It’s hard to fathom that week two in Israel/Palestine has
come and gone just as a rainbow appears and disappears. In this past week we
were all able to truly settle into our homes: meal times, communication
patterns and just minute-to-minute interactions have become more or less routine
and comfortable.
Still, this is not to
say that we have established a foolproof way home. Having missed the latest bus
from the Old City of Jerusalem (in the case you ever find yourself privileged
enough to be in Jerusalem, note that this city is not a night owl) after enjoying
an evening with the lovely Jeremy and Anna Fletcher (more on this to come), we
hailed a cab at considerable expense (thank you Jeremy!) to take us from
Jerusalem to Bethlehem. I’m glad to report this greedy taxi driver is certainly
the anomaly here, especially living in the always-surprisingly-friendly Beit
Sahour! Although getting from point A to point B still doesn’t seem
second-nature, we have met some incredible people through our transportation
“dilemmas.” Not least of these is Elias, our ever-faithful driver and clever
jokester; this, although perhaps not the most politically correct, is one of
his favorites: Q: Why are the Muslim prayer calls so loud? A: Because their
God doesn’t hear them! (Now, all you theology buffs out there, I too am
aware Jews, Christians and Muslims all believe in the God of Abraham, but this
is beside the point. **Julie says: This is not funny... :) **) Taylor and I had the pleasure of catching a “service” (basically
a shared taxi) ride from Obama, who changed his name from Osama to display his
enthusiastic love of America and Americans! (He is probably one of Barack
Obama’s biggest fans to date.) Also memorable is a group of Muslim kids and
their mom that crowded around Julie and me on the bus ride from Jerusalem to
Bethlehem. Their kindness to make room on a crowded bus was followed by polite yet
relentless curious questions of us. It is amazing how powerful nonverbal
communication is.
Thankfully for every memory of transportation there is also a
memory of a destination. One of these was meeting with Jeremy, Westmont’s
international missions coordinator and his wife, Anna, who serves as an RD at
Westmont. We met at Jaffa Gate in the Old City and were thankful for Jeremy’s
tour of some of the city’s main attractions to give us first-timers a bit of
orientation; not least, we were also thankful for sharing a meal and honest
conversation together. Weaving through the marketplace bursting with spices,
hookahs, flowy skirts, stuffed and wooden camels, fresh juice bars (grapefruit carrot anyone?), and plenty
of (IMHO) overly zealous shopkeepers (whom Taylor and Julie thoroughly enjoy
interacting with) made us excited to come back and shop. In fact we returned on
Friday afternoon to do just that—or perhaps window shop is more accurate. On
this past Sunday, after attending Immanuel Evangelical Church (where there is a
translator…yippee!) in Bethlehem, we all journeyed to Jerusalem again with
plans to visit one major site. We ended up at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
(more correctly known as the Church of the Resurrection). Monks mystified us with
their chanting as they went from various Stations of the Cross. The church is
massive and filled with intriguing altars, icons, candles, carvings, and even
ladders; I think we all left feeling a bit overwhelmed and ignorant, itching to
read up on the incredible Holy Site before returning.
Another highlight (for the girls at least) was a rooftop BBQ
(with mostly people connected to Musalaha) overlooking the expansive Old City
and its major sites like the Jewish synagogue, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
and the Dome of the Rock in all of their glory. The view is breathtaking; no photo
can do it justice. After having faithfully watched recent Euro Cup soccer games
in their entirety (even when it meant staying up into the early morning hours),
Taylor opted for sleep instead of the BBQ.
On Thursday we introduced our host families to Jeremy and
Anna. Both families were of course very gracious, offering juice, chocolate cake
and open hearts and homes! It was nice for Taylor, Julie, Sophia, and I to all
spend time together at each of the homes; unfortunately this hasn’t been a
regular occurrence thus far.
On Friday Sophia, Julie and I were all thankful to have
finished and submitted our research and Power Point presentations! Taylor was a
trooper doing administrative and other office work; some of the most important
work is not the most glamorous…I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house
of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked (Psalm 84:10).
It would almost be sinful to conclude without a brief note
about the zarup Taylor and my family put together on Saturday. Simply
put, Zarup is meat (we had chicken), whole potatoes, whole onions, and whole
garlic cloves cooked on an iron sheet in a cylindrical oven heated by burning
olive wood, stretching approximately 1.5 meters into a wall, without letting
any smoke escape. Stones and wet sand are used to cover the oven vents. If it
is difficult to imagine it is because we do not have anything comparable in the
US. Let me tell you though, the spiced food comes out tender and uniquely
flavored—sorry to say, the traditional American BBQ grub will always be
inferior to zarup. Mmm, zarkey (delicious) indeed!
Fittingly, Taylor, Julie, Sophia and I met up with Shireen, Ibrahem, Shaddi, and Miriam (relatives, sorry for the botched spelling) at The
Tent restaurant on Sunday night to watch Spain crush Italy 4-0 in the Euro
Cup final. Joyous start, at least for Spain’s fans, to week 3!
While this is hardly a comprehensive picture of our week, we
hope you have enjoyed some of the highlights! Blessings, smiles, and happy journeys
to each one of you!
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