The Current Situation in Jerusalem

I know a lot of you have been watching the news about the recent conflicts in Israel. For those of you that haven't heard, there has been a bunch of fighting recently in Gaza (a highly disputed area on the southwestern coast of Israel). As far as I can tell, fighting broke out and about 4 Israelis died. As a result, the Israelis got really mad and started bombing Gaza and killed about 300 Palestinians. Not so good.

With the conflict, things are a little tenser here in the Holy Land. We're all fine. The center keeps us away from any dangerous areas. Since the conflict, we've been banned from going to Bethlehem, anywhere on the West Bank (duh!) and certain areas of Jerusalem. The program directors haven't said anything about cancelling the program yet. I really hope they won't. The last few weeks in Jerusalem have been amazing. This morning we got to see the Mount of Transfiguration and Nain. They both had a really special feeling to them. This whole land has a special feeling to it. Most of the people here have been so nice to us, and the sites have been really fun to see.

I'm safe, and my family is safe. That's a relief. But, I really want to be able to finish my time in Jerusalem. I want to be able to fully immerse myself in the Old and New Testament sites here. This is a chance of a lifetime.

I also want the people here to be safe. Most of them are wonderful, kind people, who are just trying to get by. Very few are violent, like the fanatics causing the problems in Gaza. The people here are good people. They're trying the best they can, and they need peace too.

So pray for the people. Pray that the violence will stop and that peace talks will go forth.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.

Life's Lessons Learned

My family at a Jewish cemetery, with the Dome of the Rock in the background.

So, I have now been in Israel for a full three days, and I already feel like I have learned a lot of things from my experience. Here's a brief summary of some of the things I have learned/discovered since arriving in Israel:

• Minarets are cool, but really loud. They play music five times a day (at least) to remind the Muslims to pray. One of those times is at about 5:30 in the morning. (Click here for a video of what they sound like. And it's a surprise that all visitors get jet lag?)
• At the Jerusalem Center, there are trees that grow little citrus fruits that are slightly smaller than a tangerine. The inside is very sour, but the peel is surprising sweet, so you eat them peel and all. It sounds weird, but they're really good.
• Water pressure here is not the same. At least, my bathroom facet seems to have two settings: off and turbo. I still manage to splatter myself every time I turn it on.
• Adapters and converters are NOT the same things. Too bad I didn't figure this out until AFTER I blew out my hair-dryer. Oops. Good thing I didn't test it out on my laptop.
• Falafels are amazing! They are pitas filled with a kind of ground-up, fried chickpea, and lots of other good stuff. I plan on eating a lot while I'm here.
• Drivers here are crazy. Before I came to Israel, people used to ask if I was nervous to come here (because of all the violence, terrorist attacks, etc.) After the last few days, I now know how to respond. I am less scared of terrorist attacks than I am of the psycho drivers here. They whiz down narrow streets at 40ish miles an hour, and they'll squeeze within inches of people that are walking. Did I mention it's scary?
• There is such a thing as selective hearing. On my first night here, I slept right through the minarets blaring, but I promptly bounced out of bed as soon as I heard my baby niece screaming (evidence that my sister had just arrived in Israel).
  

All in all it has been quite the experience adapting to life in the Holy Land, but in spite of its peculiarities, it is a wonderful place to be. I am excited to see what new lessons I will learn during the next four months.

Shalom!

A worker at the Olive wood factories at Bethlehem, making a figure for a nativity scene.

Drinking from an olive wood cup at the olive wood factory. You can't really see from this picture, but the whole scene of the last supper is carved into the cup, in great detail.

Away in A Manger

Today we took a trip to Bethlehem! While we were there, we visited the Church of the Nativity-- the location where the Catholics, Greek Orthodox, and Armenian Christians all think that the original stable was where Mary gave birth to baby Jesus. It was different to see a big church built over a site like that, but when we got to go underground to the actual stable area, a feeling of peace permeated our little group. At least, it felt peaceful to me. The stable was different from our usual Western image of a barn built out of wood. Instead, it was solid rock-- a natural cave transformed into animal pens. Our family stopped to sing a few Christmas carols-- Silent Night, Away in a Manger (despite Dad's aversion to the second verse obvious falsification "no crying he makes"), What Child is this, and Joy to the World. As I stood there with my family, watching my one-month-old nieces, I felt the Spirit's witness of the babe of Bethlehem. Christ may not have been born in the exact spot that I stood today, but he was born, and he was the son of God, and most importantly, he did suffer for my sins. I didn't have to come to Bethlehem to know that, but I'm grateful for the reminder of the real importance of Christmas.

(Janel, Lily, me, Mom, and Becca at the Church of the Nativity)



This is the exact spot where Mary supposedly gave birth to Jesus. My own nieces helped us envision what Christ would have looked like there. (Bryce, my brother-in-law, wanted to put his baby, Amy, in the manger, but we didn't think the curators would have appreciated that.)

(For additional pictures and information about our last two days of trips, also check out my family's blog: http://www.wilsonwatch.blogspot.com)

A Little Poetry

Last week was my last meeting with the Poetic Altoids. It was a sad moment, but at least I was comforted by the fact that we now have a Poetic Altoids blog. I invite you all to take a look at http://curiouslypoetic.blogspot.com/. It has a fun compilation of poetry written and submitted by my poetically minded friends and me. Hopefully I'll be able to continue contributing while I'm out of the country.

And now, in honor of the Poetic Altoids, here are some poems I wrote for our last meeting:

(This first poem is actually a 2-part poem. Special thanks to Diane for inspiring me to write it.)

Part 1: Overloaded

Blank
Clear
Cramped
Tired
Yawn
What?
Oh
Right
Poetry
Night
Silver
Bells
Christmas
Smells
Good
Cheer
New
Year
Finals
Done
Lots of
Fun
No more
School
Holidays
Rule!

Part 2: Still

I
feel
my
sanity
trickling
down
drop
by
drop
drip
drip
drip
d
r
i
p
p
i
n
g
down
to
the
land
of
forgotten
facts
years
of
cramming
crunched
and
crammed
right
out
of
my
mind

And finally, this last poem has nothing to do with Maya Angelou. I've never read anything by her. I just had the title of her book, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings in my head, and so I decided to write a poem about it.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

I know why the caged bird sings
It hopes and dreams of many things
The birdseed on the window sill
The meadowlark with yellow bill
A birdbath made for chirping play
In sunlight on a summer day
Yes, I know why the caged bird sings
For even caged birds still have dreams