June 8, 2003

We worshiped at the Orthodox Church this morning, Marthame invited to stand with the chorus. It's definitely a gain of the last three years. When we first arrived, Marthame stood up there (after invited by one in the congregation), after which he was politely asked not to repeat that by Fr. Thomas. He's understandably anxious about word coming to Jerusalem about the role of Protestants in their church. Nevertheless, it's an obvious step of trust-building.

Fr. Firas and his mother in the Melkite church.

After worship, we walked down to the Melkite Church for fellowship - one of our favorite things to look forward to all week. After lunch, we both began the long work of reviewing all of our cassettes to pick out appropriate footage. Tuesday, hopefully, the editing begins. After Marthame gets back from Ibillin, of course.