September 14, 2003

Drinking from Jacob’s Well in Nablus.

This morning we joined Fr. Hossam in worship at the Anglican church in Rafidia (Nablus and Rafidia are twin towns, like Ramallah and al-Bireh, Minneapolis and St. Paul).

Marthame visits with Fr. Justinus who shares some of his handiwork with us.

After church we and our friend who is a volunteer nurse at the Anglican hospital went to see the Orthodox Monastery at Jacob's Well, the holy site on the plot Jacob purchased (Genesis 33:18-19) and where Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman (John 4). Every other time we'd been here, the interior (where the actual well is) has been closed due to the construction above it. But this time they've finished enough work that we were able to descend into the crypt-like interior, where we lowered a bucket way way down, and cranked it back up so we could have a drink from the water. Fr. Justinus, the Greek priest in charge of the reconstruction has been there for twenty-odd years, and only after Oslo has he been allowed to work on the exterior of the building. A remarkably talented man, he directs (and often does) the stone-cutting for the edifice as well as doing the site's stained glass, mosaics, icons, and frescos. The next time we come, we hope to buy one of the icons he painted (a few of which are for sale down at the well, along with ten-year-old postcards and beeswax candles). Today he came down from the roof to chat with us and drink some coffee. He is a real local treasure and we feel privileged to share time with him.

A recently added martyr poster for a ninety year-old man killed in his sleep.

Back with our friends near Nablus's Old City, we chat about the recent news. The army had been in a few days ago, and during the incursion shot a ninety year-old man in his sleep. His funeral was yesterday - his martyr poster is up today, its colors soon to fade into the dull blues of the others which surround it.