Greetings from the youth of FPC

Have we got any blogger professionals?

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:41:00 +0000

Ok kids... Rev. Christina here -

David Miller came up with the great idea that we have our own youth page. We are rearranging our mission trip page. Are there any of you out there that can update this? Give me - Christina a call...until then - you'll get my limited understanding of how to keep this page up to date.

Thanks all for your ideas.

Christina

We're Home!

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:13:00 +0000

First let me say it feels good to be home! I'm probably not alone in saying that having a warm shower and sleeping in my own bed feels great! It was wonderful to pull up to the church and see our families and church friends waiting to greet us. I can't wait to see you all on Sunday, and yet I find myself looking around my home and missing all my fellow travelers.

I want to share a bit about our final day at the Oasis of Peace. As Brendan said, our first evening at the Oasis involved the kids letting loose in pillow fights, playing in the sprinklers and just having a fun time.

Monday we were able to sleep in a bit, breakfast wasn't till 8:30. We then spent the morning with Noam. What a gift! Noam is a young woman who grew up in the village. The Oasis of Peace is a village of 60 families. It was founded by a priest from a nearby monastery in the 70's. The land for the village was given by the monastery as well. It is a unique place where 50% of the families are Arab and 50% are Jewish. They have a nursery school and primary school where the students are taught by both Jewish and Arab teachers each speaking in their own language so all students become fluent in both Arabic and Hebrew. There are both Christian and Muslim Arab families. Anyway, Noam told us her story. She is Jewish, and currently studying at Brandise University in the states. She was asked about whether or not she was "obligated" to serve in the Israeli Defense Force when she graduated from high school. She told us of her struggle to decide what to do when she received the letter, her conversation with her best friend (who is Muslim) about her decision to be a Conciencious Objector. She stressed how her decision was because of how much she loved her country, and how she believes she can best serve by telling her story and living as she had been raised. Noam took us on a tour of the village where we saw the school, swimming pool, and House of Silence which is a simple dome structure overlooking the valley (and Monastery in the distance) with several rugs and small stools inside. We sat around the edge and had a time of silence reflecting on our time in Israel/Palestine and then sang "Amazing Grace" and "Sanctuary" in perfect harmony that echoed beautifully.

After some free time following lunch in which the kids had a blast in the pool we headed to Ramla to meet with Dahlia (From the book The Lemon Tree) at The Open House. In addition to hearing her story we met a young man who had grown up attending programs at The Open House who is now a song writer/rapper. He sang us a song he first wrote to the mother of one of his friends who had been killed. He has since dedicated it to all mothers who have lost a child. Following our visit we had another Middle Eastern style dinner in a room overlooking a courtyard where a B'tmitsva for a young girl was taking place. We enjoyed the music (inspired some dancing by youth on our roof, and a conga line instigated by our own Ellen and Dahlia. Our two speakers gave us much to think about and ponder as we drove home to pack and nap.

After only about two hours sleep we were up and on the bus for our ride to the airport. Why we needed to be there three hours before flight time became apparent as we negotiated all the security...

1) Bus pulled over. As we waited I watched as cars with arab license plates were emptied, bags opened, security members used mirrors to examine under the cars and the owners waited. After about 5 minutes (not long for this step) a young man came to the bus and after a brief talk with Don cleared us to go to the airport.

2) As a group we were put in our own line for luggage security check. (All Israeli Jews, showed passports and moved on to luggage check in). Don as group leader was interviewed by the supervisor and then we waited. Eventually we were told to put our bags through the enormous machine that literally throws them out at the other end...

3) All but five were then told to get in another line to have one or more of our bags searched. More waiting... then bags opened... ceramics (lead content we think) were the trigger for most. I was glad I'd packed all my souvenirs were in my backpack which they didn't ask me to put through the machine! And yet they wanted to see my checked bag full of dirty clothes... didn't look through the whole thing, I moved on quickly. Alas, Debbie had her bag completely emptied as they then looked carefully at her new olive wood creche. Of course they don't repack... you do.

4) Once we'd gathered again we moved on to the check in desk... wait some more... then

5) Passport check

6) Security Check (like all US airports)

7) and finally on to the gate.

