Sunday in Beit Jala

Well, here we are. We survived the first week. Now we take a deep breath and prepare for another. I looked forward to a half day Saturday, but it felt like a full day. We cram everything into a shorter time period. I was exhausted Saturday afternoon and am still recovering today. Miss Grace's sister has her surgery tomorrow, so Miss Grace is using the van. Please pray that all goes well tomorrow. Since we don't have any transportation, it's nice to have an excuse to stay put. With much around to see and do, sometimes I feel guilty for sitting in the apartment. Anyway, the day of rest is much needed.

Yesterday Doug and I went to the Old City of Jerusalem (after school). We toured the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, had a moment at the Western (Wailing) Wall, and enjoyed seeing the beautiful architecture in the Jewish Quarter.

Seeing old rocks preserved in the Holy Sepulchre was neat. I touched a stone like that of the one around Jesus' tomb. I saw a slab of rock that Jesus would have been laid on during his burial. I wasn't able to enter Christ's tomb because my shoulders were not covered. I was really excited to go in there. I will have to visit again.
The large rotunda was gorgeous. The sites we've visited so far have struck me as odd. I didn't picture them being so decorated (okay, gaudy) I pictured them to be much more earthy. I know many people lay claim to most of the sites, and that's why it's decorated fancily, but I just want it to be tombish. I guess that's why the Church of the Nativity was one of my favorite spots so far-because it looked how I thought it should look. (well at least by the Grotto, in the underground) I didn't feel removed. I could reach out, touch it, and it felt real to me. I could picture my Lord there. For me, rock does it, and that's why I was so fascinated by encased slabs of rock! And rock is excavated, and therefore not built over yet, so it's closer to where Jesus would have been.

The Wailing Wall was interesting. I experienced it by myself because the men and women are separated. I received a shawl to cover my arms this time. It was neat seeing the pieces of paper that people had left with notes on it and such. Women were reciting Psalms and prayers. There was even a class of children meeting up by the very far right of the wall. When you leave, you must not turn your back on the wall, so I walked backwards, and caught a glimpse of a child not yet 2 with the long curly sideburns walking behind me. So cool. Then we went back via the Jewish Quarter. I enjoyed seeing many synagogues by the Wall, and people going there for Shabbat. However, I began to realize we were "going against the flow" of synagogue worshippers, and was worried about being trampled on. It was quite the experience! Orthodox Jews intrigue me. I enjoyed being surrounded by them (after feeling like an intruder in their space)
We visited Josh and Lauren and they showed us the grounds of Hebrew U. We then viewed the Judean Wilderness, and I saw the Dead Sea! I can't wait to go there!!!!! The sight is breathtaking, and we tried to capture it by camera. Look for more pictures to arrive soon! (Doug is sending them now)

Highlights from my first week at school:

1. On the first day of school, I welcomed my students, and a young girl couldn't find her desk. She was beginning to panic after a short time. I prayed and she says, "I'm not in 4th grade, I'm in 3rd grade!" We helped her find the right class.


2. A Beta fish was visiting our classroom (along with songbirds, a hamster, a turtle, etc) on the second day of school. Things had gone smoothly for much of the day. No escaping animals, all animals stayed in tact, except for a zebra fish that died early in the day. The last 10 mins of class-a loud screech rings in the air. I found out that the Beta fish's bowl had gotten knocked over, and sure enough, there it was, flapping wildly on the floor. Nobody did anything but screech, so I had to tell the child to pick up the fish, put it back in the bowl, and then fill up the bowl (because there was very little water left) Kids are slipping and sliding all over the wet floor, not helping clean it up. The other child returns from filling up the bowl with the Beta fish, and can't see movement in the bowl. He's got tears in his eyes. The bell rings. I quickly dismissed them so the child could share the loss of his fish with his family.


3. My children sang, "Lord I lift your name on high" in Arabic. It was beautiful.

4. My class was doing wordsearches. I checked on a student who hadn't circled any words yet. They had been working for at least 15 mins already. He looks up at me and says, "Miss, I am halfway!" I look at him confusingly. He goes on to say, "Miss, I circle them in my head." I ask him how he can keep track. He says, "I just can." I tell him that that's interesting way to do it and say it will be much easier to circle them. As I walk away, I see him start circling the words. I have never had that experience before.


5. "Meeeees" is my name now. (Remember that Sara Nelson?)

Please pray that I can connect with my class. I talked with Miss Grace extensively yesterday, and she told me lots about the children's home life. It's shaky. They had a rough year last year with 3 different teachers, so they don't really remember how to do school. Pray that I can figure out how to reach them. They are tough to handle sometimes. Thanks.