Getting Settled

I know... it is high time I write a post! It is always easier for me to write about new things... places I've gone, etc, than about an experience that feels more "normal." I guess that's the nature of an adventure blog. I have had a wonderful month of homecomings, which have in fact felt pretty normal... a WONDERFUL thing! I am now back in Bradford. Although this month has involved plenty of travel, they have been comfortable, getting settled in places I know with people I know.

I feel really blessed to have friends around, work to do, and a great place to stay. Here are some pictures from the last month.

Deb, Katrina and I went to Arundel Mills Mall in MD. We found these CRAZY fluorescent patent leather shoes there. I'm sure they'll be all the rage soon -- we had a great time playing around in them.

After doing a pretty good workout we decided to go to a local restaurant for a huuuuge late lunch. It was spectacular. I love and miss these women too much... they make my life amazing.

And of course, it is absolutely wonderful to be back in the same location with Kagi:-).

Things I'll Miss About Palestine and Israel Part 2

Here's the promised Part 2 of the things I'll miss...

The International People

I really like spending time with people who are from different places, and the reality of the culture of the Land is that people are from everywhere, or from there and have lived elsewhere at one time or another. It's fun to meet people all the time from so many places, which helps me to constantly think about my cultural assumptions, leading me to learning opportunities about myself and others.

Walking

I really missed my car. I mean really, freedom of movement is one of my favorite things and highest personal values. But I really enjoy walking as well and often took the opportunity for the hour-long walk home from work. I know that with the distances in the US and fast-paced lifestyles it just isn't as possible to be a full-time pedestrian. I'll try to keep walking when it makes sense though.

Pace of Life... Work/Life Balance

This is one of the things that I think I learned most about while overseas -- in England and then even more in Palestine and Israel. I'll note here that I think we are crazy in our expectations for ourselves and others in American culture. This is from personal experience, but I think it is a cultural reality for most middle-class Americans. And I'll write a full post about this soon.

Things I'll Miss About Palestine and Israel Part 1

Now that I'm home with some time on my hands, I'm looking forward to getting caught up on the last few things I wanted to write from Palestine and Israel. I'll continue to share some more thoughts in the coming weeks/months as I reflect.

These are some of the things I wrote down as I anticipated leaving which I knew I would miss about life in the Land. Since I want to keep it short, I'll just put the first two today, and then I'll share a few more tomorrow.

The challenge of faith... needing to be so intentional... needing to rely so much on Jesus!
For me, it was spiritually very challenging in Israel and Palestine. Because there are so many strong opinions everywhere, I felt very guarded for much of my time there to share faith related stuff. This was silly, but still real. I also struggled to see so much religiously-based conflict everywhere. At first, I almost didn't want to be labeled as a person of faith. Later, though, I started thinking about Jesus, and came back to understanding, with new enthusiasm, that he didn't like religiousness either. I remembered how unbelievably hard and how opposite of human tendencies his commands are, and came back to the belief that His way is the only way. We must be humble to the point of death (Phil. 2), courageous in reconciliation, bold in faith, and committed to trusting Him, not ourselves, for the power to act in accordance with His will and for the results. In some ways, although learning these things can be incredibly exhausting, the battle can be more meaningful than the sometimes artificially easy way it can be for me to be "faithful" at home. (Please ask me if this doesn't make sense to you, I'd love to discuss!)

My friends
I was so blessed with wonderful friends in the Land. It's amazing how people can become like family -- trusting and taking care of each other in such a short time. I will truly miss my friends and am thankful that I really expect to spend significant time with many of them in the years to come. Some friendships are like that... you strongly suspect that they aren't just for one season.

Real, Yummy Fruits and Veggies
Fruits and vegetables in season, for great prices. Tomatoes that are really red. Apples that are normal sizes and flavorful, persimmons, pomegranates, figs, dates, orange juice squeezed in front of you. Amazing, healthy, affordable, always available. Heavenly!

"The Real Musalaha"

Saturday I attended the weeding of some friends of mine in Bethlehem. I sat across from an Israeli and a Palestinian friend. They were getting along great. I kept hearing, "I love you sister!"