We arrived at the airport over 2 1/2 hours before our flight time and got to our gate about 5 minutes before boarding began!

We all got some sleep from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam and then endured the LONG flight home reading, sleeping, playing cards, listening to music, watching the movies etc... And finally we were home!!... a quick passport check, gathered bags and moved quickly to our mini bus for the ride home to Livermore.

It has been an incredible two weeks. I loved having the mixture of youth and adults in our group. Each person contributed so much to our group. We laughed and cried, learned, played, worshiped, walked, and worked so well together. The travelers all stayed positive, flexible, and patient no matter how our plans evolved. Their faith and discipleship was demonstrated on a daily basis as they cared for each other, endured the heat, cold showers in Bethlehem and strange foods without complaining, and connected with the living stones (the people) of Israel/Palestine. As their blogs have shown none of us are returning home unchanged. I'm so proud to have been a part of this pilgrimage!

with prayers for peace,

love,

Cath

Check out pics

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:34:00 +0000

Have you been following our pictures? We're adding new ones everyday. Be sure to check them out!!

http://photobucket.com/revcallie

The recent ones have our meeting with Kojak the Camel. We're having fun!!

More news later tonight!!

Christina

p.s. We hear that some of you are having trouble making a comment SO - thanks for trying. Be sure to check out our report on July 20th in worship.

If I had a song to sing

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:16:00 +0000

Hello again! Today was a fun day, with everything piling up to make it a super-duper-fun day.
Soon after awakening, we hear Christina pounding on our door, as if she suspected that we could have possibly failed to wake up on our own. We greeted her with bright, smiling faces and then had breakfast.
After breakfast, we went to a church service at the Christmas Church. The sermon really hit home!

After the service, which had wonder music and an organ I believe Janet would have had a blast on, we had lunch. It was delicious, as usual.

After lunch, we went to the Mount of Olives and walked around, with a wonderful view. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, some of us boarded a camel and took it for a ride! 'Twas an exciting experience, yes, 'twas.

The Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemene were beautiful, and we had a great experience.

After the ride to the Oasis of Peace, we all got out of the bus hot and restless.

Ka-pow! We have ourselves a pillow fight!
Biff! Bam!
What happens when several youths are on a bus for a long time? They get antsy! And, when they get antsy, they have massive pillow fights! (At least, we did. Perhaps not all youths, but it was fun for us). After a while it got far too hot in our room for a pillow fight, so we wrestled for a space near the air conditioner.
Pow! Ker-Smack!
We had so much fun, and the pillow fight and wrestling match lasted for several minutes (I assure you no damage was done to the room, so there will be no additional charges)
Giving up on all fitting near the AC unit, we made our way outside. Guess what, the sprinklers were on! How could I not pick Natalie up and bring her into the blast of the sprinklers? Then the fun moved into the lawn, and we continued having a jolly good time.
Christina, always telling me I need to get off. This time she is actually here, not just in my head (or... no, we won't go there).
Anyway, she says I should go. Look out bed, here I come!

Oh, in case I didn't make it clear: today was awesome. I believe all the youth concur.

Peace and Love from the Holy Land,
-Brendan Clower

Christina's blog...to parents & families

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:16:00 +0000

If I don't get to say it personally to each and everyone of you.

YOUR KIDS ARE AWESOME!!!! They have been so kind and considerate throughout this entire trip. I really haven't heard many complaints. They've been so honest and transparent with what they have learned here - - much of which you have read in their blogs. They have epitomized the disciples of Jesus who worked together as a team. Actually, the disciples were known to complain and bicker...so maybe even THEY (the disciples) are a poor example. Our youth were better than the disciples - - WOW...let's not let that get around.

The youth have been inclusive of everyone - including us adults and have even joined us at the front of the bus.

Bruno has loaned his camera charger to everyone.

Natalie has been a trouper even through her 2 days of illness.

Alyssa became a servant and lead us in communion at the garden tomb.

Lauren has been gracious and sweet to ALL.

Becca has kept us going with her laughter and humor.

Brendan has bought gifts for everyone so be sure to ask him what he got YOU.

Ross just showed up for church and looks like a model - he even posed for a picture!!

