Wednesday May 7 by Sierra

We began our last day in Israel by going to Save A Child's Heart. SACH is a nonprofit organization that provides lifesaving heart surgeries to children in developing countries from all over the world. We watched a video about the organization, and then got to meet some of the kids and play with them. They were all very sweet, and we had a great time. We all found this experience very meaningful.

After our morning at SACH, we went to Tel Maresha for lunch and an archaeological dig. This was one of the parts of the trip I was most excited for, and I was not disappointed! We were led underground for our dig, and it was nice and cool in the man made caves, which were used for storage. We found a ton of interesting artifacts very quickly, and we were the first people to touch them in over 2200 years! I got so excited anytime someone found something. We uncovered lots of neat things, like pottery and bones, but the most exciting find of the day was a handle engraved with Greek writing, discovered by Shayna and Yana. The archaeologists with us were quite excited about that!

Once we were out of time, we passed all the buckets of dirt out of the cave and headed to the next activity at Tel Maresha. It was spelunking in another cave, one that hadn't been fully excavated yet. Some of the tunnels were so short that we had to crawl, and we slid on our backs through small holes between rooms. It was so much fun!

After that, we returned to the hotel, showered (we were covered with dirt), and gathered in the conference room for a discussion about the trip. We went over our whole itinerary, and then talked about our favourite parts, what we found most meaningful, and what we're bringing back with us. It was so nice to hear everyone talking about how much they loved the trip, and how they want to live in Israel for at least a while. Some people even want to join the army. I know I'll be back sooner
rather than later!

We then went out for dinner at a nice restaurant. There was way too much food, but it was delicious! I liked the mini schnitzels the best. Some people bought frozen yoghurt after. Then we walked home in the rain, stopping at the am:pm to grab some treats before getting our sweaters. They look so good!

This trip has been one of the most fantastic experiences of my life. Seeing Israel for the first time with all my friends has been absolutely amazing! I experienced more than I would on my own, learned more than I would in a classroom, and smiled more than I thought was possible. I feel so much more connected to Israel now, and have so much love for the land and the people. From putting a note in the Kotel to riding camels in the desert to sloshing through deep water in tunnels, we've packed so much into such a short time. I'll have these memories for the rest of my life. While I'm definitely not ready to go, I am excited to tell everyone about it, and I know that this is not my last time in Israel!

TOV, YALLAH, LET'S GO!

Pictures:  Save A Child's Heart, archaeological dig