Shwabe

One of the great things about this ministry is the large network of people across the globe that it is connected with, and the new people it is constantly introducing us to. Our newest acquaintances are from the States, but are currently at a ministry school in Jordan. They are visiting Israel for a couple weeks doing ministry and site seeing. These five guys are really passionate about God and it's great to hear their stories. The man that leads their ministry school is our contact in Jordan who helps us transport the Iraqi kids from the airport in Amman across the border.
Yesterday, we invited our new friends to a BBQ at a local church. We didn't know anything else except that we were invited. We showed up and had the privilege of participating in a tri-lingual service. The church is Korean but works with the Arab community who generously translated the service into English for our sakes. Afterward was one of the most random "BBQ's" I have ever been to. I knew it would be different than your typical American BBQ, but I wasn't expecting to see sushi there. (Not that I complained since sushi is one of my favorite foods!) But it was a great time of hanging out and fellowshiping with other believers from other cultures.
Today, we invited our new friends to the beach in Tel Aviv with us. But only one of the guys was able to make it and he brought another German girl that is traveling with them. So six of us, including our visitors, set off for the beach. It was fantastic! The sun was shining, the water was warm, but refreshing, and we got gelato that melted as fast as we could eat it. We spent the day in the water and I even learned how to body surf! At first, they called me a "Shwabe" which I think was a shortened version of "Shredder Wannabe", but I quickly proved myself and moved up in the ranks.
It was a great way to spend Shabbat- sun, friends, gelato, and shredding.