The Galilee Branch has a twig and we call it the Haifa Group. When we arrived in Israel, Merrill and Nanette Beckstead had been nurturing some Filipina sisters they came across while Merrill was working at the Technion. Merrill is a rocket scientist—really, he is. Nanette is a master at nurturing all she comes in contact with. They had so much fun being in Israel, they wondered if it would be possible to be there as service volunteers. They found a way and ultimately spent two years in Haifa nurturing this small group of Filipina sisters and one lone brother who later moved to Tel Aviv. The Beckstead’s completed their work in November 2010 and since then we have been nurturing the Haifa Group. We look forward to it every week, even though our Sabbath day begins at 7 am and ends at 10 pm. We welcome the Galilee Branch in Tiberias at 9:30 am. Melanie teaches a Spanish/English session for 10 minutes before church meetings start. (Half of our Branch is Spanish). She is trying to learn Spanish and they are learning English. We have a regular 3-hour block of church meetings, then a snack time before they board the van home to Nazareth. We grab a sandwich and lie down to rest for about 45 minutes. Yes! We actually lie down and rest because then we get up and drive an hour to Haifa to pick up the Filipinas and have 90 minutes of meetings, then deliver them to their employers and drive on back to Tiberias. Sometimes we think we are too old to do this, but we are being blessed and look forward to their excitement about being together and sharing ideas about the gospel.
The Filipinas we know are LDS and are mothers who have come to Israel as full-time caregivers to elderly Israeli’s some of whom are Holocaust survivors. The economic situation in the Phillipines is very dire and to educate their children and give them a better life, the mothers choose to come for 5 years. They earn money that they send back to their families in the Phillipines. It is our understanding that they are to be allowed 1 day off a week, however, we never see them get that on a regular basis. They are at the beck and call of elderly people who are sometimes very frightened of being alone and who don’t like new caregivers who serve as relievers for the regular caregivers. The Filipina sisters long to have the influence of the church in their lives as they have been very active in their native lands so it has been wonderful to see them enjoy preparing lessons and saying prayers. In the past they were too shy to participate, but are now in full swing of teaching and learning. Especially sweet is how grateful they are about partaking of the Sacrament. Another of their favorite things is talking to their family over SKYPE. There are usually challenges with that, however, like computers that don’t work or too weak a band-width to receive, or not enough money to pay for a internet service. As they speak of their difficulties with daily challenges of meeting the needs of their employers, their concern about their families in their absence, the little money that they get which might be going to where they want it to, it wrenches our hearts to know of the huge sacrifices they are making.
However, we are all taking joy in our being together. We have a wonderful spot to meet. It is a conference room in the Old Colony Hotel in the Germantown part of Haifa. It has been converted from an old meat locker in the basement of the building. Sounds funny, but it is very comfortable. And history repeats itself. It is right in front of the original building that was a mission home in the 1880’s. More about that another time.
