Homecoming

I am packed. We are all packed. We leave today. Rachel will taxi us to the checkpoint. We won't all fit in the car with our stuff so she has to take us 2 at a time. That will begin around 7:30pm. At 8:30pm the shuttle will come pick us up from the Israel side of the checkpoint and drive us to Tel Aviv. It should take us 3 hours to get through security. There might even be a strip search... All the more crazy stories to tell! We leave Tel Aviv at 1:30am and arrive in Brussels 4 hours later. Five hour lay-over. Ten hour flight to Philadelphia. Four hour lay-over in Philly. Six and a half hour flight to San Fransisco. An hour and a half drive to Mount Hermon, home sweet home. Over 30 hours of travel! We are so excited for Char and Drew to be back in the states. And I am so ready to see friends and family. It was harder than I thought to be away from everyone for the holidays. Thanks for following this blog. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed sharing. Can't wait to tell you in person!

Almost time to go...

Today was our last full day here. We thought we would get a lot of packing and cleaning done, since Drew and Char are moving back for good. But it turned into a much lazier day. Which was wonderful. We have been going going going for 2 weeks and the break was much needed! Fadia had us over to her new house for lunch. Her mom had cooked us a Palestinian feast! The house was beautiful. Her father is a contractor and built it himself. It is at risk of being torn down by the Israeli's because it is "too close" to one of their illegal settlements. Ironic. Fadia and her family seem hopeful. They bought the land 10 years ago. It's theirs. And they are going to do whatever it takes to keep it.

Now, we are back at the house, getting a little closer to packing up. And its bitter sweet. I am so ready to come home. I am ready to see family and friends and I know my family is ready for me to be safe and sound in the United States. But its also hard. I love the people I have met. I love this place. There is more I want to see. And someday, I will. I have never thought of myself as a world traveler. And I think its because I don't want to travel just for the sake of seeing EVERYTHING there is to see. But having left my homeland, and seeing what another is like, I realize that the part of traveling that I am so drawn to now is the people. We are all so similar. We are all so different. And stories are meant to be heard. I have heard the hearts of many broken people and I feel responsible to keep listening. God is here. As much as it seems crazy and messed up here, He has shown up in these stories, in these hearts. Its a beautiful mess.

Merry Christmas

People make Christmas special. You'd think being in Bethlehem at Christmas is the best place in the world to be. But to be honest, its nothing special. Tourism has turned this holiday into something flashy and hard to connect to. But don't get me wrong. This has been a WONDERFUL Christmas; just for reasons you wouldn't expect. Drew and Char tag-teamed eggs benedict Middle Eastern style: over pita. Mmmmmmmmm. We had Brady, the volunteer from Canada, Rachel, the director of PAIDIA, and Fadia, a National working at PAIDIA while going to Bethlehem University. We had music playing. Everyone was either chopping or stirring or chatting in the kitchen. After the amazing meal, I got to have a skype date with Andrea, a friend from home. What a blessing! And now we are rounding out the day with an intense game of RISK; that was so fun I didn't even mind being dominated. People make Christmas special. And I think its because we experience God's character so much through each other. Char reminds me of His kindness. Austin reminds me of His justice. Drew reminds me of His joy. Brady reminds me of His good humor. Rachel reminds me of His commitment. Fadia reminds me of His grace. And Andrea reminds me of His faithfulness. And this place reminds me of His peace. My Aunt sent me such a beautiful reminder of God's heart.

Jesus brought all that is needed for peace in our world. He taught us the principles of peace, calling for people to love their neighbors as they love themselves. And as He was leaving this planet, He promised, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you" (John 14:27)

I am blessed. We are blessed. To be a blessing to others. I forget that part sometimes. Merry Christmas. I love you all so much and am so grateful to come home to such amazing people!

Shouldn't it be snowing on christmas?!!!!!

Let me start with this picture. It is the majority of what I saw today.

The sun was blazing today! Very different from the wind storms of our arrival! We got to Bethlehem Manger Square around 11am and waited to be on the front lines where we would get the best view of the Christmas parade of Palestinian scouts. I didn't really know what that meant either...

