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 .