Well I am finally back here in the Land. It was a long trek both in time for me to get back, and also, the trip itself. I think probably most of you know that my mum died just the day before I was originally planning to come back. This of course changed things somewhat. I then stayed behind to try to sort everything out, which proved and continues to prove to be a quite difficult task. I never knew that even with someone with so little, it could be so difficult to finalise their affairs. I was so blessed by the fact though, that I was still there when it happened, and had not already gone. Again the Lords mercy and grace in His timing and how He works with us was just so evident.
The trip back was long. I had from 6am in the morning to 11pm in Istanbul airport. Fortunately I discovered that I could pay a set price and have unlimited access to food drink and very comfortable seating in one of the airline lounges. The airport was not one of the best I have seen and if I had not been able to do that then it would have been a REAL challenge.
Since I got back I was sick for over a couple of weeks and so I am only now just getting everything started again. Been to the hospital and let them know I am back and headed back to the department. The SPCA clinic starts this week (Thursday) and the restaurant this coming Shabbat. The apartment certainly took some getting into shape again now that "mum" is home (that is how I feel :) ) The girls ....well lets say they aren't exactly too house proud. They are interesting characters though, and I am enjoying the difference in this mix. First of all there is Liza, the Israeli girl who also goes to my congregation here. She is adorable and it is so interesting getting to LIVE with the Israeli mentality , sense of humor etc etc. I love it. Next is Ronit, who is a very young girl who is over from the States. She is Jewish and is making aliyah (immigrating) and is doing Hebrew studies at the moment. She expects to be called up and to enter the army in the next 6 months or so to do her 2 years national service. Finally there is Mirium, who is an Indian Jewish believer who has made aliyah and is working night duty at the Jerusalem Post, which is a newspaper in English. Interestingly they have a Jerusalem Post Christian edition also. Anyway she was taken in by Ronit while I was gone, because she had nowhere to stay and not much money. So...what is happening is Ronit is getting up in the morning to go to ulpan, and Mirium was to go in to her room during the day to sleep. As it turns out, Mirium now has a bed in the " lounge " and is sleeping during the day there. She is a trained chef and is also beginning to work at a nearby restaurant, cooking Indian food. As you can see, it is quite crowded and interesting with 4 women, and a dog and two cats, in a 2 1/2 bedroom apartment. We are getting there though. :) She was supposed to be looking for another place, but has decided she doesn't want to leave me. She has decided that I am the big sister that she wanted. We will see how it all works out though. At the moment it is coming into Shabbat and Ronit, Mirium and Liza are busy in the kitchen. I made Shabbat meal last week and they are in the middle of Indian fish curry and Sushi. Interesting combination
It is good to be back with my little ones as well. They are all well and glad to have me back. Amazingly too, all three of my flatmates have no problem and in fact love my babies too, which is a big bonus. The building and neighbourhood are glad to see me back also. (Benjie is much quieter now :) ) I have people coming to the apartment asking me if they can walk Benjie, which is wonderful, and two friends have move to just around the corner from me and so they have told me they will be available at anytime for the animals should I need it. What a blessing.
So, I will no doubt have more to share with you as I settle well into my routine. As I said, I didn't do ANYTHING for the first two weeks as I was so sick and it took me this time to get my strength back and get the place sorted. I am looking at starting Hebrew classes this next week. I have been told by someone, of a Hebrew class that appears to be the type I need (tailored more to grammer) and is a little cheaper also than the one I was thinking of. I am needing to change my status here at some stage soon as well. I have a lovely lovely letter from the hospital to take to the Ministry of Interior and a man from a very old local family in my area (one of the first areas outside the old city walls,) has said he will give me anything I need to take with me and help me in any way he can. He says he would get me 50 signatures of people in the area, asking that I be granted citizenship or at least residency. Well....it is something I need to really pray about. There are just a couple of things I really want to share on the next page about what is happening here and also some prayer points for those that pray for me.
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