These are the wonderful sisters that Kent and I take to and from church each Saturday. From left to right: Svetlana Birliba [Moldova, Romania]; Arceli Espiritu [Philippines]; Kessy Caralipio [Philippines]; Miriam Griell [Austria]
Let me tell something about these amazing women. Svetlana is a single mom who has raised a son. She moved to Jerusalem so that she could earn money to send him on a mission and now to pay for his college education in the states. She cleans houses for 2 different families in order to make what little money she can.
Arceli is a mother of 3 and a new grandmother. She has lived here for 6 or 7 years as a caretaker. She is helping her husband put their children through college. They all live in the Philippines. If she is lucky enough to be able to save up money, she gets to go home and visit for a month, once a year. She currently lives with the man she takes care of but also takes care of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren as needed.
Kessy is a single sister who is working here to help put her cousin through school. Her family also lives in the Philippines. She lived here in Jerusalem for 2 years before we found her. Now she can come to church on Saturdays.
Miriam is here working with handicapped children at a school run by nuns. She lives and eats with the children and will be here until about June.
All of these sisters have no transportation but taxi or public. There is no public transportation on Saturdays.
What a sacrifice these sisters make for their families and for the church. Their only contact with members is on Saturday when they come to church. Some Saturdays they can't get here because of their work requirements. Gives new meaning to attending church doesn't it??
This cute man is a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor. His name is Elias Feinzelberg. His caregiver is our friend, Arceli. That is how we "discovered" him. He came and gave our Forum address a few weeks ago. His story is amazing. His entire family was killed in the Ghettos or concentration camps. He survived NINE concentration camps and other unimaginable circumstances. He loves the students and he loves to chat. What a great addition he has been to our program. :) The people standing in the background are some of his family members. You can see part of Arceli behind Kent's head/
So glad you rediscovered "Abba". Marie visit taught Arceli during our year in Jerusalem and became good friends with Abba with whom she spoke Spanish. Marie then arranged to have Abba come and speak to the students all three semesters. It was one of their favorite presentations.
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember hearing about that. We are glad we rediscovered Abba!
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