Week One

I am nearly overwhelmed with the desire to share every experience I have had in the past week since arriving here in Israel.  I cannot imagine a more dense seven days!  I’ll share the most notable happenings.

I have gotten to know the 28 other students in this program more quickly and deeply than I could have previously imagined.  We shared testimonies in small groups on Sunday night.  I have never been in such awe of the power of God in people’s lives.  No story was the same, and each had a distinct fingerprint of God.  Monday night we worshipped the Lord and shared struggles and encouragements.  God moved.  It was beautiful.

My stereotype of foreign shopkeepers has been shattered by a Palestinian Muslim.  Vendors in Costa Rica, Kenya, and Mexico have given me the impression that all foreign salespeople simply want to trick me out of as much money as possible.  We explored Bethlehem (in Palestine) in small groups on Sunday afternoon.  Once entering his shop, Adel and his 20-year-old son Muhammad began asking my three friends and I about our life, our education, our homes.  Before long four more of our friends joined us, and so he guided the party to the street corner just outside his shop.  He scrambled to neighboring shops to collect chairs so we could all sit comfortably in the entrance to his shop.  Once seated and engaged in conversation, he sent his youngest son running around the corner to their home to make tea for us.  The 20 year old son, Muhammad, had studied “tour guiding” and used impressive yet developing English with us.  We talked easily about his life, education, upbringing, and even got an extensive description of marriage customs in Muslim tradition.  Sensing that it was appropriate and even welcomed, our group moved conversation towards deeper topics such as their view of the USA, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the potential Palestinian call for statehood in the UN on September 20^th.  They were understandably shy with their opinions at first, but we encouraged them to be honest with us... They were proud of America for electing Obama but had wished for more action on their behalf from him.  The only answer to the Israeli/Palestine question for them is the establishment of two separate states.  Muhammad said something along the lines of “It is the only way.  All we want is peace.  All we want is to be able to move freely about the land again, like my father, his father, and the many previous generations of my family.”  That’s what we expect them to say, I mean, of course that’s what he’s going to say.  That’s what they all say.  But for some reason, hearing it come from a real human who lives behind a real wall and has real thoughts and emotions made it a little easier to empathize.  I was probably a little sympathetic to him as well, considering he had essentially shut down his shop to have the conversation and just given me a cup of the best sage-tea imaginable.  You better believe I felt the love.

Tea with Adel and Muhammad outside their shop

An Arab gentleman and I must have created a new language because we had a 15 minute conversation on the bus and he didn’t speak a word of English and I certainly don’t speak Arabic yet.  Don’t ask how that happened, but I do know that Bashar is married with four children, lives in Hebron, sells watches, and has a kind spirit.

Today (Tuesday) I got assigned to the organization I will be working with for the next 9 weeks.  Tuesday’s are reserved for students to practice service in the community by serving a local organization.  I will be with 3 other female students at Al Quds University Community Action Center.  This center focuses on bettering the lives of Arab women in Jerusalem, probably the most oppressed group in the region.  Being a woman in an Arab culture combined with being an Arab in an Israeli society is a 1-2 punch for this group of people.  Al Quds offers Hebrew and Arabic classes to promote literacy in the women with the hope that this will decrease the likelihood that they are taken advantage of in the tax and justice system.  Al Quds also offers free legal consultations to help these women navigate any legal issues that may come up and help them understand their options.  They will use our English skills to write grants and proposals and edit documents.  Our advisor at Al Quds mentioned the possibility of allowing me to use my training in conflict resolution and interpersonal communication to lead a seminar on conflict resolution. And I was so sure that I would never use that stuff. HA!!!!  The female students I am working with are excited to start a journaling program in which these women process their experiences through journaling and discussion.  It should be a simply fabulous experience.

Our group walked through Hezekiah’s tunnel.  This experience has been HUGE for me and my understanding of the authenticity of scripture.  2 Chronicles 32:30 talks about Jewish king Hezekiah digging this tunnel out of anticipation for a coming siege from Assyrian king Sennacherib.  If Jerusalem was surrounded by an invading army they would have no access to a water source (Jerusalem is built atop a hill) and would have to surrender due to lack of water.  This tunnel is an absolute ancient marvel.  The Bible dates this tunnel as being dug around 700 BCE, and Carbon-14 dating, stalagmite dating, and analysis of ancient writing in the tunnel confirm that date.  The fact that this piece of ancient construction is nearly 3000 years old and is still standing is mind-blowing by itself.  The fact that scientific dating confirms biblical dating enhances the whole experience.  To further validate scripture, 2 Chronicles 32:30 correctly places Hezekiah’s Tunnel west of Jerusalem near the City of David and correctly tells of it stopping the upper watercourse of the Gihon Spring.  It is undeniable that the Bible correctly claims and locates this ancient tunnel.  This is important for the legitimacy of scripture because Hezekiah’s Tunnel was only rediscovered in 1838 AD!  It is completely illogical to claim, then, that this scripture was written or edited any time after around 400 BCE when this tunnel was likely lost and forgotten. Biblical authors would have zero knowledge to describe Hezekiah’s Tunnel unless they were in fact there 2700 years ago when the tunnel was constructed or were close enough to that time period to have knowledge of the tunnel passed down orally. Tight.

Israeli Defense Force

Western Wall with MESP friends

There is so much more.  Please contact me somehow and ask me what’s going on.  I’d love to hear updates from you all as well.  Blessings and healing to you.  

My roommate Garrett. You made the blog!