Last day in Jerusalem

It's sad. In less than 3 hours we will be leaving Jerusalem for the rest of the semester. I hope to come back some day, but it won't be for a while and who knows how it'll be politically! I guess Tony Blair wants Palestine to declare independence right now as a first step to the peace process instead of waiting for peace first. I'm not sure what'll happen.



We are off to the Galilee for the next 2 weeks. We'll be living and working at Kibbutz Affikim, right on the Jordan river, about a mile south of the Sea of Galilee. I'm not sure what all that will entail, but I do know that in the next two weeks our projects and papers and presentations are all due. That'll be a lot of work, but it's all extremely interesting stuff!



Thanks for all the comments on my last blog! The mysterious event of Thursday night was our meeting with Mordecai Vanunu. He's the one who leaked Israel's nuclear secrets to the world. He has spent 18 years in prison, 12 of which were solitary confinement. He is currently restricted to Jerusalem and it is illigal for him to speak with foreigners. Oops. He loves speaking with foreigners! There could be problems from that, but he refuses to be quiet about what he has seen and experienced. I was blown away by his story! He's a great man in my opinion, but certainly very dangerous.



I'm not sure what all the comments about the pictures were of, but yeah, there were some really sweet rocks to climb! The cliffs at Qumran were especially fun! Paul Wirght, our guide just pointed at the cliffs and said "I'll meet you in the cave that looks like Ohio in 10 minutes." So we went!



A bunch of us were able to ascend to the Temple Mount this morning! The times are confusing because the mount is closed around the Muslim calls to prayer which happen many times a day. So I was up there for about 20 minutes. Unfortunately they wouldn't let any foreigners in the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aqsa Mosque. Still I got to see what this whole conflict is all about. In the midst of the massively crowded Old City of Jerusalem is a vast elevated expanse of open air with a few buildings and tons of stone. It's Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount, the mount of Muhammed's ride and ascention, the mount where the Messiah will return. Some even think it is the site of the Garden of Eden. Wow.



Yesterday was Palm Sunday! I went to East Jerusalem Baptist once more and then walked for hours and hours as part of the Jerusalem Palm Sunday processional. It started at Bethphage on the eastern side of the Mt of Olives and ended in the Old City at St. Anne's. Palm branches, olive branches, flag, banners, guitars, singing, clapping, dancing, praying, monks, nuns, bishops, priests, people from all over the world, languages like I have never heard! It was incredible! The unity of the Christian faith is impressive! It's a diversity that is completely foreign to Judaism and Islam. I'm proud to be a Christian!



On Friday we were given one assignment and all day to do it. We went to 4 sites in Jerusalem and read and reflected on the story of this week from Luke--The Upper Room, Gethsemane, the High Priest's house, and the Garden Tomb. I chose to go by myself and adored every minute! Passion week has never been that much of a big deal to me, but being here, living here, walking the streets, seeing the story, the whole thing has come alive! Jesus walked and taught and died and rose again right here! So amazing!



That evening we were spectators at the Western Wall as Jews from all sects brought in the Sabbath. It's difficult to explain, but I'm so very gald we could see that. Then for dinner we had a Christianized traditional sabbath meal. That also was amazing! If it happened every week I'm sure it would lose some uniqueness. Once in a while with friends and family is great though.



Last night, we had an EMU Palm Sunday service at the Basilica at Ecce Homo. It was powerful. Things didn't go as we planned them. Some of the songs weren't quite right and the order of service was a bit off, but God was there. The place and the day, what we'd all been through and where we're all going, brought us together. We had communion and allowed for a very long time of sharing. We celebrated Jesus' entry and looked ahead at the pain that is to come. The songs ended up meaning more to me than I had expected. It was great.



Ok, I really shouldn't write any more or I won't have anything to say when I get home! But I do have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SISTER!! I know I'm a day early, but there won't be internet access on the kibbutz. I'll be thinking of you all day tomorrow! And I'll be praying for a fantastically wonderful, incredibly awesome day for you! Yay!