Service, service, and more service. Before I left on this wonderful study abroad they assigned me to be chair for the humanitarian committee. Therefore this week has been crazy!!! I love my life. It has been nothing short of wonderful and all of the students here are very excited and willing to participate. My life has currently been consumed with trying to establish the most effective humanitarian projects for the JC. It has been a great experience and I am grateful to have been given this opportunity to work so closely with the Bentleys, the service couple, to find ways to better serve the students and the community of Israel.
This past week, the Bentleys took two other students and I to Princess Bosma. This is a hospital/school for children with disabilities in need of rehabilitation. The outside of the building was nothing short of a dump. Honestly it looked like we were entering a cinderblock prison. However, once we stepped into the building it was a dream come true. I could feel my temperature rise with excitement as I saw many children running, wheeling, and skipping throughout the hallways. One of my favorite parts of the inside were the mural covered walls. Most of the murals happened to be done by previous BYU students in previous semesters. Our task at this building is to paint a mural of our own on their cafeteria wall. Not only do I love service and children but I am passionate about art. This is the perfect humanitarian activity EVER! We scoped out the building and picked one of the three walls we were given permission to paint. I liked the wall in the cafeteria the best because of the location and size. While we were taking measurements of the wall I began talking to a woman eating with her little son. She told me she was staying in the center for 21 days in order to help her little boy (precious beyond reason) heal his little leg. At times the parents are required to stay with their children in the center for the purpose of learning ways to aid their children. The mother went with her son to his different classes to learn how to walk again. I was amazed by her diligence and willingness to sacrifice much of her time to be with her darling child. My excitement and passion for this project increased dramatically as I talked and associated with the many people inside the building. After we toured the building, we went downstairs to meet the children. Oh how I loved it. These little Arab children are outgoing and very welcoming to strangers. They were learning English and therefore would scream random phrases like, "HELLO" or "HOW ARE YOU?" Many of the littlest chidren (4-5 years of age) liked to shake hands and high five. So cute! I wanted to stay there all day. Bless these little children and the wonderful teachers who encourage them to get better. From disabilities such as hearing impairments to mental disabilities-these little children spend much of their time healing and learning. I am so excited about this project. A group of students and I brainstormed sketches to put on this wall a few days ago. We will eventually get to drawing and painting the wall next week.
Today we journeyed on another activity the humanitarian committee created. The Bentleys are so wonderful and have all these wonderful activities to get us students out into the city to interact with the people. A group of eight students, the Bentleys, and I went to the Elderly Supportive Community Service Society. It is a small building within the Christina Quarter of the Old City. We entered at the Jaffa Gate and wandered around the busy streets until we came to the entrance of what appeared to be the same building of the many thousands of shops wer passed by along the way. Raja, the charitable man in charge of this charity, came out to meet us at the door. We went into the building and up the stairs to his living room. He sat us down and talked to us about the city and his charitable organization. It is independent of any religion, therefore the services are open to anyone of any denomination. He talked about the poor treatment of those with mental disabilities. “They are not crazy, they are simple.” He talked about the love he had for each individual. This man radiated purity and kindness. “We don’t need any more preachers, we have enough, but rather we need service.” He talked about the need for action rather than words. This man, whom we later learned came from a difficult past with drug addictions and associations, changed his life around (found Jesus as he said) and dedicated his life to blessing others. I felt so much love for him as he was talking about the people this service society blesses. He took us around to two families. One in which spoke English very well. They were very appreciative of our visit. The woman had prominent dimples with dark crow feet wrinkles (smile wrinkles as I like to call them) around her eyes. She was aged and spent 80 years within the Old City raising her children. Her husband recently passed away last year and therefore her son came back to live with her. He works for National Geographic and made an award winning documentary called “The Last Supper.” They were so nice to us and I just loved being with them so much. We sang a few hymns and asked a few questions, then moved on to the next house. Along the way to our journey fot the next woman, we stopped into a man’s house in whom recently recovered from a stroke a few years ago. Raja was so kind and gentle with him. All of the people we met just loved him. He was so nice to his man in a wheelchair who was previously smoking from a pipe when we entered. Raja pattted the man on the head and gave him a huge hug then quickly took the pipe from his mouth. Haha the man was a little distraught. I knew how good a man Raja was simply by the way these wonderful people looked at him. A few doors down we entered a small, aged woman dressed in a pink nightgown. Her house was a one room home. Her bedroom, which acted ast he living room during the day time, connected directly with the kitchen. She reminded me of the old witch on Sword and the Stone if anyone has watched that movie recently. Although we could not communicate with her directly I could tell of her spunk and love for life. She offered us a plate of chocolates which I am sure was at least a year if not two years old. We enjoyed them, for it is disrespectful not to. Then much to our surprise she again offered us cookies and pretzels because we did not get up fast enough. Raja told us, “hurry stand up, she is trying to offer you another thing.” We had to run out of her house in order to avoid her many offerings. This is a simple example of how charitable these people and the culture are. I love it!
