Hello from Israel!

I’m Catie and I work at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry in Southern New Jersey. This is my second time in Israel but my first tour. Last summer I had the privilege of coming to Israel with The Friends of Israel young adult group, Oʀɪɢɪɴꜱ. We volunteered at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot. I’m excited for the opportunity to document our time here through writing and pictures.

We arrived safely at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv and were on the move before 11 this morning. We have two buses for this tour and I will be jumping between the two getting pictures and stories. The weather is a little chilly but comfortable. There are a few clouds but mostly sunny. Tito, one of our tour guides explains that it is Shabbat which is the Sabbath. The Jewish people observe Shabbat from Friday night at sundown to Saturday night at sundown. Many stores and businesses are closed today. Shabbat actually means, “he stopped” not “rest.” God doesn’t need to rest!

Our first stop is the small town of Joppa http://www.bibleplaces.com/joppa/. It’s one of the oldest ports in the world. Tito said that the word “port” means “door”. This is where Jonah left to run away from God. The story of Jonah is actually only read on Yom Kippur because it’s a story of repentance and Yom Kippur, the most serious holiday for the Jewish people is the Day of Atonement.

At the top of the tel (a “tel” is a mound where underneath lay the ruins of previous settlements that once stood on the same spot) in Joppa is a monument or gate of entry. It represents the entry into Israel and the promise God made to its patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as well as the conquest of Jericho, and people holding the arc of the covenant.

Joppa is my favorite place in Israel. I wish we could’ve spent all day but we’ve got way too much to see.

Next stop, LUNCH! And not just any lunch SHAWARMA! I have been waiting for the day I could eat Israeli food again. I had lamb in my shawarma (THE BEST) but most got chicken. They don’t know what they’re missing! Some had falafel which is like shawarma but no meat.

Our next stop was the ammunition factory on kibbutz hill in Rehovot called the Ayalon Institute.  The story of this factory is fascinating! It really shows how hard people worked for Israel to become a nation. On this working kibbutz right under the British noses in 1945 there were a group of young men and women who made bullets for the Jewish fighters in a hidden underground room. These courageous men and women helped the modern state of Israel become a nation with their bravery. I loved this place. If you want to read about it you can here http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-ayalon-institute.

The factory is in the city of Rehovot which is a growing tech city and also the home to Kaplan Medical Center where I worked last summer. The Friends of Israel have a few volunteer groups that go to this hospital and volunteer their time. The Hesed group (Hebrew for “loving-kindness”), is just finishing their time at the hospital this weekend and we have a number of the volunteers on the tour with us! If you want to learn more about of volunteer groups to Israel you can go here http://www.foi.org/israel-tours/.

Somehow we’re all still awake! We head to the Valley of Elah where David and Goliath met. As we’re driving I notice the difference of scenery from last summer. It’s much greener and I see oranges on the trees, something I didn’t see in June or July. So much of the land is farmland yet it’s mixed between cities. The hills and the trees give it so much more character. It’s hard to imagine this all being dry land just 100 years ago.

We enter the British Park and Tito points out Jewish people and Arabs picnicking beside one another. A view that would never be shown in the media. It’s something that is missed in the West when talking about Israel. When I was working at Kaplan medical the CEO said to us, “In Israel we make no difference.” They treat people there no matter what nationality or religion. Israel’s motto is LIFE. No matter what, life is first. It’s neat to think about as we’re in the park watching neighbors eating beside one another in peace.

Jim Showers, The Friends of Israel executive director reads us the story of David and Goliath. We had a hard time hearing because there a group of young Israeli children doing cheers behind us. They were pretty cute! The view here is stunning. We can see Jerusalem and Hebron in the distance. Below we see the valley as we read the story of God’s sovereignty in David’s life. As a young man he has the understanding that God was on their side and they had no reason to fear Goliath. We can see people in the valley below, and I can’t help but think about how small they look from this high. Our size doesn’t really matter from God’s view.

We ended the night eating dinner with a gorgeous view of the Mediterranean Sea as the sun was setting. Praying for a restful night here in Tel Aviv!