Matt has the local girls swooning with his James Dean look. =)

David has a gift for words and has shared our story through his blogging.

I can't say it enough what a gift it has been for me to see Israel Palestine through the eyes of your children. I will remember this trip always and I only hope that we can share with you our experience in full.

To the adult families: It is because of the adults on this trip that my "job" was made a bit easier these past few weeks. Thank you for coming...and thanks to your families for "holding down the fort" so your spouse/mom or dad/daughter or son could come HERE.

THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

So grateful~~~Christina

The Living Stones

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:58:00 +0000

Father Chacour asked us to enjoy our visits to the Holy sites of Israel/Palestine - The Land - but to remember to focus on the living stones - The People of the Land.

The people we have met here have all lost a great deal under the occupation of the State of Israel. Homes, land, family, friends, the rights we consider basic--- education, employment, travel and much, much more - controlled and/or appropriated without due process. A family we spent time with today, has a home surrounded on three sides by The Wall. They are now a dead end. Their shop in the first floor of their home is closed. They cannot sell their home without permission from the State of Israel as they are in the "C" zone. They cannot leave and cannot stay.

As the Palestinians have struggled to regain what they have lost and improve the lives of their children, they remain remarkably friendly and peace loving people. Devoid of hate. They have a great love of all things American except our foreign policy.

It was with sadness that we left our friends in Ibillin, but we have found more friends in Bethlehem. The Living Stones.

The bus rides continue to be a great adventure. We wait for the sound of metal on metal and cringe. Our driver told us to just shut our eyes. It is impossible for a bus to travel to the International Center in Bethlehem, yet here we are. The miracles continue.

Lynn Martin

Ellen's Blog...

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:53:00 +0000

Yep, I know, no catchy title - I'm a little intimidated by the previous blogs, and being a newbie at all this, I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up... some of these are big acts to follow!

OK, here goes:
Today has been one of the more emotional days for me - more high highs and low lows. But let me start with the contrast between Ibillin and Bethlehem. Ibillin was certainly not "Kansas", but it was also very pastoral, so much so that even with the relative poverty there, and the blatant injustice of Biram and other villages, these people have for the most part built good lives out of the rubble of the past. The people we met in Ibillin are some of the most welcoming and loving people I've ever met. Bethlehem is also full of warm, welcoming, and loving people; but we are DEFINITELY not in "Kansas" any more. I feel like I'm in one of the street sceens from the Disney "Aladdin" movie, where Aladdin steals the bread and dashes/climbs away from the guards... we are there! The streets are overflowing with wonderful colors and scents, just pouring out of the tiny shops and into the unbelievably narrow streets and alleyways. (Remember Raymie's blog about the bus from "Harry Potter" - it's true!) Anyway, Bethlehem is just total, colorful, chaos (at least until the streets roll up shortly after dark, then it's a completely different place - we had a delightfully quiet stroll after dusk one evening).

But I digress... today... We started with a tour of "the wall". I'd heard that it's tall. I'd heard that it's bad for the people who are separated from work or family. But hearing is such a small fraction of impact compared with seeing. The wall is ENORMOUS! Imagine a 3 or 4 story high wall being erected along East Ave (or pick any other street in your favorite town), following it to 4th, arbitrarily curving around First Pres, cutting it off from the street on 3 sides, and making it impossible for anyone from South Livermore to get to downtown... not to mention Church, or
work, or school (OK, maybe some would not complain too much about that, but think of your poor parents, stuck with you home all day, with nothing to do but get into trouble...) Anyway, it follows that most folks wouldn't be too happy about that, but those of us stuck in South Livermore, with no access to grocery stores, hospitals, our jobs, would have some major complaints with the "others" who built that damn wall. If we were lucky, we'd have some wise folks living there, like the people we've met here, who would encourage us to do all we can to help ourselves, with medical services, building our own schools, encouraging positive outlets for all those negative feelings... but I'd guess that a few of us would get really fed up and throw a few rocks - how could we not? Today we saw the wall - up close and personal. We as people are totally dwarfed by it, but the spirit of those locked behind it has not been dwarfed. The graffiti on the wall tells a very human story - some of it is angry, some of it is satirical (and very funny in a very dark way), and some of it is hopeful and beautiful; but all of it is moving. And one cannot help but compare it to the Berlin Wall. How could our government condemn the one, and help build the other? A big part of what I feel here is shame. And guilt. How have we let this happen?
Later today, on our running tour of Old Jerusalem, (I'm pretty sure that Jerusalem must translate to "the city of stairs" in some language) we visited an ancient, still used Aramaic Church. We climbed down into the lower level of the church, where they claim something happened 2000 years ago (I'm sorry, it's late, and they've all run together) and there, a nun sang the Lord's Prayer for us in Aramaic. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We continued to a garden near an ancient tomb, believed by some to be Jesus'. It is a peaceful, believable setting. There we shared communion, and shared some time with each other. Our next stop was at an organization which is working to aid Palestinians with access to health care, youth services, etc. The gentleman we talked with (fyi, I'm pretty sure he's Dane's long lost Arabic cousin - we took pictures) was so filled with hope, and full of belief in the power of the individual, that we left that place feeling that these people have a chance... maybe there really is hope. We can pray.

