Field Day & Special Needs School

Community service - we started off our day by heading to the city of Afula.  There we went to Beit Yuvalim which is a special needs school for children.  We continued working on the mosaic that the ISTers last year worked on.  After a few hours of putting together the mosaic, we took a tour of the school and then had the chance to interact with some of the students.  They performed a song all together and then we all joined together in fun songs and most of us received some amazing smiles and a few of us even received some hugs.  After finishing up at the school, we returned back to Kibbutz Hannaton where we viewed the movie 'Pay It Forward' and talked about in Judaism what it means when we say when you save one life, you save the world.

Gadna update - Today the kids participated in Field Day, meaning they learned how combat soldiers work in the fields. For example, they practiced crawling on the ground soundlessly while carrying their equipment. The kids then learned the importance of camouflage as they rubbed dirt all over their faces in order to blend in with the nature around them. One mefakedet, or commander, even made the kids put dirt on their teeth.  They even ate canned foods for lunch and dinner taken straight from a real army base-delicious Halva and Tuna sandwiches. Afterwards they competed with the other platoons on who could build the most successful shelters using only rocks and leaves. To wrap up the day they went on a hike to use these techniques that soldiers use while in the field. Overall it's been a great day and the kids feel very proud of themselves!

Sea-to-Sea Update:  So far the group has had a fantastic time hiking in the Galilee.  They have gone nearly 23 miles on foot and will hike some more tomorrow and have the chance to dip into the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) to complete their trek across the north.