Ben and Gabi finished their final sports lessons with surfing and tennis respectively.
We had a reasonably quiet day with a visit during the day from dear friends Ruthie and Antoinette. Maria worked for Ruthie here in Israel for some time and both would agree with me when I say they developed a very strong friendship. Maria will miss her days with Ruthie and I'm sure Ruthie feels the same way.
Having forewarning of a surprise (for Maria) visit of a small group of people to sing to the four of us, I tried all I could to delay our normal routine (while trying to make it look natural). Little did I know until after the event that Maria knew about it and was trying to do the same, thinking the surprise was for me.
Getting back to the evening...at 7pm there was a knock on the door and upon stepping out onto our front porch, we were greeted by a group of at least 50 vocalists and two chairs set up for us! The group comprised people from church, their friends, diplomats, spouses and their families. There was a large age range, from 3 up to ?? (I don't want to get it wrong so I won't even guess).
They sang for 15-20 minutes. It was a beautiful sound that resonated through the neighbourhood (great acoustics due to the number of large concrete houses around us).
The amount of time and effort that went into this event is difficult to imagine, but greatly appreciated. Thanks Sheila for your vision and organisation, and to Ken for leading. Solo performances from Molly and Bethany were inspirational. The overall harmony of a group of people from mixed backgrounds singing worship songs focused on our Lord blessed us immensely. Why? Because even though it was done "for us", it is "not about us". We are grateful that this was another opportunity where our situation, however difficult, could be used to glorify Him!
Feeling the need to express our gratitude, I tried to speak but was overcome with emotion. Not only is the realisation of leaving this special place becoming more apparent each day, but leaving very special people makes it that much more challenging...for me anyway.
