Israel 2024 - Week Four

Wed, Nov. 27 - Singing & Walking on Jaffa Street

Setting out for Jaffa Street on a chilly morning in Jerusalem

This is a mural on Jaffa Street showing the life you see here on the street!

The train travels the center of this long street. If we follow the tracks we will arrive at the Shuk.

Beautiful colorful tapestry of life and people in Jerusalem

A resident shows support for America with a flag

This street is named for Raoul Wallenberg, a Righteous Gentile who saved many Hungarians in WWII.

The owner of this shop remembered us from last year.

Grace and Michelle had the opportunity to sing to her again this year.

Crave is an iconic "must visit" restaurant near the Shuk.

What's your crave? Steak Burger? Corned beef sandwich?

Raoul shares Crave's dessert motto, for sure!

It was empty when we arrived...

They asked if we have a reservation?

No reservation? Well, they let us stay anyway. And we were so blessed! This is the yummy Corned Beef Sandwich.

Crispy onion rings...

Now thats a Steakburger!

This is one of the amazing Steak Burgers!

Perfectly prepared Sweet Potato Fries...

Just being in the vicinity of Crave made us all hangry!

Of course, we were messy...

Adrianna is updating her Chef outfit!

Karen Faith loves this cozy red Crave sweatshirt.

After Grace and Michelle sang for the waitress, these gentlemen asked for another song! Please!

Grace and Michelle were pleased to oblige!

The waitress was tearing up...

Thank you so much for bringing this joy to us!

More! Please, more!

What a blessing you are to Israel!

Leaving Crave to head to the Shuk...

Look at these breads... and it's not even Shabbat yet!

We delivered the first coffee to Tanya at the olive and cheese shop across the way.

She loved her surprise blessing!

Raoul spotted the Knafe shop.

Raoul quickly made friends with Sammy, the owner of the Knafe stand.

We, and our puppet mittens, enjoyed our coffees.

Thurs, Nov. 28 - Concert in Sederot

We headed to Sderot to do a concert for the Holocaust survivors there.

We arrived to the city from Jerusalem

Sderot is a small, peaceful community just a few miles from Gaza. They were attacked and devastated by Terrorists on October 7th, 2023, and are still dealing with the aftermath.

Maxim welcomed the survivors who came to see us.

We were happy to see this many survivors come out of their homes.

Maxim has a great sense of humor which helped to relax the survivors.

Massages helped relax them too!

Perfect, yes, right there please!

The massages were a big hit!

Some of them remembered that we did that last time and looked forward to the massages again!

The survivors began to really relax and be comfortable with us.

Their bodies were so tense from all the stress, especially over the past year.

We could feel the energy change in the room.

And now for the main event!

Michelle and Grace told the survivors how happy we are to be with them.

Michelle went into the audience to touch each survivor personally with God's love.

Each person melted from this touch of God through Michelle.

Michelle connected soul to soul through eye contact.

They felt God's pure love.

They remembered this love.

Michelle reached each person.

Each person is important to our Lord.

Michelle and Grace sang with so much expression and joy.

Their light chased away the darkness!

Michelle and Grace sang a capella...

...in many languages...

...in Hebrew, Yiddish, Spanish, French, Italian, Ukranian, Russian, English...

We danced the Hava Nagila...

Please Lord, bring joy!

...and peace that surpasses human understanding!

Quite the cast of characters!

What a blessed morning!

God's love pierced through the darkness.

Of course we brought food!

And yummy pizzas!

Soon, it became a comfortable social gathering.

Who wants pizza?

Thank you so much for remembering us!

As we were leaving the event, Maxim told us more details about the devastation in Sderot.

We pray for over 100 hostages to come home!

This is to remind us that the hostages are still there!

This sign welcomed us to the police station memorial.

This small building has been set up to remember the almost 60 police officers who were murdered that day. Look at the tile which is made beautifully of stars of David.

This is a fallen hero memorial park now.

These are some of the remains of the weapons of terrorism from October 7th.

The memorial film brought us to tears. The tiny town of Sderot was horribly overwhelmed by more than 200 Terrorists.

Thurs, Nov. 28 - Dinner with Yifat

And that night we had dinner with a family we met last year from the same area. Last year we net this mom and 7 daughters on their first day they emerged from their home after October 7th.

This is Yifat. She has 7 daughters. Her husband is a nuclear engineer. She is strikingly beautiful and so sweet!

Today she met us at Cafe Rimon with one of her daughters who brought along her best friend.

We shared many wonderful dishes. This is Baked Eggplant.

A creative salad...

Salmon steak with sweet potato puree and mushrooms...

This creamy Sachlav drink is like a rose rice pudding with pistachios and cinnamon. Raoul loves it!

A woman named Fran rushed over to meet Grace after they sang in the restaurant. She lives in the States and helps pregnant women in crisis. She loved knowing that Michelle and Grace are adopted. It gave her hope for a woman currently giving her baby for adoption.

