Odds & Ends and President Obama's Visit

It's been a very interesting few days as Israel played host to President Obama and his entourage.  While traveling on the Arab bus the other day, I noticed several new posters on the highway that read--
Unbreakable Alliance, President Obama's Israel Visit 2013.  The theme for the visit was everywhere--Unbreakable Alliance.  I saw a white stationary blimp next to the King David Hotel where Obama stayed--must have been used for security purposes.  I walked up the hill from Jaffa Gate to Jerusalem University College on Wednesday and encountered two groups of police officers just watching.  Yesterday, Friday, Obama was to helicopter into Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity.  About 11:30 am it became very windy and hazy and before long a Chamsin had struck our area.  This is a sandstorm from the desert that lasted most of the day.  Literally, I could barely see Bethlehem from the campus.  This necessitated a change in plans and Obama arrived in Bethlehem by motorcade instead of by helicopter.  Much to our delight, about six of the staff at Tantur and Larry and I went to the lower level of the campus and climbed one of the rock terraced walls and stood there trying to catch a glimpse of the motorcade as it drove right in front of the campus on Hebron Road.  Just a reminder--the campus is only about 300 meters from Bethlehem and we can see the checkpoint and the separation wall very clearly--except when there is a Chamsin.  Before long we saw about 15 to 20 motorcycles followed by the President's limousine, then numerous SUV's, two ambulances and one small fire truck were also a part of the motorcade.  We were waving but could not see anything through the tinted windows of all the cars.  We even played host to a security car with two undercover agents in the drive of the school.  The road had been closed most of the morning with some of the Palestinian staff unable to get through the checkpoint until later in the day.   Afterwards I joined some of the staff at the reception desk who were watching the events at Manger Square on TV--all in Arabic.  They told me Obama would be in Bethlehem exactly 26 minutes.  What a reminder to me of all the details that surround an official State Visit and what it can do to a country.  I'm sure everyone is heaving a sigh of relief that the visit went so well.  Many churches and Christians in the Land were praying over this visit.  I heard Obama's name on the lips of many tourists as I walked through the Old City and heard a variety of languages being spoken.  It's never dull here!

I thought I would share with you odds and ends in this posting.  We have a new Study Group with us that includes participants from Ireland, Poland, Australia, India and the US.  We participated in prayers last night at 5:30 pm just before dinner.  Different members take turns each night leading this special prayer time.  The group is made up of Catholics, Presbyterians, a Lutheran pastor and the Secretary General of the Catholic Council in India.  We have already experienced some great conversations with this group.

Two stories I want to mention that happened several weeks ago and both added to our repertoire of life experiences that I am grateful for.  As we were preparing to leave for Israel, we flew from Fort Wayne to Chicago then to Istanbul and finally to Tel Aviv.  While waiting at the Gate at Fort Wayne, I was sitting next to a man who told me he was legally blind with 5% vision in one eye and 15% in the other. He was on his way to a hospital in Chicago that was going to begin to teach him to read Braille and learn how to use a seeing-eye dog.  He had been a trip planner for visits around Indiana to Branson, MO and other places.  Due to his diabetes, he had been going blind for 11 years.  I told him God would lead him through this experience in Chicago and he told me he was a Christian also and it was good to meet someone who cared about God.  His last comment was, "There are others worse off than me."
He is a brave man as he was traveling alone.  I was touched by his words and silently prayed for God's comfort and peace for him

As we landed in Chicago and made our way to the international terminal, I met a young college student from the Middle East.  She approached me to make sure she was going in the right direction.  She said she was from Abu Dabi and when I told her a friend's son worked for the US State Department in Dubai her face lit up and she said, "It's only an hour away from my country."  She was glad I had heard of Abu Dabi and with animation she told me it was a beautiful country.  Another reminder that most people love their home land and want to share it with others.

I've just finished reading Dr. Gary Burge's book, The Land and the Bible.  Dr. Burge is a Wheaton College professor that we have known over the years and a former Taylor University parent.  I highly recommend this short but very informative book about the Land of Israel.  He develops powerful spiritual applications from the images the Bible uses when the writers speak of water, rocks, the shepherds, etc.  It's a great resource for beginning to understand this amazing Land and how God used the Land to teach His people to trust in Him for all their needs.  Wonderful reminders of God's provision for all His children and a personal reminder to me of God's care and protection.

