Ahhh!

It's officially less than 2 weeks now until I leave Bethlehem and, to be honest, I am freaking out a little bit. I have come to know and love this place and the people here, and it will be hard to leave the new home and family I have acquired. However, that doesn't lessen the excitement and anticipation I have to see family and loved ones at home...so, in short, leaving here will definitely be a bitter sweet experience.
Yesterday was my last Sunday of worship with the congregation in Beit Sahour, and that was really difficult. I don't know if it has completely hit me yet, but I am going to miss that church and that community so much. Since the congregation is so small (maybe 15 people on a good day), I have gotten to know the members and vice versa. Even though I am not able to understand the sermon or really anything throughout the service, I get a different sort of spiritual fulfillment from being in that community. Yesterday was also pretty special, because Pastor Imad and his wife organized a barbeque for the congregation and all who have helped out with the summer camp program. It was a night full of good food, good conversation, laughing, singing, music, and dancing...who could ask for more? I was really grateful for that time with the congregation and also with the high school students who have been helping with the summer camp. They are amazing young adults and are so involved with their community. As I have heard from many highschoolers, summer is pretty boring, so these students have taken the initiative to do something productive with their summers. I am inspired by their committment and their interest in serving their community.
I think these next 2 weeks are going to be full of emotion as I pack up and start saying all my goodbyes. It feels like I have been putting off the goodbyes for a while now, because everyone I see says, "Oh, I will see you again before you leave!" I can only delay for so much time though before I have to face the reality that my time here is running out. It's interesting to note the things I have accumulated throughout the year. I have countless pieces of ceramic from the Beit Sahour school and Hebron factory that were gifts, and also little nic nacs that at home I probably wouldn't keep but here represent important people who have given them to me. The challenge will be to fit them all into my suitcase!
On a different not, my mom came to visit for 2 weeks recently and having her here made me realize how much I have learned about this place, and how comfortable I am living here. I was able to show her around and try to begin to explain the situation here (I say "begin" because I don't know all the answers). It was really wonderful to spend time with her and to be able to introduce her to all the people I know. We explored Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Hebron, and then we made our way to Egypt. In Egypt we spent some of our time in Cairo (and saw the pyramids, of course!) and then travelled to Dahab, a low-key city on the Red Sea. While there, we enjoyed the serenity of the place and the beauty of the sea. A few of my friends travelled over, and we hiked Mount Sinai (we left at 11 PM so we could hike it and get there by sunrise!) and snorkelled and went scuba diving in the Red Sea...in short, it was an excellent vacation :)
I apologize for the disjointed thoughts in this email. There is a lot going through my head that I wanted to get out but didn't know exactly how to format it...that will probably be the case for my next few blogs!

Palestinian Literature Festival

Last week, Dar Annadwa (the cultural center in Bethlehem) held an event for the Palestinian Literature Festival. The event was called "Literary Representations of Migration and Travel" and was essentially a dialogue between three authors: Claire Messud, Michael Palin, and Robin Yassin-Kassab. It was interesting that they were here for the Palestinian Literature Festival, as none of them are Palestinian or have lived in Palestine, but they all had interesting things to say about this place, the situation, and what their response will be. During the course of the night, one of the audience members challenged the 3 authors, demanding to know what they will do once they return to their respective countries, now that they have seen what is happening in Palestine. Claire Messud addressed this question wonderfully, stating that, while they probably will not be able to sway their political leaders, they will do the best they can using their medium: literature. That made me think about my role when I return to the US...it is not realistic to think that I will be able to change any political policies or convince President Obama to make changes in the Middle East policies, but what I can do is inform people.
On a different note, one of the authors spoke of the importance of celebrating the uniqueness of each person by listening to their story. If there is one skill that I have improved on this year, it is listening. I have been blessed by the number of stories I have heard, all very unique and different in their own ways. There is Elias *, a store owner in Manger Square, who is angry about the situation and has little hope a peaceful solution but nevertheless continues on with his life, warmly inviting us in for tea or juice every time we pass his store. And Mary, a teacher from the school who recently invited me to her home and brought me out to the porch overlooking the street where she saw her cousin get shot and killed by the Israeli army during one of the Intifidas. Or George, another teacher from the school, who was imprisoned for some of his life and is one of a few teachers who is never given permission to go to Jerusalem. And the Pastor of my church here, who continues to be a light to his congregation and community despite living in such a difficult place. And Samar, the mother of my friend, who, despite not having the opportunity to finish school, has done amazing things with a women's group and continues to fight for the rights of women. All of these people, while they may not say so themselves, radiate light and hope through their unique stories. As I think about returning home and telling my story of my experiences, these stories will most definitely bear weight in my own story.


