =)

Update

Wow, these past two days have been filled with lots of awesome worship, teaching, and fellowship. I haven't written because I've been so tired... But I'll try to give some updates now. Believe it or not, I always have an extremely hard time making myself sit down to write these updates; they're a real test of diligence for me! Haha. Once I sit down to get my thoughts out, I feel fine, but getting to that place, and making the time to get my days onto here is hard. I want to be able to keep you all informed though as to how I'm doing on a daily basis, as well as be able to look back later and see, in detail, the significance of this trip. All that said, here are my past two days (Tues 2.23 & Wed 2.24):

Yesterday was a blast! My team of Living Bread staff and volunteers joined up with Global Celebration, Georgian Banov's ministry. We left our house around 12 and were in Jericho within a half an hour and met up with his team. In total, Georgian had 42 people with him and our group had 10. It was so much fun worshiping with such a large group, in addition to all of the refugees who joined us for the meeting. We gave out food coupons; 250 total and those were only given to fathers, young men, and some mothers (meaning that there were a LOT of people!!). I was asked by Karen to take as many pictures as possible, as was Kat. We clicked away the entire afternoon and between the two of us ended up with tons and tons of great shots! I had a lot of fun using my camera for something significant like taking pictures for Karen. I was able to transfer them to the ministry's computer, so she might use some for who knows what down the road. It was really awesome to have a specific job assigned to me yesterday. Also, I was asked to watch all of the unused instruments, bags, and sound equipment for the team, and to keep all the adorable kids off of the stage.

Us Living Breaders took Georgian's team up to the Mount of Temptations and had a great worship time together. We all payed half price, 25 NIS, took a few cable cars up the mountain, and sang together. I had a lot of fun haggling in the gift shop with an employee who was trying to charge one woman $42 for a 2GB Sandisk memory card.. I ended up being able to get it down to $25, which was still a bit pricey, but better than before. I didn't realize how exhilarating bargaining is! Watch out Israel! After that we went back to the Prophet's House and enjoyed the oranges off the trees, the spring, and some delicious falafel.

Next was the service! We sang for a long time and continually alternated between English and Arabic. In such free worship though, language becomes insignificant because everyone is having so much fun dancing and praising God. Haha... No one discussed cultural standards or taboos before the service, and a lot of guys from Georgian's team ended up dancing with the women of Hamas and Fatah! OH MAN! That really made me laugh because even at significant events, such as weddings, the men and women are perpetually segregated and do not dance with one another, and here we all were, a bunch of white foreigners, all joined together breaking taboos and dancing with one another. Oh well, right? No one seemed to be offended and everything worked out beautifully. Towards the end however, when the food coupons were being divvied out, some of those present became very demanding. Some of the women were forcefully into bumping me and I got shoved quite a bit haha... But we got out soon thereafter and everything was ok. Actually, never mind. When we were packing all the sound and camera equipment, I carried out a single guitar and tripod, and one of or staff thought I also had a camera. Well, I didn't and it ended up being quite a scare because everyone thought we had left it behind. The "missing" camera though was just inside, sitting there untouched. Whoops! We backed everything into the van, piled in, and drove home. During dinner and after, Karen shared part of her testimony with Kat and I for nearly 2 hours! I had so much fun listening to her and was undone by all her experiences; coming close to death, being pursued by the mafia, coming to Christ, losing all of the media equipment... The list goes on and on. Talking to her and hearing the unwavering faith she has developed as a response to all of her trials was a phenomenal blessing to me.

We had the same type of meeting this PM with Georgian's team, except it took place in Jerusalem at the church. We congregated at 5 and worshiped until around 7:45. Again, it was a really good time and I got to take pictures!!

Banov

I'm seriously pumped for today - worship with Georgian Banov in Jericho!!!!!!!! And after, the cheapest falafel in Israel @ 3.5 NIS each (about $1 USD).