Peace and Love from the Holy Land,
Ellen (E-Dawg)

p.s. GOOD LUCK, Brandon, on your Olympic Trials!!!!! We're praying for you, too!

David's Blog, the Zequel!

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:54:00 +0000

Well, I'm frantically trying to get things off my camera onto facebook, since I just ran out of memory and we're going to Jerusalem tomorrow, and since it takes a life-age to get a video on, I'm writing a blug in the cumputer ruum. Today we woke up all early style so we could get to the top of some deserted ancient fortress that worked so poorly that the Jews who used it all committed suicide. Alright, well, the Romans had to come first and bring them to the brink of doom. I have to say, I mean, I know the Roman Empire did a lot of cruddy stuff, but they did do a lot of good. If I had to choose, I'd keep it. We took a tram up and all that, and saw the use of cascading palaces. We also learned that Herod was a Hedonist, and only a half-Jew. Other things happened, involving super salty seas and the fact that my feet just stopped burning from running down the hill without shoes on.

Later on we made our way to a refugee camp. I've been trying to suppress my anger, since I get angry pretty easy with injustice and all that, and it's hard to live with that gnawing feeling and all, but then we were meeting with some leader guy there and I wanted to make sure I wasn't turning into a godless, emotionless machine, so I let loose. I ended up imagining fighter planes knocking settlers who beat up Palestinians for no reason to smithereens, so I decided maybe I should tone it down a little. They had paintings of people who had died, and memorialized people who had killed Israelis and gone to jail for it. That last part creeped me out considerably, but then, I can see where they're coming from. Actually, considering the day-to-day humiliation the Israelis shove on the Palestinians, it's really surprising to me that things go as smoothly as they do. I guess that's what happens when you have to deal with the same injusifce day after day after day, eventually you do what I did and just suppress your anger and try to live your life. I hope Israel realizes it isn't safe to have an entire population of humiliated people supressing their anger for so many decades.
Yesterday we met with the pastor of this church, Rev. Dr. Mitri Rehab(sp?) and he talked about how he wanted people to get out the message in a not-whiny way, which means tyhat even though these people are dealing with such a fatly huge pile of troubles, they still want to be humble and calm and peaceful and try to nudge their way to liberty. Man, I wish I had the kind of inner-peace these people we've met with have. Whenever I get angry I have to remember Jesus and all that, because that kind of peace is the only one that works with this kind of problem. Like how you have to use tomato sauce to get rid of skunk smell. By the way, this church we're at is amazing, Matt and I share the sentiment that FPC Livermore needs to get on top of the underground cavern situation. I offered to hide in the choir robe closet and get started witha shovel and some books on mine construction if everyone's cool with that. They hold all sorts of community and cultural events. Today we watched some traditional dancers, and it seems like a real point of pride for them, like, a way to remember that they actually are a people, not just some hodge-podge group of refugees. Really, really cool.
I think the church should have some sort of big, community awareness drive when we get home. Maybe we should get a stall at the farmer's market! Oh, that would be so cool. I mean, there was one about how the Lab was some evil, backwards thing there, so a pro-Palestinian stall should be fine, plus, we're right freaking there! We could have a stall on our own lawn if we wanted! It would just have to be really big and flashy. Oh man, I wish we could have som exchange students from here come over so we could show them around, and have them talk to people. I feel like I know enough now, and it's all about organization and action from here on out. Woohoo! Let's do it!