I felt peace as I walked along the cobblestone streets. Little boys playing soccer along the cobblestone pathways, the smell of freshly baked bread, and the laundry hanging over the porches of little homes that have been there for hundreds of years is quite an incredible sight. Although they call this winter semester, the weather is perfectly sunny. I am in heaven. Meeting people within the city is definitely one of my favorite pars of this trip. These are the moments when all our classes and training regarding culture become the most apparent. I learn more in the few moments I am at someone’s house then an hour of class. I love to see how the classes directly correlate with the city. We learn about the people and then go out to see them and their culture first hand. It is so fun to meet people who live here and hear of their perspective on the land and culture. Oh to be in the land of Israel!
This is the crew. The Bentleys on the right, Sister Judd in the middle and there is Greg and Kate on the outside.
This past week, the Bentleys took two other students and I to Princess Bosma. This is a hospital/school for children with disabilities in need of rehabilitation. The outside of the building was nothing short of a dump. Honestly it looked like we were entering a cinderblock prison. However, once we stepped into the building it was a dream come true. I could feel my temperature rise with excitement as I saw many children running, wheeling, and skipping throughout the hallways. One of my favorite parts of the inside were the mural covered walls. Most of the murals happened to be done by previous BYU students in previous semesters. Our task at this building is to paint a mural of our own on their cafeteria wall. Not only do I love service and children but I am passionate about art. This is the perfect humanitarian activity EVER! We scoped out the building and picked one of the three walls we were given permission to paint. I liked the wall in the cafeteria the best because of the location and size. While we were taking measurements of the wall I began talking to a woman eating with her little son. She told me she was staying in the center for 21 days in order to help her little boy (precious beyond reason) heal his little leg. At times the parents are required to stay with their children in the center for the purpose of learning ways to aid their children. The mother went with her son to his different classes to learn how to walk again. I was amazed by her diligence and willingness to sacrifice much of her time to be with her darling child. My excitement and passion for this project increased dramatically as I talked and associated with the many people inside the building. After we toured the building, we went downstairs to meet the children. Oh how I loved it. These little Arab children are outgoing and very welcoming to strangers. They were learning English and therefore would scream random phrases like, "HELLO" or "HOW ARE YOU?" Many of the littlest chidren (4-5 years of age) liked to shake hands and high five. So cute! I wanted to stay there all day. Bless these little children and the wonderful teachers who encourage them to get better. From disabilities such as hearing impairments to mental disabilities-these little children spend much of their time healing and learning. I am so excited about this project. A group of students and I brainstormed sketches to put on this wall a few days ago. We will eventually get to drawing and painting the wall next week.
