The main part of the day started at 10:40 AM when we began our walk from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. This is about a 5 mile walk, and we gave ourselves 2 hours to get there! We ended up making it in about an hour and 20 minutes, so we had to wait for a little bit while the rest of our group arrived via bus. So..as we waited, we played euchre. Perfect.
Finally, the rest of the crew arrived, and we headed towards the check point. As Americans, it isn't too hard to make it through the check point. All we have to do is show them our passports. Now, before this trip to Israel, I have to be honest and say that I did not have the greatest understanding of the conflict going on in Israel. But today, I definitely became very well educated in many good ways. The picture here is the town of Bethlehem.
First, I must mention that there is a giant cement wall that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem. I didn't know previously that Bethlehem was part of the West Bank. The inside of this wall (the Palestinian side) is well "decorated" with graffiti. The construction of the wall began in 2002, and is
still continuing today, separating the Palestinians/West Bank from the Israelis. All together, this is a couple billion dollars to construct.Our reason for going to Bethlehem today was because a guy in our group has an Uncle who lives in Palestine. He currently works in a Palestinian Conflict Resolution organization. One of his co-workers, Osama, met up with us first and gave us a tour of their workplace. It was really sad to hear his story and all the dangerous situations he has faced during his lifetime. However, it was also encouraging to hear how he has found hope amongst the animosity. We then walked around the city of Bethlehem and went in a very large souvenir shop.
Next, we met up with my friend's Uncle, and a group of about 15 Palestinians between the ages of 17-25. We played lots of "get to know you games" with them, and broke up into small groups, learning about each other and asking questions about one anothers culture. I finally really began to realize how the turmoil in Israel has been affecting the Palestinians. Generally speaking, they are only allowed to leave the West Bank once a year unless they are given special permission. I cannot imagine living in such a way. Through conversation, I was better able to understand what exactly was going on between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and how this was affecting their daily lives. I was also impacted by how the news in the United States is very distorted and does not always give an accurate description of the events going on in Israel. I was really able to grasp what the Palestinians were thinking, and how much hope and desire they have to find peace with the Israelis. We also found many similarities, as well as differences, between our cultures. This was just a very neat and humbling experience to spend time with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our evening ended with a delicious meal prepared for us. Overall, we spent 3 and 1/2 hours with the Palestinians. I am looking forward to seeing them sometime again in Heaven! This whole experience made me very grateful for the freedom I have in America. I will definitely be more thoughtful when I think about the conflict in Israel. This was such a wonderful opportunity iced off with wonderful new relationships that made this trip even more amazing.
It was a little before 7:00, and we headed out the check point to the bus stop. However, a bus never really came so we just started walking....we ended up walking the entire way back to Jerusalem! 10 miles total today. For the majority of the walk, I along with a few other girls talked to Vernon about the history of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He is truly so knowledgeable, and I definitely felt like I learned a ton! Aubrey and Vernon are amazing and I feel so blessed to have them as our leaders!
So that concludes my free day. It was definitely amazing in more ways than one! Tomorrow is test day...I definitely have some studying to do. Again, another amazing day in Israel. I am so blessed.
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