April 23, 2002

Packing up donated goods for Zababdeh.

Today we ran errands and prepared to return to Zababdeh tomorrow. Marthame spent most of the day running Zababdeh-related errands. Entering shops in Israel means becoming accustomed to the search of whatever it is that you're carrying, as well as the question, "Do you have a weapon?"

Elizabeth finished grading her mid-terms, which she gave her seventh-graders on April Fool's Day, the last day of school before the current crisis. Abuna Aktham told us that school has reopened, with the students and teachers who are able to come. We look forward very much to seeing all of them tomorrow.

We talked briefly with one of the school's tawjihi (high school senior) students in Jenin. He told us that his cousin was shot and killed from helicopter fire. "That's life," he said. Actually, it's just the opposite, but it certainly is par for the course in this place, and very hard to stand. He said the road from Jenin to Zababdeh is still too dangerous, so he's still missing school: that's nearly four weeks now, in addition to four weeks in December.

We returned to Shefa'amer, where Abuna Nadeem and the Melkite parish have collected food and clothes for the West Bank. We packed as much baby formula, rice, oil, flour, sugar, and other non-perishables as we could fit in our rental car, hoping to return soon to bring another load into Zababdeh next week.

We also visited Mar Elias College in Ibillin, and had a chance to sit with Abuna Elias Chacour, who just returned from Europe. We shared news from Zababdeh with him, and shared embarrassment at Bush's description of Sharon as "a man of peace" - "a man of pieces," Abuna noted. Probably more accurate.