July 10
Today during staff devotions we read over Psalm 91, which is a great reminder who in spite of everything that is going on, the safest place we can be is the center of God's will. As long as we are there it does not matter what is going on around us. God will be our refuge and strength.
While things have continued to be active with Operation Protective Edge, here in Jerusalem, at least the areas I’m in, things remain relatively normal. It is generally advised to stay out of east Jerusalem, and a friend of mine who lives in Pisgot Zigev (north Jerusalem) has told me that things are a bit more crazy in her area. Gun fire and helicopters are more constant. For me, if I didn't look at the news, I might not have felt anything different was happening in the last 24 hours than normal everyday life. I was even able to go to Cinema City last night with some friends to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2. The general feeling is to continue with life, the people here are not going to let a few rockets get in the way of living... There are some differences though. Normally, when I am heading to the post office Sherut (10 person taxis that go to a general location) drivers are usually seeking people to fill their vehicles for a trip to Tel Aviv. Right now that isn't happening because there are a lot of rockets aimed at Tel Aviv right now. It is fortunate that they have an Iron Dome there, which is shooting down a lot of rockets.
--- I thought I would add an interesting incident from my trip to the post office today. Normally I run all our mail through the franking machine before I go to the post office, but today I a letter that needed to be sent registered to England. I didn't have the paperwork to do that in the office, so I had to take the letter up to a clerk at the post office and get the postage and paperwork. Normally there is a number system: people take a number and wait for the number to be called. Fortunately, since many times the numbers are 50 to 300 behind, there is a business lane I can go to where I just wait in line instead of getting a number. This is what I was doing today but when it was my turn, the lady manning the desk (who does not usually do the business lines) asked me why I was standing around as she pulled her cigarettes and lighter out of her purse. Of course, I said I’m here to mail a letter for a business. Well she took the letter, handed me the paperwork (which took me 20 seconds to fill out), and told me should would be back shortly as she went off to smoke and left me standing there with the paperwork that I had already signed!
While things have continued to be active with Operation Protective Edge, here in Jerusalem, at least the areas I’m in, things remain relatively normal. It is generally advised to stay out of east Jerusalem, and a friend of mine who lives in Pisgot Zigev (north Jerusalem) has told me that things are a bit more crazy in her area. Gun fire and helicopters are more constant. For me, if I didn't look at the news, I might not have felt anything different was happening in the last 24 hours than normal everyday life. I was even able to go to Cinema City last night with some friends to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2. The general feeling is to continue with life, the people here are not going to let a few rockets get in the way of living... There are some differences though. Normally, when I am heading to the post office Sherut (10 person taxis that go to a general location) drivers are usually seeking people to fill their vehicles for a trip to Tel Aviv. Right now that isn't happening because there are a lot of rockets aimed at Tel Aviv right now. It is fortunate that they have an Iron Dome there, which is shooting down a lot of rockets.
--- I thought I would add an interesting incident from my trip to the post office today. Normally I run all our mail through the franking machine before I go to the post office, but today I a letter that needed to be sent registered to England. I didn't have the paperwork to do that in the office, so I had to take the letter up to a clerk at the post office and get the postage and paperwork. Normally there is a number system: people take a number and wait for the number to be called. Fortunately, since many times the numbers are 50 to 300 behind, there is a business lane I can go to where I just wait in line instead of getting a number. This is what I was doing today but when it was my turn, the lady manning the desk (who does not usually do the business lines) asked me why I was standing around as she pulled her cigarettes and lighter out of her purse. Of course, I said I’m here to mail a letter for a business. Well she took the letter, handed me the paperwork (which took me 20 seconds to fill out), and told me should would be back shortly as she went off to smoke and left me standing there with the paperwork that I had already signed!
Comments