Today, Six Years Ago!

The Third Kettle

Yes, six years ago today, we moved to Israel. The fastest 6 years in my life. The youngest son calls it "adventure"; I see it as "a miracle", my husband refers to it as "a prophecy fulfilled".  No matter what you name it, the fact remains that we made it through the first 6 years.

We moved through 5 dwellings during that time; we bought 3 Kettles, the third one today; we traveled 4 (or was it 5?) times overseas;  we met 60 or more extended family members all over the country; we attended Feasts, Bar-Mitzvahs and Weddings; we made a handful of close friends and a large bunch of "let's get together friends"; we traveled the country a few times, mostly in the galilee area; we learned how to use the public transportation system, the calendar system, the financial system, the medical system, the volunteer system, and the A-B-C zone system. We gotten to know how to speak Hebrew and how to translate main meanings between the languages we don't understand.   We learn how to function during the various religious holidays of the Jews, Muslim, Christian and Druze and where to go during these times, and we learned how and who to ask for directions.

We experienced four rockets and two home-made bombs. Oh that was so much fun! We visited Yehuda and Shomron where 80% of the bible was written. We hosted long term and short term travelers. We were tour guides, drivers and interpreters, and we traveled along the Northern and Eastern Borders. We volunteered with the Army and slept in their barracks, more than once. We took a full semester at the University - in Hebrew!  We completed accredited Mediation and Negotiation Studies in the Magistrates Court. We cross Israel from the most northern points of Har-Dov, Metula and Rosh Ha-Nikra, to the Southern point of Eilat and across the border in Aqaba and Petra, Jorden.

We wrote blogs, we told our stories, we preached, we taught, we shared photos, we spoke on Skype, we sent and received thousands of emails, we translated, we prayed, we intercede, and we cried out to God to help us through the days and the nights.

We stood in the gap.  We learned to survive.

Our culture shock is not over. We are looking into mirrors and seeing sides of us we never seen before. This country forces us to exposed uncharted areas inside ourselves.  

The first ten years of a marriage are crucial to the survival of the marriage; I believe that the first ten years in Israel are crucial for the adjustment and adaptation of the new comers into this country. Tenacity, persistence and a lot of chutzpa help, but so are love, faith and hope; yet, the greatest help of all is… prayer.

77th Day of Praise -

I thank you God for the praying hands that were lifted up on our behalf, all over the world, and the people who lifted them up to covered us with their love and encouragement s as with their praise and prayers. Thank You God for the last six years that started us on the third leg of our earthly journey.

Feeling wise, but knowing better

Orith