My flight was much more bearable than expected, I love Swiss airlines with movies and good food and friendly europeans. I got through Israeli security without a problem.
Since arriving on Saturday my experience has been overwhelming. When thinking about what I should write about, it’s been really difficult for me to know what to talk about because all of the events in themselves were so incredible. Not necessary incredible in the sense they were so enjoyable because many of the stuff, like the refugee camp was anything but enjoyable. This past weekend the group I am here with, Holy Land Trust, went to Nablus and Ramallah. In Nablus, we went to Jacob’s well, a soap factory, ate kineffa in the Old City, visited an 800 year old Turkish bath, went to a refugee camp, and finally arrived at the hotel in Ramallah. That night we checked into a hotel in Ramallah and then went to the city. I watched soccer and smoked hookah with some other members of the program. The next day the group heard a lecture from a organization that advocates for and represents Palestinian prisoners, went to Berzeit university, heard a lecture from a Samaritan leader at Mount Gilead, and saw some local Palestinian businesses. Since then I have been volunteering at Bethlehem Bible College, going to various lectures, taking classes and spending time with my Palestinian family. (there should be pictures of all these things on facebook, so ill save the descriptions)
That is a very general outline of what I have been doing since arriving. I think that’s necessary in order to understand what I will say next. I feel like daily blogs are necessary in order to fairly represent what we experience each individual day. I would love to do this in order to process things better, which has been very difficult for me, but accessing the internet on a regular basis is very difficult. I should have expected this since we cannot go out of Bethlehem without going through a checkpoint and the family I’m living with hasn't had water for the past week or so. Also, they just sold their only car and only mode of transportation because they could no longer afford it. I have heard story after story of oppression and disparity and stories like my family’s are common-place.
Through all of this I see God working in my situation. The family I live with is unbelievable. I’m not sure of the security threats that would be presented to them if I posted their names, so ill refrain from doing so. The dad is really laid back, welcoming, and kind. The mom knows English well and continues to urge me to feel like a member of their family and to take whatever I want. Then, they have a little girl who is turning 2 very soon. She has the biggest eyes ive ever seen and is such a sweet little girl. It took a bit for her to warm up to me but she now calls me “Ahma”, or uncle (I actually think its aunt, but since shes not even two, ill let the gender issue slide), and cries whenever I have to leave or go to bed. Also, the group I’m here with is diverse but has many like-minded believers. I love the diversity in the group and the multiple perspectives, as well. I’ve been praying for boldness in all situations and here and just happened to be reading Acts 4 when those thoughts were the strongest. It may be minor or just a coincidence, but little things like that allow me to feel God's love for me.
Our group visited a organization called Stop the Wall campaign and the guy who lectured laid out a succinct and clear argument for a system of apartheid taking place in Palestine. It's difficult to address all the issues, especially with the plethora of experiences but some basic highlights are the Israelis using the wall to control the water resources, building the wall far inside the demarcated borders, the use of settlements, etc etc. Before that, a speaker addressed the systematic and horrendous torture and injustices down to Palestinians within the Israeli prison system.
Last night was a bit of an adventure. I took a taxi to the bus station in Beit Sahour, where I live, and got lost walking home. I would have taken the taxi to my house but I don't know the address. I realize that may seem very scary to some people but it wasn't and shouldn't be. People here are so friendly and love to talk to internationals. In fact, i walked down an ally next to Shepherds field, and a guy my age asked me to come into his store for coffee. He spoke very little english but kept on saying welcome to Palestine. I eventually found my way home just in time to go get ice cream with my family's entire extended family. I found out last night that my host mom's mother spoke spanish so as i walked down the streets of Bethlehem and spoke Spanish to a Palestinian lady. My spanish isn't all that great but is considerably better than my Arabic, which has proved to be a challenge.
Thanks for keeping up with my blog. I'm going to write whenever I have a stable internet connection.
JT
No comments:
Post a Comment