Elias Chacour made an impact on my trip to Palestine and Israel by what he wrote in his book "Blood Brothers". It was he who reminded me of the importance of living stones. He suggested that the World comes to his homeland to see the ancient stones and fails to see the beauty of the living stones. This could be so true. We want to know where Jesus sat and what King Herod's home looked like. We want to stand at the wailing wall and offer a prayer. We want to walk on the path of passion past and ignore the passions, trials, and betrayals that are being heard in the streets right now. Does God not move powerfully in both?
There is no compassion between strangers. It is powerful that in Christ God became known and we began to understand God's willingness to know us. The intimacy that builds between those who become vulnerable to one another brings to life the power of love. It is this intimacy that makes the lives of disciples so rich. It is this intimacy that makes meaningful partnerships in life. Don't we already know that in this intimacy lies the power to change the world? But where does it start?
After a long day of traveling, Emily and I begin to unpack and find our bearings in a new place. The hotel is charming but not much like home. There are no key cards to unlock the doors. It was surprising to feel a sense of wonder when the welcoming employees hand us a key. There are no big screen T.V.'s in the lobby waiting for sports teams to stain the carpet with waffle batter every morning, no room full of human hamster wheels labeled "gym" , and no waft of Chlorine that helps us find the pool. So, clearly it is time to find out what this country calls a hotel. We need to explore.
Patios are places for the public to meet and engage. The roof top is the main patio. This is where all of the meals are served. We will eat at long tables, eat from the buffet, and learn new parts of people's lives at each meal. Three floors down is the lobby with enough couches to connect to the people around us and enough internet access to connect with the people we love a world away. The lounge patio is two floors above the street and open to the air. It's a great place to hear the sounds of the city and add the sounds of celebration to the community surrounding. As Emily and I peak through the doors, we notice that even at 3:00am there are people out here laughing and talking. Curious, we ask permission to gaze out over the patio ledge at the city that welcomes us.
A combination of English, Arabic, and laughter quickly becomes the soup of welcoming gestures that would fill our next moments. Rameel is talking but we don't know his name yet. We feel awkward but we were glad we asked to come out instead of assuming company was not welcome. The invitation starts with pleasantries, "come on out, you are welcome." But quickly Rameel feels the need to make us even more welcome. Looking at the table, we can see that this is a party, and Rameel doesn't hesitate to invite us to join; offering beer and other beverages. Neither of us drink and it feels awkward to decline hospitality but we explain that alcohol is not okay for us. But by now our struggle to understand each other has become funny. Rameel's family and friends obviously wonder with amusement where he is going to go from here. Without missing a beat, Rameel begin's slicing a giant piece of birthday cake. We ask who's birthday is being celebrated and twenty figures point at our host. This is when we share names. As the cake becomes our gift, everyone suddenly realizes that this party has long outlived its ration of clean silverware and laughter begins again. It's time for more quick thinking so Emily and I quickly dive in with our fingers. Chocolate icing, a layer of caramel, some sort of custard; what are you going to do but lick your fingers and laugh. These living stones sure laugh easily.
After a short power nap, the sun was up and it was time for exploring to go beyond the walls of the hotel. I couldn't convince Emily that three and a half hours was enough sleep so I started the trip alone. It was Saturday, the third seat of Eid. On the first day, the people of Islam fast and remember the obedience of Abraham to God. On days 2&3 people stay with family me feast (the description reminds me of thanksgiving at home). So,am told that shops may open slow or not at all, but I walk anyway. (Who would have guessed that? Have we met?) the first open door is FuFu, a bakery, the smells draw me in but the products don't look at all familiar. I wait while family men come in and make choices to bring home to house guests that have been making a weekend at their homes, and when you he crowd clears, I start asking questions. George owns FuFu and explains some of the ingredients. He hands me what looks like a honey glazed croissant covers in black tar. "Try it" he says, "these are poppy seeds". He asks where I'm from and why I am here while I pick out a few more greets for me and Emily. When I'm done, he insists that I take the bag with his compliments. He tells me that his other bakery is in Chile ( South America,really?) I found out later that many Palestinian people have found refuge in South America after the land occupation began to greatly diminish the quality of life at home. clearly living stones are going to be fattening f this keeps up.
Bethlehem is about as hilly as San Francisco and I travel the hills back to find Emily with my treats. She too has a desire to explore so I suggest that we head even more uphill toward the temples and steeples on the horizon. It was a great choice because we found that temples are usually bathe older buildings and they are in the more historic parts of town. We found ourselves in old town Beit Jalla. After checking out a few buildings, we see a street cart billowing steam. Good things happen at street carts 😋. It was a Coffee cart run by Mufeel. He puts his cart across the street from the police station and it is also the parking lot where the taxi drivers gather. (A perfect spot for a thriving coffee cart. Luckily, taxi drivers like to hang out and drink coffee all day because Mufeel doesn't speak much English but taxi drivers do. Before long Emily is drinking the "best cup of tea she has ever had" and I am drinking coffee from a large pot that reminds me of Bedouin camp fire equipment. It doesn't taste like coffee that I've had before but what a flavor. It was everything local, everything that I was looking for. These living stones knew how to keep the city moving. (Plenty of caffeine here). Finally we figured out how to use our shekels.
There's more to tell...stay tuned
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