Holiday Activities

With the end of Ramadan we were given 5 days vacation. Everyday was filled with something fun and exciting to do! I took the first two/three days to rest and then used the other two for adventures. This holiday is known as Eid Fitar. Just meaning the end of fasting and a time of celebration and visiting families.

Thursday: A great start to 5 day vaca. I had coffee/lunch at this cute cafe in Bhem called Cafe Sima with Holley. She was here 2 years ago and now she is back doing ministry/prayer tours around the area. It was good to catch up with her. Then, we went to Beit Sahour and participated in team building exercises. See previous post for pictures and more information about the group PAIDA! Then later that night we went over to Barrett's and made ravioli and enjoyed a time of fellowship and food!

Friday: Well...it was kinda my lazy day. I just hung out at the house. I really didnt get out of my pj's until like 3pm. I know sad. It was a great day just to relax. Then the girls came over and we watched a fave indie movie of mine, 500 Days of Summer. Meep ... JGL is too cute and his outfits are great! (sorry..girly moment here) It was fun having girl time, meanwhile Tommy and Barrett had some guy hangout movie time as well. haha

Saturday: I did some cleaning...not too exciting.  It was a good day of down time and just devotion. The house was empty for a few hours so i really go to soak up some alone time, especially with God. I just had my worship music blasting through the apt. as I mediated on thoughts of the Creator. Very refreshing. Later, I went with Jen & Ra'ed to his sister's birthday party. She turned 20. It was great to see her and the entire family since I hadn't seen them since the wedding. I'm going to try to be better about going to visit them! I really enjoy seeing them and being with them. Especially his aunt, Suhad, she's really spunky. She is a retired teacher, and I kinda would like to be like her :) Later that night, a group of us were invited to the Rabie house or castle. It was such a great time. We grilled with Widad and the girls. The Rhodes kids serenaded us while we cooked. It was a lot of fun. We also took time to pray for Widad and the girls. A great ending to a great night.

Sunday: Ce la Tel Aviv! A group of us...like 13...took the train to Tel Aviv and kinda parted ways. One group went to the mall, another the beach, while my roomies and I went vintage shopping. Well, not quite vintage shopping, but vintage looking. None of us bought anything actually. We just enjoyed the day on the cafe streets of Tel Aviv. We reunited with the group later in the day to enjoy some Indian food. I've been there before with my friend from Canada, Jenna. It was a success once again. The ower was so wonderful. He greeted us with a smile and  was just too generous. We ended our evening watching the sunset over the Med. Sea. It was beautiful. I'm always taken aback by God the Creator when I see the ocean/sea. I cant believe that it's a gift for us! Thank you for the wonderful gift, God!

Monday: Jen invited the girls to go to Jerusalem with her. We just went and hung out at the mall. That's what girls do right? haha No actually, Michele has a wedding next week to attend and as a lot of you know...you must have the proper attire. Jen needed some winter clothes. (Ra'ed scared she's going to get sick if she doesnt have enough layers...it's an Arab thing..lol) So I joined them on their quest. It was fun to hang out and catch up with the girls, especially Jen. I dont get to see her as much as I'm used to, so the day was extra special. I was so exhausted when I came home, that after group prayer I went straight to bed.

So...we're back to school now! Yesterday was a little tough because we're now at full days until 2:30. Today was a lot better! We actually had our first chapel meeting with the 4-6 graders. It was amazing!! They said they enjoyed it and of course, they loved singing. It brought me to tears to hear all those voices singing praises to the King of Kings! I'm totally looking forward to this weekly meeting.