Parenthood (Doug)

Sometimes we lay our plans out perfectly. We think we’ve got it all worked out. Then we forget that God’s timing is perfect and that He is the ultimate plan maker.

This past Tuesday, Mandy & I went to Leominster hospital for her regularly scheduled ultrasound. The doctor told us the Amniotic Fluid surrounding our daughter in the womb was too low. She said she thought it would be best if they took Mandy in that day for a c-section. We thought Jordan Grace Priore would be born on July 2nd. That was the day we had planned on having the c-section. That would be after I started my new job as the Interim Director of Youth Ministries at the First Congregational Church of Hopkinton, after we got switched over to the new insurance, after we had found a place to live etc. etc. My father-in-law has a little plaque on his desk that reads “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” Ain’t that the truth?

Jordan Grace was born on 6/16/09 at 6:16 PM. She was 7lbs 2 oz and 19.5” long. While we were busy making plans God gave us 7lbs 2 oz of life, love and joy. Both Mommy and Baby are doing fine. We all came home from the hospital today and as I type this both of my ladies are napping. Even though this won’t be our home for much longer it feels good to be home. We have lived for almost a year now in Fitchburg, MA. Since my new job is in Hopkinton we will be moving. We don’t know where to yet since there have a few snags in our housing plans. But I’m not getting to hung up on plans right now because as Jordan taught us sometimes God has other plans for us; plans that are much better (and even cuter) than ours. Thanks for all your prayers, love, and support!

Expecting!!

Mandy is close to 15 weeks along in her pregnancy! The due date is July 9, 2009. She's been feeling great with little to no sickness. She knows she has it good! We pray that the remainder of the pregnancy will go as smoothly. This past week we heard the heartbeat for the first time. It was one of the coolest moments of our lives. It sometimes doesn't seem real that we are going to be parents, but hearing the heartbeat definitely solidified our call!

We are reminded of Psalm 139: 13-14 which we read to our little one even now, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." We rejoice in this miracle!

Christmas in Fitchburg

I think one of the hardest transitions to returning home this year will be Christmas. Isn’t that strange? We talked about how difficult it was to be away from home & family while we were in Bethlehem. And now that we’re home, Mandy & I are enjoying those things immensely. But I have to admit there’s something missing this year. We’re back to singing songs about Bethlehem. We used to sing songs in Bethlehem and that had special meaning all its own. I’m sure part of me is just looking back with rose colored glasses but there is something truly amazing about standing in the Shepherd’s fields on Christmas Eve. Thankfully as was already made abundantly clear on Thanksgiving there is absolutely nothing that can take the place of family, not even Bethlehem itself. And hey, there’s a “Living Nativity this weekend in the next town over. At least we can take a ride over and critique how accurate it is!

Walk On (Doug)

School is now fully under way in Bethlehem. Classes have begun, changes have been made, and kids are already getting in trouble. Things march on seemingly as normal with one huge difference. We’re not there. We’re here now. We’ve moved to Fitchburg, MA and I am an associate pastor at a small inner-city church. The extent to which our world is different now than it was even 4 months ago is dizzying. I wish I had a dollar for every person who has asked us “Are you glad to be back?” or “Is it weird to be back?” or “Do you miss Bethlehem?” For the record, the answer to all 3 is yes.
The fact that we can call family on a normal phone whenever we want, or get Dunkin Donuts coffee whenever we want, or watch the Red Sox in the playoffs at the same time as the rest of Red Sox Nation never gets old. We are continually marveling at the beauty of Fall in New England. Every red, orange, or yellow tree fills us with the absolute joy of being HOME. At the same time it is “weird” to be back as well. I have to admit there has been more than one night that I’ve woken up wondering where I am. My body seems very puzzled by the fact that the weather is turning colder rather quickly. A process that took a matter of several months in Bethlehem takes place in a matter of weeks here. I found myself outside without a coat on this morning wondering why I was chilly.
Of course, we miss Palestine. We miss the food. There is this amazing bread that sell with Falafel on the street corner there and you can get it for less than the equivalent of $2. We miss the fact that we could take off and be at any Biblical site we wanted within a couple of hours at the most. But most of all we miss the people. Our students, the people we taught with, Miss Grace, Miss Lilly, the other American Teachers are all people we will never forget. Our prayers are forever with them and with the school there in Bethlehem.
We found a new walking route here in Fitchburg. My last post was about walking in Bethlehem and how it affected us. We are walking a different road now. That’s true on so many levels. But we are where God has called us to be. We are a part of what God is doing in this city and especially right here in this neighborhood. Please remember the school in Bethlehem in your prayers and please remember to pray for us right here in Fitchburg.

