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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Chesed Mission 2016/5776: Day 8

Today was the last day of Chesed Mission 2016. Even though our flight is tonight, we had a packed day of chesed like every other! Our first stop was Yad Lakashish - a Lifeline for the Elderly, where elderly people from all around the Israel create/build from scratch certain artistic items. For example, one elderly man would mold ceramics and another would paint the ceramic. By the end, they have a gift shop where their creations may be purchased. Many of us bought some things like salt and pepper shakers, dolls, necklaces and more.
Our next stop was to the third army base of our trip. We joined Thank Israeli Soldiers for this visit. There were a ton of friendly and appreciative soldiers who danced and sang with us. We distributed gifts and thanked them for protecting our homeland.
After a quick lunch at the Modiin mall we made our way to Emunah's Bet Elezraki Children's Home. Bet Elezraki is a children's home for children who can't live at home for various reasons. Each of us interacted with one, two, or three children and had an incredible time dancing our hearts out to great music with them. Everyone was going wild, it was definitely a sight to see! We had a mini kumtzitz, handed out presents to the bar and bat mitzvah children and to the seniors. We then finally said our goodbyes. 
There are no words to describe how amazing Chesed Mission was. It opened up our minds, made us put things in perspective and helped us appreciate what we have. Everyone was always so happy and there was such a warm and special vibe that we've never felt before. Thank you so much to Rabbi Besser, Ms. Susan Franco, and staff for an unbelievable experience. 
~Sari Cattan, Class of 2017