Finally Here!

Alright, for the record, I wrote my entire post and then lost it. So, here we go again. After a fairly interesting day of travel including lost tickets, forgotten passports, very frisky german security guards, and kids that screamed for two hours straight on the 8 hour flight (and I am not exagerating!!!) we made it to Israel safely without anything too major or life threatening happening. Disclaimer: I don't on long flights so I'm going off very little sleep so I apologize for any blatant grammatical or spelling errors or if something just doesn't make sense.

Travelwise, we all had a decent time. I had aisle seats which was a life saver and my ipod was also key. We arrived in Tel Aviv around 4:30ish and drove via bus through the outskirts of Jerusalem and finally arrived at the International Center in Bethlehem. Needless to say, we were all a bit punchy by dinner time but had a good time and went wandering around the city which was dead because of various religious traditions. We went to Major Square which is a central part of the city and saw the outside of the Church of the Nativity and caught some great views. It has narrow roads, fast drivers, Christmas lights, political posters, and graffiti in arabic and some beautiful stone buildings including churches and mosques and the like. The views at night are beautiful and I can only imagine what it is going to be like in during the day. The cities don't have any skyscrapers but there are lights everywhere so is very much normal city.

For my research and reading for this class I have been given quite a bit to ponder and it's been quite the journey so far. For this class we are discussing and reflecting on the relationships between Muslims, Jews, and Christians in this land that we all call Holy. And yet, this land seems far from holy sometimes especially when we hear about the bloodshed that happens because of this religion or that. It's as if this experience that we are supposed to call holy has somehow been tainted. And yet, this is a part of the history of this very land. And this causes us to ask the question, is peace possible? How can we achieve something so seemingly unatainable? And, we have so far to go. This is very visible in the form of the wall that acts as a barrier in this city of Bethlehem that is very reminiscent of the wall in Berlin. This wall has been built because of a combination of fear, hatred, and violence that seems to mock the title "Holy Land." It is a symbol of something that I think all three religions that have a stake in this land would normally be fighting against.

It is only the first day and already we are being faced with many tough questions including: what can I do in a situation such as this as Christian? I know that this is going to be a challenging and difficult but rewarding journey over these next two weeks. I'm thinking and praying for you all and I hope to hear from you soon!