March 22, 2014
The last two days have been relatively quiet ones, sticking close to the Village and enjoying all of our new friendships. We attended a lively community Purim parade in Karmi’el, had Shabbat dinner with our michpatons, and took a bus load of older teens to the movies. We have also helped out around the Village with tasks like sorting donated clothing for their “store” and chopping mountains of vegetables for the Shabbat dinner. One fun event was presenting several children from the Village with a “dream” – making a wish of theirs come true. Thanks to funds given annually by a private donor, we were able to present one boy with a bicycle and two teens with dance lessons. It was gratifying to know that those small gestures will have such a big impact on their lives.
Most of our time has just been spent giving these kids the special attention that they crave. Our students have been in constant demand for soccer games, hairstyling, bingo, dance parties, pushes on the playground equipment, and ball games. It’s amazing to see the bonds that have been created in such a short time. It’s especially cool when you consider that these relationships have been built with, in some cases, very little common language.
Tonight, our last night in the Village, was a special time for everyone. The families each celebrated our students with goodbye dinners, cakes, and homemade cards. It was an incredibly touching, emotional display. Their have been plenty of tears shed on both sides at the prospect of saying goodbye! We ended the night with an informal gathering at Tomer and Galit’s house (our guides), where we were joined by some of the local teens we’ve gotten to know. Tomer’s daughter and some of the others are visiting Pittsburgh next month, so the kids were all busy making plans to get together again soon.
We will leave the Village early tomorrow morning to head south for a day at Masada and the Dead Sea. Think of us alltomorrow night as we’re sleeping in a Beduin encampment in the desert! I don’t know what the wi-fi connectivity will be like there, so don’t be concerned if there’s a gap in your kids’ communication. We’ll be back in Jerusalem by Mondayafternoon and they’ll probably be texting you pictures of themselves riding camels – that photo seems to be the most coveted souvenir of the trip. Right now everyone is struggling with having to leave the Village, but we have some incredible experiences still to come in our last couple days in Israel.
Take care,
Jerilyn
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