April 29, 2003

Marthame and Elizabeth with one of the leaders of Tubas’ Christian community.

We continued our visits today, going down to Tubas to visit with the Christians there. It was also a chance to see the church - we haven't been in a while. They have just finished a new office, moving the children's library upstairs for more access. This small community has done an amazing job of strengthening with little help from the outside.

Zababdeh’s Sheikh stops by to greet the Christian clergy. These interfaith visits are common, especially at feast times.

In the evening, we continued with our visits in Zababdeh. The sheikh and leaders of the Muslim community came by to wish the Christians a blessed feast. Several of the other Latin priests also came up for a visit, among them Fr. Iyad whom we have gotten to know in our time at Birzeit and through his friendship with National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. It was good to see him and hear the news from there.

Then it was back to visits - since we've been so busy attending worship this past week, and now with worship, that we haven't been keeping up with news, either local or international. Frankly, it's been refreshing. The talk in town is all about Abu Mazen, the new prime minister. Palestinians, surprisingly, remain hopefully optimistic about the prospect of peace in the region here soon. We're stunned by the optimism, personally, but hope it's warranted.