Touching Hearts and Lives

December 3, 2006

These were the reasons why we journeyed to the North, and why Bridges for Peace launched a new outreach called Touching Hearts and Lives. Using teams of five drawn from our Israel volunteer base in Jerusalem, our aim is to undertake a variety of hands-on community projects and, quite literally, reach into the lives of Israeli cities and towns. We want to show them that there is someone who cares.

Helping Avivim
Our first three projects took place in Avivim, which is amongst the many beleaguered communities in the North. Avivim itself is a moshav (a grouping of neighboring farms run on cooperative principles) and is located on the Lebanese border. One of our Food Bank suppliers runs a farm on the moshav, but due to the ongoing impact of the war, they needed our help. The owners usually employ a small team of predominantly Thai workers around this time of year to assist with the harvesting of the various crops they grow: apples, nectarines, peaches, kiwis, and pomegranates. Unfortunately, all but a single laborer fled the area at the time of the war, and our supplier was left struggling even to gather the daily supply of eggs from the henhouses. This is where we stepped in. Although most of us didn’t have much experience with farm work, we were undaunted by the task before us and were secretly determined to have as much fun as we could along the way.

Our first trip was just nine days after the war ended. The drive north was a pleasure, as we meandered through the lush greens of Mount Meron, which are such a contrast to the nakedness of the desert terrain south of Jerusalem. Gradually the roads got narrower and rougher, until eventually the road was blocked with tanks, and we had to turn back. That’s when we saw the entrance to Moshav Avivim.

Throughout our work, the Israeli tanks were our companions and were never very far away. We were told that one night during the war, about a hundred soldiers stayed over at the farm. We were shown a photo of a group of them enjoying the Jacuzzi. One night, we were taken out to see the soldiers near the base and were surprised to happen upon a karaoke session in full swing, replete with a man-sized display screen mounted on one of the tanks! Those guys and girls need some way to relax after sleeping nights on end in the tanks. The landscape up there is beautiful, and when the sun shone, it was hard for us to picture the scene just a few weeks previously, when residents cowered in shelters, Katyushas smashed into the land, and the haunting lament of air-raid sirens echoed over the hills.

And yet, as is often the case, the Jewish soul finds a way of coping in the face of crisis. The moshav owner recounted how he and his Thai laborer were actually out working the farm when Katyushas were landing nearby, and most sane people were below in the bomb shelters! But we were told that while many Katyushas fell in the orchards, not a single rocket landed in the residential area. Praise God!

A Day’s Work
In terms of our daily work, one of our two tasks was to harvest the fruit. We harvested nectarines on the first trip and apples on another trip. Much of the fruit had fallen to the ground and was beyond use. The fruit was so ripe at times that you could pick one fruit and hear three more plummeting from the branches and thudding to the ground. OK, perhaps we were not the most professional fruit pickers in the world…thinking about it, we were a rather motley crew, with ages ranging from 18 to 76. But with some cold drinks, a lot of brawn, and many laughs, we were able to not only do a credible job of scouring the orchard, but also do a fairly good job of gathering the eggs (for amateurs).

We did have to watch our step a little in the orchard, as there was evidence of artillery in the ground during the first trip. Indeed, one poor tree had experienced sudden death upon impact, its charred presence reminding us of the Scripture which asks, “Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them?” (Deut.20:19b, NIV). Nevertheless, we managed to fill 44 large crates with the gorgeous red and yellow fruits and wondered whether some of it might “ascend the mount of the LORD” and make it as far as Jerusalem.

Gathering eggs was an experience. Anyone who has ever worked in an industrial-sized henhouse will understand. The first thing that hits you is the stench––and that’s before you’ve even gotten inside! However, the hens themselves are comical, if not rather endearing creatures, and some of us (definitely at the risk of being institutionalized) chatted to the 7,000 “ladies” as we stole the fruits of their labor. Some even sang and quoted Scripture! We threw ourselves into our task in four different henhouses, and each day gathered around 13,000 eggs! Now this may not be very much in agricultural circles, but it seemed like a lot to us.

Building Relationships
Our host and hostess were helpful to a fault. They were so very kind to us and so appreciated that we came to help, to bless, and stand alongside them. We also had the opportunity to meet family members, guests, neighbors, and soldiers, many of whom were encouraged by our presence. These people are of hardy stock, but this latest war really rocked them. Yet they were heartened by the times we spent with them. Even as we were leaving, our hostess was trying to bake a cake for us to take back. They were so touched – and so were we.

Trystan Tregenza
Discovery Group Coordinator

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