Hi group!

I hope that by now you are all safely back to your home locations or safely on the way to where you were going next. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated the opportunity to take this journey through Israel/Palestine with you and to get to know each one of you better throughout the trip.  As people opened up during our trip, it was clear that each of you have leadership abilities in specific areas and that God is using and will continue to use your gifts and talents in ways unique to your gifting.  The trip was a spiritual journey for us as leaders as well and I personally learned again how to rely on God’s faithfulness and protection while traveling in new places. I hope each of you realized God’s peace in various ways and that you navigate any reverse culture shock well. Remember you can all keep posting here to continue the conversation if you want to.

I was going to be technologically savvy and upload the prayer that I wanted you all to hear while we were out there and my MP3 player died, but can’t figure out the format it needs to be in so am sending you to youtube instead….I hope you can pray it remembering the people you met and the way that God’s love was evident in unexpected places. You’ll find a somewhat dated version at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYxI__6FTK4 unfortunately the whole song isn’t there.

Another one of my other Steve Bell favourites is Deep Calls to Deep (it sounds a little middle eastern) and you can find it at: http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/cod/concerts/20071221sbell ….click on Deep Calls to Deep

Hear our Prayer
Music by Steve Bell
Lyric by Steve Bell and Jamie Howison

Now we pray to You Father for peace in the world
For the right use of all You have given
A respect for creation in us be restored
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer

And we pray for the poor of the world everywhere
And for all those who suffer from hunger and fear
For those who are homeless – for those who need care
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer

Now we pray for those close to us, those who have needs
For the friends that we love and for all our families
For these loved ones we pray Jesus grant them Your peace
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer

And we pray for ourselves for forgiveness of sins
For the evil around that is born from within
And we ask You oh God that You heal us again
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer

Now in closing we ask You dear Father on our knees
Lord for mercy on all those we call our enemies
So that all might be one in Your love and Your peace
Lord in Your mercy
Hear our prayer

With love and peace,
Hinke

I’m writing from a west Jerusalem coffeeshop as the rest of the group is now flying over the Atlantic Ocean.  We had a great last few days in the Jerusalem area, wrapping up a three week experience and spending time together looking ahead to returning home.

On Saturday, our group spent the day with Sabeel’s International Young Adult conference, joining a group of over 40 local and international young adults for one day of their 10 day visit.  We spent the day touring the towns of Ramleh and Lod, learning about their history starting from 1948 and how their populations were dispersed and still live in relative separation among ethnic and religious groups.  We had lunch and a Bible study at a church in Ramleh and then headed out to Old Yaffo for a brief tour and boat ride on the Mediterranean.

On Sunday, we went to church in the morning at the English-speaking congregation of the Lutheran church of the Redeemer.  In the afternoon, the group had free time to explore the old city’s winding streets, hang out and shop, and spend some time thinking about returning home.  In the evening we were hosted by Mennonite Central Committee’s Ryan and Heather Lehman and family on the Mount of Olives, joining them for dinner.  Along with Trey and Jessica Hulsey, the Bethlehem representatives for MCC, they shared about how MCC works in the region focusing on relief, development, and peacebuilding.  They also shared their stories about how they ended up living in this part of the world, encouraging our group to lives of service.

Monday was a day of celebration and relaxation as we headed down to the lowest point on earth at the Dead Sea, spending time floating and covering ourselves with black, mineral-rich mud.  After lunch, we also explored the En Gedi nature reserve, swimming in various waterfalls and spring fed pulls which make this spot an oasis in the desert.

In the evening, we spent time as a group reflecting on what we had learned during our intense three weeks in Israel and Palestine, topping it off with and outing to the Coffee Bean on Jaffa Street.

As a group, we have had a great time learning and growing together, and everyone returns home with many stories to share about the people and experience they have had here.  Thanks for all of your prayer and support for us during this time.  Enjoy the photos!

Dave

Sorry for the delayed post!  I know you were all on the edge of your swivelly computer chairs waiting for it.  In this post, I’ll sum up the 22nd and 23rd of July, while Jill’s entry below describes our first impressions of Jerusalem on the 24th and 25th.

