The cross on top of the church is lit up with new lights, too, in celebration of Lent.
Read MoreThey figured that going with a priest, and an American at that, might help their chances. After some negotiating with the soldiers, it did, and all arrived back in Zababdeh safe and sound.
Read MoreThe checkpoint at the border was tighter than usual, with a soldier asking Marthame to open his bags. He was quite friendly, though, and joked. After Marthame had opened a bunch of the smaller pockets on the backpack, the soldier quipped, "Do you have any other secret compartments?" He then apologized (!) for the thorough check.
Read MoreAfter yesterday afternoon's incident, in the early evening an American activist had part of his face sheered off by tank fire.
Read MoreWe followed Fr. Aktham past the lines of students as the national anthem played. A ripple of whispers, then spontaneous applause. Cool. This is why it's good to be back, to be welcomed back. We were missed.
Read MoreAnd even when we heard the tanks coming over the hills, as we have become used to, we still knew we were in the right place.
Read MoreAt school, the Zababdeh teachers and students came in for a scaled-back day. At 9:00, a jeep passed by the school announcing the curfew. When they passed by again, Fr. Aktham went out to meet them and to explain to them that there were 500 students in the school who needed to get home. The captain agreed to allow half an hour grace period for the kids to get home.
Read MoreIn the evening, we got a call from the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Louisville. They met and agreed that it would be reasonable for us to return. We are elated!
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We were all so enthusiastic that as the first eggs were drying we all tried our hands at another one, some more freestyle than others.
Read MoreIt's hard to be somewhere as beautiful as Cyprus when you don't want to, but we're doing our best to make the best of it.
Read MoreWe joined up with the other Presbyterian exiles at St. Barnabas' Anglican Church, which is known by its much more quaint (and British) name: Mission to Seafarers.
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Cyprus is known as the birthplace of Aphrodite, goddess of love, so we had to oblige the Cyprus Aphrodite tour.
Read MoreWe arrived on an open-ended ticket and needed to nail things down a bit more.
Read MoreAn American family who works with the Middle East Council of Churches took pity on us poor Presbyterians and brought us all - those from Palestine, those from Egypt - up to their home for a little relaxation time, a home-cooked meal, and just a general good time.
Read MoreWe're doing our best to make the most of our time here. This morning we caught the bus up to the capital city, Nicosia.
Read MoreWe've tried to contact our friends throughout Iraq, but haven't heard from any of them. Reports of water shortages in Basra are particularly fretful.
Read MoreWe had hoped to take a couple of nature walks, and had come prepared for cold - but not snow!
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The scenes were of various Greek and Roman gods and myths - Theseus, Aphrodite, Dionysius, Scylla - remarkably well-preserved. Their colors were still quite evident in some cases.
Read MoreCyprus, being an old British colony, has its British quirks: using the pound, driving on the left side of the road, and - perhaps most advantageous - the pubs.
Read MoreWar continues, but news from Zababdeh is sparse.
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