*To protect the privacy of these people, I have used fake names

ELCJHL Anniversary Jubliee

Last Saturday began the festivities of the ELCJHL (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land) Anniversary celebration. Throughout the weekend, Christians of all denominations gathered to celebrate 3 important anniversaries of the Lutheran church in Jordan and the Holy Land: 170 years of evangelism in Jordan and the Holy Land, 50 years of the ELCJHL synod, and 30 years of Arab bishopric. The festivites began at my school, the Evangelical Lutheran School in Beit Sahour, with a march from the municipality to the school. As with any Palestinian celebration, it would not have been complete without a performance of Scouts. The Scout Troops here typically lead every parade and celebration, with their marching, bagpipes, and drum performances. People lined the streets to witness the celebration, and it was a neat way to include the whole town in the jubilee.
At the school, 5 hours of performances awaited us, as we watched performances by the Beit Sahour and Ramallah Dubkeh (traditional Palestinian dance) groups, choirs from Beit Sahour, Dar el Kalima, and Beit Jala, and a slide show displaying pictures of the church's history. After this celebration, we all moved on to Dar Annadwa, the cultual center in Bethlehem. There was a 3 hour event, in which we were able to witness dialogues between various groups of people. Among these people were a retired headmaster of the Lutheran School in Beit Sahour, the Palestinian minister of tourism, and various pastors of the Lutheran church. One of the ELCJHL pastors talked about the role of the church in Palestine and, much like the role of our churches in the US and all around the world, he views the responsibility of the church as taking care of the spirit of people who are weary. However, unlike our churches at home, the spirits of the people here are being constantly worn down by daily stress of occupation. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to be a pastor in this place and to constantly be sources of hope and light for the people when their own light and hope may be dwindling. As far as the church programs go, this Pastor outlined three: love, hope, and faith. Now these are a familiar set of words to anyone who has read Corinthians, but he put a different spin on these words. His definition of love included the necessity of being firm and saying no to wrong-doing and his definition of hope included being tired of saying "we can't" and looking towards the resurrection.
This presentation was very interesting and gave me more of an inside look into the role of the church in this land. They ended the presentation by emphasizing that humanity is beautiful, and that the church recognizes it. I liked that there were no qualifiers on "humanity"...no reference to nationality, race, or religion. The church recognizes beauty in all groups of people and that should be an example to the rest of humanity.

Here is a quick video of my school's Dubkeh performance group. These are 9-12th grade students, and they are amazing!

Funeral

Yesterday, I found out that one of the teachers from my school here lost her mother. She had been sick for a while in Jordan and wanted to come back to Palestine to die but, unfortunately, she passed away sooner than anyone expected. A few of the teachers went to the church to pay condolences, and I went along. It was strange walking into the almost empty church, a place of usual excitement and joy. While I have attended many weddings and engagements here, this was the first occassion of grief and mourning that I have experienced while in Palestine. I did not know what to do or what to say...even in English, I usually don't know what to say, but the language barrier made it a little more complicated. So I shook the hands of the men, and went over to the women's sections to greet them with kisses on the cheek. I felt out of place there and I almost felt guilty for interrupting their grieving session. But, as always, I was received warmly and was offered coffee, in true Palestinian style. A few people questioned who the foreigners were, but for the most part I was just included as part of the group. I learned the appropriate Arabic phrases to say, although I can only remember one "Alla yir hamha": "God rest her soul."
As I talked to the teacher, I found out that her mother's body is still in Amman, Jordan, and whether or not they could bring her body back for the funeral today depended on the Israeli soldiers. This made me so sad for the family...her mother's final wish was to be brought back to Palestine, but that all depended on the mood of the soldier that day.
Being in a community means celebrating joys and mourning losses with the people around you. I have been blessed with invitations to celebrate happy occassions and festivals, and now I have been allowed to also share in the sad moments as well. Even though I don't know what to say, I hope that being there is an indication of how much I love this community.

