Shalom Y'all

Well, it was East meets West and North meets South as Kim and Shannon descended upon the Holy Land for their recent visit. Our silence on the blog lately has not been for lack of stories to share. Rather we haven’t had a moment to spare as we’ve been running a Holy Land tour out of our apartment.
My sister, Kim, and our friend, Shannon, came over to visit us for 10 days. For those of you who don’t know them, Kim is currently attending Harvard Divinity school in Boston and Shannon works in the inner city in Houston, TX. Kim and Shannon met in college. They were the first familiar faces besides Josh & Lauren that we’ve seen in almost 6 months! So you can only imagine what it was like to see them come walking through airport security. We talked and laughed in a way we hadn’t for months. When Kim and Shannon are around hilarity usual follows and this visit was no disappointment.
Doing the Holy Land in 10 days is tough when your tour guides have school most days until 2:40 but nonetheless we put some miles on the old school van and were able to see the sites. The first weekend Mandy and I didn’t have school on Saturday. I think it was Muslim New Year. So we decided to let them sleep in a bit since they’d flown all day the day before and we took off for the Galilee about 10:00 Saturday morning. We stayed at Ein Gev which is a Kibbutz that runs a hotel right alongside the Sea of Galilee. It was excellent. We were able to go from there and see all the major sites. We went to Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin. We went to all the beautiful churches that commemorate events from the life of Jesus. One of our favorites is the Church of the Beatitudes which commemorate the giving of the Sermon on the Mount. Sunday we went up into the Golan Heights and went to the ancient Israelite city of Dan and Caesarea Philippi. Dan was, biblically speaking, the northernmost city in Israel. Remains of the Israelite fortifications are visible at the site. Caesarea Philippi was an ancient Canaanite and later roman city dedicated to the god of bread, Pan. The city was named Panias until Herod the Great (same Herod that built Masada and the Temple in Jerusalem in Jesus’ time) built it up and named it after the Caesar.
Then we drove home by way of Mt. Hermon and the Golan Heights. Mt. Hermon is Israel’s only large mountain. It’s peak was capped in snow which is a good sign. Israel’s major water sources, the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River depend on the runoff from these snows. The Golan is an interesting place. There are a lot of vineyards in the shadow of Mt. Hermon, and there is a large military presence here due to Israel’s less than friendly relationship with Syria.
Monday through Thursday took some logistical creativity since Mandy and I were in school, as I’ve said. But what we managed to do worked out pretty well. Kim and Shannon visit our classrooms and go on organized tours while we were in school and then we’d try to take them places after school. So they hit the major places in Bethlehem on a tour we organized through one of my students. Then we took them to some of the off-the-beaten-track sites after school. They even found a tour guide to take them through the refugee camp in Bethlehem to see one of the communities of people who have been displaced by Israeli settlements. We recently made friends with a priest who is a professor at Bethlehem University. He’s really knowledgeable about the history of the University and Bethlehem in general so we had them take a tour with him as well.
Friday we went to the Dead Sea. We went to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Then we stopped off for Kim and Shannon to have a small shopping spree at the Ahava factory store. So if you’ve heard recently that the level of the Dead Sea has been dropping recently, now you’ll know why. From there we went for a picnic lunch beside the shores of the Dead Sea. Kim even went for a float in the salty waters. (Don’t worry she waited a half hour before swimming.) Then we tried to get into Masada but just so you know they close early on Friday. We thought of trying to sneak in but historically it has not been very easy to get into Masada if people don’t want you in there. (See Josephus for examples.)
Saturday was a field trip day for the High School. We took them to the Herodian and Kim and Shannon came along. It was a good time, but Kim and Shannon are still a little shell-shocked from a ride in a bus with 50 Arab high schoolers. Then after school we took off for the Mediterranean coast at Ashdod. Ashdod was once the capital of the Philistines territory. We didn’t do much exploring, rather we just flopped down on the beach and watched the sun set over the Mediterranean. Then we made our way back to Bethlehem and went to a barbecue with my 11th graders.
Sunday we spent the day in Jerusalem. There was a lot to see but we did pretty good. The Holy Sepulcher and the Mount of Olives were beautiful. The weather seems to be slowly warming up here. Yesterday was warm and sunny for most of the day until the sun began going down.
For me, it was harder to watch Kim go at the airport last night than it was to say goodbye to our families at the airport in August. Isn’t that funny? In August we were excited and nervous and we had a clear task in front of us. In a sense, we didn’t have time to be sad. Last night watching her go, it felt like there was just a long drive back to Bethlehem and 5 months until we see any more family.
Luckily, this weekend we have our friends Dan and Hiromu coming in. That is bound to be a good time. For the first time in 6 years, Dan, Josh and I will be together in Jerusalem again. Last week Friday was the 6th anniversary of the day we left for Jerusalem the first time. Mandy and I will be hosting these two pilgrims for three days next weekend. So that excitement takes some of the sting away from watching Kim and Shannon leave.