Before the event got started, the mosque on the square spent the morning giving speeches from the tower. Then a group of about 150 men were let into the square, including most of the police, so they could pray. Friday is a holy day for the muslims and it was interesting to watch the christians unfazed by the sharing of this holy place. That has been the reoccurring fell here in Palestine; peaceful and co-existing.

At about 1pm, the sounds of bagpipes and drums filled the air. Group after group of kids came around the corner sharing their mad beats and bagpipe skills. Who knew Christmas in Bethlehem would have bagpipes!

The nightlife of Bethlehem was much different. I have to admit the crowd wasn't nearly as friendly and to be honest, there were quite a few creepers out. We didn't last very long, but enjoyed the energy. It seemed much more like a birthday party than the low key Christmas celebrations of the States.

As we were leaving, a group of Palestinian University students stopped us. They wanted an interview in English for a class assignment. He asked what we thought of Palestine, of the conflict and of the Bethlehem Christmas celebration. These are always my favorite moments. Getting to chat with the people here has been so encouraging.

And this is just a little something to make you smile. A couple of giggling boys on a donkey. Precious.

Surrounded

There is a wall. A wall that separates Israel from Palestine. A wall that also separates families, businesses and towns. As you walk the wall, you see it has become a palate for artists, for people who don't like what the wall has done to our world; to their world.

Merry Christmas World: From the Ghetto

A country is not only what it does. It is also what it tolerates... -Kurt Tucholsky 1933

"Tear down this wall so Tarek & his family can come home." Families are living separate lives. They have to apply for permits from Israel to go through the checkpoints to visit. They have to apply for permits from Israel to come into Jerusalem to get to the closest hospitals. They have to apply for permits from Israel to be reunited with husbands and wives. But these permits can and are ignored for years.

Many compare this wall to the Berlin Wall. Praying for the day it falls too.



"For He Himself is our PEACE. Who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility."

I love that PAIDIA is doing just this; teaching Palestinian kids how to love, forgive and reconcile.



THE OPPRESSED BECOME THE OPPRESSOR



WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER



FREEDOM NOW

Holocaust Museum

I don't have pictures. I didn't even take my camera. It was an intense experience. The museum is beautiful, if its ok to say that. It is filled with horrible memories of a time some would love to forget. But we can't. Because we can't let it happen again. I have a better understanding, I think, of the Israel psyche. It is terrifying, what happened to the Jews. To imagine how much bigger the Jewish community would have been if this hadn't happened. And they felt so ignored by the world for so long. How are they supposed to trust? Trust that it never happens again. But they will have to. For the conflict to end peacefully here, they will have to find a way to trust, and to reconcile. I know better how to pray now. I know better how to have compassion for both sides. I pray that I never forget this day. I pray that the youth of Israel, who have grown up in oppulence and power in Israel, can connect to their ancestors; can connect to the terror of ethnic cleansing and find a way to protect all humans from experiencing it today or in the future, including the Palestinians.

Masada, the Dead Sea and a CAMEL!!!!!!

Today was outstanding. We woke up extra early and drove to Masada around 5am. This is sunrise over the Dead Sea.

Masada is where Herod built a fortress on the top of a mountain. It was the last stand of the Jews before they fell to the Romans.

We hiked up steep paths and over 890 steps. Yes, to the very top of that mountain. It was intense.

The is a cable car that will take you up and down but we opted for the hike. So worth it!

This is a window from Herod's bedroom. Crazy beautiful!

There is so much to say about Masada but this might be the coolest spot. This is the biggest cistern on the Eastern bluff. Thats Brady, a PAIDIA volunteer from Canada.

They also had some experiential education goin' on too. Which of course made us so proud! Austin is pouring water over a model of how the rainwater was collected and distributed into cisterns around the mountain.

We floated around in the Dead Sea too. So weird. My camera was being weird so I will have to show you pictures of that when I get home.

And last but not least! Char and I rode camels. Officially my favorite animal!