Sports Festival...epic!

I just got home from an epic day. I woke up as usual to go to school, only to find out that the majority of the students didn't even have school today, due to the giant sports festival our school was hosting. Every year, the Evangelical Lutheran School in Beit Sahour hosts this event, an opportunity to showcase the athletic abilities of the students. I had seen pictures in past yearbooks of kids jumping through flaming hoops, so I was curious to see what this year would bring. After multiple weeks of practicing and listening to the same song over and over again ("Number 1"), the day finally came for the students to show off all of their hard work and talents. The festival included: 2 dance routines, a coreographed bicycle routine, gymnastics, kindergarten races, basketball routines (one person did a flip after throwing the ball in the air, the next person bouncing the ball off the backboard, and the third slam-dunking the ball in), and of course...the flaming hoop. I cannot even tell you how many times during these 2 hours I was holding my breath and praying that the students would not get hurt. None of the cyclists were wearing helmets, and the fire made me nervous, to say the least, as it was a windy day and I had never seen evidence of this having been practiced before. But, hamdullelah (thank God!), the festival was a success and no one was hurt. I was very impressed by all the hard work of the students and the teachers, and I was surprised by all of the hidden talents of the students!
After the event ended, Marta and I went out to Flavors, a local hotspot, for a bite to eat with some of the students. We have gone to students' houses before for meals, but this was the first time that we had ever "hung out" with students. But now, as it comes closer to the end of the year, I want to take advantage of every opportunity I have to get to know people better. I have come to know and love the people of my community and I count my blessings for having been placed here. Although we came home after14 hours of being out and about, I felt energized and refreshed from this day and the interactions I had with people. Yay, sports festival!

The Pope comes to Bethlehem!

Oftentimes throughout this year, I have had the "Oh my gosh, I am living in Bethlehem" moments. These have included: Christmas in Bethlehem, Easter in Jerusalem, hiking the Jesus Trail in Nazareth, and now...witnessing the Pope lead mass in Manger Square, a mere 15 minute walk from my apartment. The Pope has been in the area for about a week now, and yesterday he came to visit Bethlehem. It has been interesting witnessing the preparations for his arrival. Soldiers from all over Palestine were brought in, a new turnabout (complete with a garden in the middle) was constructed, streets were repaved, and benches were added to the sidewalks. Our street was completely redone, and we joked that this was due to the Pope as well, even though it is a street barely travelled. So when Wednesday finally rolled around, everyone was excited. Even though the Pope has not had the best record with Muslims (or Jews for that matter), he was still very well received in the Bethlehem community. I went with a group of students from our school in hopes of catching a glimpse of him, so we waited on the street. As groups walked by, we heard some interesting chants for the Pope, and I would have to say that my favorite was "We love, we love Benedict" in the tune of "We will, we will rock you." Pretty clever. Our students were chanting "Baba! Baba!" (Baba is the Arabic word for Pope). After a brief waiting period, we were all excited as we saw the entourage of cars and security pass by, signaling that the time was near. Finally, we saw the "Popemobile" a sweet car with a glass sitting container for the Pope. As we were the only group in our area, we were certain that his waves were intended for us. I don't really know much about this Pope, but it did give me the shivers to know that I had actually seen the Pope.
So, our students went back to school, and Marta and I wandered up towards Manger Square to try to get another peek. We found out that tickets were required but, fortunately, a stranger on the street offered us 2 tickets. I don't know where these came from, but we didn't ask any questions and continued on our merry way! After we dodged some security and figured out alternate ways into Manger Square, we came upon the Mass and heard some of the Pope's speech. I only caught portions of what he said, but what impressed me most was that he acknowledged that the Holy Land is for all people, regardless of their religion. He also acknolwedged the pain and suffering of Gaza, and prayed for peace in this place. What I liked most about the Pope's visit was that it was a definite statement of solidarity. Just by coming to Palestine, the Pope acknowledged the Christians in this area, a people who often feel forgotten about and abandoned. Many Palestinians were excited for the Pope's arrival, as it meant that they are recognized as a people, and that they aren't isolated from the world. I was told that the last time the Pope came, an Intifada happened shortly after, so I am hoping that that is not a pattern!

