Last Wednesday we decided that we would go to Tel Aviv (hour and ten minutes away) to investigate a clinic that had advertised vaccinations for foreigners such as ourselves. I belong to several FB groups based here in Isr so I consulted with them for specifics of where to park, what to look for, any caveats, etc.
I plugged my phone into our Kangoo (van) to navigate us there. The theme from the A Team began to play over the vehicle’s speakers and we laughed saying that it was a perfect soundtrack for our adventure!
We made it to Herziliya (outside Tel Aviv) and found parking (miraculous). We walked to the clinic and everything was just as the FB group had described. (Thank you community sourcing!) We found the information area and was directed to Lyla. Lyla was no-nonsense. I smiled through my mask and asked her about the vaccinations. She just shook her head no. Thinking she hadn’t understood me, I repeated myself. She again shook her head no and said, “Only 2nd jabs today. After that…finished.”
I guess I was in disbelief because we had come so far and the tent was right there, surely the Wizard would grant us our wish! But no. Lyla said that today was the last day for vaccinations at their location. There would be no shots for us there today or ever.
John and I looked at each other and sighed. Well…I didn’t want to waste the day out so I suggested that we walk to the nearby square to see what was around. We found a few restaurants, but it was only 10:30 am. We stopped at a busy bakery and got a couple pastries before heading to a nearby national park.
Once there, we realized that neither of us had our park pass on our phone. GAH! Taking another deep breath we walked around the perimeter of the park and found a scenic overlook in which to eat our almond croissants.
As we peered into the Mediterranean, a friend called. He’s an exec for an association within Israel. He asked if we were successful at getting the vaccine. John said no. Our friend then suggested that we head to a place called Ichilov which was nearby. There, they are definitely vaccinating foreigners.
We picked up our trash, got in the car, breathed a prayer and took off. This clinic was more in the heart of Tel Aviv which meant the area was quite crowded. John dropped me off at the info booth while he went searching for parking. Once inside, I asked directions from a man who just pointed down the hallway and then indicated right. Right where? I’m not sure.
John arrived and we made our way to the area as the man had indicated. Huzzah! Once there, we went through the same routine. We showed the lady our passports and she looked at our visa. She shook her head no and said, “only diplomats.”
“But we’re very diplomatic!” I pleaded. She was unmoved. No go.
She then handed us a paper with an address for yet another place to get the vaccine. This one said, “migrants, foreigners, asylum seekers.” We thanked her and took the paper with us.
Since finding parking was so hard, we decided to Uber to the next location just a couple miles away. We couldn’t get the app to work so we just hailed a taxi driver nearby. He was old, cranky and as we would soon discover seeing-impaired. His meter was “broken” as well. We were already in the taxi though so we gave him the directions to the location.
We are pretty used to crazy drivers, but he actually was going for a top slot in our overseas experiences. He just drove completely unphased when large, fast-approaching objects appeared. Thankfully, we arrived quite jostled, but unscathed.
We found the vaccination tent in the middle of a parking lot in a refugee neighborhood. We paid the taxi and got in line. The young woman greeted us in brilliant English, looked at our passports and told us no. She said that she’s not allowed to give shots to those with visas like ours. Only refugees and asylum seekers.
Noooooooooooo! We pleaded, “But we’re foreigners, too! No one will take us!” She sympathized but said that we were not in either category, therefore not allowed.
3 strikes. We were out.
We ordered a taxi to take us back to the second clinic. We walked passed a McDonald’s and decided to pick up lunch. We sat in the basement, in our Kangoo, eating our food, completely dejected. Finally, after a bit of protein and some encouragement to each other we laughed at the insanity of it all and decided to head back to Haifa. The A Team theme began to play again. Sorry, Hannibal. Our plan did NOT come together.
Traffic was still moving as it wasn’t rush hour, so we made it back in good time. We were cleaning out the vehicle when John asked for his glasses. (He had traded them out with his prescription sunglasses during the day.) I looked for them in my purse, but they weren’t there. We searched the whole car. His cool, hipster, Warby glasses were gone.
Now the day was complete! I felt sick. I had put them in my purse at the beginning of the day. Where could they be?! I had no recollection of anything happening to them. They were gone.
We went upstairs to our apartment and tried to think what to do next. He had to have glasses. He had his old pair, but his prescription has changed. They’d do for now, but then what?
We soon found out. The airport in Israel is still shut down. No one could carry anything in for us and mailing a pair would invoke a customs tax. So, John went to a local optometrist where he pledged a kidney and firstborn and in trade received (or rather WILL receive in 7-10 business days) a new pair of glasses.
Some days just go like that–days that cause angst, frustration, anger and exasperation. (And if you’re with someone you get double the feelings!) But Jesus is still there…bringing peace to chaos and grace in difficulty if I’ll just pause long enough to recognize it.
We still don’t have answers for our way forward in all of this, but we will see what each day brings.
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life,” Philippians 4:6,7.
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