We're looking forward to seeing a positive impact on the lives of ordinary people - for that, it seems we'll wait a long time for White House intervention.
Read MoreWatching people die is hideous - watching people die slowly is gut-wrenching. It would be too easy to say that those who favor war have never seen it, but it's certainly true to say that those who embrace it without nuance have never lived through it.
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It's easy enough to point to Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. from a safe distance, when it isn't your own life or that of your kids which may be lost.
Read MoreNews of the new UN Resolution is welcome, but the stance that the US has taken (abstaining) merely underscores more Palestinian frustration with American policy in the Middle East.
Read MoreThe kids are clearly unnerved by this new arrangement, but are persisting.
Read MoreIt was a Jenin weekend in a nutshell - a dynamiting of the neighbor's house, a little prayer, a few tanks, and some birthday cake.
Read MoreIn the cool of the evening, we enjoyed chatting with them in their courtyard.
Read MoreAnother Friday, another sabbath. A greatly needed one at that.
Read MoreAnother suicide bombing today, this one in Tel Aviv - not good news.
Read MoreThey thought our phone bill had remained unpaid. We had paid it at the Zababdeh post office, but the paid invoice hadn't reached the central office. Six miles away is an impossible journey these days.
Read MoreThe talk around town is about the two bombs planted in Palestinian schools in Hebron by Israeli militants - five were injured in one, the other was defused in time.
Read MoreIn the evening, with no telephone to provide us with distractions like the internet, we went out on the town. People visit here incessantly once the cool of the evening comes, something we are often reluctant to do because of the overwhelming feeling of work left undone. But we are never disappointed when we do.
Read MoreWe spoke with another friend in the States who commented on how "quiet" it is over here. Yes, cities under house arrest, unemployment, malnutrition, collective strangulation are a quiet death.
Read MoreThe Byzantine liturgy is other-worldly, and the chorus - who play a key role in said liturgy - was largely made up of folks from Zababdeh's congregation who know it inside and out.
Read MoreThe grinding gears meshed with the Friday calls to prayer in a way that speaks about Palestine.
Read MoreIf they find a tank or a jeep, they simply find another path to take to pick up the kids.
Read MoreOne of the ninth graders wrote and presented his reflections on the events of last year: "Terrorism is evil because it cheapens the value of human life....We must unite in prayer for those who died and for their families."
Read MoreMarthame filled in for the English teacher, who eventually managed to walk through the hills and olive orchards from Qabatia to Zababdeh.
Read MorePlanes buzzed overhead today all along the valley between Jenin and Tubas, flying very low - we could see four of them at once.
Read MoreWatching communion is always wonderful - the children line up (the Orthodox answer to the children's sermon - we'll take the eucharist over puppet shows any day).
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