The City that (Almost) Never Sleeps
Living in Jerusalem is like living in downtown New York City.
Even walking to our flat that is less than 100 meters away from the Shevet building, I pass by tons of people from all sorts of cultures, and cross a busy and often rule-less intersection/roundabout area. I've done it enough times already that I feel I've conquered my corner of the city, but there is always so much more beyond. You could say it is a city that never sleeps...
Except the most incredible phenomenon occurs once every week. The city stops, the city sleeps, the city is quiet and empty. Every Shabat, especially in the morning on Saturday, all Jewish stores are closed, and as I looked out the balcony from my in-law's flat, I stared down a normally bustling cobblestone road, and heard nothing but a breeze.
Can you imagine a city like NYC coming to a screeching halt and emptying for an entire day?
In addition to marketing and website duties, I'm taking on a pretty significant role in Public Relations at Shevet. A huge tour of old secular Jewish people came by the office yesterday--apparently the tour guide is an old friend of Shevet's and often brings his crowds here since our building is one of the first built outside the Old City, and has quite a rich history. Not to mention, he believes in our cause and enjoys sharing it with those on tour.
So I came out to a crowd of senior citizens, all fanning themselves, grumbling and muttering in Hebrew, at one point I thought I heard a bodily function or two sound off. And I greeted them. The tour guide interpreted for me, but I gathered that many of them knew English. I prayed the whole time, "Lord give me the words to say. Speak through me." And as I stood in front of them, the words came. And before I knew it, the old folks were all quite caught up in what I was saying. And as we took them to the upstairs to see where the Kurdish families stay, many pulled me aside and grilled me with questions. I answered them all, and as they were leaving, I heard over and over again how thankful they were for our mission of peace and reconciliation.
And today, I must admit I was a bit star struck. Shevet partners with a much larger, but similar, organization called Save A Child's Heart. I went with two Shevet companions to Tel Aviv to meet with some important PR workers from SACH, and was relieved that they were interested to meet me, and not concerned in the least with my young age. But I looked into a small group of people with them, and thought I recognized a man. I turned back to the woman we were speaking to, just in time to hear her say "and today we have with us Idan Raichel..." Hold the phone and eat my hat! I looked at my companion, Donna, and I said, "Really?! Idan Raichel!" Unfortunately, they were leaving and I wasn't able to actually meet him. But I did see in person and close up, which is pretty cool. For those of you who don't know The Idan Raichel Project, please look it up. Their music is fantastic.
And today my husband returns from Amman, Jordan, bringing with him three new children with their mothers to stay with us. Please pray for us and them, as we try to make them feel loved, welcomed, and safe.