A Day in Hebron

Last Monday Larry and I joined the Study Group here at Tantur for a field trip to Hebron.  I had not been back there since 1968, the year that Larry and I lived here as students--a long time ago!  We had an informative, heart-wrenching day as we saw once again the division in this wonderful land between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

The Study Group consisted of 11 Catholic Priests, 2 Anglican Priests, and 1 British Nun who had been serving in France.  What a fun group to be with!  They are from all over the world--Ireland, England, Scotland and France with a few from the US.  We have shared in evening prayers with them and I found it to be a rich experience worshipping together and praying for the needs of the world.  They were so kind in praying for my Mother during her hospitalization.  We all set off last Monday and spent the morning with a representative from Al Haq, a Palestinian Human Rights Group, who gave us a tour of the Old City of Hebron, walked us through the streets, led us to the Mosque that covers the cave graves of Patriarchs Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Leah, and Issac and Rebekkah.  Many ultra-orthodox Jews live in the area and come to pray outside the mosque in a special area and the Muslims go inside.  There were soldiers located in strategic places and we went through several checkpoints.  This is a very volatile area and tensions run high between these groups.  We felt very safe and seeing it firsthand helps me to understand how difficult and complex the situation is.  This is a very strategic site for both Muslims and Jews.

After our tour and hearing children behind the walls in school playing and studying, we headed up the hill (lots of standing and walking that day) to a Palestinian home for lunch with a family that lives right across the street from Jewish settlers.  They were very welcoming and served us huge mounds of saffron flavored rice with chicken on two huge platters.  They gave us bowls to fill and then yogurt is spread over the top of this dish.  Very tasty.  We all sat on their sofas and were entertained by their children coming home from school--we met four of the five.  All the time we were there they were Skyping with their relatives in Jordan and wanted different ones from the group to speak to their relatives.  They had several cats and the children brought out four baby kittens for us to admire.  I was grateful for the opportunity to be in a Palestinian home and to meet a family.  They had pictures of their ancestors on their walls (just like we do) and explained about their family to us.  Their house overlooks one of the streets in the Old City of Hebron and on the roof the laundry is hung out.

After lunch we drove through the modern city of Hebron--I believe well over 100,000 people--to a glass factory where we watched a glassblower shaping vases and, of course, the opportunity to buy some lovely Hebron glass--one of their top sellers.  We were served small glasses of delicious hot tea as we walked around the store.

The soldiers we encountered were such young men--18 to 20 years old.  Israeli young men serve in the military right after high school for three years active duty then they move to reserve status for 20 years or more.  Women serve for two years right after high school.  There were several women soldiers helping check as we went into the Mosque.  Even though I was dressed appropriately for the Mosque, as a woman, I still had to put on a gray robe with a hood.  Larry said I looked like a monk and I felt like the hunchback of Notre Dame as I had my backpack on my back and underneath the robe.  The rugs and wall coverings in the Mosque are beautiful.  The women can pray off to the side when the men are in the room but on certain days when it is crowded the women are moved to another room separate from the men.  We all took off our shoes and walked on these lovely carpets as we toured the area.

As I viewed Hebron and listened to our tour guide, my heart was heavy as I saw firsthand the deep  distrust and both sides claiming this holy site as their own.  The military are there to protect the settlers and to keep the groups from fighting with each other.  They have lived this way since 1967.  This experience reminded me to pray again, and more intensely, for both Jews and Muslims and that somehow there would be a peaceful resolution to this complex situation filled with so much intransigence.   We were all touched by what we saw and prayers are often uttered here for God's peace to come and reign over this Land.  Here are a few photos from that memorable day.

The area between the buildings leads to the Mosque--the building on the right housed a gift shop and restaurant and the buildings on the left were Muslim homes.

The little "cabin," as the tour guide called it, is a checkpoint.  Everyone has to walk through the cabin to get to the other side for shopping, visiting the mosque, or visiting family and friends.

The Mosque.  This is the side the Israelis can pray at.

Inside the Mosque.

Another view inside the Mosque.

Our chicken and rice.

Our Palestinian hosts and one of their sons.

One last note.  Larry presented a lecture on the Apostle Peter to the Study Group here and received a very positive response.  They were engaged in good discussion and Larry has been invited to give the same lecture next week to a new Study Group that will be joining us--with some of the members arriving from Australia.  Israel is a magnet to the curious, the religious, and the sincere pilgrim.
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to meet people from all over the globe.

