Bothered in Bethlehem - (Mandy)

Miss Grace and I were discussing field trip options the other day. We had decided earlier
to take the children to a park to play for the day. Our “playground” space at the school is very small-it’s a basketball court-so we thought letting the kids run free for a day in a big field would be a nice change of pace for them. Miss Grace called a park in Jericho with a good reputation. She called and discovered that it’s under Israeli control. (Most of Jericho is West Bank territory) It’s discouraging that the one nice park is under Israeli control, but Miss Grace proceeded to sign our students up for admission anyway. The lady from the park called Miss Grace back after a few minutes of agreeing on the day, and said, “We have decided against letting your children in since they are from the West Bank.” She gave no other reason. I guess she doesn’t have to. End of discussion. They’re just children! And fun children, too! They’re going to be under adult supervision (American no less!) and just want to play in a nice park. I keep thinking to myself that peace has to start somewhere, so why not let it start with permitting West Bank children into a park?? The ironic thing is that we are now going to a park in Tel Aviv in a week. The children are permitted to go into Israeli territory until the age of 16. That made the words of the lady from the park in Jericho all that more insulting.

I asked Lily, a friend and colleague here at the school, to join us for church last night in Jerusalem. She said, “I can’t come. I don’t have permission.” I was so frustrated. I was eager to catch up with her and I know she enjoys worshiping with us. She isn’t a two-year-old who needs permission. And she’s not allowed to fellowship with other believers of all things?! So irritating. This combined with the park incident just made me so angry.

Most things I have to suffer through complacently and it bothers me. I spend much time here feeling helpless, more often than not with people and their situations. I bite my tongue and go with it, but I won’t let it stop bothering me. If I do, my job here is done.

On a much brighter note, Doug and I went to what must be the best-smelling place in all of Jerusalem today! It’s a promenade that looks north to the old city, a few miles away. The view is absolutely gorgeous, I’m pretty excited I can identify more places immediately, and we walked among many fragrant flowers in bloom! We were able to walk for miles, too. After eating at a café that looked towards the old city, we read books in the grass. Honestly, this is our new favorite spot! We can see it being therapeutic during the week.