Adventure is Out There

Literally laying in bed beyond happy right now and laughing at all the adventures that were had! Definitely one of the most memorable days here so far! 

It all started because we had a "free morning". We had nothing on our schedule so we could do whatever. We could stay at the hotel or venture out to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. So this morning a group of 8 (Caleb, Damon, Elyse, Whitney, Erika, Christine, Grant, and myself) decided to go to Bethlehem. It was about 5 minutes from our hotel. So the important thing to recognize about Bethlehem is that it is in Palestine and behind the wall so to get in and out requires passports. So we walk up to the only entrance that we know how to get in: the vehicle lane. Of course that was not where we were supposed to go but we were told to wait for someone to escort us to the right place. 5 to 10 minutes later 3 Israeli soldiers come and walk us about 20 feet to point towards the direction we were supposed to go. We kind of laughed at that and proceeded to the pedestrian entrance. We get in no problem but the minute that we are on the other side of the wall we are bombarded by taxi drivers who are trying to get us to ride their taxi. In order to save money we had decided we were just going to walk around Bethlehem but these taxi drivers obviously wanted to make some money, and they followed us down the streets on foot. One taxi driver pulled over to tell us it was too far and we were politely persisting that we were just going to walk around he asked us where we were from. When we told him we were from the United States he harassed us and  told us to go back to Israel and support them because we obviously didn't care about Palestine. That was the first time that we felt any anger toward us in that regards because of where we were from and it was very interesting. We finally found the main road and started walking. We came to this shop where this man was standing outside and began talking to us. We went into his shop to kind of just be polite but walked away with smiles on our faces. Majdi, was the name of this man and he knew of where the place where we were staying on the other side of the wall. He asked us each of our names and remembered them! Which was very impressive! Another thing that we've all experienced since being in Israel is that it is very common to be offered copy in a very small Dixie cup wherever you go. So Majdi walked around saying, "Courtney, you take coffee!" "Erika, you take coffee!" And so on... He gave us great deals on items in his store and was a great tease! He gave us his card at the end and told us to call him if we ever needed help! We all walked away talking about Majdi for most of the rest of our walk. When we were walking further into Bethlehem another man saw us and asked where we were from. He also knew Tantur and said that on our way back we had to stop at his shop and he would let us paint graffiti on the wall. So after we wandered the streets of Bethlehem and had to make our way back we stopped at this mans shop where we also got coffee and some souvenirs. He gave us spray cans and we got to go up to the wall and leave our mark. Wow.... I have no words. Most people leave snide comments or words of anger. Our group wrote verses and words of love and prayer on the wall. Hopefully people will see this and know that there are those out there praying for them and the situation. We got a couple pictures with the owner of the shop (The Shop Behind the Wall) and made our way back to Israel. Going through security was more of a pain. The line was long because it was time for one of the 5 daily prayers for Muslims so a bunch of people were trying to get to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem for this and had to go through this hassle to get there. We were the only foreigners in the line. Luckily God sent us an angel in this experience when a woman behind us who spoke English, walked us through how security goes and helped when we were confused. Once we got through and made it back to Tantur it was time for lunch! 

After we had lunch we went to a chapel in Tantur where we had a lecture with Jared about Israel and Palestine conflict and the history for a couple hours. Jared does a very good job about giving an objective account without inserting his opinion so he was someone we could ask lots of questions of and know that we were being well informed. He told us what parts are mostly opinions and that it's not just a Two sided issue because many people for example in Israel have multiple different opinions. In the end, it's a very hard topic to address and it needs to be in our prayers. Prayers for both sides that they will eventually come to peace. 

So for Jews, Friday evenings are special as Shabbat begins. This is the Sabbath that begins on Friday sunset and goes until Saturday sunset. There are many different traditions that the Jews observe. For example no work is done on this day, even to an extreme that we may not understand. For example during the Sabbath if there is a light off in a room you can't turn it on. So people either fumble in the dark or turn all lights on. Now these kinds of traditions depend on the household but many of them are implemented. So tonight we went to a more liberal synagogue which basically means they're not as traditional and are more welcome towards visitors. Throughout the service people were singing and dancing and praying. It was a very liturgical service where there was a strict order and way things were done but was also done in the most informal way I could imagine. We read out of a song book that was written in Hebrew and English. People were very welcoming and showed us how things were done. After the service we all split up and we're sent to different homes for the traditional Shabbat supper that happens after the synagogue. Caleb, Marta, and I were put in a cab by Jared who explained to the driver where to go and we were off on our own! We drove about 5 minutes and were dropped off at a gated house. We rang the buzzer and told them from Tantur and they unlocked the gate. When we got to the house we knocked on the door and walked in. However when we entered the house it was quiet obvious we were in the wrong home! The man that greeted us didn't speak English and we had no idea what to do. We asked him if his name was Joel (because that was the name of our host). He went and got his wife and we showed her the envelope with the address and she said it was down the street. So it's getting on 7:45 or so and getting dark and were walking down the road with no idea where to go or what to do because we have no cell phone service. We're walking down the road and pass a house that had a giant dog that became apparent as we passed and barked in our faces. We found out that when it comes to fight of flight, Caleb flees!! So we were walking the neighborhood and asking people we saw where the address was. We finally found the house after 30 minutes. Joel and Susanna were our hosts and they had to two daughters. They also had guests that were visiting so it was a party! They started by all sitting around the table and singing and chanting. It was just like the synagogue, liturgical but beautiful in the chaos! Then they blessed their children, they each went and individually whispered prayers over their children. Then we went to the kitchen silently and washed our hands, 3 times each. When we got back to the table there were more words and songs about the breaking of the bread. You have to understand that all of this was not in English so it was interesting to sit back and observe. We started eating with appetizers and it was buffet style where we passed things around. Once everyone was done we moved on to the main course with chicken, rice, potatoes, and salad. It was delicious and like every person so far in Israel they insisted we kept eating! After the meal we sat around and talked at the table as the kids went and played games nearby. After dinner we had dessert and after dessert they had the long blessing at the end. This whole meal lasted from 8-11:15! We were all getting just a tad bit tired and ready to leave when the blessing was done. We thanked them for the meal and set off for Tantur. We had a map that said that Tantur was walking distance from the home we stayed at and was pretty much a straight shot. Well after getting lost and giggling for probably 30 minutes we decided to try to hail a cab. Somehow we ended up in a pretty dark and desolate part of town but thank goodness we had Caleb ;) We got a cab and made it back to Tantur in one piece! If anyone was wondering, it wasn't in walking distance! 

Shabbat was such an authentic experience that we got to experience in smaller groups. To observe and be welcomed in another religions traditions was an honor. They were so open with sharing about their religion and traditions and talking about hard topics such as their opinions on politics. 

It was a great long day which is why I started writing this post last night but didn't want to rush through it to make sure I posted it on time but finished it up today! Hope it was worth it for you all! Shabbat Shalom! (Happy Shabbat!)