At Home in Jerusalem

After last week's immersion in Palestinian life outside Jerusalem, we've returned to 'home base' here at Tantur, located on the outskirts of Jerusalem with a panoramic view of Bethlehem. Today, I have no earth-shattering observations to record, just a brief glimpse of the rhythm of our life here.

Friday was the first day in months, maybe years, when I took about two hours simply to sit and relax. As a family, we visited a nearby kibbutz with a lovely pool and grounds. While the younger kids splashed and Bob and Abbie worked out, I sat. What a gift.

Yesterday we walked the Palm Sunday road down the Mount of Olives and through the Garden of Gethsemane. It's moving beyond words to imagine Jesus making this trek, especially in light of all it meant for him and ultimately for us. The kids were just happy that, for once, we didn't make them walk UP the rather steep incline; we actually splurged for a ride on a local bus. From the Garden, we made our way through St. Stephen's Gate into the Old City and down part of the Via Dolorosa, Jesus' purported path from Pilate to the cross. Along the way, we had a truly religious experience as we enjoyed the best pizza of the whole trip and made friends with one more exceedingly friendly Palestinian shopowner (who's also training as a psychiatrist: "we need them, you know"). We ended our touring with a visit to the Garden Tomb, a site excavated in the 19th century that helps one envision the kind of tomb to which Jesus' body paid a brief visit.

Today, we enjoyed worshiping at the Church of Scotland and then meeting both its pastor and another American pastor on sabbatical (albeit without his family; we're so grateful to be here together!). We rode along as the pastor drove a church member named Mary home to the other side of town; it takes at least an hour and a half, with three bus rides and a checkpoint, for her to make it to church, so he sees it as the least he can do to drive her the 15-minute car ride (available to those with Israeli license plates). After lunch in a delightful Israeli sandwich shop, we discovered a couple of wonderful locally owned bookstores on Jaffa Street. The kids have exhausted the 50ish books they had brought along, and we were thrilled to find a used bookstore to feed their reading passion.

One of the enjoyable twists for us has been depending on public transportation to get around Jerusalem. We board a small 20-passenger Arab bus just outside Tantur's gates and get dropped off just outside the Old City. From there, we're learning our way around the labyrinth that makes up the Christian, Armenian, Jewish and Muslim quarters.

Tomorrow the kids start camp in Bethlehem. Please pray for that experience to be a rich one for them. They're excited about the activities and seem genuinely eager to bear the light of Christ to their co-campers, through interaction if not through spoken language (Abbie's group should be more fluent in English; Will and Hannah have promised to teach us the Arabic they learn). I also begin my work in earnest, compiling the index of my book to be published by Cambridge early next year. Prayers for my productivity would be greatly appreciated as well!

We continue to give thanks for you and brag about you everywhere we go. As I write, you're gearing up for Sunday morning worship with our dear friend Walter Jones. We're thrilled for him to know you -- and vice versa.

Grace and peace,

Suzanne