Eventually, the conversation turned to Musalaha, where they concluded together: "This is the real Musalaha." Sitting at a table, doing life together, enjoying each other.

My beautiful friends.

I'm thankful that the work we do is laying the groundwork for these relationships to begin. May more continue beyond our programs and into normal life.

It is my hope that someday these friends will not have to wait for permits and special events to see each other.

Chivalry in the Middle East

I've been meaning to write this for a long time. One thing I appreciate about Arab culture is that, when I get on a bus, a man often gives his seat up for me (or any other woman who gets on-board). This is especially nice because the buses are small and standing is very uncomfortable.

So here's a shout-out to Arab gentlemen. I know you guys often get a bad rap, and I want you to know that I appreciate your kindnesses!

I was with my photojournalist friend when he took this picture of our bus driver right by the checkpoint.
Photo credit: Barry Rodriguez, www.worldnextdoor.org.

Tribute to Judi

This is my post of thanks that God has put some wonderful people in my life here in Israel and Palestine.

Yesterday marked the beginning of the end of this life-phase when my lovely housemate and co-volunteer Judith left to go home to Austria. For the last five months she has been a huge blessing to me, sharing both my home and office... the younger sister I didn't expect to have here. It has been so helpful to have someone to process with, and she has been so gracious in being my primary sounding-board through lots of big issues needing to be worked through as I've experienced life here.

I am incredibly impressed with Judith's ambitious and adventurous spirit, her diligence, servant heart, intelligence, and kindness. I expect this twenty-one year old to leave a tremendous mark on the world, and am thankful to have her as a great friend!

Here are a few memories we have shared:

Lots of fun and laughter in Bethlehem and Jerusalem!

Sharing great friends (and YANIF)

Riding this "British awesome" camel... 

Working for Musalaha, going on the Youth Desert Encounter, learning a lot about cultural differences in organizational structures.

Having our eyes opened to the realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, experiencing the confused phases of understanding , grief, frustration, and the beauty of reconciliation.

Thank you, Judi. God bless you as you transition home. My prayer is that you will have a wonderful time and find contentment in Him wherever you go. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Girls Night

Last week, a group of friends and I went to "Arab Ladies' Night" in Bethlehem. It was a fantastic time sitting around a big table eating excellent Arabic food, laughing with friends, and overlooking the beautiful city as the moon shone in the sky from a very traditional looking restaurant.

It is rare for us to get dressed up, but it seemed a ladies night, with no men around, would be a good time to get looking pretty and wear a little bit less conservative outfits. Culturally, it is acceptable for people to stare and as a woman it's best not to stand out. I realized that this is generally the opposite of what we'd do at home -- why get dressed up if you're just hanging out with your girl friends?

The funny thing was, we didn't calculate well. After getting all souped up, we still had to get to the restaurant, and met on a big street. As we should have anticipated, we got more attention than we wanted. Live and learn...

Hand Signals

I had a funny, classic cultural misunderstanding moment on Saturday.

I was with a group in a cafe, and a few of us ordered coffee. The waiter came out with our coffees, trying to figure out who had ordered them. We pointed to the coffee drinkers, and he had one left. Everyone pointed to me, and I raised my hand. He looked at me, and then kept looking for the person for the coffee.

Then they pointed more and told him it was for me. Again, I raised my hand so he could identify me. He turned from me and looked for someone else.

Coffee bought on
the street and in
cafes like the one we
 were in come in little
cups like this one.

This literally happened four times. He'd come toward me, I'd raise my hand and he'd back away, looking terribly confused and a little bit distraught. I considered the possibility that he was refusing to serve me for some reason.

Finally, as everyone was pointing to me and loudly telling him to give me the coffee, a friend realized what was going on and told me that the way I raised my hand meant "no."

You would think I'd know this by now -- I have been here for over five months, after all! Finally I stopped raising my hand and the poor guy could give me the coffee. Lesson learned.

Cars are Bouncy

During my recent walk, I was thinking about how we have an incorrect perception in the States that cars are easily breakable and should avoid brushing up against things. If we mis-estimate a distance we feel pretty bad. If our cars get a little character (scratch) we get upset.