We spent our last two days in Beit Sahour learning about and participating in various peace-making efforts and organizations.  We gathered once again in the ATG on Tuesday morning (the ATG stands for Alternative Tourism Group, a Christian organization that aims to revive the tourism industry in occupied Bethlehem while giving visitors a chance to interact with and learn from modern day Palestinians).  We started the day with a short devotional accompanied by Dave’s very thorough and inspiring testimony.  After this discussion, we travelled to the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ) for a presentation concerning the Israeli government’s numerous infringements of international law concerning Palestinian land and human rights.  Maps and statistics helped us to understand how much land has been illegally seized through Israeli settlements, outposts, and the segregation wall.  The presentation helped to expand our understanding of the conflict, as many people in our group had not even known the Palestinian side of the story a couple days beforehand.  At times we found it hard not to feel angry at the Israeli government for their infringement on Palestinian human rights.  We found it important to remember, however, that we cannot feel angry at the Israeli people for their government’s actions, just as we wouldn’t want anyone to judge us for the actions of our government.

After the very long and thorough presentation, we were eager to eat lunch and stretch our legs a bit.  And stretch our legs we did–Bethlehem, just like many other parts of Israel, has some very steep hills.  We were rewarded for our climb with some zacchi (tasty) felafel at a nearby restaurant.

After lunch, we visited the Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center, a grassroots organization that seeks to create peace through improving the quality of relationships in the community and promoting nonviolent solutions to injustice.  It was encouraging for the group to hear what they were doing at this place over cups of coffee and tea.  We capped off the day with a visit to Flavors, an ice cream shop that apparently also serves as a central teen hangout spot for Beit Sahour.  Afterwards, we dispersed to our respective homestay families.

I can’t really speak for the group when it comes to the homestay experience, but I have to say that the family Rick and I stayed with gave us such a great experience.  We stayed with Khalil and Jalah Andoni, a recently retired couple living with their youngest son who was on break from university for the summer.  It was interesting to listen to their stories and inspiring to witness their peaceful attitude in the face of injustice.  Our homestay father told some great jokes, too.  And not to mention that the meals we had there were excellent, especially after having to cook for ourselves the week in Nazareth!

The next morning, we departed the ATG for a peace project called Tent of Nations.  On the way there, we experienced the frustration of a roadblock–two giant boulders placed in the middle of the road by the Israeli army to hinder travel within the West Bank.  We had to get out of the car and walk the rest of the way to the Tent of Nations.  We arrived at the top of the hill to find a working farm.  The leader of the project explained it to us.  The land originally belonged to a Palestinian during the Ottoman period, and he guarded it during the Israeli occupation by living in a cave on the hill.  Since he had the original ownership papers, he was lucky enough to win a legal battle with Israeli settlers who wanted to seize the land as a continuing effort to divide up Palestinian property.  The farm now works as a way for Palestinian youth to put their frustrations toward a constructive cause.  It is located in a “C” area, so Israeli youth are welcome to work alongside their Palestinian brothers, “building bridges,” as they say, toward peace and understanding.  Many international groups (like ourselves) help out on the farm as well to support the cause of nonviolent resistance against the illegal Israeli settlements that ominously surround the hilltop.  We worked along with a Swiss group to help build a terrace wall and also to clear weed bushes from the future farmland.  It was hard work, and everyone left feeling tired, sweaty, and satisfied.

That evening, we rested up and spent our last night with the host family.  It was hard to say goodbye–for Rick and I, they really had made it feel like home.  We packed our bags and prepared for a vastly different experience in Jerusalem.

- Jon Weber

Shabbat Shalom! It is our last Friday here in Israel and we are in Jerusalem for it. But let me start with what we did yesterday. Yesterday was a sad day for most of us because we had to say good-bye to our host families. My family was really great and I am going to stay in contact with them and hope to see them soon. Once we were all there, we headed for the checkpoint to get out of Palestine and enter Israel. It took us about an hour to get through the checkpoint. Even though this sounds long for us, some people wait there all day and they still never get through. I couldn’t imagine doing this day after day and getting denied each and every time. I learned from our experience in Palestine how hard their lives really are every day. Most Americans don’t know what is going on in Palestine because all the media shows us is the bad things Palestine is doing to Israel and all the good things Israel is doing to Palestine. The media is very biased and I can’t wait to share the stories of the Palestinians that we met during our stay there.