TODAY IS GOING TO BE AWESOME =)

Sweet Surrender

Worship this morning was awesome. I've really loved being able to recognize and immediately join in with the other Living Bread staff because I listen to a lot of the music they sing daily: Leeland, the David Crowder Band, Hillsong United, Misty Edwards... Its been awesome! We usually worship for an hour or so and then Karen or Tristan will give a short message. We've really been focusing on fully following God with reckless abandon. Some of the things we've gone over since Sunday have been:

• Life will swallow death in victory!
• We are merely pilgrims passing through this life - if you're too comfortable, somethings up.
• We really can attain death of the flesh and total life in the Spirit because we are crucified with Christ.
• If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him be thankful and accept the trial with open arms.
• Believe it or not, we're not going to die...But rather, live forever.
• We're all going to suffer, of course, and God will allow it. It is not a work of ours, but a work of the Spirit to bring us to Himself. We can respond in two ways. Firstly, we can shrink back and say "no" to trial, pain, and suffering, and miss the blessing. Or, we can accept the tribulation and grow intimately close to God as a result. To obey is better than to sacrifice.
• To get to that next realm, we've got to press in and continue to praise God, following the incredible example of Job. He was able to praise despite the horrible agony God allowed in his life, and as a result, was rewarded double blessing.
• We must learn to bless His name when He gives, but more importantly, when He takes away.
• The more we give to the Lord, we become less, enabling Him to fill the gaps.

I was able to go to Yeriho again today for a Bible study with Rachel, Cay, Geoff, and Kat. Before the study at the Prophet's house though, we went to the Education Directorate of Jericho. We met with the head of education in the whole Jericho district! Ahh! How incredibly exciting. We met to discuss the possibility of Living Bread offering English classes to the students of Jericho. He was very receptive, asked questions, was open to change, and was aware that we were Christians and respected us nonetheless. In Jericho, there are 10,000 students within the 30 schools of the area. Us at Living Bread being able to teach conversational English would be awesome. They would learn English, and at the same time, we would pick up Arabic. Right now, because of the limited staff, LB is thinking of having a monthly workshop just for starters. I would love to be able to go and help every week though. But then I immediately convicted "do not despise the day of small beginnings." And that was that.

After the meeting, I went to the Prophet's house and we had a Bible study with three Arab/Palestinian men. I was having a hard time keeping my attention on Rachel and Isa as they spoke because I obviously don't speak any Arabic! Haha. But it was good regardless and I was happy to be able to pray Psalm 37:4 over Isa.

My Lovely Neighbor

Outside my window lives a rooster.

I've decided to name him Lucifer.

He loves to make me crazy.

I wonder if anyone would be sad if he died?

Fresh Bread

I love having internet here... I was legit terrified when I arrived that I was going to have to spend the next two months fasting from the web. I'm sure I would have managed to survive, somehow, but it would have been rough. When I first arrived, I couldn't figure out the password and asked Tristan. He told me Karen doesn't want the internet clogged with volunteers slowing down the connection, so I wasn't allowed to know. My initial reaction was "Gosh, that's not really fair, considering the ALL the other volunteers know the password..." I asked one of them and now am able to use my laptop in my room all the time. I'm glad because I want to keep everyone updated on my trip and do my best to keep in touch with my family... And use Facebook. =)

I woke up around 7AM and church was at 11AM, so I spent some time reading my Bible on the roof. I really wish back home we did our roofs the way the Israelis do. For one, its almost like having another floor on your house, and a great place to hang the laundry (go green!). But the best part of having chairs and an open roof is the view. Jerusalem is "the city on the hill." It is the truth! And within the city on the hill, there is hill after hill. Everywhere I walk, there is some degree of incline no matter which direction I choose to go. From our roof, you can see so far in every which way.. It's an incredibly spectacular view. I love sitting up there to read because of the view. Despite the noise of a bustling city three stories below me, there is a serenity on the roof that I haven't found anywhere else yet. One of the nicest parts other than the calm is the breeze. Even in the hottest heat of the afternoon, there is always a soft breeze gently sweeping across the roof. All of those factors make it an excellent place to read my Bible and talk to God.

