Thanksgiving is always a little harder to be away from home, but it was a wonderful celebration and a good time to stop and reflect and be thankful. Especially in the midst of the turmoil here, such moments are welcome respite and sanctuary.
Read MoreAfter worship, a new fellowship tradition has begun. The men go to drink coffee in the church hall while the women go to do the same at the Convent across the street where the Rosary Sisters of Zababdeh live.
Read MoreHere were broken bottles on the ground, old candles had been burned and scarred up the walls, furniture had been torn, windows had been broken.
Read MoreWhile in the West we may sing "rain, rain, go away," in an arid climate, rain is a sign of blessing.
Read MoreWe were smiled upon today, and the blessing of Window 2 came to our rescue, in the form of the lovely Nina - she helped us slay the beast, and we danced down the stairs, visas in hand and passports intact!
Read MoreHe then consoled us and promised to write a letter saying Marthame "is not only a priest, but a bishop."
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A day spent somewhere between Apartheid and the Holocaust.
Read MoreWe then made a traditional Palestinian meal for our hosts and some other friends of maqlube (literally, "upside-down").
Read MoreAfter further bellyaching (the only way to force your way through the bureacracy - so we've been told by Israelis, Palestinians, and ex-pats alike), we were told nothing could be done until Wednesday on our applications - the man who knows how to turn on the computer is on vacation.
Read MoreToday being Saturday, all Israeli government offices are closed - thus there was nothing to be done about the visa applications.
Read MoreWe also ran some errands for the priests, something that we can do quite concretely to help out here.
Read MoreAs usual, some of the teachers helped out with that part, by helping prepare coffee and bring in trays of things, and take out trays of things.
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A few months ago, we had received a video from France on the implementation of electricity in Zababdeh (in 1969).
Read MoreKind of like commuter traffic jams, and then kinda not...
Read MoreOne person recounted how they used to have to sneak to church to avoid the Jordanian snipers in the Old City.
Read MoreShe showed Elizabeth a book she helped with (as a translator and researcher), called Palestinian Women: Patriarchy and Resistance in the West Bank. She lent us the book, which seems to offer a compelling look into the world of women here - both the hardships and the strengths.
Read MoreHe came here in the late Sixties, inspired by a love of Judaism. After thirty years here, that love has not faded, but it has become flavored by an awareness of what life is like for "the other half" - the Palestinians. He noted the prevalence of hard-liner opinion in Israel, but also that if he experienced a personal change, why couldn't the nation?
Read MoreIn all of our years in churches, this year is the first year we've heard an All Saints' Day joke.
Read MoreThe road was the worst so far, the road from the Arab-American University of Jenin. Every road is closed, and so every "road" is necessarily a dirt road through the fields.
Read More"Give us this day our daily bread..." We have begun a new schedule of getting up early and taking a walk - directly to the bakery to get our fresh bread for the day.
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