Capturing Moments: South Tel Aviv Levinski Park, Sept. 2010

One of my favorite little kids who come to Monday Night Basketball Outreach… isn’t he just a cutie!?!

I’m not the only one…

I’m getting anxious with my youth center plans, and I have a feeling I’m not the only one.  Though its not official, and most people here don’t have a clue of what I’m about to embark upon, I think the feeling of something new must be brewing in the air.

Lately at the Food Distribution more and more kids have been coming, not just to pick up food for their moms, but to stay and chat (and sometimes help out!).  Last night we were graced with the presence of our two little “translators”, a term and position they have appointed themselves.  Since most of the mothers only speak Arabic, and I only speak Hebrew, they like to be the ones to communicate all the in’s and out’s of the procedures.  It’s very cute, actually.

They sooooo need this youth center, to have a place to go.  I’m getting excited about the vision I have, and this week I will be looking at some potential buildings for the site.  In the meantime you can see my adorable, little helpers for yourselves.  These girls are two reasons why I am passionate about future plans…..

Sometimes I’m left speechless….

I had no idea when I wrote the following status for fb, what was about to unfold:

Does anyone have/know of a WII system and games that can be donated 4 a new youth ministry in Israel? This would be a HUGE blessing!!!

I hadn’t gotten any replies, and I honestly just put it out there in the social media world, “just in case”.  

And then I got the email.

It was from a friend I had graduated with, and quite honestly, had not seen since graduation day back in 1993. (Yep, a looooooooooong time ago.)  He told me he didn’t have a WII to give, but he would like to start a fundraiser in order to purchase one. Not only start a fundraiser, but spread the word, buy the complete set (with as many games as possible) AND ship it to me.  

My mind was completely blown by that email!

Here was someone who I haven’t even seen or really spoken to in 15 or so years…yet he was willing to put all this time and effort into pouring out for kids he has never even seen or met.  He was willing to go the extra mile, all for a cause I believe in.  

Like I said, sometimes I’m left speechless.

Below is the link for the fundraising site to purchase a WII console and games for the youth ministry I will be soon starting with the Sudanese Refugee Children.  Please consider donating, even if its just a small amount, for this cause.  Our target goal is $500, but I am hoping to surpass even that!  And I must end by saying, “Thanks so much Chris, for showing what God’s love looks like in a tangible way.  I am truly humbled and honored to know you!”

 http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2009-08-12.4071091833

DODGEBALL: Crossing Cultural Borders

This week I learned that no matter what culture you come from, we all have one thing in common: kids love dodgeball!  

This week during the Nazareth English Camp, one of the American games I taught the kids to play was Medic (an upscale version of dodgeball).  I wasn’t sure how it would go over in the Arab community, especially with the girls, but I soon got my answer.  

Each day when the groups would come to my station, all the kids would approach me saying, “doctor? doctor?” (Medic wasn’t exactly a word in their culture, so I used doctor instead, while explaining).  No matter what new game I attempted to teach, they always wanted to play “doctor” (dodgeball).  

The week was beyond draining for me, and I seriously haven’t run around and played in a long time.  Needless to say, I was exhausted at the end of each day and today I totally crashed!  Even though I was in the middle of the action most the time (my arms and legs can attest to that), I was able to snap a few photos…

 

From the mouth of a child

Today I was humbled. 

There is a young Sudanese girl, 10/11 yrs. old who comes each week for Food Distribution for her mother.  She is the cutest thing and since she is in school here, her Hebrew is super good.  Today she brought her brother with her and I asked her (in Hebrew), “Is this your brother?” and she said, “yes“.  So, I said to him “Shalom!” And he said “Shalom” back.  Then he turns to his sister and asks her (in Hebrew), “does she know Hebrew?” (referring to me)  And the girl replied back, “Yes.  Just not good Hebrew.”  

There really isn’t a response to that, so I looked at her, smiled, and said “Toda raba!!!” (thanks so much).  She just smiled back.  Oh, the joy of honesty from a child!!!

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

….If you haven’t seen this movie, then you must. 

