Bethlehem

It's been a very busy couple of days and its about to get busier! We went to Bethlehem last Wednesday, but I haven't been able to get a blog up because I've been stuck studying for finals ever since. We had our Palestinian final yesterday, and we have our Judaism final today. Yesterday it went fairly well, but today I'm bracing myself for the worst!

Bethlehem was an interesting experience. I kind of have mixed feelings about it. We spent some time in Ein Karem where John the Baptist was born to Elizabeth and Zacharias. We visited a couple of churches. My favorite was the Daughters of Zion abbey. It was really beautiful and peaceful in there. It has been wonderful to relate more to Elizabeth, Zacharias, John, Mary and Joseph, and their experiences.

After that we passed through the Separation Wall into what is considered the West Bank... Bethlehem. Passing through the wall gave me a much deeper perspective into what is happening over here. The Separation Wall is a 20ft wall the Israelis have built around the West Bank occupied territory for reasons of "security." If you ask me it is more demoralizing then a safety precaution. It was terribly hypocritical to see the huge PEACE banners strung up on the wall on the Israeli side. Building a wall doesn't promote peace. On the Palestinian side are huge gruesome murals blatantly attacking the Israeli hypocrisy through graphic artwork. In all honesty, it was disgusting. However, as I've been here longer I've learned more and more that I can't take sides. Both the Israelis and the Palestinians have made prideful, stupid decisions. But as I've learned in Brother Hunington's class, time moves on and major issues eventually melt away into history. One day they'll work something out.

So that part of Bethlehem I didn't enjoy, but it was fun doing a little shopping in Manger Square, and going through the Church of the Nativity. However, the highlight of the day was when we had dinner and spent the evening on Shepherds Field. We had a fun program, sang lots of Christmas Carols, and Brother Draper gave a wonderful lesson on the birth of Christ. The Spirit was strong, and the evening was wonderful.

I love being in this land. I've learned so much! Although I'm ready for American food, and Christmas. This week we're going on three field trips tomorrow so I promise I'll update this more now!

I'm so excited to be done with my Jewish class! Wish me luck on the final!

Lots of Love!