After church, I bought fresh pita from a little shop right around the corner from my house. Wafts of fresh bread scented air always emanate from that shop, which makes me hungry every time I walk by. I bought 10 pitas and a loaf of challah. Apparently, the challah I bought wasn't as fresh as it could've been and I now know to ask for a freshly baked loaf. After lunch it was my rotation to clean the bathroom. It wasn't bad at all but reminded me a lot of Panera. Haha.

Tonight I went to the King of Kings church off of Jaffa Street. It was an awesome service with a charismatic, free flavor which made it a lot of fun. We had a guest speaker, Evan something, from Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida talk to us about being a remnant. My favorite part though was the worship because we sang in Hebrew. On the screen were the words first in transliterated Hebrew, then in English, and finally Hebrew. It was really awesome to be in Jerusalem, praising Yeshua freely in his own language. Singing like that made me really want to learn Hebrew.. Once I got past all those crazy "CHAAAs" that you have to constantly make, singing was easy. I love being surrounded by different languages and seeing a totally different culture all around me.. I think cultural immersion is insanely exhilarating! I wish though that I knew more of Hebrew and Arabic. I would have loved to have been able to yell something at that kid who slapped me last night...! But on a more practical note, being able to say hello to people would be nice too ;)

Shabbat & Bennn Yahuuudaaa

I'm kind of disappointed because I wrote a relatively long post, saved it, and can't find it now. Oh well. But I do want to say thanks for all the awesome comments! I never knew how to check my comments and I had a great time reading through all of your encouragements. I'm still doing really well, I feel safe where I'm staying, and the people who I'm with are awesome. Like anywhere, it takes a while to really feel comfortable being with new people all day, everyday. But I've been blessed with warm and welcoming volunteers to greet me, so that hasn't been an issue really.

On Thursday, I went to the Dead Sea! I have to write more on that later.

On Friday, yesterday, I went to church and then a traditional Shabbat meal at a Rabi's house in Jerusalem. It was phenomenal to say the least. We had a 5 course meal with dessert as he shared in Hebrew and in English about the incredible significance of Shabbat. We sang, shared insight into the Bible or Torah, and ate together. There was nearly 100 people packed into the small house and I do not exaggerate when I say I was sitting in someone else's lap. All of us were like sardines in a can, but in a strange way, it felt really comfortable being so close to one another. I was at a table with some really nice 19 year old girls from England and the US who are here studying for a year. It was really neat being able to chat with them throughout the meal... Jews from Guyana, the US, Israel, England, Argentina, and Chile were at the meal. The Rabi hosts anyone who wants to come, regardless of religious orientation, every single week for a traditional Shabbat meal. The food was fantastic and delicious!!!! I really hope I'll have the opportunity to go again next week.

Today I woke up kind of early and talked on Facebook for a while and cleaned my room and reorganized everything now that I no longer have a roommate =( Unfortunately, Briana had to go back home to South Dakota and I now I have my own room. After cleaning, I ate and decided to clean all the windows on my floor because they were absolutely disgusting... Shabbat or not, they needed to be cleaned! Haha. After a long afternoon of more Facebook, soaking up sun on the roof, reading my Bible, studying Arabic, and dinner with Karen and the other staff, I walked to Ben Yahuda Street. There was a group of Korean Christians singing worship music and people dancing all over the place to the songs. It was awesome because our group knew that they were singing about God, but no one else had any idea what they were saying! On our way home, this kid ran up and slapped my bum pretty hard. Ouch. I really don't like how people drive by and stop their cars and drive up next to you and ask you to get in. Or tell you they are looking for a wife. I love it here, don't get me wrong - but don't like that part of the culture in this Arab section of Eastern Jerusalem. Or the catcalls. Being an American in other countries can be really challenging sometimes. Because of the way America's entertainment industry portrays its women, and the way we often dress so provocatively in the US, Americans are often thought of as loose. It makes it hard for people like me, who are not looking for that kind of attention whatsoever . . . . . Oh well =/

Warm Weather & the Dead Sea =)

It has been so nice here! At night, the temp drops, but it has still been amazing. Most days, the highs are in the upper 70s, the sun is shining and there is a soft breeze that weaves through the whole city. I'm pumped that I've already started to get tan from all this sun... I can't wait to come home and be so much darker than everyone else for once!!!

