The Sun!!!!!!

This is my best friend at the moment. They call it a water bladder and it is my new favorite thing. It has been FREEZING here for the last few days. You boil water and fill the bladder, and then shove it in your jacket or sleeping bag. As we meet people they continually ask if we brought our cold weather with us. It’s a huge change from the 80-90 degree weather they have been experiencing. The wind was crazy too. Last night was the first night I wasn’t lulled to sleep by the banging of metal car ports and whistling through my window. I guess I got used to it because I woke up this morning at 4am to silence. I couldn’t go back to sleep and the city-wide Muslim call to prayer over the loud speaker didn’t help. But it was actually great. I started reading Matthew and it is already so different. I know where Nazareth is. I know where Capernaum is. I can see Bethlehem from my window. As a friend has told me, the Scriptures are changing from black and white to color.

This is the car we drive around in. It’s a trooper. Hahaha. The driving here is aggressive but also relational. I know that sounds weird but they will literally stop in the middle of the street, if they see someone they know, to say hello. We have to drive through an Israeli checkpoint whenever we drive into Jerusalem. Our license plates are yellow. That means we are allowed to pass in and out of Palestine. The Palestinians have white plates and they are restricted to Palestine only. My heart is being greatly changed by the political climate here; but mostly by the hearts of both the Palestinian and Israeli believers, and their desire for peace.

There is an activity we do at Outdoor Science School with the kids that has found a new place in my heart as I spend time here. So much of what we do there is asking the kids to come out of their comfort zone and try something new. One of those opportunities is a simple one but can be pretty powerful. As they walk along the trails, the Naturalist will invite them to take off their shoes and walk barefoot in the soil. The redwoods are what stand out to me now. The soil is dark brown and moist. It is cool to the touch and contains so many living things.

The land here is so dry. It is rock. Don’t get me wrong, the desert in many places has been miraculouslyturned into usable agriculture but so much of it remains dry and empty. Imagining 40 years in it, as the Israelites endured, creates a new compassion for the wanderers. And I can imagine all the more how miraculous it was to find water breaking through the rocks. When I get home, one of the first things I am going to do is walk through that lush forest and praise God for such blessing.

The sun is back. Its beautiful and warm and wonderful.

(sorry the formatting is so funky)