Today in moments and paraphrases

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:21:00 +0000

Matt again.

I think today can be summed up in a few moments and quotes, so here goes.

1. This morning we were exiting through one of the main gates of the Apartheid Wall and were stopped by the soldiers so that they could check our passports. As we are sitting there with a soldier walking up the row of seats with his gun slung across his waist, I look out the window of the bus and watch a stray dog slink through the gate. A stray dog can walk freely through the gates but we have to sit and wait and verify that we are who we are here.

2. We visited the lowest point in the world today. 412 meters below sea level. The Dead Sea is so salty that we couldn't help but float in it. We all felt pretty gross afterwards and any cut or scrape burned soo bad, but it was a lot of fun.

3. In the late afternoon we visited the UN Refugee Center in Bethlehem. Though many of the stories again are very sad, the man who guided us through said something that gave me hope. I'll try to paraphrase it for you: "In America, everything is very big, very open. You can get whatever you want. But you have to have money to survive. Here, you don't need money to survive. People will ask about you, if you are having dinner or not. If you don't have dinner, I give you dinner. I you don't have meds, I give you meds." Everyone here is so dedicated to helping each other make it, it's amazing.

Tomorrow will be another long day, so that'll have to do for today.
Good night all.

Natalie's Blog

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:31:00 +0000

So I've been told that I need to write a blog about today, so here goes. Today was the first day we actually went anywhere in Bethlehem, unless you count the walk we all went on last night. Today we started off the morning by getting a tour of the International Institute where we are staying, including this 2000 year old cave that is under the building. It was nice and cool down there, unlike in the rest of Bethlehem. After that we went to B'Tselem, where we met with a man who told us about the human rights work that they do there and also shared some of the stories that they have uncovered recently. He told us about a program that he called "Shooting Back" which is basically a plan to pass out video cameras to the people so that they can use them as a kind of defense, showing people that they can expose any wrongdoing that goes on. It sounds like a really good idea, and it's already helped, he said. We got a lot of information booklets and things, but we aren't sure if we'll be allowed to take them out of the country. Anyway, after that, we had lunch at this restaurant that I think was called The Christmas Tree or something, and we had these sandwiches with a funny name that were basically shaved meat. Though I have no idea what kind of meat it was. We also had another adventure trying to pick out ice cream bars with Arabic labels. I think everyone liked what they ended up with, though. Then we went to the Church of the Nativity, which was the fanciest church I've ever seen. There was gold and incense and lamps and stuff everywhere. It seemed a little excessive, but it was still nice to see all the different things that civilizations have added over the years. We went down into the cave where Jesus was supposedly born (though most likely not), but the tour guide seemed very sure that it was the exact spot. Some of our group touched the spot where, supposedly, Jesus was actually laid on the floor. Then we saw the cave of that one saint who translated the Bible- he actually had help from two women, which I'd never heard before. But we had to leave to see this Health Center, which was exactly like the gyms in the US. I wish we could have spent our time better somewhere else. So then we shopped, and then came back to the center. Just an hour ago or so we met with Mitri Raheb and he told us the story of this center. It was really nice to hear, and amazing that they could start out with so little and open four centers by now. So, I guess that was our day, and everyone should be happy now that I've finally written my share. Yep. So, until next time!
Natalie

Worlds Apart

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:22:00 +0000

Although I'm having a wonderful time on this trip, I am troubled. This is a country of huge contrasts and the story of a large number of these people is not being told. This is a country where two societies exist amd where those in power seem to do there best to keep the others down. Imagine a place where one group of people is not allowed to drive the primary road through their towns and where people cannot cross an arbitrary line without written permission from those who live on the other side of that line.