BACK IN ISRAEL

On February 25, 2013,  Larry and I left Chicago helping host another Taylor University Alumni and Friends Tour to Israel.  Along with 49 other tour members from all over the US, we began another adventure in this amazing land.  For eight days we traveled all around the Galilee in the north then down to Jerusalem and the area of the Dead Sea and Masada being the farthest distance for us in the south.  What a trip!  Larry was the Bible teacher again and Pamela Suran, an Israeli and lover of the Messiah served as our Tour Guide.  They make quite a team.  We so enjoyed getting to know the people on the tour and felt very privileged to have several neighbors join us along with our Pastor and his wife and other friends from our church family and former Taylor employees I had worked with at the University.  Gene and Marylou Habecker, President of TU, and Ben and Lisa Sells, VP for Advancement, also helped host the tour.

What I hope to do in this blog is share highlights about what I have encountered in this new adventure. God continues to surprise me with great conversations and opportunities to meet amazing people.  Something different this time is that after the Tour left on March 6th Larry and I moved over to the Tantur Ecumenical Institute just outside of Bethlehem where we are staying for several weeks doing some research, writing projects, and touring.   Tantur is owned by the University of Notre Dame and allows scholars, study groups, and pilgrims to stay for short periods of time, or for sabbaticals.  Here's a photo of this 40-acre campus.  We have a wonderful room with easy access to the Library--three stories, a lovely dining room with delicious meals and the opportunity to meet fascinating people.  From the campus we can see over into Bethlehem and the Checkpoint.  We are only 300 meters away.  We take the bus into Jerusalem and can be there in 10 to 15 minutes, depending on traffic.  Last Sunday we visited the Anglican Christ's Church just inside Jaffa Gate.  We had worshipped there on previous trips and it was a beautiful service with a message from the pastor on the Prodigal Son.  This is the oldest evangelical protestant church in the Middle East.  As we found our seats on the bus into Jerusalem a young woman approached us and called us by name.  I was amazed to see Tania Kuttab standing there!  Tania graduated from Taylor in 2012 and is Palestinian.  She served as Vice President of the Student Body and helped launch a student organization on the Middle East.  We had met her on several occasions at Taylor events.  What a treat for us.  She is currently living in Bethlehem and working in East Jerusalem as a community organizer for an organization.  We hope to find out more as we plan to meet up together before we leave.  God continues to bring into our lives wonderful surprises.  While we were having lunch at Tantur a young woman came and sat down at our table and she made a comment about Larry's wearing a Taylor sweatshirt and then she said, "I'm a 2001 graduate of Taylor University and you were one of my professors."  Larry thought he had recognized her but was not sure.  Hannah Hemphill Barrett  is a PhD candidate from the University of Notre Dame and has studied off and on at Tantur and arrived this week to lead some Notre Dame undergrads on a pilgrimage during their spring break.  What fun for us to reconnect and learn more about her life.  She had spent one semester at Jerusalem University College (at Larry's urging) and fell in love with the Middle East.    We are so grateful for these contacts and reminders of the lives that have been influenced by Taylor University during over 30 years of service to the school.

We are enjoying beautiful sunshine and times to sit outside in the sun and relax, think, pray, journal, read and reflect on our recent tour.  I'm learning to use the drying rack on the balcony for all our laundry and getting acquainted with the staff who have been so friendly and helpful.  In the midst of this great experience the only cloud I'm feeling is concern for my dear mother.  She is hospitalized in California with pneumonia and atrial fibrillation plus congestive heart failure.  I spoke with her last night and the new heart meds are helping but her heart rate needs to drop even more.  My dear sister Dorothy is close by and keeping us informed about her condition.  Your prayers for Mom are appreciated.

In the days ahead I intend to share more with you about the people we have met, our projects and the sights we will be seeing.  I'm reading Henri Nouwen's book, The Genesee Diary. For seven months he lived in a Trappist Monastery and these are all excerpts from his diary.  His diary reveals a very human, vulnerable man with many insecurities and yet a heart that wanted to know God better.  I'm finding it insightful and a good read.  Here's Larry standing near the apartments for families at Tantur.  Our room is behind him on the second floor.