As I sit here in my comfy chair in my room I feel an uncontrollable excitement for my upcoming trip to Budapest. I think back to when my journey with SOS began with a Shabbaton that I attended earlier this year with the Hungarian kids and at first I thought I was going to be treated as a stranger and outcast since I didn’t attend the previous year’s trip but that is not how it went at all. The second I met some of the kids they were so accepting and just full of happiness and wanting of friendship. It made it extremely easy for me to make amazing friends with these amazing people. Over the course of the rest of that Shabbas we laughed, talked, prayed, played and ate together all while enjoying each others company and forming strong long lasting friendships.
Fast forward a couple of months I am still talking with many of the students over at SSG and we are talking about how excited we are to reunite. The bonds that I have formed already are going to last a lifetime and I’m feeling very grateful for those amazing people in my life. I am looking forward to the amazing new experiences to come and can’t wait to contribute in my own special ways. I anticipate an amazing, successful, and exciting trip full of amazing memories and amazing new friendships. I personally find a lot of strength in the Hebrew phrase Achienu that reads as follows:
אַחֵינוּ כָּל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל
הַנְּתוּנִים בְּצָרָה וּבַשִּׁבְיָה,
הָעוֹמְדִים בֵּין בַּיָּם וּבֵין בַּיַּבָּשָׁה,
הַמָּקוֹם יְרַחֵם עֲלֵיהֶם,
וְיוֹצִיאֵם מִצָּרָה לִרְוָחָה, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹרָה, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה,
הַשְׁתָּא בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב.
as it speaks to the brotherhood between the Jewish people and the strength in unity. This is my goal in this upcoming trip: UNITY ~ Avishye