Such is the situation encountered when a person leaves Israel and enters the Palestinian Territories. We are currently in Bethlehem and the situation comes glaring up at you in all its glory. Our entrance to this city was made through a gate in the Israeli seperation wall and it is much like driving through a time warp. As you enter the city, you realize that all has changed. The license plates on cars, the color of the taxis, and the general look of things changes. Today we met our tour guide who is an Arab Christian from Jerusalem. In theory, it is illegal for him, as a citizen of Israel, to enter the Palestinian Territories at all. Were he to be found here, he would face fines and the possible loss of his tour guide license but he is undeterred.

From the Palestinian perspective, things are also strained. The primary road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem travel through the Palestinian Territories yet it is usable by Israelis only. The Palestinians are forced to use bypass roads which travel below and out of sight of the Israelis on the main road. As another example, it is easier for a Palestinian to travel out of Amman Jordan than it is to fly out of Tel Aviv. In order to fly from the nearest airport, a Palestinian must receive permission to travel from the Israeli Authorities. This permission is often not given, is sometimes cancelled on short notice and is often not confirmed to exist until it is too late to travel. The Palestinians here in Bethlehem cannot even travel to Jerusalem without such permission. There are other examples but this isn't intended to be entirely depressing.

As to our trip, all see, to be having a wonderful time. Each of us hasa different things that we have enjoyed and we will all return with wonderful stories to share. For my part, I am taking the time to learn more about the people of this country and to see that even in negative situations there are angels and saints to be found. All of the people I've met have been warm and happy and they do not dislike Americans as the media would have us believe. They dont like our foreign policy not our people.

Enough out of me for now. Tomorrow starts at 6:30 am local time when we head out to the Dead Sea and Masada. The temp tomorrow is headed toward 110 degrees at the Dead Sea so I expect an exhausting day. God bless you all and thanks for supporting our mission to the Holy Land.

Ian

Bruno's Rambleings!!!

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:12:00 +0000

So, I'm finally here blogging about our travels through Israel and Palestine. Late as always... my mom can relate... anyways... First off, I feel like I've learned so much since coming here; we all have. Especially regarding the conflict between Israel and Palestine. I have to admit I was extremely ignorant of the issue. I came here knowing very very little about the situation, and while I am still organizing everything in my head, I'm starting to get the big picture. So here's a very very very short interpretation of what surprised me most about the situation: the Separation Barrier. (short because I am tired and am having difficulty functioning) (please forgive me if this is old news to you) (and for all of these parentheses):

Israel Is almost finished with walling in almost all of the West Bank, claiming that it is for they're own security. While this may be true, it appears to be so over-done. The wall is a huge barrier from everyday life by separating families, farmers from their land, and people from their work.

My own thoughts about the situation: I never thought I would say this, but it feels so much like the Berlin wall. The immensity and scale of the over 400 mile wall (with more to be completed) tells me that it was the creation of and overabundance of fear by the Israelis from the terrorist groups against them. Israel has a right to be afraid, and the right to defend itself, given that it is surrounded by countries that fail. However, how can it punish an entire people for the terror of a few? Bethlehem is both a Christan and Muslim village (around 55% Arab christian and 45% Arab Muslim) who have lived peacefully together for centuries. They have lost their freedom of movement, even requiring special permits just to travel to Jerusalem in Israel, just a couple kilometers from behind the wall in Bethlehem. Why punish them by the creation of this wall when it is the extremists who Israel should rightfully fear. This is what I dislike about the government of Israel. Despite this I feel very safe, and I love all the people I've meet.

The issue is so much more complex than I have described here, but waking up at 5am tomorrow means bedtime now. You'll just have to wait until my next post (if i get over my lazyness) or when i return to the states!!

Night all!!

Some day... Some where...

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:14:00 +0000

Matt here.

So we arrived here in Bethlehem yesterday afternoon. This International Center is very different from the Mar Elias School in Ibillin. The school was nice and the students were friendly, but there is a different kind of feeling here at the center. This facility really feels like an oasis in the middle of town. We've explored the streets outside several times since yesterday, and the contrast between outside and inside is amazing. We walk around in busy streets and look at the small shops surrounded by graffiti covered walls, then we go inside and observe the art gallery/lobby and explore the incredible maze of bridges/passages/stairways in between all the buildings of the center. There are even caves under this place! We've decided we need to build more caves and tunnels in our church when we get back, because we never get bored here. We could start in the choir room and dig an underground maze. Yeah yeah?

