7/11
Today we attended a worship service at the Redeemer Lutheran Church in the Old City. The service was in Arabic, German and English. Harrison made an impromptu thank you speech for us. He did such a great job, everyone thought he had prepared something. Then we went to the courtyard in the church after the service. We met Tom who will be going with us to the Sea of Galilee. We ate shwerma sandwiches with the youth and Tom. Then we went to the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial. Israeli soldiers are required to go there as a part of their training when they are in their 4th month. I have never seen such gruesome and painful photos or videos about the holocaust. There were pictures of mothers holding their children as they are shot or a video of a bulldozer pushing bodies from a camp into a pit. But the one thing that I couldn't wrap my head around was the fact that at the very end of the tour, there was a reading of an Israeli document that says that they are all for peace and tranquility and equality however they can't see that they are oppressing the Palestinian people much like they were once oppressed. There were walls in the Jewish ghettos much like the wall that makes Palestinian life so hard. The oppressed have become the oppressor. I want to know if they see any of these obvious parallels between how their life was and what Palestinian life is like now? As an outsider, I can see the undeniable parallels. To me it seems like all you would have to do is open your eyes. But I guess that whatever anyone can't or won't see won't hurt them. "Out of sight out of mind". After Yad Vashem we went to the hotel. We chilled with Joudeh and made friendship bracelets. I got numerous comments from Joudeh about my bracelet and how it didn't look good, which was very true. That's why it is a friendship anklet not a bracelet. We were able to get Joudeh to open up about his life as a Palestinian christian. He said that not only are they oppressed by Israel, but hey are terrorized by Muslims too. I hope that God will bring Christians out of fear and back into the Holy Land. The only way I can see that peace will ever be reached is if the Muslim and Christian peoples work together against a common opposition. For dinner we had "upside down". It is basically this huge pot of rice, fried cauliflower and spices and chicken that they dump onto a tray and serve. Of course I got the good seat in the house so everyone would have to give my a hug in order to get to the best pieces of the upside down. We also watched the World Cup but I was too tired to even try and stay awake for the extra 30 minutes.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Late recap
Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that i wasn't able to blog quite as much as I had hoped I would but I will share a day by day summary of what we did.
7/10
Today we got up a bit "later" than normal and went to Augusta Victoria hospital on the Mount of Olives. We began the day by picking up trash around the hospital grounds. We were joined by a youth from the Redeemer Lutheran Church in the Old city named Joudeh. We ended up having a competition to see who got the most interesting piece of trash. I found a doorknob, Scott found a DVD, there were in total 4 dirty diapers and 3 mismatched shoes. I think I won that competition, I mean who throws a doorknob out on the grounds of a hospital on the Mount of Olives? But anyways, after we had picked up about 13 bags of trash, we toured Augusta Victoria church and hospital. The church connected to the hospital is called the Church of the Ascencion. It is such a beautiful church. I was almost disapointed to find out that there was not a regular congregation that worshiped there. It was mainly used for confirmations, baptisms and weddings. The girls in our group have have made up our minds that we will have joint weddings at the Church of the Ascension. There is even a beautiful ball room connected to the church. Then we got a short tour of the hospital and an overview of who has donated what to the hospital. I did not realize this but Dr. Biden (Vice President Joe Biden's wife) recently visited Augusta Victoria and donated to the radiology unit at the hospital. For lunch we had dinner at Mark Brown's house and met some girls who were volunteers from a young adult group called YAGIM. Then we walked down the Mount of Olives. It was such a steep walk, I was thankful that we didn't have to walk up it. We also saw the Pater Nostrum church where Jesus first said the lords prayer. Then we saw some great views of the Dome of the Rock. On the side of the Mount of Olives, we saw a bunch of Jewish tombs. They pay millions of dollars to be buried there so when the Messiah comes to Jerusalem, they will be the first to be raised to heaven. Then we saw the Garden of Gethsemane and the Chruch of Nations. Then we walked back to the Old City and saw a part of the Via Dolorosa. The stations we saw were where Jesus recieved the crown of thorns and where He recieved the cross. Then we visited the Austrian Hostel. When we got back to the hotel, we had a visit from Bishop Younan the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. After our chat was over we hung out at the hotel.