Yesterday was another laid back day (Friday) and I went to the Dead Sea on Thursday. The sea was so beautiful - even more so than I remember. Pictures don't do justice to the awe inspiring landscape of the Dead Sea. Everything is covered in layer upon layer of brilliant, white salt. I think the water is 7-8x saltier than a regular ocean, so one has to be extremely careful not to get the water in their eyes. Unfortunately, I did happen to get some in this time and it burned like crazy and I couldn't open my eye for a good 10 minutes because of the sting. Geoffry dove into the water and had the same experience... I can't imagine how much more that had to hurt though; completely submersing your entire face into the salt. OUCH. He was ok in the end though! I was able to swim way beyond the rope and out to a tiny island of salt. Before I reached the island, I got out and walked for a bit. There were so many different types of salt: rock salt, sand-like salt, crystallized hunks and chunks, mud mixed with salt... It was crazy! I realized that there are also tons of different colors of mud too, with different textures even! Black, dark grey, grey, light and dark brown, tan! Also, some was more like clay and thick while other mud was smooth and soft. We caught the bus from Jerusalem to Mineral Beach at 9AM and it took about an hour to get from A to B. We soaked up the sun and stayed almost all day... We didn't get home until nearly 7PM! The weather was awesome, as usual. Instead of the water temp being like a hot tube like the last time I was there, the water was a perfect temp this time... We were all having so much fun and went out so far that the guard actually CAME out us on his paddle board and said we needed to come in closer to the shore... Haha whoops! In the Dead Sea, unless you're totally inept, it seems almost impossible to drown. The water is so dense with salt that your body literally becomes a buoy in the water!!

On the way home, there were no seats on the tour bus so I sat on the ground. I was fine, but felt really carsick after an hour or so of the rhythmic back and forth of the bus going up and down mountain after mountain.

I'll add more to this tomorrow! I'm soo happy I found the drafts. Hahahah!!

2/17/2010 - Off Day in the Old City

Today I had an off day, meaning that I went to church in the morning and had the rest of the day to do as I wanted. I came back from church and made lunch with Briana. We made salad with balsamic vinaigrette, guacamole, and sliced lots of fruits and veggies. Within our organization, we are on a tea & coffee fast, but a Daniel fast as well. This means that we do not cook with spices, use salt in or on or food, do not eat meat, and do not have any sugar or sweets in the house. We are supposed to keep the fast outside of the house as well... But lets just say some of us are stricter than others! I have had lots of ice cream, treats, and meat since my arrival. But today two of the full time stuff, Cay and Christine, came back from Gaza, and things became a bit more strict since then, in terms of our diets, assignments, and chores. I have to clean all the windows tomorrow I think. And I could possibly be the new secretary who answers the phone, which kind of worries me... I can't really see myself being very good at that.. But I'm willing to do whatever, so I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Overall though, I had a relaxing day. It was another hot one, and I think it reached 75F. It really felt like it in the sun, even with the awesome breeze here in Jerusalem. The locals say not to enjoy the weather too much because soon enough, it will be freezing cold again. I hope they're wrong!! The other volunteers have repeatedly told me how cold it was right before I arrived... like 20-30F everyday with sleet and rain. With no central heating, tile floors, and non-insulated windows, really cold weather sounds potentially miserable! I With Geoffrey, Briana, and Kat, I went through the Damascus Gate into the Old City and walked around in the Jewish Quarter for a while. I got some good pictures, but don't feel very motivated because I know I have ALL the same ones from my last time here. I guess I just have to be creative and get a different angle or something this time around. Nonetheless, we walked through the Via Dolorosa, where Jesus carried His cross. It was really neat because as we walked down the ancient road, an Arab man carried two large crosses on his shoulders. I really wish I would have gotten a picture...

