The Pursuit and Reality

Today is our long day of work and I am hoping that we are able to make a serious impact on the ground on which we are working. Today, all of my energy was focused on a new fire that was built. It was my job to maintain the fire, keep it hot and burning through every wheelbarrow full of debris the group brought me. A consequence of this was several new holes in my shirt, from contact with flying embers, and a small burn on my right wrist. They should provide more fun for story telling than any actual cause for concern. Just as I was getting started with the fire, some of the girls uncovered another cobblestone path which cuts through the back portion of what we've been clearing! This is important because it was believed that all of the paths had already been cleared by previous years work. As they got to work uncovering the path, some other people began uncovering shallowly buried tombstones which had fallen over. The morning got off to a very good start.
I was amazed at the amount of material brought to the fire to be burned, and equally amazed at my team's ability to burn through it all. In fact, by the end of the day, we were burning faster than material could be brought in. I am inspired by the efforts of my classmates. They call out the names on the tombstones as they uncover them and I pray that God hears those names and that they are a blessing.
Tonight we met with the Alumni group for dinner. From the few that I talked to, it seems as though they are finding meaning in this trip. I know that it can be a struggle sometimes to feel as connected as you would like when there are clear examples of people around you who just aren't getting it. At the end of the day however, it is not the choices of others which will have the greatest impact on our experiences, it is how we choose to view each situation. It is for this reason that Mallory and I set out again to find the memorial to the old synagogue. On the way, Dr. McWhirter showed us the memorial to the Warsaw ghetto uprising, which is surprising to find in Wrocław. Although it took some time, we did find the old synagogue memorial. It is tucked away, positioned behind some unattractive residential or commercial building. Seeing the engraved image of what once was and seeing the reality around me, almost brought me to tears. Each day I feel as though the community that once was becomes more and more real, and that the weight of what was lost, or worse yet, stolen, becomes heavier and heavier.