Sderot 2nd Trip

On Thursday August 21st, I was invited to go to Sderot again with the Under His Wings Team. Under His Wings (UHW) is Christian Friends of Israel's outreach to victims of terror. Because CFI receives so many calls from Sderot for help, UHW strives to go at least every other week. In between trips, interviews with victims may be conducted in Jerusalem. Many Sderot residents like to do a one day travel just to get out the tension for a few hours. Sderot is the town that has had over 7000 kassam rockets fired towards it from the very close Gaza Strip. At the Sderot Police Station, they actually have to tag and record each kassam that has fallen. Here are three of the young ladies that I traveled with to Sderot standing with the remains of the kassams.

In Israel, the date format is day-month-year. So this is kassam was shot at August 11th, 2008.

Here is one shot two days earlier on August 9th.

It was good to see kids outside playing during the current "cease fire". What a unique playground. Kids playing normally but if the siren sounds "Code Red", they would run to cement caterpillar tunnels for protection. Only in Sderot. It is common for Israel to have bomb shelters at their playgrounds in town close to the borders. However, at Sderot, when the siren sounds, you only have 15 seconds, so there would not be any time for a door, just the opening in the caterpillar. What an unfortunate way for children to grow up.

Can parents really relax with their children at the playground?

Outside of daily terror attacks from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Sderot is a quiet little town in the desert. Only one kilometer from northern Gaza and a few kilometers southeast of Ashkelon.

Buses even run to Sderot.

Sderot Police Station.

Front entrance to the Police Station.

Beautiful bouganvillea just across the street at an apartment complex.

A monument of kassam rockets. Only in Sderot.

Sderot's Fire Station adjacent to the Police Station.

This is one of the victims that we visited. Here he is holding the scraps of the kassam that struck his house. Not your normal souvenir.

We had another visit with this young, single mother of six children (one was at kindergarten). You can tell by their ages that most of these young children have never experienced "growing up" without kassam rockets. It has to wear on them.

We took a lunch break for schwarma and falafel in the center of Sderot.

Behind the fire station is the trauma unit. Sderot does not have a hospital. During attacks, victims come here for treatment.

No one was here today during the "cease fire". The history of "cease fires" is when they are over, the shooting will continue heavier and more frequent than before. It never fails.

8-10 beds maximum.

Sderot's combination bus stop and bomb shelters. You wait for the bus, then if the siren sounds, go inside. We also saw them reinforcing the roof of one of the schools today with more concrete.

These young kids posed for me. The parents have to trust that these "big brothers" know exactly what to do if the siren goes off.

We also made one visit to Netiv HaAsara. Netiv HaAsara is a very small community right next to Gaza. Kassams have also landed there frequently. This is the fence around northern Gaza by Netiv HaAsara. You can see the IDF lookout tower over the fence.

The Erez Crossing is the northern border crossing into Gaza. When trouble happens, which is frequently, this is one of the first crossings be closed.

Erez Crossing Building looks more like an airport terminal.

On the way home, we passed a field full of sheep and watermelons. If you zoom in, all the little dots are watermelons growing. There are plenty of those in Israel.

This Wednesday, August 28th, I will be flying back to Texas and Oklahoma for a few weeks vacation. My return flight to Israel for my second year of serving the Lord will be Sept 23rd. So, just like me, the blog will be going into semi-retirement for a weeks until I return.