Speaking of cameras, I am having a hard time with my Nikon! I love the quality of the pictures and am so glad I invested (err, my parents invested, rather. Haha.) in getting one, but it is so incredibly awkward to carry the 1.2 lb SLR camera opposed to a sleek point and shoot. I also really hate putting something that large into someones face... And the noise that it makes, that nice "clicccck!" when I take a picture immediately makes someone turn their head as soon as I press the button. It is just taking some time to get used to, thats all =)

I was able to see the Western Wall again today, the Dome of the Rock, the Via Dolorosa, the Jewish Quarter, the Church of Mary Magdalene, and lots of other historically significant places. Israel, speficically Jerusalem, is soooo unimaginably rich with history it is literally overwhelming and startling. There are so many cites, so many churches, so many places to see for Jew, Christian, and Muslim alike. Simultaneously, it is a bustling home to almost a million people (I think) and is a totally modern city. Its crazy!

2/16/2010 - Jeriho

I traveled again to Jeriho today, but instead of doing outreach, I was able to tour around and see some of the sites tourists typically hit. In the morning, I had worship as I will everyday. It was awesome! I love how free and relaxing it is. There is no projector or screen for the words, so Tristan and Mike sing as they feel led and we all go along with them. Also, because our group is so tiny at the moment, you don't have to worry about 'finding a seat' or 'fitting in' or anything like that. Worship is totally personal between you and God and no one interrupts or takes attention away from Him. It's really, really nice.

After church, which ended around 10:30 or so, Kat, Bri, Jeffry and I walked to Ben Yehuda Street and milled around for a while. But I have to say, it might have been THE best day yet for this reason only - I finally found the pants I could not find in the States!!!!! Oh my goodness, they are the most comfortable thing I have ever worn. Actually, when I wear them, it feels like I'm not even wearing pants. Like a skirt, Aladdin pants are very wide. But at the bottom, like pants, there are holes for your feet. I'll add a picture to this post from online...

2/15/2010 - Jericho / Yeriho / Jeriho

At 2pm our group left for Jericho!

I had forgotten the stark, amazing contrast between the various cities of Israel. Within highly populated areas such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, there are many high rise buildings and apartments like any city in the United States. But as soon as you leave those crowded areas and head for the smaller cities, the land turns into mountainous rolling hills and desert. Its seriously insane to go from a modern city to a barren wilderness of Bedouins, goats, and camels within 10 minutes or less. I would love to put pictures of the difference in landscape on this blog or on Facebook, but it seems that the internet is too slow, unfortunately. I can try again, but every time the pictures fail to load.

Jericho is within the West Bank, which means that it is not under Israeli authority but rather, Arab authority. I think, and I could be wrong, at this time the West Bank is under the control of Fatah or Hamas. Either way, because it is under authority other than that of Israel, citizens of the West Bank are restricted of free travel in and out of the territory. I cannot imagine being "stuck" in Jericho indefinitely. It was beautiful and lush like an oasis in some parts of the town, but for the most part, it seemed to be extremely dry and oppressively hot. For example, today and the month of February is considered a winter month in Israel. But today, in the winter, it was almost 70F out, if not hotter! If that is winter in Jericho, I don't want to think about summer.

I'm really tired and its 12:30PM here and I need to head to bed. I'll finish this post tomorrow though. Night from Israel!

*2/16/2010*

So when we traveled into Jericho, we got in around 3:00PM and visited the Prophet's house, which is a part of the Living Bread property. It was a small house lost in an oasis of orange trees. You could just reach out and grab one off the tree and eat it. They were super succulent and very juicy... much better than any I've eaten in the States. Actually, the Jericho orange is so tasty that all of Israel relies on Jericho to grow them instead of the surrounding farm areas growing the fruit independently.