Today we journeyed on another activity the humanitarian committee created. The Bentleys are so wonderful and have all these wonderful activities to get us students out into the city to interact with the people. A group of eight students, the Bentleys, and I went to the Elderly Supportive Community Service Society. It is a small building within the Christina Quarter of the Old City. We entered at the Jaffa Gate and wandered around the busy streets until we came to the entrance of what appeared to be the same building of the many thousands of shops wer passed by along the way. Raja, the charitable man in charge of this charity, came out to meet us at the door. We went into the building and up the stairs to his living room. He sat us down and talked to us about the city and his charitable organization. It is independent of any religion, therefore the services are open to anyone of any denomination. He talked about the poor treatment of those with mental disabilities. “They are not crazy, they are simple.” He talked about the love he had for each individual. This man radiated purity and kindness. “We don’t need any more preachers, we have enough, but rather we need service.” He talked about the need for action rather than words. This man, whom we later learned came from a difficult past with drug addictions and associations, changed his life around (found Jesus as he said) and dedicated his life to blessing others. I felt so much love for him as he was talking about the people this service society blesses. He took us around to two families. One in which spoke English very well. They were very appreciative of our visit. The woman had prominent dimples with dark crow feet wrinkles (smile wrinkles as I like to call them) around her eyes. She was aged and spent 80 years within the Old City raising her children. Her husband recently passed away last year and therefore her son came back to live with her. He works for National Geographic and made an award winning documentary called “The Last Supper.” They were so nice to us and I just loved being with them so much. We sang a few hymns and asked a few questions, then moved on to the next house. Along the way to our journey fot the next woman, we stopped into a man’s house in whom recently recovered from a stroke a few years ago. Raja was so kind and gentle with him. All of the people we met just loved him. He was so nice to his man in a wheelchair who was previously smoking from a pipe when we entered. Raja pattted the man on the head and gave him a huge hug then quickly took the pipe from his mouth. Haha the man was a little distraught. I knew how good a man Raja was simply by the way these wonderful people looked at him. A few doors down we entered a small, aged woman dressed in a pink nightgown. Her house was a one room home. Her bedroom, which acted ast he living room during the day time, connected directly with the kitchen. She reminded me of the old witch on Sword and the Stone if anyone has watched that movie recently. Although we could not communicate with her directly I could tell of her spunk and love for life. She offered us a plate of chocolates which I am sure was at least a year if not two years old. We enjoyed them, for it is disrespectful not to. Then much to our surprise she again offered us cookies and pretzels because we did not get up fast enough. Raja told us, “hurry stand up, she is trying to offer you another thing.” We had to run out of her house in order to avoid her many offerings. This is a simple example of how charitable these people and the culture are. I love it!
I felt peace as I walked along the cobblestone streets. Little boys playing soccer along the cobblestone pathways, the smell of freshly baked bread, and the laundry hanging over the porches of little homes that have been there for hundreds of years is quite an incredible sight. Although they call this winter semester, the weather is perfectly sunny. I am in heaven. Meeting people within the city is definitely one of my favorite pars of this trip. These are the moments when all our classes and training regarding culture become the most apparent. I learn more in the few moments I am at someone’s house then an hour of class. I love to see how the classes directly correlate with the city. We learn about the people and then go out to see them and their culture first hand. It is so fun to meet people who live here and hear of their perspective on the land and culture. Oh to be in the land of Israel!
This is the cafeteria wall we are venturing to paint.
One of the many incredible murals.
This wall is the semester of Daniel Wade I believe.
Color, color, and more color.
Children in the classroom.
Haha devious little guy. They are all so cute!
Chattin with the children.
It was so funny to me how the kids always wanted to shake your hand or give a high five. Compared with the children in the city, these little kids were much more friendly and outgoing. They loved the attention.
Ha the flirt of the class for sure. I waved to him and he giggled and waved his little, stubby fingers back. Can you say DARLING?
Here we all are in this woman's one room house. A little crowded but all full of love.
This woman had a larger home with one of the only pianos in the old city. She was so kind and I can't wait to go back to visit her.
The gang on the bus.
Chels sounds like your having the time of your life! I'm so jelious of what you get do with those darling children. I miss you and love you deeply
ReplyDeleteLove, ur lil sis liza
hey thanks for the shout out to our semester and the wall our group painted. it's good to know that someone remembers my middle name ;)
ReplyDeletekeep up the good work
Chels! That looks so wonderful! I am so glad you are having such a good time. I miss you!
ReplyDelete