I'm sitting here in the computer lab, about ten feet from a preserved hole in the second story floor. It's a souvenir from when Israeli troops invaded this facility for three days and some of the troops decided it would be a good idea to take a jackhammer to the floor. This isn't something rare though. We met with B'Tselem today, I believe it's spelled like that. B'Tselem is the Israeli Human Rights Organization. They help protect the rights of the people in the occupied territories. In our meeting with them, we heard so many stories of injustice and lying, it was hard to believe. In one case, a secretary who was asked for information on one incident involving a fisherman's boat being shot at sent them multiple correspondents that literally said to change parts of a report to make the firing seem more like warning shots than the harmful shots that led to the fisherman's arm being amputated. I won't get into all the details, but this is their website if anyone wants to get more information about their work: www.btselem.org/english/hebron. I should point out that this organization is in Israel (not Palestine), and most of the staff is Jewish. Though there is that large wall separating the two, there are people on both sides trying to find justice.
I think Bruno is talking about the wall, so I won't get into that.

But on a less serious note, we have a very good tour guide and another bus driver that can fold the bus in half, drive on two wheels, fly, etc. And I finally scored a map so I'm starting to figure out where we actually are every day. And tomorrow we should be floating in the Dead Sea. Apparently we need to get up at 5AM for that, and since I still haven't found a decent fake Rolex to tell me what time it is, I should probably just go to bed now.

"Shalom Y'all."

Cathy's Comments

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:06:00 +0000

Good morning everyone,
Today we are moving on from Ibillin to Bethlehem. Our next posts will be from the International Peace Center in Bethlehem. I can't believe our trip is half over!

Our stay in Ibillin has been wonderful. Yesterday was the hottest day we've had so far. Our bus driver said that it was 39 degrees. That's celius... translation over a 100 F! And of course there's the humidity in addition. Needless to say we were seekers of shade everywhere we went! We visited four different Holy Sites, had lunch by the lake and went on a boat ride on the "Jesus" boat. The boat ride allowed us all to cool off a bit, since we were in the shade, with a wonderful breeze on the Sea of Galilee. At each site (and on the boat) two persons from the group shared a scripture story related to the site. Raymie impressed us by reciting all of the Beatitudes from memory! Go Raymie!

After our return to Ibillin we were divided into small groups to go to faculty homes for dinner.
We were all treated like honored guests and participated in the typical Arab dinner experience... amazing amounts of delicious food served over a three to four hour period. At my host's home we began with "salads" which means small dishes of dips, pickles, sauces, and pita. Then three salads (coleslaw, corn salad, tabouli, etc) and BBQ lamb on skewers. It was all DELICIOUS... then BBQ onions, and more lamb started coming around. AND THEN BBQ Chicken, "Are you sure you don't want more?" About 10pm plates of melon were brought out and I thought that was dessert, but no, there's cake too. Then of course arabic coffee is served and oh my, "Try one of these cookies... we make them for Easter, very special!" You can't say no so we smile and try one. They are good, but we are SOOOO full.

Christina says to remind you to check out the pictures on http://photobucket.com/RevCallie
She also says, she couldn't rotate pictures so you might need to rotate your head 90 degrees to see some of the pictures.

Saying goodbye for now! We'll write you from Bethlehem.
Peace,
Cathy

The Feast

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:04:00 +0000

Tonight we ate at the homes of some of the teachers from the school. What a feast!!! I now know what the Thanksgiving turkey feels like. There were so many dishes on the table that I couldn't count. Several salads, 5 main dishes, bread that was very thin and could be unfolded to about the size of a pillow case, THEN fruit, ice cream, baclava, and coffee. I am still waddling 2 hours after eating.

Earlier today, we visited some churches that commemerate various events that occured around the Sea of Galilee in Christ's time. (Church of the Beatitudes, Church of Peter's Primacy, Church of Loves and Fishes, and the church that is over Peter's house in Capernaum.) After a lovely lunch, we spent an hour on the Sea of Galilee (in a boat...not walking). The captain had worship music playing on the boat...What a spiritual experience. It was a hot day, but ended with a beautiful evening and wonderful company.

