We Refuse to Be Enemies

Yesterday was jam packed with travel. We woke to yet another sunny day in the Sinai and our last morning at St. Katherine's. We loaded our luggage and ourselves onto the bus to begin the drive to Israel. All week, we had a rep from the tour company, an extra driver, and the tourism police on the bus with us. We were finally going to get to see them off at the border. The drive was pretty inconsequential. I slept for most of it, since the desert doesn't really differ that much in Sinai from the US Southwest. We had one stop at an overlook, and I almost kidnapped an adorable small child to bring home. I'm thinking my three weeks in Indonesia at the orphanage are going to be brutal on my heart.

We began seeing more and more water as we drove closer to the Gulf of Aqaba. We left our guards behind and entered Egyptian customs at the border. Getting out of the country was easy, and we exited to a round-about. We walked about a quarter of a mile and entered Israel. Buses are not allowed through the checkpoint, so we made it on foot. It was very Exodus-like and a grand adventure. I was super nervous to go through customs and border patrol, since we've heard lots of stories about how hard it's going to be. Instead of getting checked and spending hours in line, we breezed through and got to the other side without incident. I stood outside looking at the Gulf and basking in the sun. It was awesome!

We climbed aboard a new bus with a new driver, Hamad. Hamad is a Palestinian living in East Jerusalem. According to Israel, Jerusalem is a unified city, but many Palestinians don't see it this way. We drove about an hour through more desert and stopped at an oasis for lunch. There were statues of cows everywhere. The Israelis evidently prefer the holstein. I took a picture posing with one for Adam. I hope he likes it and will maybe appreciate the silliness of it when he gets older. We were told we could drink the tap water again (VERY exciting). Gretchen ordered a goat cheese with veggie sandwich, and I had a grilled cheese with tomatoes and sweet corn. Both were incredibly delicious. We got gelato for dessert and climbed aboard once again.

Our next stop on the way to Bethlehem was the Dead Sea. It is much bigger than I pictured. I kept remembering Dad talking about swimming the water, and I was excited to have a similar experience. We found a place that didn't charge to use the changing room and began the preparation for a dip. The water was cold and clear, yet had a sheen to it. When looking into the water, I could see the bottom, but it also looked like there were streams of oil throughout. The buoyancy was crazy! Floating was so easy, and it was super difficult to put your feet down. It was a great ab workout to try to stand up. I could have played/floated for hours, but alas, we had to keep moving.

Without much fanfare, we passed from Israel proper into the West Bank. While we were driving, Peter and Rick discussed how the conflict here is not anywhere near black and white. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the passage into the West Bank was like passing a county line with slightly more security. The area was as desolate as Southern Israel and hard to differentiate. As we drove, we saw the countryside change. We drove into Jerusalem at dusk, and I totally geeked out. I could not believe that I was actually in Israel and in Jerusalem. We drove through on our way to Bethlehem. We passed from the West Bank into Israel and then Israel to the West Bank to get to Bethlehem. During the drive, we had glimpses of the Old City of Jerusalem and the wall built by Israel to surround the West Bank. We also saw in the distance the settlements that are the hot topic of Middle East Peace talks right now.

We arrived at the Hotel Sancta Maria and got our room assignments. The hotel is very clean and the staff are lovely. The room is small, but very nice...especially since we have two balconies with phenomenal views of the valley below. We had dinner at the hotel and enjoyed fish with various salads. The conversation was the best part of dinner. Gretchen and I sat with Bishop Lee and the table began talking about how we mesh our Christianity with the problems of this area. We talked about Zionism and how our own faith factors into international conflicts. I absolutely loved it!

Today was an early morning, and Gretchen and I were only slightly rushed as we ran down to breakfast. The group met before heading out for the day to receive some instruction from Peter. Since today was our first real day exploring the West Bank/Jerusalem area, Peter wanted to go over some basic concepts and give us background on Christians in the area. Everything we see is being put in the context of our faith and the biblical stories we are used to. He explained the four stages of Christian mission, ending with the idea of being present. I loved the last part, because it focuses on mission through relationships instead of force. It's my idea of evangelism...leading by example.

We were running a bit late, but hopped on the bus to begin the tour. Our first stop was the Field of the Shepherds...that is the Greek Orthodox location of the Field. Legend has it that this was the place that the angels appeared to the shepherds and told them the good news. The interesting thing is that there are two other fields that claim to be THE field from the narrative. I'm slowly realizing that nothing is set in stone here and there is not way of knowing without a doubt where certain things are located. The Field of the Shepherds now has various ruins from a range of time periods. We saw some from the 2nd and 3rd centuries, with Roman structures going back even further. There was a cave with bones from ancient Monks who had been killed by the Persians. The place was very cool.

