Tiger Athletic Missions Experience Blog


Day 6 Blog
Robby Dooley
Junior (Bossier City, Louisiana)
Monday, May 21, 2018

The first five days in Israel have been fun and it has been an amazing experience and a great time with my brothers.
 
After breakfast on Monday morning, we met our tour guide, who from his personal perspective as a Jew, gave us a history lesson on the politics in Israel and the present state of affairs between the Jews and the Palestinians.  We discussed the United States' recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital city and the move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem. 
 
After our meeting we loaded the bus to go to the Kibbutz. Once we got to the Kibbutz, we first visited a local chocolate factory and learned how the chocolate is made and shipped.  Once we left the factory, we ate at the community cafeteria and then toured the Kibbutz. The Kibbutz is basically an isolated community within the country of Israel, which its people are very dependent and rely on each other to keep their community strong. In the community, no person is bigger than the other and they have a majority vote rule in order to decide what they are going to do in different situations. They also provide jobs for each member of the Kibbutz. As far as getting around everyone has a bike or they share a car.  The elderly community members use golf carts for transportation.  The children ride their bikes to school.  The Kibbutz also has a small university for the people of the community.
 
After our Kibbutz tour, it was time for our first international basketball game competition. We loaded up the bus and took a two-hour drive to the Gym in Netanya near Tel Aviv. Being able to play against people overseas was a great experience.  It was fun to just sit and watch how sports can bring people together and compete on the same court. It was a little weird hearing them speak Hebrew on the court and having no idea what they are saying or who they are talking to.  The game environment was a little confusing, but overall we had a great time. Our Texas Tigers won the game 84-64. 
 
I'm ready to see what the Lord has in store for us tomorrow and the rest of our trip!