Greeting everyone with Merry Christmas was a wonderful gift to us.
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Marthame managed to infect the laptop with a particularly nasty virus, one which arrives when the computer is dropped on the marble floor.
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Roswell Presbyterian Church, one of our supporting congregations, sponsored a Christmas party for the children.
Read MoreBaba and Mama Noel were on their way to the hall in Zababdeh to distribute gifts to the children!
Read MoreMarthame then headed off with the Christian men of the village to greet the sheikh of Zababdeh in recognition of 'Eid al-Fitir.
Read MoreToday is much the same as yesterday - no telephone, no internet; we feel so cut-off from the world.
Read MoreThe whole time we were there, we could hear the sound of various weapons swirling around the area - tanks, airplanes, etc. But life was calm in the hills.
Read MoreOur friend, who recently had a baby, offered us a traditional beverage called qurfe, made of walnuts, cinnamon, and sugar.
Read MoreThere is something relaxing about being out in the mountains, though the symbolism of finding a dying olive tree wasn't lost on us.
Read MoreWe have also been watching the film biography of Ghandi, a compelling telling of his life.
Read MoreToday did bring good news, as Elizabeth successfully defended her Master's Thesis!
Read MoreAt the end, the men left the church, carrying the body to the graveyard for the burial.
Read MoreThe church bell rang as classes were dismissed today, marking the death of someone in the parish.
Read MoreOne of the up sides of having Jenin closed is that we can avail ourselves of the teachers at the school of the Arab-American University (they've been closed during the recent siege).
Read MoreThere was something very powerful about having our intercessions mixed with those representing others in the parish, then combined with body and blood to be shared and internalized by all - very welcoming, affirming, embracing.
Read MoreIt's Friday, which means it's our weeknd (that's half a weekend).
Read MorePeople in Zababdeh are generally aware that there are now foreigners living here and nearby, but rarely are we seen in big groups.
Read MoreVery tired. No sign that the situation is improving.
Read MoreWe got together with friends from the Arab-American University of Jenin tonight.
Read MoreGiven the news that all Israeli-controlled roads in the West Bank are off-limits to Palestinian traffic, it seems like we need to plan for a longer haul than before.
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