שלום!!
I'm in Israel!! And I seriously can't believe it. It's insane, I thought this day would never come and now I've already been here a week!
I first want to start off with this crazy story that happened to me right when I arrived.
After hauling out my luggage from the taxi that took me to my brother and sister-in-law's apartment in Jerusalem, I realized that I didn't have my most important piece of luggage; my backpack.
The backpack that held my passport, ID, cash, credit cards, jewelry, tablet, iPod, diary, inhaler, glasses and
At first I wouldnt believe it. I checked the taxi frantically as I was whispering to myself, "no, no, no."
I tried to remain calm, and decided to deal with this information after I dragged my 4 peices of luggage up the five flights of stairs. (with the help of my amazing brother)
I sat down on their couch, took a few deep breaths, and tried to think clearly. Did I leave it by the baggage claim? Did I put it down by the taxi pickup station, and was it now stolen? Maybe the airport even blew it up! (They do that to unclaimed bags apparently.)
My sister-in-law is fluent in Hebrew so she called the airport and told them that I left a backpack there, and they looked all over but couldn't find anything. When I heard this, my heart sank a little.
They said that we should call back on Sunday, when the lost and found was open, and try again.
As I heard that, I told myself that everything was going to be okay, I just had to remain positive, and have faith in G-d that He would return it back to me.
This was my first test of Israel, and I was extremely determined to pass it.
I really tried to not think about it over Shabbos, there was nothing I could really even do anyways. I did recite this posuk that one says when they lose something a billion times. And I told people to daven for me.
I figured that really the only possible way to get it back was to beg G-d to let it be in the Lost and Found, even though realistically, it wasn't going to be there.
I called my mom, and she said that on Sunday, I must go down there and retrieve it. I loved how she was so confident that it would be there, it gave me more hope.
So on Sunday, my sister-in-law and I did exactly that. We took a Sheirut down to Ben Gurion, (which was actually one of the most hilarious experiences I've ever had) and we weren't going to leave until I had it back. (Even though in the back of our heads we figured it was most probably not going to be there.) I kept trying to think positive thoughts, I promised G-d I would give tzedaka, and I kept reciting the posuk.
After waiting a couple hours, trying to find the Lost and Found, and trying to get hold of the people running it (it was pretty complicated let me tell u), a pretty woman dressed in a suit and heels came out and started to speak to my sis-in-law. I couldn't understand a word of course, so I kept reciting the posuk.
The woman then left, and my sis told me that they found something! You should've seen my face. I basically cried as I bear hugged her lol.
I didn't want to get my hopes up just in case it wasn't the right one, so I tried to be calm again, and kept on saying the posuk.
A little while later, the woman came back out and said that I needed some sort of identification to go see the bag, but we explained that both my passport and ID were in the bag! The problem was that legally they couldn't touch the bag without the owners permission, so no one knew what to do.
She went back inside, and told us she would try to figure it out.
I kept on saying that posuk lol.
A while later, she came out again with my passport. When I saw my picture in there, I knew for sure that my backpack was there! Not gonna lie, that was probably one of the happiest moments of my life haha.
She then escorted me inside the baggage claim area to the info desk, and ta da! My bag was right behind the counter, and my wallet inside a safe.
I was smiling from ear to ear as I walked out with my 15 pound backpack on my back.
YAY!!
I really wanted to share this hashgacha pratis (divine intervention) story for two reasons:
1) to show that this honestly would only happen in Israel, I was here for what, 3 days and i already experienced a miracle!
And 2) to make a kiddish Hashem. I don't know why this had to happen to me, maybe to teach me to be more careful of my things, or to make me really appreciate what I have (you really don't know what you have until it's gone!) but I know that this was all in His hands. Realistically speaking, someone should've stolen it. It was unclaimed for a couple days, and filled with expensive things. But thanks to everyone who davened for it, and thanks to G-d, I was able to get it back.
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Now, on a lighter note, let me show you my airport/plane outfit! I wanted to wear something cute because I didn't want to feel shlumpy, especially since I was most probably going to be depressed from leaving my family, and wearing something cute would make me feel better. But I also wanted to be really comfy, it is a 14 hour flight!
So I chose a stretchy black fully tzniut dress, with a black and white flannel tied around the waist, black footless tights, and my bright yellow sperrys.
Dress: WukoGals
Flannel: Forever21
Footless Tights: Target
Shoes: Sperry
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Last but not least, I want to show you guys two packing tips I used that could really help.
1) If you're packing makeup compacts, or pallets that could crack, I recommend putting some cotton pads in them for extra padding.
2) If you're packing bottles of cream or face wash or something, individually package them in a plastic bag. You never know, they could open on the plane because of the air pressure, and the you'd be left with a sticky mess.
That's it for now guys!
Hope you enjoyed.
XOXO, Z