Drivers here bounce cars and trucks off of lots of things --walls, buildings, concrete blocks, parked cars, and sometimes even low roofs of buildings. It happens all the time, and I witness it regularly.

So if you are in doubt about a distance between your car and something, maybe just give it a try. Probably the worst that'll happen is that you'll bounce -- and really, who doesn't like doing that?

Note: Jenni, guardian of my car, this post is not relevant for you.

Uma

Tamara and I walked through the checkpoint later than usual recently, at the same time as the evening call to prayer.

As we walked through the area between the gates, a man faced Mecca. Others ran to join him and they bowed, perfectly aligned and moving in sync, prostrating in prayer. I was struck by the beauty of the togetherness of it -- likely men who do not know each other joined in their common faith and brought together in a ritual demonstration of submission to God.

As I watched them, humble in posture and bold in declaration of their faith in the middle of the checkpoint, I was a little bit jealous. How often do I spontaneously see a brother or sister and pray with them, especially in public? In fact, how many brothers and sisters do I walk by without ever knowing we have the most important thing in common?

In my church tradition, we seem to equate ritual with perfunctory behavior -- assuming that people are forced into the effort and are going through meaningless motions.

We will never be saved through ritual behavior. But I don't think our assumption is true.

A Happy Birthday

I had a wonderful birthday yesterday!

I woke up to the sound of what I thought was a child yelling, and looked out my front window to see all of these sheep!

In the morning, I went to my friend Tamara's church where a great storyteller recounted the story of Easter brilliantly. We went to her grandmother's for lunch, and got to see pictures from her youth. She is such a beautiful lady!

In the afternoon I came home and had a great Skype conversation with my parents (before church for them).

In the evening, my amazing friends took me out for a nice dinner and then to "Little Italy" for some fantastic ice cream. They gave me some really sweet gifts which I will enjoy for a long time. So fun, and what a blessing to have good friends!

Here are some pictures from our evening:

These are the amazing women I spend most of my time with. We have a great time, as you can see!

Everyone has their mouth full, but check out the amazing spread on the table! I LOVE the food here!

Tamara and me enjoying our ice cream.

A very good friend:-).

Too Much Adventuring, Too Little Blogging

This has been a busy month. Between things heating up at work, me starting to have things to do almost every night with friends (what a blessing they are!), a few special trips, and some illness, I have done a very poor job of blogging. But here is a "catch-up" post with lots of pictures. If you don't hear from me at least weekly from here on out please send me an email like wonderful father did yesterday: "Hey, I just noticed that you are not doing a good job with your blog. Time to get with it!!" Thank you Pops:-)!

Stars and Bucks in Bethlehem. Definitely enough of a "green circle of pleasure" to make me smile when I see it, and it serves one of my favorite things: fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice! There are many benefits to living in the Middle East and the fruit is at the top of my list of those things.

My boyfriend, Kagiso, was able to get a visa to come visit me here at the end of February. We traveled around the country during his four-day visit.

This is me floating in the Dead Sea. It is very cool, but I think the water is one of the grossest things I have ever tasted! (No, I didn't drink it intentionally. I think a little splashed on my lip. YUCK!)

Kagiso on the sea of Galilee. It was cool to be at a place we read so much about in the gospels.

Hanging out with friends and eating a wonderful traditional Palestinian barbecue lunch. These guys have made life here so much fun!

My roommate, Judith, walking in the hills near Jerusalem. This was at the beginning of March and I hope gives you a taste of the beauty and diversity of this country.

Setting out on a trek through the desert near Jericho with good friends.

After our hike we rode on a cable car up the Mountain of Temptation. It was amazing to spend the day in the place where Jesus had done his fast and been tempted by Satan. I have new respect for how difficult it would have been to not turn the loaf into bread... we were sooo hungry and tired after our one-day hike!

After the recent bombing in Jerusalem I was concerned that getting through the checkpoint would be much more difficult. Thankfully, the day of the bomb was the only time we noticed a difference at all. I'm thanking God that for us here it hasn't caused the problems I feared it would. Please continue to pray for real peace here, and that people would not turn to terrorism. I have many thoughts on this, but will post them another time.

