Yes, we are back. After numerous border crossings and checkpoints, we went through our last "crossing" in Winnipeg. After a huddle and a "team shawarma" cheer, we descended down the stairs as family members and friends celebrated our arrival - it sounded as if people actually missed us a bit.
Our last few days were not without adventure. Our second full day in Israel/Palestine was spent in Bethlehem. Our first vista of the city of Christ's birth was that of the Israeli Security Wall which stood ominously in our way. Ironically, in beautiful and bright colours on the cold cement structure, a sign welcomed us with a greeting of peace. Inside the wall, we didn't hear much about peace. With our MCC "guides" we met with Zoghby Zoghby of Wi'am and Bishara Awad of Bethlehem Bible College. They both shared stories of frustration and despair in the face of the Israeli occupation. They spoke of an apartheid state in which their people, the Palestinians, have been put into Bantustans or "Palustans", surrounded by the wall, cut off from family, friends, places of worship, businesses . . . Bishara Awad lamented the fact that Christians in the western world do not listen to the pleas of their Christian brothers and sisters in Israel/Palestine but simply blindly support Israel's policies. He applauded the fact that our students have taken the time to look at what is happening and encouraged us to talk about what we have seen in our school and in our churches.
On Good Friday, we got together on the roof of the Ecce Homo convent for a short worship service. We sang some hymns and read the Good Friday story, the elements in that story so real to us as we had just visited many of the named places in the last few days. Down below us, as we read the story, hundreds of people were gathering on the Via Dolorosa, carrying their crosses and singing. It would be an understatement to say that it was a very meaningful way to spend the morning of Good Friday. Even though it was Good Friday, we cheated a bit and ended the service with a ressurection hymn: "Up From the Grave He Arose." We couldn't leave Jerusalem without that part of the story.
From Jerusalem, we began our trek back home. Our first stop was at the Dead Sea on the Jordanian side, where we floated in the salty water, played some beach volleyball, and threw the disc around (injuring only a couple of people).
The next day, we headed back to Damascus. It was amazing how this city had become like a second home to us. We went to "our coffee shop" and a number of students sat in the Ummayyed Mosque. And, most importantly, we had shawarma.
So, as I began this entry, now we are home. Hopefully we are changed. We have seen a magical world. We have seen oppression; we have seen natural beauty; we have seen hospitality; we have seen many vibrant cultures; we have seen so much. It has been a pleasure to travel with these students. They took risks and approached all of our days in the Middle East with youthful energy - their eyes were always wide open. They have taught me a lot. Now I just have to convince some of them to write articles and organize the chapel. Maybe when the jet-lag wears off a bit.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
In Jerusalem
We are together again! Melissa rejoined us in Wadi Rum after spending quite a bit of time struggling with a fierce bout of an intestinal infection. We will let her share the details when she returns - suffice it to say that it was an ordeal at both ends, to say the least.
Our travel day from Damascus to Wadi Musa was wearying, but extremely rewarding. Long waits at the border followed by dramatic vistas of the Jordanian landscape. Polished marble and a grand staircase in the Petra Palace foyer welcomed us - somewhat different from stepping over a guest's bed in the entrance to the Al Haramein Hotel in Damascus. Moments later the students were wishing we were back there again. Our rooms were in the new wing - a.k.a the wing still under construction. That must be why the toilets didn't work, although they leaked, the water wasn't hot, although it was all over the bathroom floors, the keys would not let us into the rooms, although we couldn't lock the sliding doors, and the damp carpets smelled like ... sorry, this is a family-oriented blog). Other than that, though, they were great.
Everything was sorted out for us in the morning and we were very well looked after.
Petra simply defies description. Our 672 pictures will fail to capture the feeling of standing before magnificent edifices carved out of solid rock. The rising sun on the rose coloured sandstone yielded ever - varying hues and tones, and the scale of the archaeological site was almost impossible to fathom. Really, it was pretty.
Wadi Rum had been a destination we eagerly anticipated, and we were not disappointed. We will always remember Sabah, our Bedouin guide calmly leading us where no Marsh and Mountain trip would dare to go. Now that we've made it, we can say that "sketchy" was a word we heard on occasion, as we clambered up cliffs and crawled over rock bridges - the pictures don't tell you that the bridge is 300 m above the dessert floor and crosses a chasm 80m deep. But we were never, ever afraid.
In the evening, we were treated to a typical Bedouin dinner, accompanied by singing and music played on an oud. We slept under 15 lb blankets in a traditional style tent - three walls and a roof. The full moon washed the rock face against which the camp was nestled. Did we mention the sunset? It was real pretty, too.
So, we are now in Jerusalem and the travel days remaining to us are few. We have been overwhelmed by the images of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock, the Temple Mount / Il-haram as-Sharif, the Mount of Olives and more. The last site we visited probably had the most profound impact on our group, as we were guided through the tranquil Garden Tomb and contemplated that before us was quite possibly the site where Jesus' body was entombed.
Tomorrow we are off to Bethlehem to see the current political situation and visit a number of significant holy sites.
Our travel day from Damascus to Wadi Musa was wearying, but extremely rewarding. Long waits at the border followed by dramatic vistas of the Jordanian landscape. Polished marble and a grand staircase in the Petra Palace foyer welcomed us - somewhat different from stepping over a guest's bed in the entrance to the Al Haramein Hotel in Damascus. Moments later the students were wishing we were back there again. Our rooms were in the new wing - a.k.a the wing still under construction. That must be why the toilets didn't work, although they leaked, the water wasn't hot, although it was all over the bathroom floors, the keys would not let us into the rooms, although we couldn't lock the sliding doors, and the damp carpets smelled like ... sorry, this is a family-oriented blog). Other than that, though, they were great.
Everything was sorted out for us in the morning and we were very well looked after.
Petra simply defies description. Our 672 pictures will fail to capture the feeling of standing before magnificent edifices carved out of solid rock. The rising sun on the rose coloured sandstone yielded ever - varying hues and tones, and the scale of the archaeological site was almost impossible to fathom. Really, it was pretty.
Wadi Rum had been a destination we eagerly anticipated, and we were not disappointed. We will always remember Sabah, our Bedouin guide calmly leading us where no Marsh and Mountain trip would dare to go. Now that we've made it, we can say that "sketchy" was a word we heard on occasion, as we clambered up cliffs and crawled over rock bridges - the pictures don't tell you that the bridge is 300 m above the dessert floor and crosses a chasm 80m deep. But we were never, ever afraid.
In the evening, we were treated to a typical Bedouin dinner, accompanied by singing and music played on an oud. We slept under 15 lb blankets in a traditional style tent - three walls and a roof. The full moon washed the rock face against which the camp was nestled. Did we mention the sunset? It was real pretty, too.
So, we are now in Jerusalem and the travel days remaining to us are few. We have been overwhelmed by the images of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock, the Temple Mount / Il-haram as-Sharif, the Mount of Olives and more. The last site we visited probably had the most profound impact on our group, as we were guided through the tranquil Garden Tomb and contemplated that before us was quite possibly the site where Jesus' body was entombed.
Tomorrow we are off to Bethlehem to see the current political situation and visit a number of significant holy sites.
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