SH-25-90's blog

Wow is the first thing that I want to say about this place. Out of all of the hikes I have ever done in my life, this by far was the most fun and beautiful hike I have ever done. From the glorious mountain sides, reflections in the water, to the climb and ladders alongside the canyon, this hike was out of this world. Being really in touch with nature and loving the outdoors, this was an excellent experience for not only me, but also the other people on the trip who haven't opened up to the outdoors as often.

just on the bus on the way to Kibbutz Mashabbim after Sderot.
I was never actually in Sderot even though i've serving in the area for the last eight months

When walking through a mall in America, if small pieces of food are presented on a tray on the front counter of a restaurant one assumes that they are free samples. This assumnption led to quite the mistake for me. As I walked past a restaurant today in a Jerusalem mall, I innocently grabbed what looked to be a chicken nugget. After walking away from the restaurant for about 30 seconds, a man shouting in Hebrew chased after me and told me "You come now!". The man brought me back to the restaurant and continued to sternly talk at me.

I'll start off by saying that I'm not a spiritual person by nature, but the experience I had at the western wall in Israel goes beyond any experience I've had in my life. I started off by walking up to the wall just like any other person and touched the wall, closed my eyes and waited to see if I would see anything, but nothing happened. I walked away from the wall and a few minutes later a rabbi came up to me and a couple of other people on the birthright trip.

Yesterday our group visited the old city in Jerusalem. Though our time was brief within the city, the time was well spent. Visiting the remains of the old temple, at the Western Wall, was the most moving experience that I have experienced so far on this trip. In the following I will attempt to describe the feelings that I felt at the wall:

As the trip continues to develop, multiple connections between the group members and Israelis are becomming more familiar. The Israelis are getting more involved in activities and are showing excitement towards getting to know everyone in the group. I have noticed this effort and have felt an appropriate response would be to recipricate their act, one by trying to get to know not just the Israelis but also everybody else in the group.