Friends and I went to an event at the Intercontinental Hotel (which is amazing) in Bethlehem. It was my first stand-up comedy performance to see live, and had a great time.

Believe it or not, two days from now will mark three months in The Land. I needed to leave the country for a new visa, and spent a week in Bradford. God is providing some possibilities for my time after being here, and I'll need to write about them later as well. This picture was taken in a paddle-boat on the pond in Lister Park on a gorgeous spring day.

Checkpoint

This is where you walk into the checkpoint. Image from here.

I live in Bethlehem, which is part of Palestine, and work in Jerusalem, in Israel. Sometimes, I go to work (which is only a few miles from home) by taking a group taxi to the checkpoint, walking through the checkpoint, and then taking a bus to the office. My experiences going through the "checkpoint" between Palestine and Israel have been some of the most eye-opening and frustrating parts of my move to Bethlehem.

Last week, I got on to my group taxi, confident about crossing over because the day before had been no problem. The process should be simple: go to the checkpoint, pass through, get on bus, get to work. I thought it would take ten or fifteen minutes, and I would probably arrive about five minutes late to work (still working on the timing).

This is very a very orderly version of the line. Image from here.

When I got to the checkpoint, I heard a lot of noise from the area of the security checks. This is never a good sign. It means that things are going slowly, there is backup, and men are upset to be late to their jobs in Jerusalem. I got in line, knowing it would take a while, and proceeded to wait patiently for a half an hour for about 50 people ahead of me to get through. There was only one open line, and any time someone had trouble everyone had to wait.

I was about ten people from the front of the line and talked to a coworker to tell her I’d be late, but expected to be in shortly. About then, with a lot of yelling, pushing, and frenzy around me, I learned that the line we had all been waiting in would be shut down and everyone would have to go through the one which had been closed. It was a shame for those of us at the front of the line, because whoever was closest to the other line would, of course, get there first. Feeling frustrated, I got in line again, at the back (because I’m an American and that is what we are taught is fair from a very very young age). By this time the pre-9am rush had started and the line was growing quickly. Anxiety grew.

See the guard overhead? Image from here.

I joined an English speaker who I’d met the previous week while trying to get through the checkpoint. A guard (a young Israeli woman) with a big gun walked over our heads, casually taking in the scene. After another half-hour or so, the guy I stood with yelled to her, “Open the other line!”

After a few words in her walkie talkie, she motioned that the first line would once again be opened. People madly rushed to get in the front. My friend and I joined them, but my my pushing skills are decidedly sub-par. We made it into the line, me behind him, and he negotiated with our line mates to get me where he was, closer to the front. People are often gracious to foreigners.

We waited for another ten or twenty minutes, hoping that our line would move. We heard beeping from the other line indicating that it was, excruciatingly slowly, letting people through. Finally, the guard looked down to us and indicated that the line we were in was not going to open. After an hour and a half, too bad, get back in the other line.

My friend told me it would be another hour before we got through, based on where we ended up in line. By this time I was bruised, tired, frustrated beyond words, and very tempted to call it a day and just go home. I looked around and reminded myself that many of these men go through the checkpoint every day to get to work to support their families. I shouldn’t be so selfish.

Image from here.

People cut shamelessly in line, every man for himself. Tensions grew. Fights nearly broke out. I was upset with the behavior of the people in line, but even more was upset as I began to think that the whole thing was intentional. There are so many ways the process could be efficient. But why make it efficient? The goal is to keep people out, not make it easy for them to come in. True or not, it felt increasingly intentional as the guards lazily meandered around watching people get more and more upset.

There was a lot of pushing to finally get into the final part of the line which has metal barriers to funnel people. Once I was in, multiple people ducked under the barrier, jumping the line. One man’s anger boiled over, and he began a passionate speech. “You should be ashamed of yourselves!” was the clear message. “I can do it too, see?” as he climbed up on the barrier and crossed to the gate, right over my head. Although no one got out of line, I think they did look ashamed by the end of it.