Once we got through the checkpoint, we took a bus to Damascus gate, one of the openings to the old city of Jerusalem where we are staying. We checked into our hotel, Ecce Homo. This means “behold the man” and it is near the site of where Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to death. There are ruins underneath our beds of this site. 

After lunch, we took the public bus for about 40 minutes to Yad Vashem, a Holocaust Remembrance Museum. This was very moving even though I have been to a lot of museums and seen horrid scenes from the Holocaust before. There is no entrance fee and it is based solely on donations. There were pictures, words, movies, and sculptures here. It was a lot to take in, but I think that my favorite part was the end where they have a Hall of Names of those who died during the Holocaust. Along with their names, they have a mini-biography about each person. The room is filled with binders of them and it says that they are still looking for more names and they won’t stop until they are all remembered. I really enjoyed this because this part of history really interests me.

Our last stop of the day was West Jerusalem. Here we were able to go on our own to just walk around. It was a very relaxing way to end our day. 

Today was a very busy day. We visited many religious sites. To begin our day we walked the entire Via Delorosa, which means the Way of Suffering/Sorrows. We stopped at each station and took pictures along with the reading that is associated with it from the Bible. I really enjoyed it because we have sung the song at my church before and it was moving to actually walk where Jesus walked to His death. The last stop was Jesus’ tomb and there was a huge line to get into it, so nobody was able to see the actual spot. But nobody actually knows if these are the actual spots where the different stations happened, so I didn’t really mind not being able to see it.

Our next stop was the Upper Room where they believe the Last Supper took place. There wasn’t anything special here to remember this spot, so that was kind of disappointing to me. It was just a big empty room. Since we had been walking awhile, we were able to have two hours to go eat on our own and relax which was nice. Me and a few other girls sat in the shade under a tree outside of the walls of Jerusalem. It was very relaxing and it gave us time to take in everything that we had seen.

After lunch, we went to the Garden Tomb. This is where they believe that Jesus was buried as well as the other spot at the Holy Sepulchre. I want to believe that Jesus was buried here because of the facts that our guide told us. There were three main reasons: 1. Jesus was buried in a garden, 2. Jesus was buried outside of a gate and 3. Jesus was crucified outside of the city and buried near there. There was also a hill with what looks like a skull face in it. This spot would be Golgotha or the Place of the Skull. There were many other reasons why Jesus was probably buried here, but aren’t facts. This Garden was beautiful and very peaceful compared to downtown Jerusalem. I think Jesus would have liked it here.

Next was the Garden of Gesthemene. It was also beautiful. There was a church here signifying where Jesus was praying the night before He died and where He was arrested. Then outside the church was the Garden with some olive trees that were probably there when Jesus was there. Olive trees live a very long time. We couldn’t walk through the garden, so we just had to look at it through the gates. This is a place that means a lot to me because every year at my church we do what is called the Watch every Maundy Thursday during Holy Week. We make our own garden with flowers and candles and we stay up all night until the early morning. This signifies when Jesus asked His disciples to stay up with Him and pray the night before He died, but they all fall asleep. So it was very important to me to see the real Garden where Jesus prayed.

Our last stop of the day was the Mount of Olives which is right above the Garden of Gesthemene. From here we could see most of Jerusalem. There are probably thousands, if not more, of Jews buried along the Mount of Olives. This is because it is directly across from the Golden Gate where they believe that the Messiah is going to come and make them rise from the dead.

This is it for today, except that we are going to the Wailing Wall to see the Jews praying on their Sabbath. But that will be after dinner.

Hope you are enjoying the blogs and pictures.

Jillian Lewis

Yesterday, July 20th, we left Nazareth with a truly heartfelt and sad goodbye.  Many of us were calling the Fauzi Azar and the Old City home by now and had made great friends that we did not want to leave.  We all crammed into a taxi and headed on our 2 hour ride to Jerusalem.  ONce in Jerusalem we came to a extremely quick awakening.  We were no longer in the wonderful north.  It was dirty and incredibly crowded.  A bunch of Americans with luggage stuck out like a soar thumb.  Once we dropped a few things off at the hostel we will stay at in Jerusalem (starting Thursday), we got on a public bus headed for the check point to enter Palestine.  I got the privilige of sitting in front of a few guys who like my eyes and wanted to take me dancing (more uncomfortable than flattering if you ask me).