After seeing the house, we went to the place where the meeting was to be held. It was basically a wedding or event hall that Living Bread rents out once a week to hold meetings. It was really big! Arab weddings are held there and within the main larger building is a stage with two giant green armchairs for the bride and groom to use during the ceremony. The stage was surrounded by lots of plastic white chairs that the people who came to the meeting sat in. All in all, there may have been arounf 20-30 people present and then 10 children or so. For the past 9 months, the meetings in Jericho have been less advertised and as a result, less people come. In the past, Mike told me that on good days, as many as 500 people would come to a single meeting!!! That would be crazy awesome. But the meetings became more sporadic because Living Bread believed the Christians in Jericho needed to be able to stand on their own in a way and not be entirely dependent on the organization. In addition, milk used to be given out and I think that may have been the main reason people were coming (possibly; I'm not positive) and not to learn about the Bible or Christianity.

When I was there, we worshiped in Arabic for a while and then I went to work with the children with Rachel. She speaks Arabic really well even though she just began to learn a year ago. She was able to communicate our story to the children as I helped with balloons, coloring, and holding the poster board. Not being able to communicate because of the massive language between myself and kids. It was kind of frustrating not being able to understand them whatsoever. With a relatively familiar language, such as Spanish, as an America I can get by with the minimal amount of words that I know, and throw some English in that a Spanish-speaking person would understand. But with Arabic, every single words is completely and totally foreign. I know some words..

• afak - you're welcome
• shukran - thank you
• habibi - my love
• marhaba - welcome
• ma salami - goodbye

And in Hebrew I know the minimal also . . .

• shalom - goodbye, peace, hello, see ya later
• toda - thank you
• meetah - bed
• chamuda - cutie

I had a really nice time playing with the children. They were SO cute! Even with language barriers, a smile is universal. You can never go wrong with a smile and sometimes when that is all you can do, it really means a lot because without words, you're showing interest in the person you're looking at.

2/15/2010 - Our Staff

Today the Living Bread Staff traveled to Jericho / Jeriho / Yeriho. I've seen it spelled multiple ways and I'm not sure if there is a wrong way to write it as long as you pronounce it correctly. Haha. But before I share about my outing, I want to give you a background about what most days are going to be like for me to give you an idea of how to pray for me.

• Mondays - Worship @ Living Bread Church - 9:00AM
• Tuesdays -Worship @ Living Bread Church - 9:00AM
• Wednesdays -Worship @ Living Bread Church - 9:00AM
• Thursdays -Worship @ Living Bread Church - 9:00AM
• Fridays (Shabbat begins sundown) -Worship @ Living Bread Church - 9:00AM
• Saturdays (Shabbat ends at sundown) - Off / free time
• Sundays -Worship @ Living Bread Church - 11:00AM

Most days, it seems like I will be having fellowship at church and from there go on to other activities, such as going to Jericho. We'll come back from church to the ministry house and prepare for the service, eat, pack up and take off. It seems like a pretty relaxed schedule. Things might change though after Pastor Karen comes back from Gaza. . . I think either way I'll have a really good time just because of the people I will have the opportunity to work with.

• Mike (Canada): 21-22: full time staff
• Stephania (Italy) 40-something: volunteer
• Kat (North Dakota) 18 going on 19: volunteer
• Rachel (Australia) 40-something: full time staff
• Briana (South Dakota) 28: volunteer
• Jeffry (Washington) 28: volunteer
• Tristan (Singapore) 25 : full time staff
• John Mark (?) ?: Karen's son / full time staff
• Karen Dunham - the leader of Living Bread

There are a few other staff that I have not yet met and whose names I do not know. Volunteers come and go constantly and stay anywhere from a few days to months at a time. But everyone here is so incredibly kind and welcoming I feel like a part of the team after 3 days! I talked with Briana and Kat for a long time tonight and shared testimonies and life stories and we're all on the same page. It feels awesome to be with people who are really focused on and dedicated to God in the same way that I am. Everyone here was willing to put their life, their agenda, their plans, their financial situation, their stress, their job on hold and come to be a part of a dynamic group of people looking to see Israel changed for the better. Because of this almost sacrificial lifestyle that everyone in the ministry has come to lead (for whatever amount of time) we are all really free to listen to God's direction and are able to be totally spontaneous. Not to say that the organization is discombobulated or irrational, but there is an easy freedom that I feel that I have not yet experienced before. Maybe its the presence of God =)

Off to Jericho

Hello to all who have been reading my updates!

