The First Week

September 3rd 2010
The hardest question for me to answer right now is how to articulate what I have experienced over the past week. The growth of a person occurs at so many levels when they are totally immersed in another culture where the language barrier exists, but the layers of the onion are yet to be uncovered. I find it funny how this past week has truly felt like a month already, but I really can not believe that I am living in the Holy Land.

First off I want to apologize for not posting an entry for quite some time now. I had some problems with maintaining an internet connection, but I will have access on a more consistent basis soon. The flight to Tel Aviv was filled with exhaustion from all of the traveling, and a high level of excitement that was draining. All of this excitement led to the drive to our first place of residence at Teleta Chumi. This was our home-base for the first week of orientation which was very close to Martin and Suzanne Shoffner (our in country Coordinators). Each day we experienced a different aspect of the culture in the Bethlehem and Jerusalem areas. We visited the Church of the Nativity, Shepherd’s Field, the Holy Sepulchre, and several other sites. The visits to these sights were amazing to see the sights that I have always read about in the Bible. My reaction afterwards was one that I was not expecting. Frustration, confusion, and sadness. I did not know the extent to which the different sects of Christianity such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, Armenian Church, Roman Catholic, and several others fight over the control of each Holy sight. Not only are there divisions between Christianity, Judaism, and Muslim, but also within each religion itself.

Although it has only been a week, there is a deep compassion I feel for this region. I am always inspired greatly by exploring historical places, but the Holy Land is definitely a bit of an exception as being one of the most religiously significant regions of the world. This new and exciting place is my new home, and just the concept of that is throwing me back right now. For instance, today (September 3, 2010) Luke, Sarah, Janelle, and I met up in Nativity Square to have falafels for lunch and right across the street was Nativity Church. Afterwards we walked around to some of the surrounding shops and met a very kind man who invited us to have tea with him at his shop simply out of the openness of his heart.

Adjusting to a new home is very hard to do when you are separated from everything that you know, but similar to my past international service experiences the surrounding community embraces everything about who I am, and that support is not measurable. The kindness and compassion that the people in my community are sharing with me shows me that Christ works through so many outlets that one must always be ready for anything. The support, prayers, and love that I have been receiving from home are amazing and I continue to keep you all in my heart and prayers. School is starting up for me this week and I am extremely excited to see what they are going to have me do, and can not wait to fill everyone in on how it went.

In Christ,

David