yesterday continued...
After the hospital visit, we went to the apt to do more cleaning & repairing. We doubled our workload, but no one was hurt this time. The work day made an impact on the community bc we didn't limit ourselves to cleaning just our area, we worked all around the unit. Immediately our efforts were noticed. One neighbor brought us a big box of popsicles & thanked us for all that we were doing. While I was working in the yard a couple asked me something in Hebrew, I tried to explain I couldn't understand. A few minutes later the husband brought me a liter of carbonated water & cups for everyone. A language barrier doesn't limit the kindness of the Jews.
We continued to have little chats w/ people walking by, but Bracha had the most interesting. A woman from the apt complex came to thank some of us but they couldn't understand her. Bracha just came to interpret her thanks, but the woman shared much more.
She was a jewish baby during the Holocaust so her parents sent her to live with a catholic family. Because both parents were killed in concentration camps, she only knew of her catholic caregivers as parents. At 12 yrs old she was ready for her confirmation until her uncle who had survived the concentration camps got in contact with her. He proved that her parents were Jews who had perished in the Holocaust, which meant she was Jewish too. She chose not to be confirmed and moved to Israel at age 15. The woman explained, "Christians are the only reason I am alive!" She is grateful for all that they did, but feels part of taking her in was just to convert her. I feel like this response is common in a lot of Jews. Some Christians do reach out, yet our centuries of oppressing them have made any response a challenge. I am thankful that even w/ our faults, many Jews will talk to us and will appreciate our blessings.
I just love reaching out to such a grateful community!
Today was a traveling day, but we were still able to make some really cool stops along the way!
-Mads
Praise-amazing weather & lots of learning today
Prayer-continued protection & strength
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| entering acient theatre |
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| original sculptures |
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| I was chosen to sing in from of my group + another foreign group. a tad scary but now I can say I've performed in the Hippodrome! |
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| entrance to hippodrome |
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| Herod's pool! |
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| sittin on Herod's aquaduct |
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| Herod's palace |
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| view from Mt. Carmel |
