We can’t believe we’re writing it, but the year is almost over. Coming here without knowing what to expect was exciting, and scary, but now we can say it was the best decision we’ve ever made. From the moment we got here, everyone welcomed us with open arms and made us feel at home. This year developed us in every aspect. The way this community gave us endless opportunities to bring to life all our ideas and let our imaginations soar. The faith and trust we were given were incredible, and we are so grateful for that.
But with that, we had to deal with many challenges and difficulties. Being here while there was a war in our home was the hardest thing we had to do. We were torn. On one hand, seeing our family and friends under attack without being able to help or grieve with them, we just wanted to go back home. On the other hand, here in Detroit, we were planning solidarity events for Israel, getting as much support as possible. In a way, we felt that we had more of an impact here. We realized that we could help Israel here, more than we could in Israel. We shared the many community events we did and attended with our family and friends in Israel. They said it made them stronger and lifted their spirits. But none of that could have happened without this amazing community. You were there every step of the way, willing to do anything and everything to help Israel! The amount of support and love this community gave us kept us going.
During the year we aimed to bring Israel to this community in the best way we could. Planning events, and activities and making personal connections in Schools, synagogues, Jewish clubs, and more, while bringing the Israeli culture. We feel proud to wake up every day and represent our country at this hard time.
After this amazing journey, we want to thank this community, which is now our Mishpacha, for making us feel like Detroit is our second home.
It’s not a goodbye, it’s see you later (in Israel).
Love and miss you already,
The 23-24 ShinShinim
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