Update From Sderot 8/21/10

The weather here has been extremely hot with unusually high humidity. Not bad if you like being in a sauna. When the mercury rises above 90° and the humidity is reaching 40% daily activities can be difficult here for most, but for the elderly of Sderot it can be very dangerous. So on Thursday morning when HFS was asked if we could help with the purchase of some fans for ten elderly, we gladly said we would do what we could. So what do you do when you receive an unexpected donation, given in the memory of a loving wife… that very afternoon? You load up the van with brand new fans. The next day, as Shabbat drew near we circled the streets of Sderot delivering the much needed fans to nine elderly widows and a single mom with very small children. ~See Photos Below

Tuesday this week was spent unpacking the eight pallets of food supplies that come from the main warehouse in Bet Shemesh every month. Teenagers from the high school helped us to unload and stack more than 8000 kilos of food. ~See Photos Below

On Wednesday we picked up nearly 780 pounds of potatoes from a local farming kibbutz. With the high temperatures and humidity here, every one of them needed to be washed and dried. ~See Photos Below

On Thursday, “Delivery Day”, I saw Paolina, the mom I wrote about last week. She came up to me and gave me a big hug and I whispered, "al-tirah" in her ear. How awesome it is that even though I speak very little Hebrew and she speaks even less English, and yet I can whisper those words and the language barrier simply melts away.

The city of Sderot looks like a construction zone. Everywhere you look mamads (shelters) are being built. This past week we were at the home of one of the volunteers. The contractors have been building their mamad for several weeks now. We watched as the workers very carefully brushed a sealant around the heavy security door to seal any openings. It was explained to us that the small cracks around the door and window needed to be sealed to protect against chemical attacks. This is the reality of life in Sderot. And yet it is a great joy and a privilege to serve Ha'shem here. Shalom.