Today was a long day. It began with saying goodbye to our host families. Staying with them was such a blessing. I was more effected by the situation in Palestine from our conversations with them, than I ever could have imagined. So saying goodbye was bittersweet. We had an amazing breakfast followed by a cup of coffee on the back porch before we headed out. (Ben had two cups…)
After meeting together with the group, we shopped around Bethlehem for about an hour. Ben and I found a wine store run by two 8 year olds, LOTS of souvenir shops, desperate shopkeepers, the market… and in the market, a vendor stopped us and invited us in to his shop for a quick cup of coffee. We accepted, knowing full well that this was my 2nd, and Ben’s 3rd cup (more like shot) of coffee in an hour. A “cup of coffee” here is what Americans consider to be an espresso shot. The vendor, Bags, didn’t want us to pay for the coffee, just to hear a bit of our story, and perhaps to bring us to purchase something else. Either way, it was a nice gesture.
After our shopping spree, Aiman took us as far as he could along the wall to the checkpoint where we passed through with great ease. There were many other people there with us, Palestinians I assumed. Where we simply had to show our passports through the glass as we passed through, these other people had to have special permits, their passports, and give their finger prints in order to pass through. I can’t get over how much privilege and responsibility we, as Americans, have in traveling to this area of the world. I can’t let that go to waste…
A quick shopping spree in Jerusalem, filled with walking and haggling for a full hour led into my first, and probably last, visit to the Dome of the Rock. Standing up there looking at this HUGE mosque inside walls and very secured entrace ways made me think of a big club house. There were a lot of Muslims and tourists, a lots of kids running around playing soccer outside of the mosque. I liked them. It’s neat that on this such highly religious and fought-over piece of land, children still run around and play wherever they like. They don’t have a care about it.
Then we went to the Holocaust museum. The complete opposite of what we had encountered in Palestine. It still disturbs me to see those images, but it’s even harder after spending time in a Palestinian community that has been literally walled-in in order to keep them under Israeli control. Makes me think where this situation is heading…
The group got one last 6 shekel falafel and we caught the taxi home. Finally back in good ol’ Fauzi Azar, we talk about our experience for a few hours and also about what we can do with our knowledge. I think we all are completely confused about the situation still, but we know we must share these stories. We must.
I’m a little worn out from being exposed to so much in one weekend. But there’s still hope.
Karah D
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.
WOW! All I can say is WOW! I am trying to imagine everything you are expressing, as well as the sounds of the market, the smell of coffee and spice, the accent of you friends, the dust in the air and the emotions of standing at the crossroads of civilizations. I am being careful not to read between the lines but I know there is so much there that is difficult to express. Take a deep breath. You show great wisdom in your summary statement regarding hope. My hope is that your entire group is more and more embedded in the knowledge that the Peace that Jesus Christ offers is authentic, as well as supernatural. It can enter into any situation and change one person at a time. I hope you will be His ambassadors.
Love and Blessing and Peace.
Thanks, Khara, for sharing your reflections from the weekend in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. We have been praying for your group, knowing what you would hear and experience would give your group alot to process. After spending a semester there way back in 1975, I remember how confused I sometimes felt about that very complex situation. There are not easy answers or solutions. I do believe that reconciliation can begin to happen through building personal relationships across walls, through listening and honest conversations, and ultimately through Jesus Christ, the one who came to reconcile us all to God and one another. May you experience the peace of Christ in the midst of your questions and struggles.