Another in a string of challenging days. We visited with some folks who operate an organization that tries to prevent the demolition of Palestinian homes. We got a brief lecture by this group, then went on a tour of parts of the West Bank to see how examples of the conditions folks face in the West Bank. I am intentionally being brief and leaving out a lot of detail. Most of you following this blog know folks on the trip and can get more detail that way.
We did have lunch in a home that has been demolished and rebuilt. We heard the story of the family that lived there and the experience of having your home demolished. It has certainly taken a toll on the family. I wrote pages of notes so I can remember.
In the late afternoon we visited The Mount of Olives.(a couple from our group on a camel pic) It was amazing to look across the valley to the old city walls. Just below it is the Garden of Gethsemane-Picture of ancient olive tree. Thinking about Jesus' pending arrest and journey into the city for his crucifixion was very powerful for me.
In the evening two members of another reconciliation group came to share with us. This group gets Jews and Palestinians who have lost a close family member to the violence in the conflict and creates opportunity for dialogue. This group has more than 500 families represented. A Jewish man who lost his daughter and a Palestinian woman who lost her brother came and shared their stories with us and talk about the organization. A website to check out would be www.theparentscircle.org
We head to Haifa tomorrow. The intensity will decrease for now. I think we all need to catch our breath and process. I keep praying that God will open our eyes and hearts and help us be the people that God is calling us to be. That probably means we all have bias that needs to be challenged and that we must figure out how to respond in some way, recognizing that our goal is not to solve this larger issue but to help create opportunities for people to experience small measures of justice. Those hopefully will lead to larger measures of justice. The Jewish man described his hope as being able to "reach a critical mass of reconciliation so that leaders cannot ignore it." In other words can there be a point where enough people begin to seek reconciliation with their enemies, that it becomes a greater force than where present hatred seems to lead.
Praying that God would sustain you and give you the wisdom to know how you might respond. It's often easy to become overwhelmed with what we become surrounded by - and yet to do even one thing is progress. I pray God would show you each that one thing as you rest and reflect. God is faithful always - allow his Spirit to reside deeply. He longs to hear our heart cries - and we cry for our brothers and sisters. peace!
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