Once we reached the checkpoint, it took about 15 minutes for us to move through into Palestine.  It was like herding cattle into a stahl for lack of a better way to describe the humiliation the lucky Palestinians who get to travel to Jerusalem feel every day.  Once we crammed all ten people into a non-airconditioned, six person taxi we found the main road was closed down because the British Prime Minister was making his way through Bethlehem (where we were then located).  We all decided to step out of the taxi and explore.  All there was before was a 25 foot high concrete wall, two and a half times taller than the Berlin wall.  I think I wanted to cry for the first time on this trip.  People are not pigs that need to be caged in.  The worst part?  American tax dollars payed for this wall, it payed for the guns the Israeli soldiers were holding when we past them, and it payed for the bullet holes we saw in various things.  When the road finally opened we jumped in the taxi and headed for ATG, to meet our host families in Beit Sahour.  Me and Alyssa had the privilige of going home with one of the workers and got to go out to a nice restaraunt with her and her friends.

Today started off early.  We met at ATG at 8 AM and began a day of touring.  The first place we stopped at was Herodion (King Herod’s Bethlehem castle).  The mountain it stood on was man-made and there were tunnels all through the mountain.  From the top of the moutain where the castle remains were we could see Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, and the desert of the surrounding area.  We also saw a very large settlement ( a blocked of town of Jews who illegally move in and take over areas of Palestine) and an outpost (the startings of a new settlement).  Next, we went to the Shepeherd’s Fields (where the Star of Bethlehem was first seen by the shepherds).  There we learned that many people lived in caves as a means of protection and that Mary and Joseph would have been staying with relatives in one of these grottos when Mary went into labor.  But, the grotto would have been so full of people she left to give birth to Jesus in the stable right next to the grotto.  After that we went to get a closer look at the settlement (which is off limits to anyone but people who live there and Israelis).  We saw the road the settlement had constructed surrounded by barbed wire and electric fencing.  We realized this was not to keep people safe, but to cut of Palestinians from land and to box in the cities so that movement was very restricted.  If the way Israel was cutting Paletine into chunks was not enough we took a trip back to the wall.  People spray painted “Made in USA” on the wall and many other things that spoke of the oppresion and dispair these people were feeling.  The graffiti that stuck out to me the most was a baptismal covenant that said, “Will you strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being?”  I have been thinking about this all day.  It seems like nobody is striving for this.  If we were we would be fighting harder than ever for the Palestinians, because they lost their diginity little by little until the wall destroyed it all.  I know I should not choose sides and I know I am just scratching the surface of the conflict here, but I can not help feeling an immense pull toward the Palestine plight.  Our next stop was lunch, a great way to kind of refresh and take in everything.  After lunch we went to a refugee camp in Bethlehem.  These peoples homes were so cramped, but at least they had homes.  The worst thing was to think about the fact that these people, including children and infants have to national identity.  Nobody has, or may never have, the rights of citizenship in any country.  They have been casted out of their lands and homes, never to return.  After a day of deep realizations and thought we headed to the Church of the Nativity.  We got to see the spot where Jesus was born.  I imagined an incredibly humbling experiece.  It never came.  The church was incredibly ornate and crammed with people.  Even the site where Jesus was born and laid in a manger was highly decorated.  Most of us came away with mixed feelings about the site of our Savior’s birth.  After a night of meditation I think our experiences today will be more substantial than what they are now.

After a long day we went back to ATG under the pretenses of a debriefing, only to surprise Aarin with a birthday cake and candles!  What a incredible place to spend your 18th birthday!  Later this evening Alyssa, Rick, Jon, and I decided to get some ice cream, but ended up getting lost on the way back to our host families.  It was nice though because we had the opportunity to talk to some other Americans on missions and some local people on our quest back to our houses.

This has been an incredible trip for all of us.  I know we have all felt the Spirit moving in our lives.  Thank you all for your prayers and continous support!!!

