I said I would write, and write I shall. It is a wonder to me that I've been living in Israel a month. The first two and a half weeks touring with my dad and brother were such precious and exciting times. I am very thankful we took the time to make a thorough top to bottom survey of the Land before beginning our volunteer time. It was an essential acclimation without the pressure of meeting anyone else's needs.
My volunteer work is mostly manual labor varying from hotel style housekeeping to tree removal and parking lot policing. Everything is pleasant though. The hours are fair, if not lenient, and the supervisors are a delight to please. It does seem like all of Israel is getting married twice, considering how many weddings we have each week--sometimes several a day! I have acquired a deeper understanding of the term "ballagone".
Lately, I've been working in the gardens. I have to say that gardening in Israel really adds meaning to all the parables of Yeshua. Actually experiencing plants shooting up through the stony soil, having to separate out the tares, and stumbling on rare spices in the midst of fields transforms Scriptural passages from a philosophical commentaries to tangible analogies. And then to look out at the "mountains" around Jerusalem--ah! it's marvelous.
In addition to the weddings and special events, we have many interesting guest groups staying for longer periods of time at the lodgings. The past two weeks we've been hosting a group of archeologists from ABR. To my delight, they invited whomever wanted to join them for time out at their dig. After coordinating for several groups of the volunteers to go on their days off, I finally made it out this past Monday. What a thrill to be walking on the site, and being able to work in the squares instead of being told tersely to stay behind the designated lines! I found multitudes of pottery shards; some with intricate design work, a "dainty handle", several flint knives, and a stone with a ridged border carved in it. The stone was probably Hasmonean, but the pottery was generally Bronze 1. Such a sensation to hold even the shards in my hands; especially since some of the fragments were very similar to my own broken pottery items in ceramic class after a bisque firing!
That evening Sam and I caught a taxi into Tel Aviv to check out the local swing scene. I wasn't sure what to expect, since sometimes "swing dancing" turns out to be a group of slightly intoxicated 30s or 40s dancing to country western and sleazy '80s music. No need for concern--it was a fantastic bunch of true dancers with a great dj in a lovely studio with plenty of room and AC. I connected with some mutual friends and we had a wonderful hostess and accommodations for the evening. Even some surrogate doggies and kitties to keep us company!
The next day, we were graciously chauffeured to our aunt's house where we sat through the national security drill. It was more like a moment of reminiscing than any sort of military exercise. As soon as the alarms stopped, we promptly went shopping at the bazaar in Lud. Much good food was devoured, but I totally spaced on taking pictures.
Today's adventure: I cut my own bangs after work. Yes, they came out fine, Mom.
Thanks to everyone who is praying ardently for us. It is our prayer that anyone who can will join us whenever possible!
