|
| So there we were in Bethlehem. It was really one of the best parts of our time in Israel. Our group was walking up to a place called Manger Square. It is right in the middle the church of the nativity, a big mosque, the peace center and a bunch of shops. It is an open square usually full of people. As we approached the square, a palestinian police officer asked us where we were from. We told him we were Americans. He said, "There will be some bad things happening in the square..." For some reason, our group continued into the square. I stopped to ask the guy what kind of bad stuff and when it was going down.
He said there would be shooting in about five minutes. I was a little worried because Kristi was with me, but still we proceeded into the square. And almost on cue, the shooting began. There were two palestinians that the israelis were after. So the situation looked like this: israelis trying to come up a street shooting and the palestinians at the top of the street throwing rocks and other assorted items. The full square cleared out pretty quick. Below is a view from one corner of the square to the other. the mosque is out of the picture to the right and the church of the nativity is out of the picture to the left.
We were quickly rushed into the basement of the peace center. We sat down there for about thirty minutes listening to the gunfire and explosions. They said it might clear up soon, but it didn't. I had a great conversation though with a scholar from Norway. He was doing some doctoral research on the palestinian christian immigration patterns. He had some great information. After a while, we decided to leave out the back door; away from all the danger.
About two hours later, we couldn't resist our curiosity any longer. We had to go back. So Kristi's dad, her brother Kaleb, and myself went back to the square. There were all kinds of police roadblocks, but they were letting pedestrians go through. There was still all kinds of gunfire. People were throwing rocks. In the above picture you can see that they are getting a big green dumpster ready to roll down the street at the israelis. At this point, I must say that my feelings towards the israelis was at an all time low. I can get into all the reasons for that another time, but it was not a good situation.
About ten minutes after we arrived back, we saw a tear gas canister sail over the square. Within seconds, it was quite difficult to breathe and almost impossible to keep our eyes open. We had to leave the square just in order to breathe. But we were still way to curious to leave. We tried to go around a back way and ended up walking right into where the canister had landed. I felt like my insides were going to burn up. I couldn't speak arabic, but just a shared smile with some nearby palestinians seemed to communicate all that was necessary. It stinks living under the rule of a foreign government, but hey, you roll with the punches.
After about a half hour inside the church of the nativity, we decided to go back out to check the situation. Inside the church, it was eerily quiet and almost empty. No people. However, the situation outside was still just as crazy. We passed through the square on our way back to the hotel. Here is a picture of the view from the church of the nativity across to the mosque, all the action is occuring to the left in the square. It's around the corner. The only people out at this point were young, angry men.
We met some pre-teen boys and they were so glad that the israelis were getting rocks and fire bombs tossed at them. I asked if they were throwing rocks, and they happily admitted to it. They had filled the green dumpster with some kind of explosive, flammable material. When they lit it, it was a huge explosion. Here is what it looked like about 2 minutes later, this is from quite a distance.
Good times in Bethlehem.
| | |
| I love my big brothers. I have five of them. We all play pretty much every sport that there is. We invented games growing up. Whatever we had, we could make up a game for it. Now that we are all old, we play volleyball together.
Tonight we played and it was good volleyball. The kind where there's a good hit at the end of almost every three. The volleyball was good, but the fun was better. We enjoy being around each other, and at least three of us are absolutely sarcastic and mildly funny. So if you would of been there, you would have been entertained.
The weird thing growing up was that I hated being compared to them. All of my brothers were smart, athletic, spiritual, and good with the ladies. I hated the expectations of living up to their standards of perfection. Many times I would have teachers say, "Why can't you be more like your brother?" I hated being compared to them. Now that I think of it, that was a big part of me turning away from religion: it was just another way to prove that I was unique.
So now, even though my brothers are definitely not perfect, I wouldn't mind being lumped into the same group as them. Yep, I am one of the "truhe boys".
| | |
| I am a skeptic at my very core. I don't really want to be, it just kind of happened that way. Doubt seems to be constantly wanting to come inside my head, uninvited. Religion, mankind, people, the Bible: it's all fair game.
Due to this fact, my recent trip to Israel was not the constant spiritual high that it is for some people. Some people that were along for the trip were constantly oooing and aahing, constantly spitting out christian cliches, constantly thinking we should circle up and sing kumbiyah. Don't get me wrong, walking in the footsteps of Jesus, the prophets, the disciples, etc was really cool, but I didn't get a funny feeling. I don't think that the ground in Israel allows me to be any more spiritual than the ground here in north carolina. I found that it was just as easy to be selfish and a jerk towards my
wife in Jerusalem than it is here in the unholy town of High Point. No matter where you are, the reality of following Christ comes down to a bunch of mundane decisions.
Every time doubts float around my oversized head or whenever the skeptic in me desires to speak too freely, two concepts really seem to center me back to truth. These were on display just as clearly in Israel. For that matter they have been just as clear in every country I've been to. One is the unfortunate and at times unbelievable depravity of man. The other is the inexplicable love of a good God. These two things address the reality of all the problems in the world and at the same time address the solution to those problems. It all makes sense: man is bad, God is good. It might be a slight over-simplification, but the details would take more room than the blogosphere has to offer.
by the way, I'm so glad that tar heel basketball is back, and I'll get to the tear gas part next time...
| | |
| I've missed my time away from blogging. Kristi and I are leaving for Israel in a couple of days. Jaiden is staying with family in NJ. A good friend sent me a copy of Blue Like Jazz to read while I'm on the plane. I'm really stoked.
This weekend provided an interesting contrast for me. One night I was speaking to a crowd in familiar territory and going over familiar material. I feel like I mumbled and stumbled through everything I had to say. I don't know why stuff like that happens sometimes. Then over the next two days I spoke to hundreds of people about our ministry, and I feel like I was clear, concise, and even challenging.
The two extremes bother me. I know that my preparation plays a big part, but I actually prepared more for the nigh that went bad, and felt very unprepared for the night that turned out great. I'm starting to believe that there is also a connection to my passion, not only for the material I am covering, but also for the people I am sharing it with. I really wanted the second group to get it. I really wanted them to jump on board with what I was saying.
So I guess my new goal is to realize a passion for my audience, and not just the content.
By the way, being in ministry is awesome and humbling. Awesome because I have been able to meet people and go places that very few others will. Humbling because I often find myself surrounded by dynamic men and women of God. Giants of the faith that make me feel like a joke and make me want to push for more of God.
| | |
| I just wanted to let anyone who still checks this site that you can check out pictures of our India trip by clicking on www.threeglobetrotters.blogspot.com
I am still trying to find the time to blog. I really miss it.
| | |
|
|