-Amanda Kinsinger

It’s our last day in Nazareth and many of us feel a bit sad to leave the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of the Fauzi Azar and the winding streets of Nazareth’s Old City. Friday was our last day at the village and most of the group worked on steps that had to be carved out of rock while others bottled annointing oil indoors. We finished the day at Nazareth Village with a debriefing complete with pastries and fruit and the fellowship of the village staff.  We talked about sharing in the way of life that Jesus would have lived and what a difference it makes to see this as a living reality and how this impacts our reading of the Bible. In the few days that we were at the village, the staff has taught us Arabic, invited us for cups of strong and spicy Arabic coffee as they teach us the daily tasks necessary to keep the village in working order. Experiences of culture at the village have given us a taste of the way that Jesus and his disciples would have socialized with the many people they encountered on their walks from village to village in the Galilee.

After the week at the village, many were feeling the effects of working days in the intense sun while wearing heavy 1st Century clothing and so welcomed a day at the beach in Haifa on Saturday. There is a stark contrast between Haifa’s modern look and majority Jewish population and the old City of Nazareth with it’s predominantly Arab culture. At the beach we had the chance to relax in the sun or the shade, swim in jellyfish infested waters (there weren’t that many but a couple of people got stung) and generally unwind from the previous week. This was followed by a wonderful barbecue of chicken spiced local style in Nazareth and hosted by Gabi, one of the staff members at the Fauzi Azar. I helped Dave and Gabi prepare food for grilling, taking the opportunity return the favour to our team for the many good meals they have taken turns preparing. I also got to go for a long walk/run along the beach at sunset and this was the perfect ending to a very good day. Leading this group has been a privilege and has been very life-giving and I am thankful for each and every personality that makes up our team that is quickly becoming a family.

As I write the church bells of Nazareth are ringing. The ones that I hear are most likely the bells of the Basilica of Annunciation built to commemorate Mary learning that she would be the mother of God’s Son.  It is amazing to think of the variety of religious thoughts and political positions that are crammed into even this smallish city of Nazareth and even more amazing to think that this is the place where God chose to become incarnate and walk among people through His Son – walking and talking with people no matter their background or political position. The complexity of this place reminds us too that being in ministry in the way of Christ is no easy task as we set aside our own agendas, prejudices, and fears and approach the people around us with love and an open heart. We need God’s wisdom to know how to do this to the best of our abilities and relying on that wisdom and not our own is a daily lesson here. Saying goodbye may not be easy but the fact that it is hard means that we have shared ourselves with the people we met while here in Nazareth and those new relationships are something we can celebrate.

-Hinke

Who ever said there was dry heat?  Obviously not the person who dressed in full costume and worked at Nazareth Village.  Just kidding, but the group has learned how to live without the luxuries that sometimes we take for granted.  Some of these include clothes washing machines, dishwashers, and air conditioning.  It has been a nice break from these things and to live as the people here do.  Being here has really brought me back to the true meaning of living in this world, which is to glorify God.

One of the best things about staying at the Fauzi Azar Inn is waking up in the morning and walking out onto the balcony to see the sun just rising over the city of Nazareth.  The beauty of this country is indescribable.  We witnessed this first-hand as we hiked to the top of Mount Precipice last night.   We arrived at the top just in time to see the sunset over Nazareth.  Being here truly reminds me of the greatness of God’s creation.  As we walked back down, we were met by a couple of mashanoo (Arabic for “crazy”) dogs.

The past two days have been spent serving at Nazareth Village.  The group has been completing various projects such as building a ritual bath, completing renovation on roofs, creating steps, and packaging oil lamps that are given to each visitor.  Nazareth Village has about 25,000 visitors every year, so the work will be seen by many people.  Many of us have been making friends with the Israeli workers at the Village.  It is fun to try and speak Arabic with them, but it is also challenging to get directions on how to do certain jobs.  Communication is being tested all the time.

Thank you for your continual prayers and support.  We ask that you pray for our travels to Bethlehem on Sunday and the people we will work with there.

Rick Bartek

Hello Everyone!

On the 14th we started working at Old Nazareth Village. We dressed up in costume and went outside to build roofs. I, on the other hand stayed in an air conditioned room putting together oil lamps for the tourists who came through the village. In the evening, Dave put together a fantastic meal of Macubi. A traditional Arab meal of rice, chicken and vegetables. In the evening I was able to lead devotions with John and share my testimony with the group.

