During our “Outside the Frame” session last night, many seniors spoke about how grateful they are for the opportunity to experience Tivnu and Portland this week. We took this spirit into our work today, braving the cold and snow to learn from our hosts and contribute to the community. Crew Alef headed off to Agape Village where teams are constructing a community of small houses for houseless people in the area. The group learned to use power saws, to build sawhorses, to pull nails out of wood safely, and to install a window. One of Agape’s current residents built us a great fire to keep us warm as we worked. Crew Bet volunteered with Habitat for Humanity today and returned to the water drainage project at a family’s home. The crew did an amazing job of digging through very tough ground surfaces to expand the trench and backyard well. The results of the crew’s work will help create an effective, environmentally sound system of draining excess water at this home. A few Bet crew members also split off and completed a project at another Habitat for Humanity site, carrying wood, caulking, and helping with other tasks.

After our service projects, we visited the Portland Japanese Garden for a short hike and beautiful views, followed by downtime at the hotel.  Tonight, we enjoyed a night at Powell’s Books, browsing the incredible book selection and visiting the coffee shop.  A few people found Voodoo Doughnut a few blocks away and bought some of the city’s best, unique doughnuts.  Time is going quickly, and we are preparing for our last service day tomorrow.