Last Steps (Doug)

At the beginning of this year Mandy and I finally found a walking route through our neighborhood that allowed us a decent 30 minute walk. That might not seem like a terribly difficult task that would take two college educated young adults the better part of a year and a half to accomplish. Yet it is more challenging than one might assume. Lest you forget, we have been living in what is biblically referred to as the “hill country of Judah.” They don’t call it that for nothing. Unless you want your walk to contain sharp ascents and descents you’d better be prepared to be creative. So as we got to know our Little Town of Bethlehem we finally discovered a route that was relatively flat. Tonight after the blazing middle-eastern sun had finally dipped safely behind the hills of Beit Jala we embarked upon what will probably be our last daily walk through Bethlehem.

These last steps are sort of symbolic of the many ‘steps’ we’ve been taking of late. We cleaned our classrooms, handed in our books, cleaned our apartment, and threw away a ton of junk. (It is amazing how much junk two human beings can acquire in only two years. We’ve pretty much filled the big green dumpster down in the playground.) And of course there are the goodbyes. There has barely been a day this week where we haven’t been invited over to someone’s house for a huge Arabic meal and a goodbye. Today we had two! (Hence the importance of the aforementioned 30 minute walk.) It will be so hard to say goodbye to this land. It has a piece of our hearts and always will. More importantly these people have a piece of hearts. Our students, our colleagues and our friends will be sorely missed. We place them in God’s hands knowing that He who watches over Israel & Palestine “will neither slumber nor sleep”.

I’ll miss our walks here. Most days I wouldn’t have said that. Looking back though, our walks were beauty mixed with ugliness. We would walk past a beautiful rose garden, then a trash dumpster that had been set on fire. We would see palm trees and cedars of Lebanon and then someone would drive by and throw trash out the window. We would stare in amazement as a flock of sheep would waddle up the road behind a shepherd who looked like he walked straight out of a Bible story. Then we would have to cross over to the other side of the road because man, do sheep leave a mess! We would watch children playing in the dirt, flying kites, or kicking a worn out soccer ball and then we’d be stared at by a group of young men who would make your skin crawl. We saw amazing sunsets, bright blue skies, full moons, crescent moons, starry skies, we laughed and talked.

Walking is good.

A few weeks ago in church we sang a song that I first learned in Mrs. Bloem’s second grade class. It was called “This is My Father’s World.” The third verse struck me so that it bought me to tears. I guess when some look at all that is wrong and ugly here they might lose heart and say there’s no hope. I look at all that God is doing here in the lives of students, colleagues, and friends not to mention the beauty of sunsets, sheep, and cedars and I brought back to verse three of that beautiful song. So as this will most likely be our last post from the Holy Land, I leave you with these words…

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

Graduation (Doug)

I dont think it will make sense to my brain when my fingers type this sentence. It's June. As short as that sentence was it's still mindblowing to us. But we are praising God because we've made it this far.

Today was a significant day. Many of you know that we have been praying about a position at a church in Fitchburg, MA. Just moments ago we got off a video call with the pastor of that church and it's now official. By a unanimous vote I am now an associate pastor. That sentence was also very weird for my brain to comprehend as my fingers were typing.

Yesterday was also a significant day. It was graduation day here at our school in Bethlehem. I was asked to address the graduates at last nights proceedings and so I thought I'd share with you all the text of the speech I gave to the 7 graduates last night. Enjoy...