Ringing in the New Year at the Dead Sea

Last night I was reading about Abram and Lot. A verse mentioned the "Salt Sea" and in a footnote it said Dead Sea. I was reading a story from the beginning of time and could now picture the vibrant, lovely light blue of the Dead sea and the huge salt crystals it leaves after time. In fact I could picture myself back floating in its therapeutic mineral-laden waters where I had been a few days ago, and could even still feel the sting of it in my eye (when I absentmindedly itched my eye-ouch)! The only thing that has changed in thousands of years is the water level; it's gone down 40 ft. since the beginning of the 20th century because its main water source, the Jordan River, has been over-exploited for irrigation purposes. It's endangered. There are still many many minerals in it, and it's still the lowest point on Earth. I was just thrilled that I could read and think, "Yeah, I've been there too Abraham!"

Nothing beats celebrating New Years' at the Dead Sea (except having our families there with us). Warm temperatures (60s), mini road trips, and reflecting on God's faithfulness over the past year sum up our weekend. We drove through rain the first night to our hotel. Rain in the desert-how refreshing and very rare! The Dead Sea Gardens, our hotel, left much to be desired, but we still enjoyed the 2 indoor Dead Sea pools, jacuzzis, and good meals. We stayed in a town called Ein Bokek.

We took off for Eilat (pronounced "a lot"), the southernmost city in Israel, for an afternoon. It took about two hours to drive through the Negev Desert to get there. It was surreal to see where the Israelites had wandered for 4o years. It's called the "Desert of Zin." Acacia trees are quickly becoming my favorite, and their heartiness allows them to withstand the harshest of desert conditions. I loved seeing many of those. Eilat is quite touristy, but we quickly scooted through the main part of town to the beaches. Eilat is on the Northern tip of the Red Sea. At one point we were looking at Jordan to our East, Saudi Arabia to our Southeast, and Egypt to our West. It was unbelievable! Technically we stood on part of the Sinai Peninsula too. We hope to visit Aqaba and Petra in Jordan one day (Aqaba is the famous city T.E. Lawrence conquered for the Arabs from the Turks- for all you "Lawrence of Arabia" fans-like my husband) We were SO CLOSE to Egypt too. We're anxious to get there, too.....
We stopped by a coral reef on our way back to the hotel. It was too cold to go snorkeling unfortunately. Doug had snorkeled there before, though, so he told me about the sea life down there. It looked very cool.

The drive back to the hotel through the Negev was my favorite. I watched the mountains of Jordan turn from a dark brown to a light brown to a light purple to a purplish-pinkish hue all in the span of 5 mins. The fiery orange sunset to our left just capped it off. We'll send pictures, but they won't do the scenery justice. It was breathtaking. We ended our day relaxing in the jacuzzi, as always:-)

The next trip was to the Western coastal city of Ashkelon on the Mediterranean Sea. 3 bodies of water in 2 days-not bad! For all you Michiganders, it reminded me of Lake Michigan, a bit lighter blue:-) We visited there on our way home. Much history to be seen. We toured the National Park where a 3rd century Roman basilica was partially excavated. Also, an antilia (town meeting place) was discovered. Lots of big columns and even goddesses were found. (see pictures) We get all excited when they're still in the excavation process! We wish we had a day or two to poke around in there. (Doug's still on the hunt for his coin)

Our next stop was at the Elah Valley, where David fought Goliath. The brook was all dried up, but we gathered five really smooth stones, the smoothest of which Doug is certain killed Goliath.
Supposedly, the valley stretches East all the way to Bethlehem! We read the story before leaving so we could put it in context. All the battles fought covered much ground, but this particular valley is so big that you could picture the soldiers camped there 40 days. We had driven through Gath, Goliath's town, on the way to the valley, so we were able to get a sense of how far the Philistines had traveled to get to this point. It is amazing the amount of legwork, or camel work, these people did! I pictured in my mind this small area where all the action took place, when in reality they covered a lot of ground. It's impressive.

When we reached Jerusalem to return the rental car we stopped at a traffic light. Now mind you, it's like rush hour out there. Doug says, "Look." I glance over to the left and who comes across the street but a man on a donkey! Doug says, "There are things that people wouldn't believe if you told them." Now, I've gotten used to seeing some pretty unusual things that not much surprises me anymore,(like donkeys walking on sidewalks) but this struck me as funny. He's not obeying the traffic laws because he just barges in front of traffic (well, I suppose the donkey took charge) and people just sort of shrug, like no big deal. I don't even think I heard horns beeping. I mean, what can you do? I watch them get across the street and proceed to walk down the sidewalk. Not so much as a doubletake from the passersby!

We had an awesome weekend. Yea for vacation! The beauty of this land never ceases to amaze me. I think I've seen the most beautiful site, and then there's always more. We will send pictures of Ein Gedi and Qumran soon. That's for another blog.........

O Little Town of Bethlehem...

Mandy and I have been talking a lot lately about how unable our minds are to comprehend what it’s been like to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem. Christmas in Bethlehem was filled with wonder. One can’t help but walk through the streets of the old city of Bethlehem and not think, ‘Did they pass here?’ ‘Were these stones here?’ Abraham Joshua Heschel says at the beginning of his book, Israel, that if only these stones could talk, oh the story they would tell us. Sometimes I catch myself staring at old walls or houses and wishing they could speak. Around every corner or hilltop in Bethlehem my mind wanders to what it would have looked like on that night so long ago.

