May 16, 2003

No way, no how. That's the travel word. This is the absurd part of this place. All of the paperwork lined up, all of the hustling around she, the organizers, and we have done, and she still can't get across a teeny little trickle of water and get out of this place. How infuriating. It used to be that there was something called VIP status, where you could pay $100 and not have to worry about whether or not you were part of the daily quota, but that's been done away with. The most difficult hurdle, or so we thought, would be the American visa. Without Jerusalem travel permissions, she couldn't reach the Consulate, but was fortunately able to take care of the paperwork by Aramex from Ramallah. But this, now. Ugh.

Deacon Homam with several confirmands.

Marthame, Fr. Firas, and Fr. Aktham at the altar alongside Bishop Marcuzzo.

Fortunately, we had plenty on our plate to distract us. Today is first communion for the Latin Church's third graders and is also graduation for the school's Kindergarten class. Marthame, Fr. Firas, and Fr. Thomas all joined in the worship service with Fr. Aktham and Boulos Marcuzzo, the Bishop of Nazareth. He arrived a full hour after church was supposed to start - we assumed it was because of travel hassles, but it turned out that there was miscommunication about the times - a relief. The St. Anne sisters also came in from Jenin for the service.

The children lined up in their white outfits, looking like little priests and nuns. They also led parts of the liturgy, reading Scripture, leading the intercessory prayers, and singing hymns. Two of the children who received were members of the village's Anglican community. No doubt their parents have gotten tired of waiting for a regular pastoral presence.

An older student presents as the kindergarteners wait for their moment.

Fr. Firas, Fr. Thomas, and Marthame get in on the kindergarten graduation fun.

Immediately following the Mass, we went down to the Church Hall, which used to be the old school. The kindergartners entered and sat on their risers, wearing their blue robes and mortar boards. There were several dances - traditional, folklore, modern - and words of encouragement from Bishop Marcuzzo before the students received their diplomas. Apparently, Marthame, Fr. Firas, and Fr. Thomas were jealous of all the attention they got.

Marthame and Deacon Homam at the video editing desk.

In the evening, Marthame went by the Latin Convent to work with Deacon Homam and Fr. Aktham on a video project. We've gotten a wonderful response to the funding of our project, which has allowed us to get started. It's clearly going to take work, but we're on the way. At first, we're learning the equipment by making a small video for high school graduation. The electricity going out didn't help, but that problem was soon over.