May 5, 2003

The border town of Jalame, Palestine.

Marthame had tried to contact the driver who goes from Jalame to Nazareth to no avail, so he made his way towards the checkpoint at the same time he usually comes, hoping to catch him. Barring that, he hoped to hitch a ride (par for the course here) up to Nazareth once crossing the checkpoint.

Crossing the checkpoint was a breeze. It was the wait for the ride that took so long - an hour standing by the side of the road in an abandoned concrete bus stop. There were plenty of cars, but no one wanted to pick him up. Israel has begun punishing those giving rides to suicide bombers, even if they do so unknowingly - a Christian Arab Israeli taxi driver was one such case recently, though he had no knowledge that he was doing such a thing. A taxi finally did stop, the driver grilling Marthame more so than the soldiers at the checkpoint.

Tonight's class in Ibillin was on the Swiss Reformation, particularly in Zurich led by Ulrich Zwingli and Conrad Grebel. Next week is the midterm exam - the students are visibly anxious and would appreciate prayers!