Around Bethlehem

I went on a wonderful tour of sites around Bethlehem. The landscape is incredible!! These pictures are of Mar Saba Monastery, which is a Greek Orthodox Monastery. You just come upon it and it is built so that it looks out onto the wadi. It was a wonderful tour, although women were not allowed to go in, the grounds are beautiful.

Checkpoints

I have just gone thru a checkpoint for the third day in a row to leave the West Bank, and it is always interesting. You just never know what to expect. Saturday morning I was riding with a friend, and we debated which checkpoint to use. One is a much prettier drive, but as we had a full day ahead of us, we decided to go thru the closest one. We drove up and you have to stop your car maybe 20 to 30 yards away, get out, and walk to the booth where the soldiers are to give them your passport. They said that I could not go thru that checkpoint. My friend, who is not shy, reminded them that according to the law, internationals are allowed to leave the West Bank at any time. They said that I could leave, just not thru that checkpoint. I would need to go thru the one that you walk thru. She could drive and meet me on the other side. Rather than do that, we drove to the one that we thought about going thru in the first place and were waved right thru, without even having to come to a complete stop. Sunday afternoon I went in to Jerusalem thru the one you walk thru. I took a cab to the checkpoint. I am not a great estimater of distances, but you have to walk about 25 yards in what I would call a "corral". It is just narrow enough that 2 people cannot walk side by side. There is a soldier in a booth there and you have to show your passport. Then you go thru a turnstile, and you walk across an asphalt area and back into a single file walkway. Then you go thru an electric turnstile that one by one a few people go thru while the green light is on, and then they stop it so that you cannot turn it. When the green light goes back on, everyone behind you tells you to go! There your bags are checked and you have to walk thru the metal detector. You collect your bags and proceed to a booth where you have to show your passport again. After that, you are done! Sunday was not too bad. There was a tour group in front of us that slowed things down, but we made steady progress. This afternoon, a Danish pastor who is spending some time here and I decided to walk to Tantur, which is an "Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies". Anyway it is right outside of the Wall. The line went slowly today, and when we got to the booth with the soldier, she was putting on mascara. Amazing!! Hopefully this will one day be a land of peace and justice.

Going North

On Saturday, an American friend, who lives and works here took me on a great tour of the northern part of Israel. We went to Haifa, which is on the Mediterranean. We walked around the old part of the city, and then we had lunch at a small cafe right on the water. It was beautiful! Haifa has a lot of history connected with the Crusades. It was one of several entry ports for the Crusaders, and it was a well fortified city--the old walls and gates are beautiful. After lunch, we drove to Ber'am, which is the village where Archbishop Elias Chacour lived as a child. The village was destroyed in 1948, and Chacour wrote about that in his book Blood Brothers. Then we drove up into the Golan Heights near the borders of Lebannon and Syria. We took the road on the eastern side of the Sea of Gallilee, parallel to Jordan, home, stopping off at several places on the way. My friend has lived here for a long time and is so knowledgable about the area, both its recent and biblical history. It was a definately a fun and fascinating day!!

Jerusalem

On Sunday I went to the Lutheran church here in Bethlehem, which is really beautiful. The minister, Mitri Raheb, wrote Bethlehem Besieged: Stories of Hope in Times of Trouble. I read the book just after I arrived here, and it gives a vivid picture of life here in Bethlehem during the turmoil of 2002. After church, I went to Jerusalem. It is so close to Bethlehem geographically, and yet to the Palestinians it must seem like it is worlds away as it is so very difficult for them to go there. After I walked thru the checkpoint, I caught a bus for 4.5 Shekals ($1.20) that took me to the Damascus Gate of the Old City. I just love the Old City!! I went to the Tower of David Museum, which was very interesting. I find it fascinating that this is such a special city for so much of the world, and looking at its history, it has been for thousands of years! I had dinner with two American couples I have met here. We enjoyed walking through the old city, and I easily caught the bus back to the checkpoint in Bethlehem. I look forward to going in again before I leave to go to the holy sites. It is amazing to just think about walking where Jesus and the disciples walked!

O Little Town

I am really enjoying my time here in Bethlehem, and I especially love walking in the old part of the city. The narrow roads and all the sights and sounds of the market are such a treat for the senses! You see the colorful things for sale, smell the spices and bread baking and coffee and chicken roasting, and hear a variety of sounds! It is hard to capture all of it on photos, but I am taking lots of pictures. I hope you enjoy these, that are some of my favorites. I am amazed every day that I have this fabulous opportunity to spend my summer here in this little town where Jesus was born!! I look forward to sharing more pictures when I get home.

Land

Today I went to a beautiful area about 20 minutes south of Bethlehem. Although beautiful, it is an area of conflict. An extended family owns a large piece of land that is surrounded by settlements. The Israelis want the land, and the family has been in and out of court for years in an effort to keep their land. They are not allowed to build structures on it, so they have dug caves out of the hillsides. If the land is not in use, it is evidently easier to confiscate, but when permits for construction are denied, how can it be used? I went with a group of Palestinian young adults to support the family. We met the owner of the land and planted grape vines. It was more of a symobolic gesture of standing in support of the family than in helping further the agricultural use of the land, and it was a wonderful experience for me to meet others and see how this conflict over land affects real people. I hope and pray that this Holy Land will one day be a peaceful land as well.

Children

About 40 children came to the center today for the first day of Summer Camp. They were, of course, precious!! Like children every-where, they have tons of energy! They drew pictures, made Spongebob masks, and played games outside. I taught the older ones one of the games that my students love to play, called Set.

The most exciting thing about the day was the arrival of playground equipment!! A big truck delivered swing sets, sliding boards, and more! We can't wait to get it assembled!! I look forward to sending more news about the kids here in Bethlehem!

Creating Art at Summer Camp

Playground Equipment Arrives