We kicked off the day by learning about the different kinds of "schlichim" who come from Israel to America for an extended period of time to teach and represent Israel abroad. Then, we continued to work on the partnership's project of creating baltimore and Ashkelon mosaics on the volunteer center in Ashkelon. We continued onto our next service project, which was teaching children at different schools the basic fundamentals of lacrosse. There was a group of teens who gathered from all over america just to focus on teaching lacrosse to Ashkelonian kids, and we got to spend time with them as well. A lot of us knew several of the other teens through family, mutual friends, camp etc. No matter where you are in the world, Jewish geography is never fails to make connections and foster relationships.
After eating a delicious meal from aroma we headed to a mall that had a bowling alley in it. The objective of the activity was to learn and use different teamwork strategies through bowling. One "mission" we had to do was tie our dominant hand to another person's and figure out how to bowl in the most effective way. We had a great time, and found that it wasn't so challenging to work together because of the close-knit relationships that diller has facilitated.
Our final activity of the day took place at a youth movement called "wings of crembo," which is an inclusive place where teenagers with special needs can go to participate in activities with other teenagers. We helped out with their "country day" where teens traveled to different booths that represented different countries. My booth was Japan, and the teens were required to create, decorate, and fly paper origami airplanes in order to receive a new sticker in their passport. This experience was especially meaningful to me because I have a dear friend with mental disabilities who I care for greatly. Although I don't speak any Hebrew, I found that the language barrier didn't stop me from connecting to the children; we spoke through smiling and sharing laughs. "Crembo" is a delicate treat that is almost a giant mallowmar. The outer layer of chocolate is so thin that this delicious snack has to be hand-wrapped and packaged. The reason why "wings of crembo" is such a fitting name for this youth movement is because the care and love that is given to the teens will provide them with what they need to succeed.
The theme of this day was "ways of influence" and I definitely learned the value of a smile and the impact of different experiences on peoples lives.
Lauren and Andy
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