Finally, I got through. After security, you show your papers (passport in my case). I was in line behind a woman with two children who looked to be under two. She cried and pleaded with the guard who told her she couldn’t get through, she didn’t have the right papers. The guy next to me said that she was claiming that her husband is dead, and she needed to go to the hospital or something. She was waved aside and I’m not sure if she ever made it through. I hear that most of the time people are given leniency even without proper papers in such cases.

Finally I got on my bus in Jerusalem and made it to work -- about 2 and a half hours late.

Although thankful for these experiences which, although not the everyday occurrence do give some insight into the feelings of oppression of the Palestinian people, I am very thankful that I am able to go to work with a coworker most days. We drive to Jerusalem through a much easier checkpoint which caters to Jewish settlers in the West Bank so they are not prone to hassle us much because they assume we also are settlers.

Before I sign off I want to mention that this is one experience I had, and how I felt as it happened. There are multiple sides to every story and I don’t intend to make a statement against anyone in this post. Since I live in Palestine, many of my initial experiences have been seen from a Palestinian perspective. I look forward to sharing as I learn more about Israel as well.

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one...”

…
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

- Romans 3:10, 21-22

Note: The pictures in this post were taken from the web to give you an idea of what it looks like, but are not from the day I was there and were not taken from me. For proper credit, see the links.

Pictures of the Wall

Here are some pictures of the wall between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, mentioned in my last post. Stay tuned for a story about when I spent over two hours going through the checkpoint in my next post (hopefully tomorrow).

 This picture is a little more fun... me on the roof outside of my room:-).

Arrival in The Land

This is a street near my house in Bethlehem.

I arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and met my driver outside of security. With three bags and operating on very little sleep, I was very thankful to have someone there for me who knows this country and who could take me where I needed to go. He had a Jesus fish on his dashboard, but I'm afraid that, in my sleepy state, I didn't manage to make conversation with him about our shared faith.

The drive was beautiful! As the sun set, we went through rocky but green hills, and overall I was very surprised at how nice I found things. We pulled into Jerusalem around sunset and I went to Ronit's (a new co-worker of mine) house to stay the night with her.

Although I was pretty tired by the time I got to the house, Ronit was having some Israeli friends over for dinner and hanging out. It was good to get to meet them and I'm actually really glad to have gotten a little taste of Israeli-believing culture before heading to Palestine. Many of the people I met are are Messianic Jews originally from America and have attained Israeli citizenship and served in the army here. Very interesting!

Wednesday, Ronit and I came to the office in the morning and I got to experience my first daily prayer time and staff meeting. I walked to the store with Ronit to buy some office supplies (the good kind: coffee and tea) and then went to pick up my bags and run some other errands around town with another coworker. I think I expected there to be more signs in English, but I should be able to get around anyway.

In the early afternoon, Salim brought me into the West Bank to meet my family. We weren't hassled at the border. We just drove through, showed our passport/papers through the car window and continued on our way. My first impression of Bethlehem was that it seems peaceful! Not nearly as congested or seemingly intense (stressful) as Jerusalem. This really surprised me. I also was interested in the walls of separation between Israel and Palestine. They are huge and thick and bleak (ugly concrete) but, on the Palestine side, covered by all kinds of graffiti, including some really amazing art which Salim said is famous around the world. Someday I might spend some time hanging out at the wall looking at all of what is there. If I can, I'll post some pictures.

We went to Bethlehem Bible College, where Salim introduced me to some Palestinian young people. Then I met Ana, who is the mother in the family I'll be living in for my time here. She is in her thirties, full of energy and well educated, currently finishing a MA and teaching school, co-leading a 50 member youth group, and caring for her family of 5, and now me as well. She told me that she is happy to have me and dropped me off at the house, showing me my new home on the way to one of her final exams.

I was thrilled to see my room. It is big, on the roof, simply furnished but private, and with a private bathroom. So much nicer than expected! I was thrilled to unpack all of my things and start to see the room become my own.

Now I am pretty set up, and am settling in. Since moving in I have had several more experiences which I will write about later! Thanks for beginning this journey with me.