The next stop of the day was the Church of the Nativity. Traditionally, this is the site of the birth of Jesus. We walked up the hill and through a crowded street to arrive in the plaza. Upon entering the church, immediately in front of us was the Greek Orthodox altar. On the left was the Armenian chapel and on the right, was the entrance down to the cave where Jesus was born. Just like the Field of the Shepherds, there is no way to prove this was the exact cave, but as far back as the 1st century AD, there are written reports of the birth occurring in a cave like the one I saw. We walked down the stairs and watched the tour groups prostrate in front of the star marking the spot on the ground of the manger. It was a neat experience, but hard to believe that I saw the exact spot that Jesus was born. I liked seeing an area similar to the one he was born in, but it doesn't make the birth any more special now that I've seen a possible location.

We ate lunch at Dollars, which specializes in delicious chicken sandwiches. The meal began with a variety of Arabic salads and pita bread followed by a pita filled with chicken, sauce, and tomatoes. Very yummy!

The next stop was in Jerusalem and required a journey through the checkpoint into Israel. At this point, there is no messing around. Sometimes it takes 15 minutes for the bus to get through, and other times, it take 1.5 hours to get through. The Israeli soldiers entered the bus and walked through looking at each passport. Because we are all US citizens, the guards didn't ask any questions or detain us at all.

We drove to the Israeli Museum for a brief visit. The main attraction was a model of the old city of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was cooling down but still very nice to sit outside and take in the city. I saw the scrolls and kept thinking of Mom and her bible study. I felt her with me today and knew that she and Dad were experiencing everything with me.

The mid-afternoon adventure was out of Jerusalem and into Palestine. We met with Dahoud Nassar, whose father started the Tent of Nations. The Nassar family is a Palestinian Christian family who owns land outside of Bethlehem and has deeds to the land going back to the Ottomans in 1916. With the expansion of Israeli settlements, the government has tried for decades to take the Nassar land. For the past 19 years, the family has been fighting in the courts to stop expansion and roads on their land. This family is incredible and their story is heartbreaking. They have had crops destroyed by vengeful settlers, they are banned from using electricity, building on their land, or having running water simply because they are Palestinian. Despite all they have to be angry about, Dahoud and his family believe in Peace. The stone at the gate to their land says "We refuse to be enemies". His father started Tent of Nations to bring people together to gain an understanding of life in Palestine and to show that there are more similarities than differences. He is an incredible example of Peace from the grassroots. I wish you could have been there to listen to him speak. He was truly awe inspiring. Check out the website at: http://www.tentofnations.org/

I left the Tent of Nations feeling energized, yet incredibly sad. We walked to the bus and saw a van of Israeli guards making sure we left and checking out the situation. I was slightly uncomfortable knowing how quickly the police came out to investigate a tour bus at the Palestinian farm. Gretchen and I debriefed a while as we drove to Johnny's. Johnny is a colleague of Peter and owns a souvenir shop. Every corner has a souvenir shop, but Johnny is reputable and ensures a good quality and socially responsible products. Many of the olive wood carvings are done by his brother and his family has been in Bethlehem for decades. I found a nativity set that is similar to on my parents brought back from Bethlehem in the 1970s. I also found a cameo ring that I had to buy. My mom loved cameos and always thought they were really special. The one I found is really beautiful and quite old. The ring came from Johnny's father's shop, so it's at least 50 years old.

We spent too much time shopping, but the atmosphere of the shop was great. We ate dinner at the Tent, where we enjoyed an authentic Arabic meal. With dessert, they brought out Sheesha for the table to enjoy. We definitely knew we were in the Middle East. Since we were so full, Gretchen and I, along with two others, decided to walk home. At first, we were told the restaurant was only a mile or so from the hotel. Thinking that was not a long distance at all, we headed off. Instead of it being a 1 mile straight shot, it turned out to be a 2.5-3 mile hike way up and sort of off to the East. We didn't get lost, per se, but it took a bit longer than expected. Gretchen and I also had the great joy of stopping at a grocery store to find feminine products. Turns out they are in the same section as the cleaning supplies and dish soap. As is typical when buying tampons, the only people in the store were men. The shelf holding the tampons was being restocked by a young gentlemen who was clearly embarrassed as I reached for the tampax. We decided to get some chocolate to go along with the tampons and wondered if women in Palestine eat as much chocolate while menstruating as we do. The gentlemen checking us out was incredibly flustered as he handled the tampons...almost as if they were toxic or harmful. I couldn't help but laugh as we walked back to the hotel.

I am finally caught up on the trip! Tomorrow is a full day in Jerusalem filled with lots of history. Peace and blessings!