Breathless in Bethlehem -- May 27, 2006

Whew! I'm finally online! God willing, this will actually go through!

We're here! It's our second night in Bethlehem and we've been running flat-out since we arrived. Or so it seems. Our flights were tiring but without incident. Our first night, at the 7 Arches in Jerusalem (Jeff, there were a lot of guys wearing potholders on their heads; what's that all about?), found us all collapsed in our individual heaps following dinner with Bishop Younan, Russ and Anne Siler.

Friday, we spent much of the day in the village of Jayyous in the northern part of the West Bank. Jayyous is a village of farmers. The fence surrounds Jayyous and farmers must go through the gates only during specified times in order to tend to their farms. Sound simple? It's not. But you'll have to wait to hear more (Sorry! I'm hoping that this internet connection lasts long enough for me to get a little bit of info to you! I'll make it up to you, really!) We visited with three people from the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program, who serve as observers at the gates. They serve in 3 month cycles (this was the 17th such group) and the folks with whom we met just arrived in early May. (BTW, I apologize for this runon paragraph; the program isn't allowing me to insert hard returns!) One from Sweden, one from Switzerland, one from the U.S. (Detroit born), a Maryknoll. Very interesting for a largely Muslim village, like Jayyous, to have two single men and one single woman living together!

We had a wonderful guide who shared his family's story with us and then welcomed us to his family home for a marvelous lunch of local fare (Fresh veggies and OLIVES from his family's farm, fresh chicken from the village; only the rice was imported).

Last night, we had dinner with Bishop Munib and Su'ad Younan and the pastors of the area. Su'ad is charming! Principal of the Helen Keller school in North Jerusalem! (Jeff and Cheryl, you would LOVE her!) (Julianne, Hani sends his warmest greetings to you!) I've decided that Hani, the Lay Evangelist at Beit Sahour, will henceforth be known as "Lay Evangelist and Stand-Up Comedian." We had jokes after dinner and Hani and Russ were the funniest ever! (Sorry, Marty, but you've GOT to work on your timing!) Even Bishop Younan joined in the joke telling! (He has the cutest giggle but don't tell him because the word "cute" might offend him! He is truly a warm and wonderful man!)

Today, we went to visit the Lutheran school at Beit Sahour (two of the first grade girls sang "the Bear went over the mountain") to us and we joined in! The kids start learning English in first grade and German in third grade! Their boys AND girls basketball teams both won the championships in the area - and THREE girls on their football (e.g., soccer) team are stars on the national football team. Their principal is VERY proud of them! We also visited Dar Al-Kalim (House of the Word) School, an AMAZING school (again, Cheryl and Jeff, you would have been fascinated!). We had a LOT of interaction with the kids, which made clear to me that WT REALLY missed out! The kids were at recess (they don't have bells to mark periods the way we did; they have chimes that play songs: Happy Birthday, etc.) when we were getting ready to leave and they absolutely MUGGED for the camera!

Digital cameras are a must here as the kids LOVE to see their photos. BTW, making "bunny ears" over the heads of friends is a universal kid thing! (Roland, Environmental education is one of the main elements of their educational program.) Whew!

At noon, we came back to the International Center here in Bethlehem (a beautiful facility!) to shop at the gift shop (Julia, I got your purses but they were a little on the pricey side - authentic red and black and a real contribution to the economy, however!), then went to lunch (schwarma) at a lovely place in Bethlehem and then went to the RC version of Shepherd's Fields and the Church of the Nativity. (We were thrown out of the Orthodox Church; "yes, leave, quickly" and then the RC church of St. Catherine (Virgin and Martyr, who would not renounce her faith despite the admonitions of her pagan father and was imprisoned, cut into three pieces and buried in three places) because there was to be a funeral.

We went down to the chapel of St. Joseph and saw where St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin (Vulgate), which was kinda fun (I found a doorway that fit my height just right!) We then walked back up hill (ala Oxy big time) to the Center. Rose Kormann, one of our folks, fell last night and broke her ankle! We're talking about making her a t-shirt that reads, "I went all the way to Bethlehem and all I got was a lousy broken ankle.") She was having a tough time this afternoon. It's been unseasonably warm (so we're told). The humidity has been a tad on the high side, so folks are wilting a bit. (Okay, okay, even I am wilting a little bit!) We're in for a couple of cooler days on Sunday and Monday and then it's supposed to exceed 100F on Tuesday and Wednesday, when we go to Hebron. (That means it will be intense both emotionally/intellectually and meteorologically.)

A note about entering Bethlehem...The wall is pronounded, replete with guard towers. And yet, just to the side of the entrance - on the wall itself - is a huge greeting from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism: PEACE BE WITH YOU. This evening, we are to have dinner with the elementary school principals and the superintendent, (once again, Cheryl and Jeff: wish you were here!).

A couple of fun cultural notes...So far, I haven't embarrassed myself (which is to say I've kept my feet on the ground)...we're adjusting to putting toilet paper into a trash can rather than flushing it (but suspending a 40 year habit is tough!). Light switches may go up OR down...depending...I've learned to say "Thank you" and "Let's go" (learned that from the school principal at Dar Al-Kalima when she was trying to get a few boys to straighten up and fly right. Funny thing? "He did it" and "No, HE did it" sound the same in ANY language! (I really loved the kids. They were delightful! It's a great school!)

Hospitality is AMAZING! EVERYWHERE we go, we're offered something to drink (at least!). We went to an olive wood workshop this afternoon and even there we were offered lemonade... Our tour guide today is an official multi-lingual tour guide (Arabic, English, German) and he teaches at Dar Al-Kalima (German); he's also a deacon, so he leads chapel once each week. (The kids have chapel every other day; when not in chapel, they are in reading time.)

Well, I'll close this first entry. I'm sorry it's so long in coming and a bit disjointed. More to come!

Peace, Shalom, Salaam from Bethlehem....Sue