The Season is a Changing

October 9, 2010

First off, happy October to everyone back home!  I am sure the leaves are looking beautiful, and everyone is excited to wear their jeans, sweatshirts, and flip-flops…haha.  The weather here is finally getting a bit cooler, which is amazing and we will start to get some rain soon!  There is still a few weeks left for swimming in the Mediterranean or Dead Sea, but the cooler weather is a much needed blessing right now.  I find everything very ironic right now that the season is changing, because as the season is changing…I am seeing big changes in myself. 

The changes that are occurring in my thought process are rather a change of my perception of life.  For instance, today I talked to one of my friends about how excited I am for the fall and winter season and especially Christmas.  In our discussion we talked about what church we were going to go to on Christmas Eve and what sleeping arrangements we can make so we can all be together.  The most interesting thing was that I did not even think about how we can get Christmas presents to where we were going, or how much food we would need for everyone.  The one thing going through my head was making sure we could all be able to be together for the Holiday.  The traditions of exchanging presents, the perfect holiday meal, and many other activities are important to remembering others that are not with us anymore, but when the resources are not available to do these extravagant things we know that our friends and family are what make these traditions come alive.  Although the presence of all the YAGM’s will be missed at their homes as the holidays come upon us, know that those times spent with family and friends at home are making us very strong as we share our loving kindness with the new people in our lives in our respective country placements.

I always have to laugh that it takes going so far away from what you know and are comfortable with, to be a witness to the simple things in life that truly make all the difference in the world.  The simple things in life are what keep us going, keep us comfortable in foreign areas, and bring us back to the wonderful untarnished things in life.  Part of my journey this year is to live simply and yes that means monetary simplicity but I believe simple living is far more than this.  My mindset has changed to a more “being” style of living, rather than focused on “doing”.  I have mentioned this several times before in my blog, but I do feel like this operation of living is a strong guiding force for me right now.  In any type of service work, a volunteer wants something tangible to show the supporters of their journey, but the impact that we hope to have on the people in our community is something that requires time to build and will likely never have a finished tangible product to show others.  In some of my first service trips that I did with hurricane Katrina clean-up I was happy to do the mucking out, but even happier when we were able to get a lot of houses done in a couple days.  I gradually became more aware of the importance of sharing in the journey with the others that I am serving.  The tangible forms of completion that we want to show others is very good, but the life stories that people tell you will affect those back home in a different way.  This is not to say that it is worse, or better, rather a new perspective of thought that is introspective in a way that goes beyond the dimensions of a new clean house.  Those houses are just that, houses, but the people that live in them and their stories tells us about their home.  A person’s home is wherever they are in community with those that they love and care for, and can always have a person they can rely on when in trouble.  My home, away from home here in Palestine has become such a comfortable place where everything just feels right, and the people I have met make this process so much easier and more fun. 

Family is the source of all worth here in Palestine, and their religious belief does not make this any different because of the importance that family has in this region.  A Palestinian home is the grandparents, aunts and uncles, mother and father, and children all living in one house or at least relatively close to one another.  This has made me think of the way how we live in America, and yes it is very different, but we all come together as one when we want and need to.  The close network that families have here in Palestine is quite amazing to be a part of whenever entering a friend’s home, and I am looking forward to implementing this rare unconditional warm hospitality in my own life when I return to the States.  There is just something to how Palestinians go head over heals to make sure that you are happy, comfortable, and most importantly well fed.  Another aspect of Palestinian homes is that they are built to be unfinished on the top so that if the family continues to grow, they will simply add on to the top.  I love this also because it is a great symbol of hope for the future, and that the future is never closed off. 

Over the past few weeks I have been able to sit in on several tour groups that came to Ramallah, and actually did a little bit of tour guiding myself on our way to Bethlehem.  The funny thing was that through those trips I also found myself meeting so many people that are very familiar with where I am from in Pennsylvania, and know about Susquehanna University.  In America everyone jokes how small the Lutheran world is, and let me tell you it gets even smaller when you travel outside of the country.  I can not believe how many people I have met that have lived in York PA at one time in their life, or have traveled through the area.  Each time I meet a new tour group we go through the normal where you are from, what are you doing here, and each time now I want to say that most of the time I am not “doing” rather just being in the moment of whatever situation is in front of me.  My times spent with these different groups with people from places like Norway, Australia, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, the States, and many other places has been so enlightening to hear their questions and see the response of my new friends at the School of Hope.  These tour groups come in for a week or two, and are full of so many questions about the area here and I can clearly remember feeling the same way when I also first arrived.  Now, there seems to be a sense of knowing that I do not know anything, and each week here shows me how many layers there are to the conflict here in the Holy Land.

The holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and many others that are only a couple months away are going to be here before we know it.  This time of joining with family, friends, and loved ones will be a wonderful time that we will rejoice for everything that we have, and enjoy everyday.  As these great times approach us, I ask that we keep in our prayers all the people in the world that daily deal with oppression, strife, and a constant reminder of the barriers that prevent them from doing many activities that they would love to do.  I would also like to thank all of those following my blog, and the prayers that are felt here everyday!

Peace Salaam Shalom,

David