School update

I realized that I haven't written anything about my work at the school in a long time. I guess it is because things have gotten so normal that I forget to write about that. Marta and I are very busy working on the school's yearbook. The last yearbook the school had was in 2004, so needless to say the students and teachers are excited about having one this year. Two weeks ago, we were given the task of taking (and labeling) all of the students' and teachers' photos. This was a surprise to us, as someone else had already done this at the beginning of the year. We thought we were off the hook for this task, but apparently the previous photos were not suitable. So, after a week and a half of tracking down students and trying to figure out a system to record all of the names, we finished! At this point we are finished with the students' individual photos and the class pictures, so I feel pretty good about our progress. We still have much work to do, but it will get done. I am enjoying this work, although it is at times frustrating, because I am happy that I will have something tangible to give back to the school. All of the students and teachers have been so welcoming to me, and this will be a small gift to them from me.
The past few days at school were exciting and fun, as I went on 2 field trips. With Kindergarten through 2nd grade, we went to an amusement park in Hebron. The kids were thrilled by the sight of the playground and rides. I couldn't blame them...I was pretty excited myself! Going on rides with kids was definitely a highlight of this trip. Also, meeting the moms of some of the students was really fun. Since Marta and I hadn't planned on coming on this fieldtrip, we hadn't brought any food for lunch. A mother of 2 of the students in kindergarten graciously welcomed us to lunch with her and her children, and we were extremely grateful for the food and the company. Although she could speak English, she spoke mostly Arabic with us, which gave us an opportunity to practice our language skills.
Yesterday we went on another fieldtrip, this time with the 3rd-10th classes to Megaland, an amusement park in Tulqarim, a city in the northern West Bank. I have wanted to go there for a while but never thought I would go there to visit an amusement park! This amusement park was much larger than the one in Hebron and was equipped with a ferris wheel, haunted house, and bumper cars, to name a few. I went from ride to ride with the kids, stopping only once for a lunch break. Unfortunately, my stomach cannot handle rides like it used to, so I felt a little nauseous for part of the day, but it was totally worth it. While visiting Megaland didn't really give me an accurate feel for the city of Tulqarim, it was really cool to visit such a success story. Megaland was full of families and school groups, and it was wonderful to see a thriving business in a place that has dealt with its fair share of hardships.
On our way home from Tulqarim, we stopped in Nablus to try some of its famous Kanaffa. Kanaffa is an Arabic dessert that has cheese and a honey sauce. It sounds weird, but is actually pretty good. It is a very sweet and heavy dessert, so a few bites is definitely enough.
So, after about 6 hours on a bus and 5 hours in a theme park, I was quite exhausted. Luckily the checkpoints were not a problem, because that could have lengthened our trip by quite some time. On the drive back home, as I was watching the beautiful scenery and listening to the children, the song "You're gonna miss this" popped up in my Ipod and I defintely had a sense of anticipatory nostalgia. I know that I still have 2 months left here, but time is going by quicker than I would like, so I need to savor everything here...the place, the people, the language, the food.
Here are the lyrics to "You're gonna miss this", in case you were wondering:
You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this