How still we see the lie…

Christmas Eve began for us by watching the annual parade through the old city. Bethlehem’s churches all have scout troops that play drums and horns and bagpipes. They all get gussied up (as my Nana Phyllis would say) and march through the streets in preparation for the coming of the Patriarch from Jerusalem who gives the Midnight Mass in the Church of the Nativity. Manger square is anything but still. It’s jammed with people from all over the world. We stood in line to get into the Church of the Nativity next to a group from Poland. They were actually singing in the Mass that night. I’m still not sure if they all made it through the barricade or not. It was a zoo. I’m pretty sure a merry band of drunken monkeys could organize security better but that’s another story.

Above thy dark and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by…

Our friends, Josh and Lauren came down to spend the night with us. We got the most, I think, out of our visit to the Shepherds’ field. This spot was not high on our list but it will definitely be from now on. We have been here 4 months and we haven’t even gone yet. In a sense because this is one of those, what I call, “Yeah Right” spots. As in Yeah Right you’re going to tell me you know exactly where the shepherds were sitting when the Angels appeared to them. C’mon. But once we got there we realized that this spot, however outlandish their claim may be, was really beautiful. A small chapel surrounded by a grove of trees in valley that is still inhabited by shepherd families today, how much more do you want? As with a lot of spots I found myself saying, ok you know what, we can’t say for SURE that THIS is the exact spot but in all honesty we can’t be that far away so this is as good a spot as any to remember the event. The important thing is the exact spot in which it happened but THAT it happened in an exact spot. Sometimes being here helps one remember that. These aren’t stories about hobbits in Middle Earth or Lions in Narnia. This is a story about shepherds from a place known as Beit Sahour. It’s an actual town. There are actual shepherds still living there. When that sinks in you begin to experience a little of the wonder of being here.

Yet in thy dark street shineth the everlasting light…

In the Shepherds’ Field you’ll find some caves. Those caves served as dwellings and storage places for the Byzantine monks who first recognized this spot as holy back in the 4th and 5th centuries. One of my fondest Christmas memories will forever be walking into one of the caves that had obviously been used to house animals. At the back of the cave was a feeding trough. I looked at it and I said out loud to Josh, Lauren and Mandy, “Hey check it out, this is a manger, this is what it would have looked like.” Then we all looked around the cave and realized this is what it would have looked. It was just a chalky, limestone cave with a stone manger at the back. So we sat down, took a couple pictures, and we just soaked it in.

The hopes and fears of all the years…

We left the Shepherds’ field and decided it would be appropriate to dine like shepherds after such an adventure. So we to Josh & Lauren to a restaurant called simply “The Tent”. Here you dine on couches beneath a giant canvass tent. Guys smoke the houka and drink the terrible coffee that tastes like mud. We had chicken, beef, and lamb, and an array of Middle Eastern salads. After dinner I brought our turkey over to the baker on the other side of Manger Square because really it wouldn’t be a holiday around here if I didn’t get to run across manger square with a hot turkey. Some traditions are worth keeping. We ended the night back at our apartment just hanging out with Josh and Lauren. Their presence here has been such a blessing. Definitely, without a doubt, THE hardest thing about Christmas this year was being away from our family. The wonder and the amazement of this place simply cannot take the place of our families. I think Josh and Lauren would say the same. But at least if you have to be lonely it’s nice to have people to be lonely with. They really have become like our family here and it was nice to have them around.

Are met in thee tonight.

Christmas day was crazy. We had met some people from Bermuda couple weeks ago when we joined Josh & Lauren on field trip that their class was taking. Joanne & Quincy are both studying here and they have a little baby boy named Yeshia who is just adorable. He has cheeks that we’re pretty sure he’s using to store nut in for the winter. But anyways we got the impression that they had nowhere to go for Christmas. My mom has taught me a lot of things but one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that meals are like the Gospel: Best when SHARED. Especially around the Holidays it’s important to find people who have nowhere to go and invite them to the table. So we did and Quincy, Joanne and Yeshia spent Christmas day in Bethlehem with us. They even invited another friend too, so by the time was all said and done we had 7 people around our humble little table. Not bad.
After dinner when everyone had gone their separate ways Mandy & I sat down opened our gifts. Our families have spent the last month or more packing up boxes with Christmas presents and shipping them over to us. So as Christmas came to a close and we were really missing our families, one by one we got to open up little reminders of how much they love us. One by one we marveled at the way our family models the love of Christ to us.
So there we were, sitting beneath our Charlie Brown Christmas tree with our presents. We had to laugh because in some way you think that spending Christmas in Bethlehem will make you more Holy. But in the end you realize that while it may make the wonder more vivid, and it may make the story come alive in a better way for you, it doesn’t make you any more Holy. That’s the job of the little Baby in the back of the cave. He makes us Holy. Whether you’re in Bethlehem, Grand Rapids, or Natick the decision you make about that child is the most important thing you can take away from Christmas.