Greetings and salutations!

Let me bring you up to speed. My name is Wayne Campbell. I live in Aurora, Illinois. I've had plenty of Joe Jobs; nothing I'd consider a career. Let me put it this way - I have an extensive collection of name tags and hair nets. :0)

Ok, all references to Wayne's World aside, I do have some fairly significant updates to post, so let's get to it:

Of Events in Israel

As some of you are aware, I was fortunate enough to appear on the Israeli version of Hell's Kitchen. The episode finally aired and I was happy to receive several calls from friends of mine who saw me on TV. Somewhat unfortunately, this happened while I was spending a couple days in the hospital here in Kfar Saba following an incident on a train. While I won't go into details of that incident here, I will say that I am fine and there is no cause for concern. The downside of my hospitalization was a $2500 bill (thankfully I was able to get almost half that amount back) but the upside is that this occurrence has aided me a great deal in my current effort - leaving the country.

Yes, you read that right, I am leaving Israel after eight months. I'll leave a detailed explanation for why this is happening to future posts and personal conversations, but I'll just say that there were a number of considerable issues, personal and practical, that factored into this difficult decision. The most important thing I can say is what I try to live by consistently - and that is that I have no regrets.

On a more positive note, I was able to spend the Passover holiday with my boss Larry, his family, and their friends out at Moshav Shorashim. Northern Israel is tremendously beautiful country and I had a fantastic time sharing this important holiday with a bunch of very hospitable people so I value that experience a great deal. Following the holiday I was thrilled to be visited by a very close friend of mine from Japan and, looking forward, am I very excited about celebrating Israel's Independence in Jerusalem before I leave - a fitting way to end my present time here I think.

I was also very happy to learn of a historic development here in Israel. Following 15 years of legal and social debate, last week Israel's highest court ruled that Messianic Jews are now allowed to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return as long as they have one Jewish parent. This comes as great news to the Messianic communities here which I have observed.

Of What Comes Next

I don't want to be too candid regarding my future plans at the moment, but I can tell you that I will be leaving Israel shortly. I will spend a few days visiting some close friends in Zurich before returning home to Canada. Though it's hard to stay positive about the future in light of all the current troubles, I am simultaneous excited and uncertain about what lies ahead.

With Hope,
Joseph