7/10
Today we got up a bit "later" than normal and went to Augusta Victoria hospital on the Mount of Olives. We began the day by picking up trash around the hospital grounds. We were joined by a youth from the Redeemer Lutheran Church in the Old city named Joudeh. We ended up having a competition to see who got the most interesting piece of trash. I found a doorknob, Scott found a DVD, there were in total 4 dirty diapers and 3 mismatched shoes. I think I won that competition, I mean who throws a doorknob out on the grounds of a hospital on the Mount of Olives? But anyways, after we had picked up about 13 bags of trash, we toured Augusta Victoria church and hospital. The church connected to the hospital is called the Church of the Ascencion. It is such a beautiful church. I was almost disapointed to find out that there was not a regular congregation that worshiped there. It was mainly used for confirmations, baptisms and weddings. The girls in our group have have made up our minds that we will have joint weddings at the Church of the Ascension. There is even a beautiful ball room connected to the church. Then we got a short tour of the hospital and an overview of who has donated what to the hospital. I did not realize this but Dr. Biden (Vice President Joe Biden's wife) recently visited Augusta Victoria and donated to the radiology unit at the hospital. For lunch we had dinner at Mark Brown's house and met some girls who were volunteers from a young adult group called YAGIM. Then we walked down the Mount of Olives. It was such a steep walk, I was thankful that we didn't have to walk up it. We also saw the Pater Nostrum church where Jesus first said the lords prayer. Then we saw some great views of the Dome of the Rock. On the side of the Mount of Olives, we saw a bunch of Jewish tombs. They pay millions of dollars to be buried there so when the Messiah comes to Jerusalem, they will be the first to be raised to heaven. Then we saw the Garden of Gethsemane and the Chruch of Nations. Then we walked back to the Old City and saw a part of the Via Dolorosa. The stations we saw were where Jesus recieved the crown of thorns and where He recieved the cross. Then we visited the Austrian Hostel. When we got back to the hotel, we had a visit from Bishop Younan the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. After our chat was over we hung out at the hotel.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Hi everyone!
I have officially been in Israel for 2 and a half days. We have started in Jerusalem. The first full day we were here we took a walking tour of the Old City followed by a bus tour with the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolition. In the Old City we saw each quarter and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The church is located where Jesus was buried in the tomb, where his body was washed and where he was put on the cross. The ICAHD tour was also very exhausting. We took a bus and saw the 40 some odd foot wall that cuts through many Palestinian towns. It makes their lives so much harder. We also stopped at a place where we could see the East and West Jerusalem and the Old City. It was crazy to see how much more modern and clean West Jerusalem was compared to East Jerusalem. The Palestinian people pay about 33% of the taxes in Jerusalem but only 7% of that money returns to their cities. Thus the Palestinian cities were alot dirtier and poorer looking than the Jewish cities. It is so scary to see the Israeli soldiers in the streets protecting the illegal settlements in the cities with huge machine guns. By the way the "freeze" that was placed on the building of the settlements is actually not being followed. There are al least 2 new ILLEGAL settlements being built at this moment. Did you know that the US contributed 3 billion dollars in unconditional military aid to Israel every year? It was a very informative and emotionally exhausting morning...Then came the afternoon. After a lunch of falafel, we went to a Jewish synagogue and worshiped with them at their weekly Shabbat service. Then we were lucky enough to be invited to a few families homes to partake in the weekly Shabbat meal. It was fascinating to be able to observe the traditions and the customs of a Jewish family. We ate hummus, salad and curry. The food here has to be the best food in the entire world. Today we got up "late" around 8 (because some of us got back at 1 am from our dinner). Then we took a bus to the Mount of Olives and we visited Augusta Victoria Hospital. We cleaned up trash from the campus and then we toured the building. The Church of the Ascension has to be one of the most beautiful Lutheran Churches in the Holy Land. Then we ate pizza at Mark Brown's house who is the Lutheran World Federation representative for the Jerusalem ministries of the Lutheran World Federation. Then we took another walking tour down the Mount of Olives. It was so steep, I was so glad we didn't have to walk up it. We also saw the Garden Gethsemane where Judas betrayed Jesus to the Romans. From there we saw the Pater Nostrum church where Jesus first said the "Our Father" prayer. Then we went to a part of the way of the cross. We saw the stations where Jesus was condemned and flogged and where he was given the cross to carry. These past two days have been so exhausting and its been hard to process all the information that I have gotten. I am so excited because we get to watch the World Cup! Tomorrow we are going to church (obviously) and then we are going to the Holocaust Museum that is near where we are staying in East Jerusalem. And we are watching the World Cup but its all in Arabic. I have learned one word in Arabic....it means lets get going. Its funny that that is the only word that I know in Arabic. I hope to post again soon. God Bless!
