September 11, 2008 in Israel

This page keeps blinking as I tiry to write, so we'll see how far I get....

This was ONE, LONG, DAY! We had to be out in the lobby and ready to travel thru Jerusalem on foot by 7:30 am, and we didn't get back until 7:40 pm tonight....but I am already ahead of myself. Let me tell you a little about yesterday and the day before!

Did I tell you that we spent the night in the desert yet? Well, it was more than we could have imagined in terms of meeting the kids' expectations. The place was a commercial enterprise, but not..gimmicky. We rode camels as soon as we arrived and the kids, all of the kids and most of us adults, too, just laughed and giggled and made jokes the entire time. It was quite bumpy, as you can imagine! We all slept in one giant tent together and really had a sense of family. There are 25 of us, including our 2 guides. Kids were giggling and luaghing late into the night, the tent had electricity and floor mats, I mean it is not really the way the Beduoins (?) live, for sure, but it was a lot of fun.

But the kicker is learning the reality of the way this culture lives. Men don't do any work. The women do everything. It is the man's job to tell stories, to offer hospitality to strangers, (because in the desert to withhold hospitality could cause death!), and to protect the virtue of the women. If any woman is violated, she must be killed. If she caused it or a man did, is immaterial. Chris Davis, our guide, told us of a recent story in the states where a community of Beduoins knew that a young woman in their midst had been killed for this very reason, but they refused to cooperate with authorities because they wanted no one to interfere with their culture. One of the women working there, serving breakfast, had a real joy about her. We went on to talk and she shared that she was a Christian working amidst Jews and Muslims and how dangerous it is for her to be there. She has a mother's heart for the workers and was boasting about all of their varied skills and wonders why all of Israel can't work together like they do there? We also prayed for her right hand to be healed and she just wept. SHe has had 3 surgeries and it is still all withered. So, there was joy and real sorrow for the people in this culture....they are no longer nomadic and the deserts and just filled with tin shacks in which they live...shacks and camels and sheep. So barren. No windows. So hot.

From there we went to the heavily guarded city of Hebron, which I was amazed that we visited. There we saw the burial sites of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their wives. I cannot believe that I can write and tell you that I have stayed in the West Bank and visited Hebron. This is really unusual and not many tours do this. We are getting quite an education, quite an eyeful, quite an earful....too much to comprehend.

After the tent experience, we went to the field where David slew Goliath. It was hot and rocky, but we really got a feel for what the area is like and Yoni, our Jewish guide, brought the story to life so beautifully and powerfully. He loves to tell stories, loves being a guide, does impressions, etc. He was born in New York and moved here 6 years ago.

The coolest thing happened next. We ALL were invited to dinner by about 5-6 local homeschool families.!! They actually HOMESCHOOL in Israel for MANY of the same reasons we do in the States: they love their children, want to be with them, want to encourage creativity and diversity and freedom of expression. These mothers were incredible. Their kids were so very beautiful and happy. They played with all of our kids, just like they would have if we were in the States. The food they prepared was delicious, and all vegeterian.! There are about 350 familes that homeschool here, but it is not legally recognized as of now. the hostess, Dinah, has 7 children. Her eldest son is doing his Jewish studies in New York and the next, a daughter, is the second person in all of Israel to be a homeschooled student who is now in the Army! The first one was actually homeschooled in the States, so this is really a pioneering family! They were a joy, very realy, very transparent, and some were religious and some were not. The common thread was their love of children and learning!

We then checked into our youth hostel here in Jerusalem. Every place you walk, every place you see, has scriptural significance. It is amazing. It is OVERLOAD for the brain.
We visited the Muslim Quarter of the city, the Jewish Quarter, the old city, shops, the Cardo, the Western Wall, toured UNDER the city int he Western Wall tunnels (placed Ivy Ross's prayer note as close to the Holy of Holies as possible!!) and then prayed at the Wailing Wall. I was a mess all day. I started crying when a man was in the lady's room in the Jewish Quarter and began yelling and cursing at me. Was there a CLOSED sign? No. Was the door locked? No! He was a maint. man and we were just supposed to KNOW not to bother him? No toilet paper anywhere, I had to GO and Caroline was already in a stall and he was cursing at me, I am sure, and being really hostile. I waited for Caroline, of course, but just broke down after that. I cried for most of the day.
NOT about the man...
But your emotions, your spirit is on overload here. You see so many Jews living painfully, restricted observant lives...wearing hot clothes in the heat, no unique appearances, women so hot...then the Muslims, you see them doing similar things with regard to dressing in heavy clothes in the heat...again, mostly the women...and then when you are with a guide day after day that reads scripture, then shares the Rabbinical commentaries and Talmud and Midrash as if it were ALSO the word of God, then realize that he doesn't believe that we sin...so no one he talks about in scripture ever sinned...they just messed up, "We're all human, it's ok!" for 8 days and WOW, it is hard for the Christian mindset, the Christian spirit to tolerate. When you love Jesus and know that He is the Promised One, the One who has set us all free...it is painful to see such oppression and emptyy hope that things will really be ok. Throw in the tension between Jews and Arabs and also the blatant slurs and divisive remarks...

Let me close here...crying again. But please continue to pray for the PEACE OF JERUSALEM! It is the only city mentioned 881 times in scripture and is the only city that we are commanded to pray for BY NAME! Safe to say that God has something very special in store for this place that has yet to be seen by the world!
Love and miss you,
Lisa, for everyone!
Hey, post a comment so I can 'see' your face!