Metro
TEEN MISSION
Report from page A13
Teen Mission '08 participants report on their experiences.
Sea-To-Sea Experience
Josh Smith
and started to write about this amazing
experience. As my blank mind struggled
to put pen to pad, I heard a muffled yell
s I near the Mediterranean Sea, from the distance. It was my best friend,
I have never felt closer to God.
Max Grossman, screaming with joy as he
Nothing could be more
laid his eyes on the beautiful water. Waves
satisfying than to see the colossal body
of fellow hikers approached me and all
of water that we had been striving for
held the same look of awe and satisfac-
since first detaching our heels from the
tion.
Sea of Galilee. Although the destination
The definition of this experience was
is beautiful, it has
truly expressed
always been said
when we finished.
that the journey is
The first biker did
what really matters.
not take one step
Surely this hike has
toward the sea until
held that idea truth-
the last one arrived.
ful. Whether it be
The trip taught us
good friends creating
to work with each
stronger bonds or
other and to be
new friends getting
completely selfless.
to know each other,
As the group waited
the relationships built
for me to join them
on this trip are truly
in the dash toward
special.
Seth Castiglione, 15, of Tempe Beth
the sea, I was over-
Prior to the trip, I
El and Jillian Fellows, 16, of Temple
whelmed with emo-
broke my hand slip-
Israel ride bikes at the end of the
tion. This sea-to-sea
ping on a rock, and
sea-to-sea trip in Azhav by the
experience was
I was almost unable
Mediterranean Sea.
absolutely unforget-
to join the group.
table and, undoubt-
Luckily, the staff allowed me to go, and
edly, one of the greatest times anyone
I was amazingly grateful. The only part
could ever have.
of the trip that I could not participate in
was the last day, biking downhill toward
Josh Smith, 17, is a member of Temple Shir
the sea. I arrived at the end point by jeep
Shalom in West Bloomfield.
hours before my friends and new family
Teen Mission '08
A
Teens celebrate in the Mediterranean Sea after completing the sea-to-sea trip in
Azhay.
A14
July 31 • 2008
Evan Scapelliti, 17, of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield holds a can of meat he had
for dinner with the army during the Gadna program.
Sudden Transition
Emily Shaw
Teen Mission '08
A
tll a.m. Sunday, the anxious
ride to the army base began.
We would be spending the next
five days there and no one knew what to
expect. We rode in silence as nerves and
sleep got the best of us; and before we
knew it, we were there.
We were rushed off the bus and put
into lines where we were taught the
standing position of akshev (attention),
then we were split into our teams to get
our uniforms and rooms. From then on,
it was yelling and running. No one knew
how the next five days would go.
The girls were separated from the boys
and put in our own nine-member team.
We received our squeegee mop, named
Henry, and identical army uniforms.
One of our biggest shocks was when we
learned we only had 20 minutes to get
ready in the morning.
At the opening ceremony, there was
much joking around, but after each girl
in our team got a punch in the shoulder
from the commander, we had a much
better idea of how the week would go.
Each morning, we woke up at the
early hour of 6 a.m. so that we could
take advantage of each day. Only after
cleaning our rooms, making our beds
and tidying up a specified part of the
base were we given breakfast. However,
breakfast was far from what we had at
places like Kibbutz Ha'on, with things
like bright blue eggs making a special
appearance.
Up to this point, it sounds like we would
have been miserable. Nine girls from
Metro Detroit living the army life, but it
was exactly the opposite. Although it took
us some time to get up the enthusiasm to
scream, "Yes, commander" in Hebrew, we
shaped up to army life. There may have
been complaining, but we always helped
each other to stay positive and focused.
Throughout the days, we had the
opportunity to learn about the M-16 rifle,
Israel's history and even Israeli martial
arts. There were also many discussions
about ethical debates that soldiers face
and other debates about Israel in general.
The Gadna program really opened
up our eyes to what our Israeli peers
will be going through in the next one
to two years. We went from hiking for
three hours to only having 15 seconds to
run across the base; from hugging our
friends to firing 10 bullets from an M-16.
Certainly, no experience is quite like our
experience in Gadna.
Emily Shaw, 16, attends Temple Beth El in
Bloomfield Township.
For the male viewpoint, go to JNt2t.com .