I have officially been in Israel for 2 and a half days. We have started in Jerusalem. The first full day we were here we took a walking tour of the Old City followed by a bus tour with the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolition. In the Old City we saw each quarter and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The church is located where Jesus was buried in the tomb, where his body was washed and where he was put on the cross. The ICAHD tour was also very exhausting. We took a bus and saw the 40 some odd foot wall that cuts through many Palestinian towns. It makes their lives so much harder. We also stopped at a place where we could see the East and West Jerusalem and the Old City. It was crazy to see how much more modern and clean West Jerusalem was compared to East Jerusalem. The Palestinian people pay about 33% of the taxes in Jerusalem but only 7% of that money returns to their cities. Thus the Palestinian cities were alot dirtier and poorer looking than the Jewish cities. It is so scary to see the Israeli soldiers in the streets protecting the illegal settlements in the cities with huge machine guns. By the way the "freeze" that was placed on the building of the settlements is actually not being followed. There are al least 2 new ILLEGAL settlements being built at this moment. Did you know that the US contributed 3 billion dollars in unconditional military aid to Israel every year? It was a very informative and emotionally exhausting morning...Then came the afternoon. After a lunch of falafel, we went to a Jewish synagogue and worshiped with them at their weekly Shabbat service. Then we were lucky enough to be invited to a few families homes to partake in the weekly Shabbat meal. It was fascinating to be able to observe the traditions and the customs of a Jewish family. We ate hummus, salad and curry. The food here has to be the best food in the entire world. Today we got up "late" around 8 (because some of us got back at 1 am from our dinner). Then we took a bus to the Mount of Olives and we visited Augusta Victoria Hospital. We cleaned up trash from the campus and then we toured the building. The Church of the Ascension has to be one of the most beautiful Lutheran Churches in the Holy Land. Then we ate pizza at Mark Brown's house who is the Lutheran World Federation representative for the Jerusalem ministries of the Lutheran World Federation. Then we took another walking tour down the Mount of Olives. It was so steep, I was so glad we didn't have to walk up it. We also saw the Garden Gethsemane where Judas betrayed Jesus to the Romans. From there we saw the Pater Nostrum church where Jesus first said the "Our Father" prayer. Then we went to a part of the way of the cross. We saw the stations where Jesus was condemned and flogged and where he was given the cross to carry. These past two days have been so exhausting and its been hard to process all the information that I have gotten. I am so excited because we get to watch the World Cup! Tomorrow we are going to church (obviously) and then we are going to the Holocaust Museum that is near where we are staying in East Jerusalem. And we are watching the World Cup but its all in Arabic. I have learned one word in Arabic....it means lets get going. Its funny that that is the only word that I know in Arabic. I hope to post again soon. God Bless!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Pre-Trip Greeting
Hi everyone!
As of right now I'm still at home. My flight will leave Wednesday morning from Dulles. I can't wait to start my trip. I thought it would be cool if I posted a quick overview of my itinerary so it won't always be a suprise where I am:
July 8th-9th Jerusalem
July 10th Mt. of Olives
July 11th Jerusalem
July 12th Nazarath
July 13th-14th Jerusalem
July 15th Bethlehem
July 16th Beit Sahour
July 17th Beit Jala
July 18th Ramallah
July 19th-22nd Haddad Village
I can't wait until Wednesday! I will post again right before I leave Wednesday.
As of right now I'm still at home. My flight will leave Wednesday morning from Dulles. I can't wait to start my trip. I thought it would be cool if I posted a quick overview of my itinerary so it won't always be a suprise where I am:
July 8th-9th Jerusalem
July 10th Mt. of Olives
July 11th Jerusalem
July 12th Nazarath
July 13th-14th Jerusalem
July 15th Bethlehem
July 16th Beit Sahour
July 17th Beit Jala
July 18th Ramallah
July 19th-22nd Haddad Village
I can't wait until Wednesday! I will post again right before I leave Wednesday.
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