I am about to head out for Jericho. I'll be working with the kids there and doing evangelistic work with poster boards that our staff colored this morning. I'm really excited because this is our very first outing as a group and I'm interested to see what we're really going to be doing the next 3 months.

I'll post more later!

First Full Day: 2/13/2010

I had a totally great day!

I woke up around 8 AM because at the house next door, there is a rooster. Haha that really is the only downside I’ve come across thus far. According to the other members of Living Bread Staff, the thing goes at random 24 hours a day. Joy! So, I woke up, took a shower, and ate breakfast. Here in the ministry house, the kitchen is on the third floor where I am staying. It is fully equipped with a stove, oven, sink, and lots of tables in the adjacent room. Because of the Daniel Fast that is continually undertaken by all members of the team, there is no meat, coffee, tea, or sugar anywhere in the house. However, when I go out, I am free to eat whatever I like, which is awesome because I am dying for a shawarma right now! Shawarma is pita with humus, diced cucumber and tomato, and some kind of meat. It is absolutely delicious.

But in our kitchen, there is a plethora of fruits, lots of pita, tons of humus, yogurt, milk, and leftovers from previous dinners. We take turns making meals, which kind of scares me because I have no idea what I’ll make. When its my turn though, I’ll find a way to make things interesting. But for breakfast, I had:

* Pita with humus

* Cashews

* Dates

* Water

The main thing that I’ll be drinking is water. Its so crazy because here, water is sold not in little bottles of 16 ounces or so, but 1.5 liters each!

In the morning after I ate, I read Isaiah. I never have before and felt strongly that I needed to. I read chapters 1-12. On Saturdays, the staff is free to do whatever they want, so I had no time constraint. I read some in my room and some on the roof of our house, which was awesome. Two flights of stairs up, and there is a set of double doors. Instead of being another apartment, it is the roof! Its so awesome because there are chairs and a clothes line on the top and it is a really nice place to relax and talk. From up there you can see so much. I was taking pictures and was shocked when to the right of the building I turned and saw the Dome of the Rock through my lens! It was insane! I am really in a great location because I am in such close proximity to the Old City.

After reading, I was able to get to know the other staff as we talked and ate lunch until 2:45. Right now, there are four other people in the building with me: Tristan, Kat, Valerie (Val) and Stephania. There are a few others that are on a trip to Gaza and will be back tomorrow. When they come back to the house, then I’ll get to meet my roommate. We shared God stories, talked about family and home, and life in general as we soaked up the Israeli sun. Apparently before I got here it was incredibly cold for Israel with weather in the 20s-30s (Fahrenheit). But lucky for me, my first day had a high of around 72F! It was so nice coming from Philadelphia where there was almost four feet of snow on the ground to be transplanted into Israel with such spectacular weather.

After talking and lunch (pita, humus, green olives, dates, water and cheese) we got freshened up and went for a walk before dinner. I always forget how much people stare when you’re from out of the country. Not just in Israel, but when I was in Rwanda, Kenya and Congo also, if you’re a white woman, people stare. It’s fine, in the beginning it just feels awkward until you stop noticing. We walked out of East Jerusalem, where the Christian and Muslim population lives (where the ministry house is located) and into the Orthodox Jewish Quarter. Because it was Saturday, and Shabbat was not yet over, people were far and few in between and the streets were practically barren. Cars were non existent. There is no work done from Friday at dusk when Shabbat begins until Saturday at dusk when Shabbat ends. In the Jewish Quarter, that means all shops are closed. As we walked, there were only children and young adults around for the most part. All were modestly dressed in long skirts or pants, and long sleeved shirts or sweaters. Modesty is incredibly important to the Jewish people to the degree that they have placed a sign atop one street in the Quarter. I’ll take a picture the next time I pass. Due to the Shabbat, picture taking is not allowed. Stephania had her camera out and was graciously asked by one woman to not take pictures because of the Shabbat. The sign said something like this: “Modesty required. Residents extremely offended if visitors do not comply. Women and girls please dress accordingly. No tight clothing or trousers. Dresses, long skirts, and shirts below the elbow.” It probably said more but I can’t remember what else was on the sign. It made me kind of worried though because it literally came out of nowhere and my outfit was totally inappropriate (by their standards of course!). We decided to turn back then and go to Ben Yehuda Street.

