First Day in Jerusalem ! יְרוּשָׁלַיִם

Shana Tova U'Metuka!
Happy and Sweet Year !

It is the time of the civil new year in Israel right now called Rosh HaShanah. Here is a little music video for this festival that I stumbled upon. It is in Hebrew but there are subtitles and its worth the listen :)

Well, we have finally made it to Israel safe and sound! We covered 6041 miles in about 20 hours of travel time (which may seem long but it's better than 40 years! haha). All our flights were on time and smooth, and in the end it didn't feel as long as it was :)

So our first day in Jerusalem has been good so far! we slept in due to some good jet lag, and then enjoyed a sunshiny morning in our little garden patio outside our cottage ! what a blessing to have a house so beautiful to live in for such a beautiful city.

So for our first day, we wanted to see the Western Wall to visit! It was just as amazing as I had imagined. I was in such awe and joy the whole time, it was all surreal. Just to be there was breath-taking.
Here are some pictures of our exploring the city:

 

 Walking down to see the Western Wall :)

I'm having fun picking up a little Hebrew here and there when we are exploring. I love the challenge to learn ! When we were walking around it was so neat to see all the markets and booths selling stunning items to include clothing, scarves, books, food (yummm), jewelry, Shabbat items etc.
All the streets are beautiful and filled with gardens !
I feel like I'm finally HOME :)

OUR FAREWELL WEEK

Well it has been a wonderful last week in Kenora! We started with a going away bbq at our house last Sunday and ended with being sent off with blessings and prayer from our church family this Sunday.

Both Zoe and I were quite pleased with the turnout of friends and family at our bbq and all the many well wishers dropping by this past week.  We feel quite loved thank you!

                                                                   * * *

All week long,I really took the time to savor the moments here in Kenora , the smile on a  friends face, the hustle and bustle of the farmers market, our last Shabbat, a quiet walk with my dog, you get the idea! It seemed to me this week lasted longer and was sweeter than most. 

 

***

 

 

     The practical things were all finalized this week :

We will have new Israeli phone #'s , and a Canadian # where anyone from home can call and it will reach us there on our cell phones. How about I  post that # later when I know for sure it will work !   This company seems to have amazing prices and services  I wish we had here in Canada. We got a good package because we are both students with the Hebrew University online  program.
http://www.talknsave.net/israel-student-cell-plan.aspx

 

 &

 

 

We also are going to have food delivered to our apartment the day before we arrive . Our dilemma  is we arrive just before the Jewish new year Rosh Hashanah and everything is closed  till Sunday . which would  mean no food for us for two days. Thankfully Azi ( our rental agent) suggested this market and they will deliver!  http://mymakolet.com/

 

 

 

                                                                           &

            Zoe and I were approved for service at Bridges for Peace in October!

 I will post more on this later , suffice it to say we are very thankful for the opportunity  to serve the people of Israel in this capacity.
You can check out more about Bridges for Peace here at their website. http://www.bridgesforpeace.com/

 

***

              We have one more sleep till we board the plane , well that's if we can sleep!


until the next time.
Shalom

ITS ALL ABOUT THE SHOES!

Well  we have 18
more sleeps to go before we board the plane. so far we are feeling pretty good about our progress. packing clothes is the toughest for me because I want to bring so many shoes. Shoes are very important and because of my past  broken ankles I want to be sure I pack well for all our activities and weather (and still  look good!). Israel is so diverse and we are going to the mountains ,cities,  deserts, lakes, and seas and will experience a few different climates. I am including a short video about the country diversity that might surprise you.

The Bible talks about bringing a sacrifice and an offering to Jerusalem for the fall feast days and as we are on this journey,  I had to ask  what I could offer or sacrifice ?  I might have asked that question while I was sitting in my 'closet' because it was quite clear to me I could sacrifice some of my shoes and clothes and purses. So I have posted my stuff on face book and spreading the word that my closet is up for sale! For those of you who have not seen the 'closet' it is a room we converted into a sitting area and dressing room. It kinda looks like a little boutique and is the accumulation of years of working in the retail sales environment where I dressed  for work. So far I have had a few ladies come over and shop it was fun!  check out my post on g+ when you click on my profile on this page  or on fb. I hope to raise as much as possible and feel led to give it to the widows and orphans over there. so spread the word!  well I got to  get busy now and pack,............now where did I put these  boots I  have for walking?

shalom.