oh palestine, what are you doing to my heart?

i just can't say enough how much i love it here! the palestinian people are so beautiful - inside and out.. and so hospitable. the other day, my friends and i visited a couple of believers and they just kept bringing food out for us.. and juice and tea. i love the tea, with fresh mint right out of the garden.

it's crazy and really hard to see how the people are held captive inside the wall. it's makes no sense at all to me. but one thing i've noticed is how strong and resilient the people seem. i admire them so much. i haven't seen any poverty or homeless people because they really know how to take care of each other. everyone dresses really nice. and how a foreigner dresses here is a reflection of how much (or little) you respect and honor them. i was so surprised to see people dressing up all the time. a lot of the palestinians used to have really good paying jobs in Jerusalem before the wall went up, but now most of them haven't worked in 6 or 7 yrs.

my friends and i went to bethlehem yesterday (which is also surrounded by a huge wall to hold the Palestinians in) for a recital at the conservatory where my friend teaches. bethlehem is a pretty fascinating place in the fact that yes, it's where Jesus was born but now it's predominately a Muslim town. it was nothing for me to see mosques dotting the skyline. i think i even said something like, "wow, this is where it all happened and look how different it is now." we were surrounded by mosques and orthodox idols.

later in the evening, we went to a visit a family who are orthodox. just recently, the dad whom i'll call *Ahmed has started to really have a relationship with Jesus. even though he's been a "christian" his whole life, he's just now starting to see that there's more. that he can actually have a relationship with God, that He wants to be his friend, that he can talk to Him and He will listen and actually talk back. he's so full of love for the Israeli's depsite numerous attacks personally and several trips to jail. obviously, a love like that can only come from one person. we sat with Ahmed and his wife for hours talking about God. it was so surreal. here i was, in bethlehem, sitting in the home of 2 palestinians talking about God. it was gloriously beautiful.

at the end of the evening, before saying goodbye, my friend prayed for Ahmed. i prayed also, what i thought was under my breath, but suddenly Ahmed looked at me and said "what are you doing??" "uh, praying?!" i said. and he then asked, "you mean you can do that by yourself?" he was totally thrown off by the fact that i was sitting there just praying, talking to God on my own. in the orthodox church here, the people very commonly only say the prayers that are recited in the church. anything apart from that is virtually unheard of to them. so as you can see, it's not so much a relationship than it is religion. but their hearts are so pure and genuine.

Ahmed went on to say that he always feels so loved and supported by foreigners who come to bethlehem, but not by his own people. he said 'this is where Jesus was born, but we don't feel close to God at all. we don't feel like we belong.' tears welled up in my eyes, of course, as he poured his heart out to us about how the palestinians feel like orphans. he didn't use that word exactly, but i'm pretty sure it's what he meant.

i agree with Ahmed. bethelem is "the place" where it all happened, but today you would never know that just by visiting. it's strange.

i saw the spirit of the living God in Ahmed's face, in his eyes, and in the way he talked about how much he loves his enemies (Israeli's). so even though bethlehem isn't the quaint town that i imagine it used to be, the spirit is there. He is alive and working in the hearts of the people. so in essence, i sat with Jesus last night in bethlehem. it wasn't in an old smelly stall or on the top of a hill overlooking the town. but rather on a couch, in a living room.