Ben Yehuda is a really popular street in central Jerusalem. It’s a party street. There are tons of little shops, places to sit and sip a latte, and cute restaurants to grab a bite to eat. The first time we passed, the street was practically empty because of Shabbat - all the stores were closed. Until dinner, we sat on some of the benches and I talked with Kat and took pictures. After that, we walked to a park and then to dinner. We ate at an Italian place called “Focasia.” It was delicious, but at the same time I was totally disappointed because I was craving a falafel, shawarma, or schnitzel all day! I was dying to have something totally Israeli again! But it was ok because I know over the next three months I will have more than enough opportunities to experience the local cuisine. So for dinner I had a wonderful salad instead. It was chicken and goat cheese, and absolutely delicious. I was really hungry by that point and even thought it was enough to feed like two people, I ate the almost all of it myself. I really liked that everyone shared their meals though. Everyone was like “oh that’s good!” or “try some of my pasta!” or “can I taste that?!” Everyone seems to be like on big happy family. Actually, Stephania said that Kat and I should call she and Val our moms. Kat is 18 and I am 16, making us the youngest in the house by almost 20 years or more. Tristan is 25, but he is full-time staff here. For the volunteers, I am the youngest person. I’m not worried though because everyone is on the same page spiritually I think, which is the most important and critical aspect of why we are all here, together.

For dessert, I had a fabulous slice of hot chocolate cake. It was like a slice of heaven. It came with French vanilla ice cream and a load of warm chocolate syrup. I split mine with Kat. It was hilarious because Rachel (a full-time staff member who does not live in the ministry house) had Tierra messou and started laughing. Her teeth were caked with the chocolate pudding and were totally brown. Everyone pointed and laughed, but because our desserts were all brown as well, our teeth were just as discolored! Haha. I think it was one of those “had to be there” kind of moments.

After dinner we walked back through Ben Yehuda Street. By that point, it had gotten dark and the shops were all open and filled with people. It’s crazy because during the day, people go to synagogue or stay at home, and it feels like at night they come out of the woodwork! After Ben Yehuda, we walked towards the Old City because that is where Rachel’s apartment is. I was able to see a lot of places that I recognized from my last time here. It was really neat being able to come back and have a frame of reference and have a relative sense of where I was. We crisscrossed between street and alley in the Old City and during the process I was able to get an Israeli SIM card and an adapter for the outlets. Once we got back it was around 9:30PM.

I hopped on Facebook using Karen’s computer downstairs and got a distraught email from my mom. Both of my parents thought it was really unwise to get in a car with three people I had never met before and go to a city in another country forty minutes from the airport. They were probably right. But Ian was so helpful the entire trip that I felt confident that I would be totally fine if I caught a ride with him. I called home and cleared things up for my parents and they felt much better. Because Ian was coming to do volunteer work on ambulances, had been to Israel less than a year ago, and spoke English (and was just an all around fun person) I really didn’t think it would be an issue driving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem with he and his friends. But I can totally see why my parents felt the way that they did, because at the time they read my Facebook posts, they had hardly and details and it seemed like a irrational and completely unwise decision on my end. So, I cleared things up and was able to say hello to everyone and let them know that I loved them. I’m going to try to make Saturdays the day specifically that I call home and check in with everyone. I’d like to call more often if possible, but we’ll see what happens. My cell phone can only call inside of Israel because the SIM card isn’t international.

All in all, I had a great day in Jerusalem.