SHALOM from the Holy Land! Almost a month into my Jerusalem adventure, and I am just now starting my blog! I have had the most incredible day today and it was just magical enough that I said, "Ok, I HAVE to tell everyone about this!" Not just today, but the last few weeks! I wish I could play catch up, but I have PILES of homework I need to catch up on, which I already procrastinated all day- much preferring adventures in the city to staying here in the center studying ;)
Today I went out to the Old City with two of my new friends, Sam and Jared! I've learned by now to plan my day well and travel in small groups- you can get so much more done! We did the "ramparts walk" where you climb to the top of the wall surrounding the Old City of Jerusalem and walk the border- with great views of some parts of the city you just can't see from the streets! We paid a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Pools of Bethesda. Then we hurried around to the base of the Mt. of Olives - which is covered in a giant Jewish Cemetery. The scriptures talk about Christ's Resurrection and him splitting the Mt. of Olives and marching down through the Golden Gate of the City- well, in order to be the first to be resurrected, many people for the last couple thousand years have chosen to be buried here! The mountain side is covered! And at the base is the Tomb of Absalom (King David's son!)
We walked around there for a while and listened to a man play some Egyptian music. Then, over the hill came five cute Palestinian boys with coffee cans and water bottles of olives that they had been picking from the mountain. We chatted and laughed and they got me to try an olive- very bitter! Then the oldest boy Mamul said, "You are our friends, and we bring our friends to our house. Come home with me!" The three of us looked at each other for a second wondering if this was "OK" and then made the obvious choice to follow our new friends to their village just around the base of the mountain in the Kidron Valley.
We met their father, Abe, out on the front porch of his business where he makes widow's mites for tourists to buy. Then we climbed up to their beautiful porch and their mother opened the door with a "Welcome, Welcome, please come in!" We tried to explain how we'd met her sons, but she spoke very little English, and yet, not knowing who we were or how to communicate, welcomed us whole heartedly into her home! We sat in their beautiful living room, where they had a full wall mural of Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock. Gradually, about 5 of the 11 children came in and out and we met her oldest, Seti (? I had a really hard time remembering their names!) We talked with him and the boys for about an hour and a half, and part way through Fatima brought out a beautiful lunch for us! Pitas, vegetables, cheese, eggs... oh so delicious!
Being with this sweet family was... powerful! Spiritually powerful, and not just because I felt like a missionary again! But I really recognized how similar all of God's children are. Honestly this culture has always seemed very foreign to me- they dress in head scarfs and long dresses, eat strange foods, speak in a completely indiscernible tongue, and worship in a different way. But, sitting for just a short time with this family all of that "different" mentality was erased, as I felt nothing but love and trust between us. We talked about their family and they were so expressive of love and the importance of families. Seti has a wife and daughter back in the States, but came here to work with his dad. Across this whole globe, in all nations and cultures, I think spiritually, we all need the same things- We need love and family... at the very base. No matter the religion or beliefs we attribute these feelings to... there is undoubtedly a measure of divinity in this. God truly does love us... because he gives us families and the emotions that come with those bonds.
Romans 8:
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
I love you my family (and friends included!) -KL
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