Yummy! I can taste the rose essence!

One more song and photo before we go!

Please will you buy baked goods in memory of our friend, a fallen soldier?

Yes, of course we will buy baked goods! And we will sing for you too! Another amazing day! Thank you, Lord!

Fri, Nov. 29 - Mahane Yehuda Market

Wow! What an incredible new way to see the Shuk!

A selfie kalidoscope!

We love this 360 camera.

Let's also take phone selfies in the Shuk.

The look of joy!

A 360 selfie with Yossi!!

Yonatan, our spice guy, remembers us from last year.

Michelle is creating a video of our Shuk experience.

Everyone look here!

Grace and Michelle sang for Tanya. She was so touched!

The customers and staff loved hearing "Jerusalem of Gold".

How kind of you to sing for us!

You sing like angels!

It makes me so happy to know you!

Having fun with the 360 camera...

We are having so much fun!

Fri, Nov. 29 - Haifa Shabbat

Raoul is having some fun editing these photos!

We are happy the GPS us working...

Otherwise we may never arrive...

It was heartbreaking to see Lucy so broken after losing her husband Avram to cancer and just after that, to have a Hamas rocket hit her apartment!

We walked across to her apartment. Thank God, her daughter lives across the hall and she is staying there until her home is repaired.

There is a temporary fix.

The debris from her home is on the roof.

What a mess. Thank God she is alive! She left for the shelter only seconds before the rocket hit her entire living space!

She was so tired from running repeatedly to the shelter all day, she almost did not go!

We prayed and brought God's love over her.

Her grief was overwhelming. Thats a photo of Avram on the door behind her.

Lucy shared how much she wants to be back in her home, but the burocracy has everything moving very slowly.

We were so blessed to be with Lucy. But we needed to be on our way to our concert at the Light of Life Congregation.

The Light of Life is in a very nice space in Haifa.

Mark was thrilled to have the girls singing. He gave Raoul a new toy to play with for sound!

Mark invited Grace and Michelle in front to sing Shabbat songs and welcome the Sabbath.

Mark introduced the girls and they sang along to Shalom Aleichem together

Grace and Michelle stunned the group with their beautiful voices.

Singing "Shabbat Shalon" as we enter Shabbat.

They lit the candles to welcome the blessing of God to open the Shabbat.

Shlomit, Mark's wife, helped to translate from Russian to English for us.

Taking pictures as they introduce their program for the evening

Their heart is to bring more families to the congregation. Mark and Shlomit love the Lord and have 4 children. Mark is in the army, but came home for this special event.

The main course was this flavorful rice dish with chunks of beef and vegetables.

Water with lemon and mint was on each table.

...Eggplant with bell peppers...

...fresh cucumber, radishes and dill...

...sweet cherry tomatoes with cheese and basil...

...asian eggplant dish...

Grace introducing herself

Michelle having fun speaking her best Russian

Mark's wife was so kind to translate for us

Grace and Michelle invited God's Spirit to join us.

Grace and Michelle share special love songs with the couples in different languagues

They are amazed by the girls voices

With lots of passion, the girls sing "Historia de un Amor"

and La Vie en Rose in French

The love songs touch their hearts across the different languagues

Time to end with "Time to Say Goodbye"

Sat, Nov 30 - Saturday Shabbat Walk

Adriana and Michelle prepared a beautiful Shabbat breakfast.

Delicious eggs with ginger and tomatoes

God gifted us with perfect walking weather.

Any excuse to stay in the sun...

It was a bit cool, so we loved stopping for a bit in the sunshine.

There is a ribbon of yellow flowers just behind us to remember the hostages.

Just being here makes us smile.

We went for a Shabbat walk. This is a panoramic view overlooking the Old City walls.

Jerusalem, here we come!

Adorable Adriana..

We found the Jerusalem Kahn Theater where we will be performing the next morning.

We met 3 sisters- Debbie, Judy and Sharon- who were walking by us. Grace and Michelle sang Jerusalem of Gold for them. We invited them to attend our concert the next morning at that location. And they came!

The sisters were very touched. One lives in New York and the other 2 live in Israel.

Artistic photo of Gracie taking photos

Gracie is taking a photo of us taking her photo!

Beautiful! And the rose is nice too!

Look at those beautiful eyes!

Each kittie is cuter than the last one.

Sun, Dec. 1 - Concert for Holocaust Survivors at Kahn Theater

Mon, Dec. 2 - Mexican Cooking & Concert in Jerusalem

Adriana and Michelle head off early to continue the preparation for the very first Mexican luncheon, salsa dance and concert event for Jerusalem Holocaust survivors!

Are the tacos and fajitas ready yet?

Many cats were waiting with great anticipation.

Let's start with welcome massages!

Massage is a universal love language.

Perfect- right here please!

I can't wait for the Ladino song!

Raoul joined in the massage party.

Yes, it is relaxing me!

Let's get this party started!

We are so happy to be back with you all!

We are here to bring God's love to you!