Dear Parents, fellow colleagues, esteemed guests from the Ministry and Municipality, Representatives of Miss Martha’s group, and beloved students,
Though I am honored to be speaking to you tonight I am in actuality addressing the 7 young men sitting behind me. So, shebab, please listen as though you had your name and 2 checks on the board. We’ll make one last deal. You sit quietly and I’ll never write your name on another board for the rest of your life. Ok?
When I was asked to speak at the graduation of these 7 distinguished gentlemen I was reminded of a story I once heard. There were two brothers in a certain town. They were despicable characters. They lied, cheated people, robbed people. One day, one of the brothers died and the other brother went to the town priest and said Father I will pay you a large sum of money to do my brother’s funeral on one condition. I know that you know what kind of life my brother led but if you want the money, at some point in the eulogy you need to say that my brother was a “saint.” Say whatever else you want about the man but you need to refer to him as a saint. So the priest agreed with some reservation. How could he call this character a saint. But he took to the pulpit, wiped his brow and began. “Dearly beloved the man who lies before you was a thief, a liar, and a cheat” he said “but compared to his brother, he was a SAINT!”
Enough jokes, let me address the 7 saints seated behind me. No I’m only I kidding. I love you guys. It was Ten years ago this very month that I myself graduated from high school. To some of you that makes me hardly old enough to know anything of value to share with tonight’s graduates. To others, you may feel that I’m so old I can’t remember what it’s like to sit in that chair awaiting a diploma. Actually I feel that I have quite a unique perspective. In truth I have lived a bit since graduation and I have a few life lessons I’d like to share with you. That having been said I DO REMEMBER what it it’s like to sit there and listen to 15 different people make speeches while all you really want to do is get this over with and go celebrate. So I will try to keep my remarks brief.
I have 3 lessons I want you to remember as you embark upon this next chapter in your life. The first is “Never forget where you came from.” I want you gentlemen to look out at your families sitting in the audience tonight. They love you so much! They love you so much that they work and sacrifice to put you in the American School and they will stop at nothing to give you every possible chance to succeed. Don’t waste that. You each owe them so much. Never forget that.
May your parents love also remind you of God’s love. God who would also stop at nothing because He loved you so much. He sent Jesus into the world to die for each one of you. May God’s love inspire you even more so than your parents love for you.
You will very shortly be graduates of the Jerusalem School – Bethlehem and I don’t ever want you to forget that. Though you may be very anxious to forget about school and move on with life right now. Very soon you will look back and appreciate the foundation of learning that you received here. When I graduated I wanted nothing more than to get out and celebrate with my friends, have a vacation and then get off to college. I was a big fish in a little pond. I found out all too soon that in the world I was a small fish in a very big ocean. So though you may be excited to move on, never forget what we’ve taught you and always realize that you have another family at the Jerusalem School – Bethlehem. Never forget where you came from.
Second: “Life is what you put in, not what you take out.” The world tells us all today to grab what you can get. Hoard it all for ourselves. Make as much money as you can get not matter who you may hurt in the process. Let me remind you that there is no such thing as “ENOUGH”. If getting STUFF is your goal you will never reach your goal. I read a bumper sticker once that read “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” Don’t let this be your philosophy. Not long after that I read another bumper sticker mocking that first one which read “The one who dies with the most toys…still dies.” Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourself treasures on Earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, rather store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Do not fall victim to the lie of this world that makes us obsessed with getting more stuff. This will leave you with and empty whole inside that will never be filled. Only God’s love can fill that hole inside you. And you’ll find that if you let him fill that whole inside of you not only will you have “Enough” but you will have so much that you can actually give of yourself to others.
Which brings me to my last lesson for you this evening: Be servants. This sounds like a strange thing to say to a group of bright, promising young students who have the world in front of them tonight. But you can choose right here and now whom you will serve from this day forward. Jesus’ Disciples ask him who is the greatest. Do you remember what His response to them is? The one whom I consider to be the greatest, Jesus says, is the one who serves others the most. That attitude of Humility before God and your fellow human beings is a rare and beautiful thing. Dedicate your life to serving others. Use your many wonderful talents to serve others and you will find that your life has meaning, purpose, and value beyond what you could ever hope for.
So as I stand before all 7 of you for what will probably be the last time I pray you will remember a lot of what I have taught you over the last two years. However I am a realistic kind of guy. So if you will just remember these 3 lessons I think I’ll be happy. Never forget where you came from. Life is what you put in, not what you take out and Be a servant.
Gentleman it has been my privilege to be your teacher it is now my honor to be your friend. Thank you for all that you have taught me. Congratulations and may God richly bless you all the days of your life. Thank you.

