Well, this morning was my last one in Jerusalem. As I left this wonderful city, I felt a twinge of sadness knowing I would not see it again for quite some time. It's nice to know that I will be heading home soon, but at the same time I think I will miss parts of Jerusalem a lot.
This morning started out with a lecture at our hotel by Col. Ben Gruber titled "Code of Ethics in the Field." It was very interesting to learn about all the ways the IDF tries to avoid collateral damage, and the state of the art systems which they work with. Colonel Gruber then drove with us down to Sderot (a city which you may hear about on the news) to get an overview of Gaza. It was amazing to only be a mile from the infamous Gaza Strip, and a little scary to be given instructions ahead of time on what to do if the alarm sounds warning of an incoming rocket. Everywhere you go in Sderot there is a bomb shelter--all the homes have them as well as the bus stops. What amazed me the most though was the local children's community center. At first, we all thought it was a nice little center because the actual town of Sderot is a little crowded, and there doesn't seem to be much room for public parks. However, after a tour of the building, we found out that it was actually a large bomb shelter where they would send their children to play, because it is not safe for them to play outside. With only 15 seconds to get into a shelter after the alarm sounds, no parent wants to take the risk that their child will be too far away from cover, so they make sure the kids are always safe. It was shocking to me that this type of thing was normal for these children. I kept thinking to myself how sad it was that these children didn't have any idea that the risk of rockets should not be "normal." It really reminded me how blessed we are in America that we can allow our children to play outside without worry of them being killed.
After touring Sderot, it was time to get our hands dirty. We went to a local kindergarten and helped fix up the place since the kids are starting up school again in September. It was so amazing to walk into the dirty building and work hard for 2 hours, and leave knowing and seeing that you made a difference. I loved the work, and was very convicted to continue doing community service such as this when I get back to the States. It's neat how 2 hours of your day can impact lives for months to come.
We then took a 1.5 hour drive to Tel Aviv and checked into our last hotel for this trip. I just got back from walking the Mediterranean beach (which is only about 2 minutes from my hotel), and the sunset was unreal. I am constantly reminded about how creative God is. From the intimidating yet beautiful desert, the majestic mountains, and the soothing beaches, He truly is an amazing God. I have loved being able to observe His handiwork throughout my trip.
Well, I leave at 12:35 a.m. Israel time tomorrow, which is 3:35 New Mexico time. I will see if I can get one more blog in before I leave, and I will certainly do a follow-up blog whenever I get back home. I want to thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers. This has been an amazing trip and I have learned so much, all while growing immensely in my faith.
Love to you all!
Picture: Overview of Gaza (top left), rockets that have been launched at Sderot (top right), at the beach (middle row & bottom left), children's community center (bottom middle), volunteering at the kindergarten (bottom right)
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