We then headed down to central Ramallah for a solidarity rally, led by a Muslim sheikh, a Coptic bishop, and an Anglican priest.
Read MoreWe are thrilled to get a break from work this week as we head down to Jerusalem for the annual Sabeel Conference.
Read MoreMarthame went to our seven year-old friend's birthday party, while Elizabeth cooked up the first mushroom from her Christmas present mushroom kit.
Read MoreBeing Sunday, it afforded us another wonderful opportunity to walk through the beautiful scenery of Zababdeh.
Read MoreToday was Marthame's last day with his previous schedule at school (nonetheless, it was a day to clarify exactly what "I'm not teaching that class anymore" means).
Read MoreDid we mention we got a car?
Read MoreElizabeth's adult English classes continued today, with fourteen students!
Read MoreMarthame got to do more walking in the hills after school, while Elizabeth continued her basketball coaching of the junior high girls.
Read MoreWe visited the rooms in the Red Crescent/Red Cross hospital which burned after being hit by Israeli shelling; we also saw other damaged targets, including homes, a minibus owned by a school for deaf children, and a nearby newspaper office.
Read MoreWeddings are a big deal in Zababdeh, and are attended by just about everyone, no matter which denomination people belong to.
Read MoreThe night before a wedding is traditionally the bigger night for celebrating.
Read MoreAnother new project begins, as Elizabeth is teaching basketball lessons to Junior High girls.
Read MoreElizabeth began the adult classes today. There were about ten people, with promises of others to come
Read MoreOne project that has been very exciting is an email pen-pal project where he has linked up youth at the school with youth in the States.
Read MoreElizabeth managed to explain everything in Arabic (six hours of prep for ten minutes of talking)! English classes start on Wednesday, so we'll see.
Read MoreMost of the Muslim families in Zababdeh seem to be descendants of refugees from 1948 Haifa who managed to scrape together enough to buy land. Our host works at the Latin School, and treated us to some homemade Arabic bread.
Read MorePeople are celebrating in a much more muted way. There's music, but no dancing. People are still in a nation-wide mourning.
Read MoreOur ecumenical drive continues. We spent an evening with the Anglican priest of St. Matthew's Church in Zababdeh, Father Hosam Na'oum.
Read MoreOur West Bank is landmarked by Palestinian cities and villages, connected (now) by windy roads, whereas hers is marked by Jewish settlements connected by highways. It was as if we were talking about two totally different countries.
Read MoreFor all of the talk of opening roads and lifting closures, our experience today belied the political rhetoric.
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