The Trip and the Transition

Word of the Day: Chutzpah (חוצפה)

Pronounced ˈho͝otspə

New Humans:

Nicolas (aka Nick) – a fellow member of the 2025 MSIH class, from France who spent some of his time growing up in KC.

I made it!! Technically I “made it” a while ago, but time feels very weird right now and it is somewhat difficult to keep track of. I don’t want to get too emotional or deep, but saying goodbye felt like the hardest thing I have done in a very long time.. I was definitely crying in the airport, on my first flight, while waiting for my second flight, on my second flight, and well.. I think you kind of get the gist of what I’m saying here. On my first flight, I was sitting next to an incredibly kind woman named Erin who was flying to see family with her husband and three daughters. She is a nurse, who primarily works only as needed, but she came back and worked on the COVID floor when everything started heating up this past year. It was so sweet to trade stories and tell her about my friends and family whom I love some much and I was already deeply missing. I told her about my sister who is a band director. Erin told me her favorite part of music is how all the chaos of instruments warming up, each one in their own little world, suddenly ends when the conductor steps to the podium and lifts their baton. Suddenly you have something beautiful, breathtaking, and magical. She reminded me this is what it looks like when God is writing our story. Alone all the pieces seem to clash and contradict each other, but together they make masterpiece. God met me in my sadness and confusion the entire way.

My long flight was SOOOO long. I only got up one time during this flight because of my hesitancy to inconvenience my seat mates. My mom would say I need to have more Chutzpah (: I think it may be her new favorite word. Chutzpah (חוצפה) is a Yiddish or Hebrew word that means supreme self-confidence, nerve, or gall. While I haven’t experience it yet (I have been in quarantine due to Israeli COVID regulations), many people have informed me of the candor and boldness Israelis have. Chutzpah is what has helped this nation survive and be so successful in many ways.

When I finally reached Tel Aviv, I was pretty nervous. I wasn’t certain I had all the necessary paperwork filled out to go through customs. But God is so faithful when we trust Him. It was simple and painless. I had to get another PCR covid test sample before I left the airport which went smoothly as well. This is where Nick comes into the story. Actually, he has been a part of it much before now, but I will let this be his shining moment of introduction. Nick had arrived 3 days before me and was very prepared. Nick had already negotiated a taxi before his arrival and had all his quarantine arrangements figured out. His taxi driver, Yaakov, just happened to speak French, which was perfect for Nick. To my astonishment, Nick offered to arrange for Yaakov to pick me up upon my arrival as well. I am so thankful for Nick’s graciousness, kindness, and generosity to take the time to do this! He also sent me very detailed and helpful instructions for how to navigate the airport once I arrived, and again, wow, this played a huge role in how smooth my arrival was. Praise the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness to provide Nick as a friend before I even knew I needed it! (Although I haven’t met Nick yet in person, I really hope we will remain friends after we officially meet) Nick got out of quarantine/isolation before I arrived, but he made sure my key was in the box before he left and that I had all the details I needed to get into my room. I arrived on Shabbat, so it would have been very difficult to contact someone if all the pieces were not in place prior to my arrival.

Yaakov, the taxi driver, was very sweet and helpful. He made sure I was able to get into the building and my room and he even helped me carry all my luggage directly into my room. I was incredible grateful and tired by this point. It was around 7:00pm when I arrived, and I’m fairly certain I was asleep within 15 minutes. I’m a little behind on my story, but as you can see, God has provided in incredible ways up to this point. And let me tell you, He has only continued to do so abundantly more!