Marthame headed to school and then off in the afternoon to play soccer. It was a good chance to get some of the pent-up emotional baggage of the last few days out.
Read MoreIsraeli tanks had apparently come to the edge of Tubas, so we were anxious to get our many Tubas students and teachers back home to their families.
Read MoreThere are worries that the Israeli army, hot on the heels of Sharon's frightening message of "hitting the Palestinians harder", is preparing to enter more and more Palestinian villages conducting house to house searches. People here are feeling worried, sad, angry, and hopeless.
Read MoreThe lectionary was the story which most of us know as the Prodigal Son (interestingly known as "The Wise Son" in Arabic - because he returns in the end) from Luke 15.
Read MoreA good friend of ours who works in Israel told us about his return trip home to Zababdeh. When he approached the border, the soldier leveled his M-16 at him and made him demonstrate - from a distance of some 50 meters - that he wasn't carrying any explosives. Attacks at checkpoints are on the rise, and the soldiers, many of them scared 18 year-old kids, are not taking many chances. But, beyond the call of security, people have also been shot, detained, beaten without reason, fearing for their lives.
Read MoreBalata refugee camp was hit today in Nablus - and hit hard according to the initial reports we've gotten. These people, refugees from the 1948 War and their descendants, were refugees again today as the Israeli army told them to leave while they conducted house-to-house searches. Many preferred to stay, remembering quite well what happened the last time they left their houses "for a little while".
Read MoreFrom the school window we could see the funeral procession (in Islam, people should be buried the same day they die) as it headed up the road past the University.
Read MoreIn the afternoon, Elizabeth coached the girls at basketball practice - they've got a big same Saturday (it's not clear whose more nervous, the players or the coach!).
Read MoreWe noticed that the gas station has a department store attached to it - the place advertises bridal goods and wear in particular. A bizarre little oasis of dead commerce in the midst of a warzone.
Read MoreJust because a Palestinian has official permission to travel doesn't mean it will be accepted by soldiers at a particular checkpoint at a particular time.
Read MoreBeing a Hebrew Bible prophet, Elijah is elevated by the three faiths that predominate here - Christian, Jewish, and Muslim, and all three had come to pay their respects.
Read MoreToday we turned into typical Holy Land "pilgrims," torpedoing through as many holy sites and churches as possible. We figure that three years here should allow us at least one day like this.
Read MoreOur mentor in this whole endeavor is the Rev. Dr. Fahed Abu-Akel, a Presbyterian pastor in Atlanta. He was born in Kufr Yasif, and his family still lives here.
Read MoreThe soldiers are usually just bemused by the insane foreigners who are choosing to live in the West Bank, and we are usually given a superficial security check (passports, a question or two).
Read MoreThat means six Americans who have left in the last week - all for various reasons, but it's depressing to lose such a significant part of our ex-pat community.
Read MoreThe lectionary this morning was from the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus calls the disciples to perfection "as your Father in heaven is perfect." A light load to carry.
Read MoreMarthame is helping the school put together a yearbook.
Read MoreMarthame passed a kidney stone today - no fun.
Read MoreTonight we also had another ex-pats gathering in town.
Read MoreThe Qalandia checkpoint, which is between Jerusalem and Ramallah, is as close as most Palestinian people and drivers can get to Jerusalem.
Read More