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I'm a Chabad shlucha in a 3rd world country- AMA
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 1:13 am
amother [ Azalea ] wrote:
What's one of your most successful kiruv stories?

Truthfully I can't think of any major mind-blowing success stories.
Every mitzva done is a success.
One short story of Hashgocha Protis is that we were in NY (got stuck there for a few months when the airport closed due to Covid) and I heard a speaker there who told a story about a man who was very lonely and couldn't get out much because of COVID lockdown and one night he was on the computer and saw online that it was the first night of Pesach. He wasn't religious but felt like he had to do something for Pesach, even though he hadn't prepared and didn't have any matza. So he ate 3 rice cakes and drank 4 cups of wine and said Ma Nishtana, and he told his rabbi (the speaker) later that he felt like "Someone" was listening to and accepted his Seder. I told over this story at an event for women, and said that we can learn from this man that we don't have to be perfect, we just have to try to connect to Hashem and do mitzvos as well as we can, and Hashem is paying attention and appreciates it. Later 1 attendant told me she wasn't planning to make a Seder this pesach. She is intermarried and usually takes her kids to her parents for a Seder, but they are isolating due to Covid and she wouldn't make one herself, but after hearing this story she decided to do it. She sent me beautiful pictures of the set table with matza and hagados. I really felt then like my words and choices were being lead by Hashem.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 1:14 am
exhausted wrote:
Fellow Shlucha here who lives in a remote first world country. I am so proud of you and your attitude!!

Hatzlacha in your shlichus!
I strongly relate to your user name! 😉
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 1:16 am
amother [ Navyblue ] wrote:
Ok, let’s stop.
But , please OP, one thing I’m going to tell you. We don’t like to be called 3rd world country. Emerging economy is a nicer/ updated term.


Ok, good to know. Thanks for the tip! Is it also called emerging water supply when the city water system doesn't run so smoothly? Wink
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amother
Starflower


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 5:11 am
OP, I'm really interested in how you do shechita. We import meat but with shipping disruptions etc it can be a real pain. A shochet might be easier to import. How do you process and package it?

(Shlucha in emerged economy country, but a pretty remote place)
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 9:28 am
amother [ Starflower ] wrote:
OP, I'm really interested in how you do shechita. We import meat but with shipping disruptions etc it can be a real pain. A shochet might be easier to import. How do you process and package it?

(Shlucha in emerged economy country, but a pretty remote place)


Basically someone in our community owns a large supermarket, and they sell the kosher meat there. So whenever the meat supply is almost out we hire a shochet to come and rent the use of a shlachthoiz overnight. The shochet and my husband go there on a Sunday night and he shechts 30 cows. Then in the morning they bring it to the back end of the supermarket for salting, soaking, packing and sealing under my husband's constant supervision. The whole process takes about 4 days. (The whole back end of the cow is sold to non jews in case you were wondering)
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amother
Azalea


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 10:45 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Basically someone in our community owns a large supermarket, and they sell the kosher meat there. So whenever the meat supply is almost out we hire a shochet to come and rent the use of a shlachthoiz overnight. The shochet and my husband go there on a Sunday night and he shechts 30 cows. Then in the morning they bring it to the back end of the supermarket for salting, soaking, packing and sealing under my husband's constant supervision. The whole process takes about 4 days. (The whole back end of the cow is sold to non jews in case you were wondering)

At least your meat is very fresh! What about cheese?
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 12:19 pm
amother [ Azalea ] wrote:
At least your meat is very fresh! What about cheese?

Cheese is something we bring when we travel, or if someone offers we ask them to bring. We buy it in 5 lb blocks and freeze it.
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geemum




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 1:07 pm
This is a fascinating AMA thread. Thank you OP for sharing your successes and challenges with us. We have visited several chabad houses / shuls / restaurants around the world over the years and we are always grateful and in awe of the shluchim. It's great to know that we are not a "tirchah" or distraction for you. In future we will know to offer to bring supplies before our trip.

