Israel Speaks
Welcome to Israel's capital - Jerusalem.
Today we will talk about volunteering in the Israeli army.
Sar-El is an organization in charge of volunteer activity.
Tiran Attia is the head of that organization.
Finns have also come to the Israeli army as volunteers.
Kalevi Waris has been involved with Sarel already for several years.
I came in 2003 when the United States attacked Iraq.
I felt that I wanted to come here.
It's difficult to say, but I had a burning desire to come here.
I felt that it was the will of God.
I went to the Sar-El office and we talked about it.
They wanted all the volunteers to know English.
They told me previously that I could not come, because I didn't -
speak English.
Eventually, they told me I could come after I learned a bit more Hebrew.
So in 2003 I came here for the first time.
I was in Haifa where we did all kind of small repair work.
The next time was in 2006 when we came to this base.
My heart melted for this base and for this volunteer work in Sar-El.
You feel like you're contributing to Israel by doing all kinds of small -
things, such as fixing antennas and helmets.
In 2006 after the 2nd Lebanon War I was in the North.
We fixed bunkers and other stuff.
I think being around soldiers is the most important thing.
Already in the end of the 1990's I started praying for the army.
And now I am here.
I've been in the army around 8-9 times, I don't remember exactly.
I've been in Israel 43 times.
Here we assemble the painted radio stands.
First they are cleansed and then we tape all the parts -
where paint cannot go. Then they are painted and brought back.
Here they are being assembled.
Here Liisa is cleaning the antennas ready for painting.
There are more of them to be cleansed.
- How is it going? - Well, they are tight.
- But you're doing well.
After the painting they are brought back and put on the shelf -
from where they are assembled.
Here they are painted and assembled.
There we have a box of ready-made antennas.
Others are working with headphones.
- How are you doing? - Great.
They are fixing the headphones -
and putting new screws there.
These are the instructions according to which they are attached.
After a few times they already remember them by heart.
I was here in Batsab 2 years ago also for 3 weeks.
I wanted to come here, because this is light work and I'm a pensioner.
Previously I was also assembling these helmets.
It's great that we can do something with our hands.
When we fixed the antennas last week, -
they were almost like scrap-iron.
After we cleansed them, put new tapes and they were painted, -
they became almost like new.
I think it was amazing.
As our poet Eino Leino said: our Creator has given us different gifts.
I am good at deassembling, even though my husband is a technician.
Eila, on the other hand, assembles them, because it is thorough work.
She has a good eye-sight and she is a sharp person.
She reassembles the parts which I have deassembled.
According to Tiran Attia, the volun- teers have had a positive effect -
on the atmosphere in the army.
In the beginning we were asked why we want to volunteer.
We want to help and stand by the nation of Israel.
We have the same God and we want to serve God and help -
God's chosen people.
I feel the words of Ruth very deeply in my heart.
Your people shall be my people and your God, my God.
Where you go, I will go and where you stay, I will stay.
Where you die, I will die and there I will be buried.
May God punish me if anything but death separates us.
Many have asked why we come here.
We say that we want to bless Israel by the work of our hands.
We have the same God, the Holy one of Israel.
Israel Speaks
Welcome to the Bible teaching series "Israel in God's plan".
Our topic for today is Paul's teaching about the Jews and Greeks.
Gershon Nerel is here with me. Shalom!
Translation: Sonja Mattayev