3rd week in Israel

So what have I been up to you ask? Trying to learn Hebrew, and adjusting to life in Israel. I really like it here! I think I could stay! (Well, you know me, so that means 2,3, maybe even 5 years!) The funny thing is that I've been here now almost 3 week and I haven't seen the Temple Mount, any of the "Old City", or any of the other tourist places-yet-- I'm just living here like an Israeli-it's nice, I'm experiencing what life is like for a new immigrant. I'm in Hebrew school with new immigrants, and 1 of my 2 roommates is a new immigrant, so she's still furnishing the apartment and getting herself settled in as well-both roommates are from the States, so they're still learning Hebrew too.

And most people take the bus here-there are lots of cars, but the bus is very, very common-so in the mornings I take the bus to school and then I walk home afterward--about a 30 minutes walk. I might start walking to school, but I tried it one day last week and there's a pretty steep hill I have to go up and I had been sick (really bad chest cold, the cough hasn't completely gone away yet) and I just couldn't do it. So I think I'll give myself another week and also leave earlier in the morning to give myself more time (so I can tackle the hill slowly) but I would like to try walking to school when the weather's nice.

Next week I start my volunteer work with the organization Christian Friends of Israel (http://www.cfijerusalem.org/ check 'em out!)-It’s a great organization that does all kinds of stuff for the people of Israel, and I'll be working with them maybe 18-20 hours each week. They help victims of terrorism, they visit Holocaust Survivors, and they work with a lot of new immigrants (giving out clothing and basic necessities to move into a new place, like sheets and towels and pots and pans, etc.-those can be from anywhere, and they also have a special program to provide school supplies for the children of Ethiopian immigrants-they tend to be poorer than many of the other immigrants). They even have a bridal center where the immigrants can come and get designer wedding gowns and accessories if they're getting married and can't afford the stuff on their on. I first met with them last week and I was really impressed. I start on Monday, so I'll be busy, but it will be good.

Oh, and this Thursday I finally get to have a tour of the Old City. I'll probably have to wait to see more of Israel-but I have 2 friends from Richmond who have both immigrated (it's called "making Aliyah) and they live in Tel Aviva and farther north, and I'm hoping to get together with them soon and maybe we can see more stuff.

And I made a friend-a girl in my class from Italy-her name is Leah and she's really sweet and she's already cooked pasta for me twice and she lives really close by-we're planning to go into the city on Sunday for the Purim Festivities. Purim is supposed to be about the story of Esther-well it is, but they've added in dressing in costume-so I'm thinking that Sunday here will be similar to LA/Hollywood at Halloween, but less extreme-Anyway, it should be an interesting time-and you're supposed to drink lots of wine at Purim (and we seem to have plenty of wine around the apartment, so...).

Well that’s it for now-Lehitraot!

Blessings from Jerusalem!

Shalom from Israel--Read Psalm 122:6 (then do it!)

How is Israel? Well, what I've seen is great, but the truth is I've seen NOTHING!!! Not yet anyway-not being a part of a tour, I haven't been anywhere-my roommates are busy so they haven't taken me anywhere yet-

I go to class in the morning, and after class I come home-surf the internet, do homework, and that's about it.

I did go to a 24 hr house of prayer last Wednesday night and got lost trying to find it, but I could see the Old City in the distance, so I prayed for it while I was there. But I haven't been into it yet. I do have a new friend, Kipp (no, absolutely strictly platonic) a friend of my roommates, who offered to take me around and show me stuff, but we haven't gotten together yet-he lives outside of Jerusalem...

I was invited to Haifa for this coming weekend, but I have absolutely no money so I had to turn it down--The school I'm attending used to do a city tour, but now they're restructuring their program, so I don't know if that will happen.

But the rest of the city (not the historical parts) is really nice-it's weird, I have such a feeling of peace being here. I'm not afraid or worried to go out by myself-I take the bus to class every a.m., and I've just started walking back. And I mentioned going to that house of prayer last week-that was after dark, and again by myself-and I never do stuff like that in foreign countries, and certainly not on foot.

While I was in Brazil I only left the ministry alone to go to the bank, grocery store, and video store each week, and usually I combined those errands into one trip, so I'm feeling pretty adventurous here. J

You figure I've been here less than 2 weeks and I'm already starting to make friends, so once I know some people I should start seeing the fun stuff. But I guess this way is good because I'm experiencing what it's like to live here-I have no idea what it's like to be a tourist here-perhaps that's what God wants for me for now?

But I love it-I could live here if they'd let me-of course I'd miss you guys, but I think I could be happy here if God ever wanted to send me here long term.

My roommates are pretty cool, a guy and a girl. Both American, but she lives here now, and he's just "hanging out" like me.

My class is amazingly international, even more than the base in Richmond. We have students from: Sweden, England, Italy, France, Lebanon, Germany, Holland, the U.S. of course, and several Latin American countries. The people are great, and so are my two teachers.

The only bad thing is that I've been sick-which is unusual-I've usually been pretty healthy when I've traveled. My roommate stained some furniture and that irritated my lungs, and 2 days later I came down with a chest cold. I haven't been able to sleep horizontally since Thursday night (too much coughing and wheezing)-but maybe I’ll be able to tonight-I'm feeling a little better.

Well I've probably rambled on long enough-write to me, okay? Until my volunteer work starts, I have lots of time on my hands!

Remember to pray for my health-and for my finances!!
Blessings from Jerusalem!

Israel

Ok, you may not believe me, but I just attempted to update this after 5 long months, and just after creating this beautifully crafted piece of prose, I lost it all while trying to spellcheck! And I don't have the motivation to try to recreate it (I'm sitting in a motel in Youngstown, Ohio, having stopped for the night on my way back to Chicago). So I'll just say that I'm really excited about going to Israel next week, and hopefully I'll do a better job of updating this thing while I'm there.
Blessings!
Monica