Visit Palestine - (Doug)

Last year I bought a really cool poster from our friend, Suliman, in the Old City of Jerusalem. It’s reproduction of an old advertisement from the British Mandate period (end of WWI until 1948). It’s a painting of Jerusalem and on the bottom it says simply “Visit Palestine.” At the time I bought it because I thought it was sort of quaint. Lately, Mandy and I have been visiting Palestine and that poster has become all the more special to me.
With our time here in Bethlehem winding down, it is becoming more and more apparent to us that we have seen a whole lot of Israel but not much of Palestine. Therefore over the past month we have been doing our best to get around the West Bank a bit more and see some of the places that are uniquely Palestinian. Of course we know Bethlehem. I’m driving more and more like a Bethlehem native these days, a habit I will need to break quickly upon our return to the states or I am going to face some serious traffic tickets. But we want to know Palestine beyond our own “little town of Bethlehem.” We took the students in grades 3-12 on a field trip to Jericho the other day. Jericho, the oldest city in the world and the lowest city on earth, is under the control of the Palestinian Authority. It boasts fantastic produce such as dates, figs, and a cornucopia of various other delights. You can visit the ancient Tel of Jericho and a monastery said to be where Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days.
Last weekend one of my seniors, Osama, reached a significant milestone. His SAT grades were verified by the Palestinian Ministry of Education (a group whom I affectionately refer to as the Palestinian Ministry of Misinformation) to be eligible for graduation. They have a long and confusing list of points which must be satisfied if a student from a private school wishes to graduate and Osama is the first in his class to reach this goal. He needed to travel to an office in Ramallah to do so and Mandy and I offered to tag along. In part, I wanted to be there to shake Osama’s hand after it became official, but also we just really wanted to see Ramallah.
Ramallah is sort of the unofficial capital of Palestine. Officially of course when you ask Palestinians what their capital is they will say Jerusalem. Practically speaking though, Ramallah is the capital. Most of the big businesses are centered there. The government offices are there. Yasser Arafat is buried there. So we took off for Ramallah with Osama and we had a lovely day. I got to shake Osama’s hand and congratulate him on making it through high school alive. We got to go to the famous Stars and Bucks. Yes you read that correctly and yes it is a shameless knock off of Starbucks but let me tell you when it’s been 8 months since you last saw a Starbucks, Stars and Bucks ain’t half bad. And we visited the grave of Yasser Arafat as well. Though Ramallah is quite busy and I wouldn’t want to live there I have to admit that is fairly modern and impressive city. I jokingly said to Osama that they really ought to just give up and call Ramallah the capital and move on. He’s mulling the idea over. I’m sure he’ll get back to me soon.
Just today we made our next stop on our tour of Palestine. We have a five day weekend in honor of Orthodox Easter so we went with our friends, (and fellow teachers) Paris and Lily, to Hebron. Hebron is famous for their glass industry. We got to watch a man take molten glass from a giant furnace and blow life into it before our eyes. I also watched in amazement as the same man took out a chunk of hot glass with the tongs to light a cigarette; not exactly as beautiful but fascinating nonetheless.
Hebron is probably most famous as being the final resting place of the Patriarchs. Genesis 23:19 says “Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan.” Today we stood overtop of the graves of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (not to mention Sarah and Rebecca, and Leah.) This site is holy to both Muslims and Jews. It’s sort of a symbol of Hebron as a whole. One half of this building is a mosque and the other half is a synagogue and the gate between them is guarded by Israeli soldiers. Hebron is one of the most fought over spots in the West Bank. There are settlers in Hebron who are violent and spiteful towards the Palestinians who live there. We walked through one part of the city where the shopkeepers had put fencing up over the road to catch the trash that the Jewish settlers throw down upon them. They also warned us that often times when the settlers are done washing their floor they will dump the dirty, bleach filled water down onto the street and passersby below. Part of me wanted to cry at the thought of standing over the bones of Abraham. The rest of me wondered if Abraham cries watching his children fight over his grave.
This chapter of the Priore Palestine Parade will soon draw to a close. But when I get home and hang that “Visit Palestine” poster up on my wall it will mean something different to me than it did when I first bought it. It will represent friends. It will represent memories. It will represent hope. I hope you all will take the time to visit Israel. I hope you will all get the privilege to Visit Palestine.