Singing in Hebrew...

Grace and Michelle singing songs from the Holocaust Survivors childhood

To touch your hearts...

Raoul filming with the 360 camera

And bring you joy...

And connect with each one of you, personally...

...so you will feel God's love

Directly to your heart...

With accompaniment by Luda...

Bringing you sweet memories...

...to sing along with us

...and Ukranian

They loved the music.

Let's have some salsa dancing!

They certainly can dance!

Having fun dancing together

Filming their smiles and capturing the special moments

Here is our team- and Adriana is MVP Chef for our Mexican lunch! No, not too spicy...

She has spent 2 days preparing this meal for all of us!

He loved the Ladino song!

Thank you, Luda!

So proud of you!

We feel God's love!

Yakov and Tatiana are always taking great photos and cheering us on!

We need a photo with the chef of this great meal!

We can use the phone to do voice translation with Russian and English!

You girls sound like angels!

Please remember us!

While back in the kitchen...

Adriana, our amazing Mexican Chef, hard at work cooking for Holocaust Survivors

Maxim preparing the pastry filling for dessert

Making dough...

Excitedly awaiting the Mexican lunch

Everyone loved the food!

Fajitas assembly team

This is my first Mexican food and I love it!

We are God's family!

Enjoying our Mexican food!

Best lunch ever!

I want to play the piano with you!

Having fun at our fiesta!

Homemade Apple strudel

Just before it was cut...

Here is the filling for the strudel.

Sing a song please for this guest from Germany.

Mon, Dec. 2 - Dinner with Michal & Children

We invited Michal to dinner with her children, Or and Eden.

It was a blessing to spend time together as she has been so ill. She had cancer surgery in September, spent 2 months in bed, and only this month is she again able to serve her group of Holocaust survivors.

Ok, i will try one!

Oh, i love these candies!

Special candies from Mexico!

This is a cool toy!

It feels great!

Doesn't that feel wonderful?

I'm having fun now!

Eden, drinking her hot chocolate, and displaying her best princess pose!

The way to Or's heart was through delicious food and hot chocolate!

What should we order?

Michael was overwhelmingly thankful for this blessing for her and the children

Their green leaf salad with mustard dressing is exquisite.

We need 2 salads...

A favorite for sure...

This crunchy crusted salmon was fabulous.

This pizza with goat cheese, pesto and sundried tomatoes was so delicious.

Eden said Michelle is her new best friend. Let's go shopping together!

Eden was thoroughly engaged.

We would like to order all of these desserts, please.

These puppet mittens are adorable! The waiter thought so too!

Here is a video of my soccer team.

Don't forget desserts! We are celebrating mom's birthday!

Over the top fun for all!

Yes! We love your voices! Thank you!

It is so nice to meet you! Your song made our night so special!

Tues, Dec. 3 - Concert in Psagot

Dana and her husband Avrimi were so kind to drive us to sing a concert for the Holocaust survivors in Psagot and Ofra.

A selfie with Dafna in Psagot outside of their club. Dafna makes all kinds of fabulous bee pollen products. Her father has bee hives in northern Israel. Soon she will also be selling his olive oil.

Jewel is a Filippina caregiver. She really enjoyed the massage!

The ladies were quite curious about the 360 camera.

Sweet caregivers

Dafna loves this group and it shows!

Grace and Michelle sang songs they remembered.

Singing songs from around the world

Karen Faith singing along (quietly) in the back

Knitting to the music!

Songs to sing along with

The ladies loved the selection of songs.

Even the great grand babies were fascinated.

A daddy allows his adorable son to peek in for a visit

This special needs volunteer sang along loudly with joy!

Its always entertaining when the audience speaks to Michelle while she is busy singing

There are times that the person will not let Michelle move to the next person. They crave her attention!

This woman loved the Ukrainian songs!

The caregivers were as charmed as the survivors by Michelle and Grace.

The woman in the white hat just turned 95 (soon 96!) And she is looking for a boyfriend. She has traveled so much, it is easier to say where she has not been yet.

They were so beautiful in their lovely little hats!

Surprisingly, the young girls also loved the old classic songs.

Do you remember us from last year?

Each lady shared their joy as Michelle sang to them.

We have never experienced anything like this before!

Thank you for loving us!

You bring joy to my heart!

It is the love of God for you!

My heart feels God's love!

I love you too!

We can't wait to see you turn 96!

Please keep singing to me!

Michelle worked her way around the room.

I want to dance!

This lady gets happier with every song!

I feel so happy now!

Let's take a selfie!

The lady in brown- Yonina- wants to know if the girls are married? She has a cousin...

You brought us so much joy!

Everyone smile!

We remember that last year you showed us your book!

Thank you Dafna for these talented, loving girls with beautiful voices! We feel God's love!

Please take another photo with my camera!

Waves of joy fills our hearts.

Avrimi is a metal worker and artist. He is the creator of 45 of these signs all around the neighborhoods of Benjamin in Judea and Samaria!