dance with the joyful

There is a haze over Jerusalem. Desert wind brought dust in that fills the sky and my mind so I am always tired and fuzzy.

We just finished Sukkot, which is the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths). We have a sukka outside our house that our neighbors put up. Basically what happens, is all the Jewish families put up these little wooden sheds outside their homes. If you read in Leviticus & Deuteronomy it talks about The Feast of Tabernacles, where every family is supposed to live in a booth built a certain way in remembrance for the Israelites living conditions when they were in the desert for 40 years. The weekend before Sukkot is Yom Kippur- the day of atonement. Everything is completely shut down as the Jews repent and ask for atonement. Then, from the following Wednesday to the next Wednesday, they eat all of their meals in this little hut. Some of the more observant Jews even sleep in them for a week. They even put sukkot at all of the restaurants so everyone can still go out to eat while still observing the holiday. I don't know what I was expecting, but I think I was surprised with this holiday because it was so much fun. There was tinsel and decorations everywhere. Our neighbors were constantly having guests over and having little dinner parties in their sukka. I guess it is just nice to see the people and the kids really enjoying this holiday, when they seem to live their lives so seriously. I mean, I would be that serious about life too if I only believed in the Old Testament, but it was just surprising and refreshing. There was even a big sukka set up in the Saffra Square near our house. They had music and games and all sorts of things set up for all the families. They had this bubbles station where the kids got to make this huge bubbles...I'll admit I enjoyed it a bit. For the Jews, this past week is the one time of year where God comes down and manifests himself with them, so it's pretty exciting. I can see why it is such a joyful celebration for them. And I think it is my favorite of all the Jewish holidays I've seen or heard of.

I have been really blessed to have been able to meet a bunch of different people here. I have really connected with some of the students at Jerusalem University, and I also have gotten involved in a Bible Study with some young adults from around Jerusalem. There is one Jewish girl, one Palestinian girl, one Bahamanian, and then a few girls from the states. I feel so lucky to be able to sit and talk with them about our different lives and hear their thoughts on life in Jerusalem. Reem started teaching me Arabic today, and she has even given me homework so I can practice while she is away. And last night, we had a sleepover and she was giving us all belly-dancing tips. I can't wait to one day brag, saying; "Oh, I just picked it up while I was living in Israel." No big deal.

The sleepover last night and one I had last week with some girls from Jerusalem University really restore me. Something about mixing chocolate, dancing, prayer, heart-to-heart talking, and chick flicks makes my life seem perfect.

Last Thursday I went to Bethlehem with some of the JUC (Jerusalem University) students. I had the day off so I went to Arabic class with them and then we all went to Wi'am- a Christian-based, Palestinian conflict resolution center. We took a tour of one of the refugee camps and heard about how hard their lives are, just 15 minutes and a huge guarded wall away from Jerusalem. I think I have been lucky because I am hearing both sides. I have heard from an Israeli who had 5 family members killed by Hamas, who blames the Palestinians for of his woes. I have talked to an Israeli soldier about the issue of keeping their people safe, and heard his somewhat one-sided approach to how that should be accomplished. I have listened to Netanyahu and Abbas on the news. I have been to Bethlehem and seen how the people actually live. I have a Palestinian friend who is only allowed out of the West Bank for a few days every month and only with special permission. I have heard the Zionists with their manifest destiny and seeming lack of concern for the Arabs in Israel. There is so much to say on this issue, and I don't think I have even scratched the service of all the differing emotions, but I love discovering it and thinking about it. I love learning and discussing and trying to sort through all the different layers and not let myself be swayed by every new bit of evidence.

Everything I learn and everything I see just makes me more and more confident that the true issues- the issues that go deeper than stolen land and boundary lines and a massive graffiti-ed wall that separates communities - cannot be solved by the government or a non-profit. This land and these people will only be restored and renewed by a Greater power. Christ will redeem this seemingly lost cause.

"I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful."
Jeremiah 31:4

And the kids- how could I only be mentioning them now? I guess they seem like such a part of my life, I am prone to either only talk about them, or only talk about things not pertaining to them. Seriously, though, I feel like a mom half the time because I talk about them so much. I am a little obsessed...which is one reason why I am not thinking about my departure. And, when I do, I only think about the exciting things I will be going to, rather than all I will be leaving. After the babies nap today, I went to get Margot and was trying to get her out of the room without waking Lydia. But, of course Lydia senses someone's presence and looks out from under the ball that she has herself coiled up in for nap and says "Hey" (or what I am positive sounded like hey). And then she sees me is says "kelly" for the first time ever! I don't care if no one else heard it, it sounded like kelly to me :)
And I am getting in the mood for fall, so I cut out some pumpkins that Sam and Mia could draw faces on. I gave them ideas for all the shapes they could use for the eyes and the mouth. Sam insisted on circle eyes and then he ended up putting the nose right in the middle of the eyes and Mia kept saying "three eyes, three eyes, three eyes," while I defended Sam's case about the nose. It was quite funny. And there is this movie that Sam is OBSESSED with. It is this big green bear basically telling kids the right way to behave (which is very nice indoctrination if you ask me) but it has the funniest songs about caring and cleaning & everything you would expect. It is just funny how Sam doesn't get sick of it. And I asked Mia how many times they have watched it, and she says "Oh, A LOT, like SEVEN times." They've totally watched it more than seven times, I like how that is her idea of a lot. It reminds me of when I first moved to Switzerland and she asked me if I was going to stay forever. I figured out how many days I would be with her and I told her, and she goes "that's close to forever." And it did seem like it then...with only 6 weeks left of forever..I don't want to think about it.

Bye! Happy Halloween!