June 30, 2007
heart breaking
it’s really unreal folks. un real.
we went to Bethany today, the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. we visited a former member of parliament. he’s now the publisher of a quarterly journal on various topics. he makes a point to be two-sided… representing both sides of the story in his journal. on the way back into bethlehem (we had to go through the Valley of Hell – wadi nar in arabic) and a checkpoint. we waited at least 15 minutes in the line, which is apparently quite quick. rick decided to walk. he looks the part of a young backpacker and was “befriended” by the israeli guard. i should let him tell you the story. i’ll ask him tomorrow to write it out for me and i’ll post it… remind me, eh?
anyway. my heart is heavy tonight. i wish i could upload a picture or two, but i don’t want to use up too much time on my host’s computer to upload a picture.
i have a friend in jordan who i was hoping to see. she is to be married on tuesday and invited me to her wedding right after the engagement. i haven’t heard anything from her in two weeks, so i don’t know how to get to her – i don’t have a phone number and i’m not receiving any emails from her. 
pray, if you will, for two things.
1. that our hearts could and would push through all of this and come out on the other side with a recommendation for our denomination.
2. that sakinah will get in touch and i can see her! i can’t imagine being within 50 miles of her and not visiting. but then, that would be a dim reflection of what people here live through every day, i suppose, wouldn’t it? hmmm.
love to you all, good night.
your host for this episode : carrie; 04:19 PM | Comments (1)
June 27, 2007
approaching overload…
and at lightning speed.
we hit the ground running this morning. out of the hotel by 8:45 and in go-mode (with a short interruption for lunch) until 4 when we had a meeting with the bishop. seven hours of hot sun and walking does not make one very talkative once sat in a comfortable chair. we’re gaining so much insight into the situation here, trying to get both sides, but our hearts are just grieved by the injustices that we see heaped upon the local population, local prior to 1948 that is. water and electricity cutoffs, no permits to renovate (or even upkeep) homes, such that they fall into disrepair and become condemned and then property of the state.
i am ashamed that i am allowed to visit this site, when it holds little significance for me, but yet my friends who hold this to be a holy holy place, are not allowed to even approach it, let alone enter.
in addition to the bishop, we met with a representative from the Bereaved Parents’ Circle – only one because his palestinian counterpart was held up at the checkpoint – and a humanitarian aid group working for social justice.
your host for this episode : carrie; 03:30 PM | Comments (1)
June 26, 2007
we’re all here…
Rana was released yesterday after three and a half hours of interrogation. Seven different people questioned her and Peter witnessed all of it. It was after midnight when she got to the room last night.
Praise God for her release, and for her very willingness to undergo that kind of treatment for our sake.
That’s all for now. Our day starts with via delarosa today.
your host for this episode : carrie; 11:29 PM | Comments (1)
we’ve arrived.
Just left the airport. They have Rana behind closed doors. Peter has stayed with her and we waited an hour and some with no sign of them. Peter called to say move on without them. Seems like it may be a while. They’ll take a cab later I suppose.
Pray for them both, they are instrumental to this whole trip!
your host for this episode : carrie; 12:49 PM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2007
On my way to the Holy Land…
I never really thought I’d ever have a chance to go to the Holy Land and walk in the lands of Christ. But today I’ll be boarding a plane bound for there.
For the last year, I’ve been working for a denomination, specifically the relief and development wing of that denomination. Since about December, I’ve been working with the denomination’s Office of Social Justice to put together a study group to go to Palestine/Israel. We leave today.
The purpose? To try to figure out how we can be a hand for justice in the region. We all realize that True Peace will not likely happen in our lifetime, but we want to be agents of peace and justice. And reconciliation.
We’re not going to point fingers. We’re not going to say we know how to fix it. We just want to encourage those folks who are doing the work of reconciliation and see how we, as a denomination, might help them in their work. We also want to learn: to sit at the feet of the body of Christ in the region and learn about their perseverence and their reliance on God, and learn how to better rely on Him ourselves.
I come to this with great humility, feeling underqualified and not worthy to be part of such a great journey. But I know that those things for which Christ has called me, he has also prepared me.
Of course it’s all subject to change at any given moment depending upon security and travel restrictions, but our proposed itinerary goes like this:
June 26
Arrival in Tel Aviv. Transfer from Tel Aviv airport to a hotel in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Wednesday, June 27
Day 1: We Will start our day with a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Holy & historic sites. Meetings with religious leaders, parents’ groups, and humanitarian aid workers. Overnight in Old City.
Thursday, June 28
Day 2: We will visit Ephrata Settlement and meet with an Israeli settler. Then we will drive to Hebron, to tour the old city and visit the Tomb of The Patriarchs. Meetings with various peacemaker teams. On the way back we will drive through Beit Fajjar. Dinner & Overnight with host families.
Friday, June 29
Day 3: Bethlehem, Beit Sahour. Visit to a refugee camp, a Greek Orthodox housing project. Meetings with pastors, churches, peace-making groups. Overnight with Host Families.
Saturday, June 30
Day 4: Bethlehem, Ramallah. Meetings with reconciliation groups, a university, and politicians. Dinner & Overnight with host families.
Sunday, July 1
Day 5: We will begin our day worshiping with local Christians, afternoon with local youth, and a visit to the Dead Sea. Dinner & Overnight with host families.
Monday, July 2
Day 6: Jerusalem. Meetings with various peace-making groups. Dinner & Overnight with host families.
Tuesday, July 3
Day 7: Sulfit and Nablus today where we will visit the old city of Nablus. Then visit a refugee camp and local University. Dinner & Overnight in Nazareth.
Wednesday, July 4
Day 8: Debriefing. Touring, Church of Annunciation, Sea of Galilee boat ride, Mt. of Beatitudes, Tabgha, Capernaum. Dinner & Overnight in Nazareth.
Thursday, July 5
Day 8: Departure
Akko, Haifa, Ein Hod, Caesarea Maritima, Jaffa – to Tel Aviv Airport.
Pray for Dan, if you will. He’ll be holding down the fort here in GR while I’m gone – and he is slightly nervous and very jealous of me going.
Love to you all,
Carrie
your host for this episode : carrie; 08:31 AM | Comments (1)