How many freezers do you have?
How many languages do you and your husband speak collectively?
Which is the most challenging yom tov for you?
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amother
Navyblue


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 1:16 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Ok, good to know. Thanks for the tip! Is it also called emerging water supply when the city water system doesn't run so smoothly? Wink

Lol. I think you found yourself the second worst place of South America and you are in the upper class place... have you travelled around South America?
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 3:25 pm
geemum wrote:
This is a fascinating AMA thread. Thank you OP for sharing your successes and challenges with us. We have visited several chabad houses / shuls / restaurants around the world over the years and we are always grateful and in awe of the shluchim. It's great to know that we are not a "tirchah" or distraction for you. In future we will know to offer to bring supplies before our trip.

How many freezers do you have?
How many languages do you and your husband speak collectively?
Which is the most challenging yom tov for you?


Thanks for the offer! I hope you stop by us one day! (I get that that's little hard to arrange without knowing where Wink )

So we actually have use of 4 freezers and 2 on top of fridge freezers. That's because we have 3 kitchens. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that our shul building was built by the community years ago, with an apartment for the potential rabbi. So in our apartment we have a fleishig kitchen with a fridge and half freezer, then there is a kitchen on the floor with our Hebrew school classrooms, that is totally dairy, and there is another fridge and freezer there, and then on the bottom floor with the shul there is a shul kitchen where we prepare the kidush and yomtov meals, events, etc., and that has 2 fridges and 3.5 freezers.
All these have extra room most of the time, and are overstuffed around yomim tovim.

We both speak the same 4 languages; English, Hebrew, Spanish and Yidish.

Most challenging holiday... Maybe Rosh Hashana? With 4 meals to cook for a lot of people, long davenings and I do a kids program during shul so I have to squeeze davening in either before or after, which isn't so easy with 3 very young kids.
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 3:28 pm
amother [ Navyblue ] wrote:
Lol. I think you found yourself the second worst place of South America and you are in the upper class place... have you travelled around South America?


Second worst meaning after Venezuela? Maybe. It's an amazing place for shlichus.

We haven't traveled around South America, not even much around our country. My husband has been to Argentina, but that's it.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 3:35 pm
I just want to say that this is one of the best AMA threads I have read in a long time. You are really, truly inspiring!

I am absolutely amazed at your sacrifice and dedication. May you go from strength to strength.
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amother
Steelblue


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 3:54 pm
OP, I am amazed at what you do. Kol hakovod!

My daughter went to school this year in Israel with a girl whose parents were doing shlichus in Venezuela. Is that your plan as well?

Are you originally from a very Jewish area? Was it a big culture shock for you? Did you speak Spanish before you moved there?
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Oct 10 2021, 5:20 pm
amother [ Steelblue ] wrote:
OP, I am amazed at what you do. Kol hakovod!

My daughter went to school this year in Israel with a girl whose parents were doing shlichus in Venezuela. Is that your plan as well?

Are you originally from a very Jewish area? Was it a big culture shock for you? Did you speak Spanish before you moved there?


Yes im yirtze Hashem, when the kids are much older.
I'm not from a very Jewish area.
Definitely took some getting used to.
No I didn't speak Spanish before.
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amother
Hyssop


 

Post Mon, Oct 25 2021, 10:38 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
I found it from googling recipes.
We don't go to my parents very often. We go a little more frequently to my in laws because they live in NY, and there are more reasons to go there. I bump into friends in crown heights when we go.
At our home Shabbos meals we usually invite a couple families at a time, so typically like 10 people. Shabbos day the kidush is always a full meal, for that we have like 30 people.


I havent read the entire thread, so forgive me if this was answered.

Who prepares the meal for 30 people, and what do you serve?
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amother
Silver


 

Post Mon, Oct 25 2021, 12:13 pm
For the people with improper conversions, is there any way to help facilitate a proper conversion?

It seems sad to me that people might have a genuine interest and commitment to living a Jewish life but are taken advantage of by unscrupulous rabbis and then not considered Jewish.
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