November 16, 2002
Church and Mosque stand side by side in Zababdeh
Today was the second in a double day of rest. The difference between one and two days is enormous, and we often pine for the weekends of an American lifestyle.
In the evening, we went to visit other friends of ours, members of the Greek Orthodox church. Visiting them were some friends from nearby Jalqamus, Muslims whom they met when living and working in the Gulf. After returning, they also worked together in Israel. The patriarch of the Christian family is known for dispensing his folk remedies to the ailing. Since we have no children, we fit into that category (particularly in Arab society where children are the center of attention), and in the past he has offered us little papers with the right prayers and Bible readings to recite and rectify the situation (and instructions about which pillow to put them under). Marthame tried to explain to him Elizabeth's complex medical history, and that waiting until we live somewhere where the hospital is not surrounded by tanks might be a good idea. And to illustrate, Marthame quoted the Scripture: "Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16) In other words, trust God's healing power, but don't be glib about it. Unfortunately, when Marthame translated the Bible verse into Arabic, it came out: "Be as clever as a big worm and as simple as a pigeon." Our friend smiled and nodded politely...
That was a while ago. Tonight, the visitors had a sick child, and he was giving them advice about what prayers to say, but these were from the Qur'an. Later on, he got up and stood near the child, praying quietly to himself, and making the sign of the cross. Over a Muslim child. And the family welcomed it. We had read similar stories in William Dalrymple's book From the Holy Mountain about how Muslims would sometimes visit Christian shrines because of healing properties attributed to them. But to see it first hand was something else.
After the visiting family left, we stayed for a bit, played with grandchildren, and ate some fresh black olives before heading home in case the helicopters returned.