Letter From Emily 3/3/24

Shalom and Boker Tov Good Hope Family Fellowship,

I hope you are all doing well. I've gotten to see a video of the progress made on the new food bank recently, and I'm blown away and excited about how it's coming along. 

This month the our team was hosted for our first Orthodox Jewish Shabbat dinner. Leading up to the dinner, we were told several rules including not being on our phones at all and having a handwashing before the blessing of the Challa. We were even told not to turn off the light when leaving the bathroom because the family could not turn it on or even ask us to turn it back on because it would be the same as lighting a fire. Despite the many rules, the dinner itself felt very relaxed and we had great discussions about faith and everyday life. 

We also had the opportunity to plant trees in honor of Tu B’Shevat (the new year of the tree). We did this alongside displaced families that have had to evacuate their homes up north since the war started. They were very thankful to those of us at Bridges for Peace coming from all over the world to stand with Israel. We've met many Israelis that have been surprised that there are people outside of the country that support Israel. 

For our excursion this month, our Zealous team went on a retreat. We booked an Airbnb near the Mediterranean and enjoyed resting and diving deeper into God's love for us. Myself and a few other members of the team went to the beach at sunrise and it was beautiful. 

As much as I love being here, I still miss you all so much! I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone in person when the Zealous year is finished.

Blessing,

Emily