On the 15th we returned to Nazareth village where I sweat and blistered. The costumes we wore were extremely hot! I helped mix concrete and carry rocks in order to build a mikvah, which is a first century ritual bath that was used before entering into the synagogue. Around 3:00 it started to rain and to my surprise it was the workers spraying people with a garden hose. It sure felt good! In the evening Rick and Alyssa made Tahitas, which was pita stuffed with meat, cheese and veggies. They made it up themselves. In the evening Kristin and Jill shared devotions and Amanda shared her testimony with us.

The people in the area are very friendly and know how to enjoy life. I am glad I came and I can’t wait till tomorrow. Peace.

Danielle Opel

Hello from Nazareth!

On Saturday our day started with a 7:00 am breakfast so that we could beat the traffic rush as we once again headed out to the region by the Sea of Galilee to explore more historical and biblical sites.  Our first stop was to Cesarea Phillipi.  There we learned how in the Bible this place was controlled by the Romans and was known for having many different gods that the people worshiped.  This is also the approximate place where Jesus told Peter that he would build his church, “on this rock.”  As we walked around and explored the area, our group was once again reminded how it is easy to sometimes read the Bible as just “stories,” but yet it is full of real events and being in those places brings that reality to life.

After Cesarea Phillipi we traveled on to see the beautiful Banias waterfall.  From there we went on to the  Fortress of Nimrod which was a huge castle at the top of a mountain.  It was built in honor of Nimrod whose name is in the Bible, and is known as a brave hunter.  The castle has been occupied by many different groups of people all throughout history.  We all really enjoyed exploring the ruins and the beautiful views it had to offer.

Lunch consisted of shawarma, a very common Israeli meal.  After that we headed to a lookout where we could view an empty village where 30,000 Syrians were forced from their home due to war in the 1970s.  It was very sad to imagine all those people being forced to leave, greatly confusing their legal identity.  We were so far north in Israel that we could see the borders of both Lebanon and Syria.  Another reminder of the war was a mosque on the side of the road that had gun shots all over it and political graffiti.  The day ended with a trip to the Gamla Nature Reserve.  One part about the day that we found very interesting was how many places we went were fenced off with sings that read, “Caution Mine Field.”  Our group stayed safe and we are slowly getting over the culture shock and adjusting to life here.

We are having a wonderful time and are excited to start serving at Nazareth Village all next week.  Please continue to pray for our group that we may serve God to the best of our ability while we are here, and also for continued safety.

Alyssa Ott

  Our Youth Venture Group arrived into Tel Aviv on Wednesday July 9 at 5:30 in the evening.When we first arrived to Israel I was shocked at how modern it was here. It was nothing like I was expecting. A few of the team members who have never left the U.S.A were facing a bit of culture shock.

  On our drive from the airport into Nazareth, Dave pointed out Mount Precipes to us. It was really funny, because our van driver tried to tell us that Mount Precipes was the mountain that Jesus jumped off and lived. Dave tried to explain to him that in the Bible it says that the jews wanted to throw him off the cliff, but instead he turned around and walked through the crowds.

  Once we arrived to Nazareth we all got settled into our Inn and then went out for Schwarma. It was fairly good! By the time we were done with supper we went to bed early since we were all suffering from jet leg.

  On thursday we all slept in, had a late breakfast and Dave shared devotions with us. We went out on a walking tour of the old village of Nazareth. It was a recreation of Jesus’ hometown as to what it was like when he was growing up.

  A few of us girls went out shopping to the market where we bought ourselves fancy scarves to wear over our heads while touring throughout the mosques.

  On friday we spent the day touring churches and hiking. Each church had a specific purpose. We visited Mount of the Beattitudes where Jesus preached  and we read sermon on the mount. (Matthew 5) It was terribly hot that day. We were all hot and tired, but we were able to cool off in the sea of Galilee, which was really refreshing. After our swim we hiked part of the Jesus trail. It was amazing, because we were able to see all the way to Syria and Lebanon.

  It was hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that we walked where Jesus walked. I found it to be a calm and peaceful feeling while I sat and reflected.

-Kristin Friesen