Every day we experience something new and each day our lives are just a little richer! It's wonderful to be a new resident in Israel and to soak up all the culture, the customs, to meet so many different ethnic groups, and to learn more about this part of the world. I greatly appreciate seeing families together, the devotion of Jewish fathers to their children, observance of modest dress by the Arabic, Jewish, and Muslin women, and how children from a very early age are taught to respect their elders. It's evident that family togetherness is very important. Last night we ventured into town to have dinner with Neomi and Gil and three other couples. The challenge of the evening came when Jeff tried to park our van in underground parking and it got stuck! We had all stepped out so we wouldn't have as far to walk, then suddenly we heard a scraping sound and a crunch as the top of the van hit the ceiling! The parking attendant came running and Jeff was lucky enough to back out and find another place to park outside on the street. Everyone ordered their favorite food and Garth ordered trout which was topped with fruit and almonds. He said it was delicious. The restaurant was located in a charming little area of Jerusalem outside the Old City and along the way we saw some beautiful artwork on the walls of the buildings.

After a wonderful dinner, Jeff (photo above) was faced with another challenge when he tried to back our van out the parking space. We really pinned in very tight and the cars on either side were extremely close. The street was narrow and cars on our side were parked perpendicularly. The cars on the opposite side of the street were parked parallel to the street. When he started backing out we said, "This is not possible!" but Jeff's driving abilities soared when he navigated that huge van out inch by inch with a lot of coaching of 3 couples. I knew Joyce Smith was concerned when her voice got serious and she said, "Jeffery, stop!" However, he maneuvered that huge van forward and backwards, inch by inch, turning the steering wheel one direction and the other, and by not losing his cool. The picture below doesn't do it justice because the length of the van was much longer than the space to pull out. In fact, Neomi was so worried she was ready to call the police to help us but Jeff proved us all wrong. Yey for Jeff!