A story of WWII from the eyes of an 8 year old boy.  A German 8 year old boy.  A son of a high ranked Nazi officer, German 8 year old boy, who befriends an 8 year old Jewish boy on the other side of the fence.

If you don’t think that the way we raise our children, teach our children, or pour into our children makes a difference then think again!  Everything we say and do influences them.  Whether we realize it or not, they are watching us.  Our choices affect them directly or indirectly, and sometimes the consequences are more than we could ever imagine.

Powerful, yet tragic message!

Capturing Moments: Muslim Quarter, Old City, Jerusalem

There was just something about this little boy that captured me…

Shevet Achim

Last night  I went to a hospital here in Tel Aviv, which participates in a program to bring in non-Israeli children for heart surgery or other life-threatening medical issues.  Most children are Muslim from surrounding Middle Eastern countries, who cannot receive the medical care they need there.  My heart broke when I saw these little ones with tubes attached all over them.  

Most all of them come over with only their mothers, leaving behind the rest of the family.  The mothers only speak Arabic, which leads to soooo many communication breakdowns with the Hebrew speaking staff.  

Can you imagine taking your child for heart surgery to a place that does not speak your own language, and you have no idea what they are telling you is happening???

My friend, Gigi from Egypt, is one of the volunteers that goes there to bridge the gap.  She speaks Arabic and can help the mothers understand what is going on, pray with them, and just be there to comfort them.  I’ve been wanting to go with her for a while now, and I finally had the chance last night.

What these mothers have to go through, seeing their children like that, should never have to happen to anyone.  What the doctors and nurses are doing here in Israel is such an amazing thing!!! What Shevet Achim is doing to help these families is just as amazing!  

On the Shevet website are some pictures of the children that I went to visit last night….please just take a minute to see the faces of these precious ones.  Even with all the horrible things that is blasted on the news about Israel vs Gaza/Middle East there are still some incredible acts of love being shown here.

Missing them

For some reason my kids from Brazil have been on my mind as of late.  I absolutely loved them to death and I miss them so much.  I think about them and wonder how they are doing, while at the same time trying not to face the fact that they are so much older and bigger now.  I know we can’t live in the past, but I sometimes wish time wouldn’t fly by so fast.

Reaching the next generation

This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak at my aunts church in Minnesota about Botswana.  While speaking at churches is a regular occurance for a missionary during furlough, its usually done speaking to adults in the main service.  Now, from a missionary perspective, this is practical in many ways.  

1. Its the adults who support you financially and spiritually.

2. The adults can grasp the “big picture” of what your ministry is trying to accomplish.

3. Its just what you do.

….but sometimes we need to put practical aside and reach out beyond “practical”.

Sooooo, being that my aunt is the children’s pastor for her church, she also asked me to come back and give a presentation to the kids.  I have to say, I was more excited about the prospect of speaking with children than adults (thats probably my teaching background coming out).  I put together a slide show, I brought fun show-n-tell items for them to see, and we put together a “what they eat” segment where I actually cooked fried cabbage in front of them and they could taste it.  (Most of them weren’t too thrilled about the fried cabbage, but they LOVED the fat cakes we made.)  I also shared the differences between being a kid in the US verses being a kid in Botswana.

Overall, it was awesome!  They loved the pictures, the food, the stories, and all the animals they saw.  As I was leaving I realized how important it is to bring awareness to children about other cultures and areas of the world and how we can help them.  If we are going to try to make an impact on our world, we need to start not only reaching out to those who can help us now, but also to those who will be out there doing the work in the next generation. Adults are important to reach, but lets not forget the children! As Whitney says, “I believe the children are our future.”  hehehe

Whooshi-gaga

On our drive back to K’zoo we found ourselves using a new phrase we learned this weekend from Noah, my friend, Michelle’s 3 year old son.  He loves to be silly and say it, while at the same time annoying his parents too. He told us it comes from a book he likes to read, but uses it in any situation.  For example: “Dad…guess what?” (Rick: “What, Noah?”) “Whooshi-gaga”… giggle, giggle, giggle.  

Our drive home was full of moments where whooshi-gaga was the only appropriate word, so in honor of little Noah….”WHOOSHI-GAGA”

(Micheal and Noah)