August 19, 2003

Elizabeth getting in a good day’s physical labor.

Today we worked at our assigned volunteer activities at Star Mountain, Elizabeth cleaning cabins and doing remedial landscaping; Marthame assisting with webdesign for the institution. We also were busy cleaning up and packing for our upcoming little vacation.

Marthame headed down to Birzeit to the Bible Society's Living Stones Center to meet up with young Christian men studying at the University. They talked about church history and the relationships of various denominations. Together, they went over to welcome Fr. Aziz, the new parish priest, to Birzeit.

Marthame putting his tech skills to use to build the new Star Mountain webpage.

In the evening we turned on the news to see images of the devastating bomb at the UN headquarters in Baghdad, interspersed with pictures of rescue efforts in Jerusalem, after an especially fatal bus bombing. We feel sad and angry and tired. God help us all.