April 14, 2003

Happy Birthday, Mom (check's in the mail). Marthame made the weekly trek up to Ibillin. The road is much better than last week, mostly because it hasn't rained in so long. Someone has been dumping rocks on the path, which for the time makes it bumpy but also fills in the road's gaps and, in the future, will be smoother after crushed under the weight of traffic. The Jalame checkpoint was hardly any trouble, particularly since some of the soldiers have begun to recognize him. His ride dropped him off at the taxi stand in Afula, needing to make a drop off at another contact point in the West Bank.

Our dear friend Fr. Hatem has acted as Marthame’s faithful translator.

Marthame shared the taxi to Nazareth with Arabs, Jews, and Russians - an interesting picture of current-day Israel - before being welcomed once again in Fr. Hatem's home for lunch and intense theological debates. Tonight's subject was Calvin, and the non-Protestant students are beginning to chafe a bit under the weight of the Reformation. They see, rightly so, that the Reformation led to the endless schism of churches. They also see that the Reformation led to them being able to worship in their own language. A mixed legacy, as with most legacies.

He and Fr. Hatem had dinner up in Shefa'amer at the home of the Scottish theologian who is running the Theology Department where Marthame is teaching. More intense theological debates and a late night, now a regular part of these gatherings.