Time to sneak off and start packing, for tomorrow we leave Ibilin for Bethlehem via Jericho.
- Debbie

Brendan's Two Cents

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:57:00 +0000

But they're Euro cents, so they're worth more. I have a few left over from Amsterdam, I promise.

I'm not really sure what day it is. Monday, I believe.

We went to Biram today. Or, what remains of it. The small area a depressing sight, but at the same time it was perfectly Serene. I stood on the roof and just looked out at the scene for several minutes, taking it all in.

I've just been reminded that we did this yesterday! Oh me oh my, time has escaped me. Perhaps I should delete this, or maybe I'll just make this into a three-cent blog (Smiley-face).

Okay, today, for reals: Today we stayed in Ibillin and relaxed (but really, who needs sleep, we're in Israel! [okay, I need sleep, anywhere we go]). Where was I? Oh yes. Today. We woke up early this morning, and plowed through several rooms worth of paint. It was intense, and at the same time fun. Elias, our "leader" of sorts, taught me how to use a ladder as stilts, and I walked around the room (mostly because I'm competitive. What a show-off!) But I was getting work done, so that's okay. If you don't believe me, you can ask my mother, because she went into mommy-mode and watched me to insure my safe return to earth upon de-laddering. Needless to say, I had a fun time bursting out in strange movements just to startle my mother, while all of us worked very hard. When we were done, Elias told us that the work we did in six hours saved him a week's worth of work (and money to pay people to do it)!

After cleaning the war paint spatter from our faces (or we could just call it "mess"), we got some exercise by walking to the church where Abuna was assigned, and spent some time exploring the area of Ibillin.

When we got back, we met some students at the school who had just finished their exams, and we hung out with them for the rest of the day. It was a great experience to get to know them, and we had a great time.

Christina has informed me that blogs should be short and concise. Apparently this is neither the former nor the latter in her opinion. She insists I go to bed.

"but I'm a college student, I don't need sleep" says I.
"Tomorrow, I'm waking you up at seven" says she.
"Goodnight!" says I!
Okay, that conversation actually went on in my head. She's already upstairs. But I'm sure that's how it would go.

Peace and love from Israel/Palestine!

Raymie's blog

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:58:00 +0000

Hi everyone, this is my first ever blog...joining the tech age. Today was a work day in the morning. We finished painting four classrooms (three coats!) Got a start on several more. Then cleaned up trash and junk in the hallway. Everyone had fun chucking the junk out the open doorway at the end of the hall down six stories to the ground below. The challenge was to hit the garbage can but it didn't matter if you missed it. We went walking around Ibillin after lunch. Stopped in Abuna's first church and took some pictures. Singing songs was again a treat because of the echoing which makes everything musical sound good but makes understanding spoken words difficult. Then went shopping...little stores with candy, fruits and vegetables, ice cream and sodas. You should have seen the hills we had to hike down and up to get to and from the school. We found a toy store which also sold clothing...Ian called it the department store! Bought a stuffed toy for our bus driver. He has a collection all around the front of the bus. His name is Ibrahim and he is a fabulous driver. His bus works like the one in the Harry Potter movie.... goes through the skinniest spaces, backs up around corners like he has folded it in the middle and he can find anyplace Don wants him to take us even if Don doesn't know the directions. I'm stopping now so I can go play soccer (football) with the kids 'cause I hear they found a ball. Blessings to all who are reading this. We are all being blessed by this trip. TTFN

Debbie's impressions

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:58:00 +0000

Wow! What a week! Today (June 23) was a local day consisting of working on the 6th floor of the college building and touring the town of Ibilin. I succeeded in painting the walls and myself. We painted about 6 rooms, I think, finishing 3 coats on 4 rooms between today and last Saturday. We worked well together. Some of us became "specialists" in our jobs...we had Brushers, who cut in along the tile; Low Rollers, Mid-Rollers, and High Rollers, who rolled paint on their assigned height of wall; Ladder Walkers, those skilled at moving the ladder while on it (don't cringe...the ladder dance is fun to watch and they were trained by an expert); and me..."Corner Girl", able eliminate the evil missed spots where walls meet while armed only with a corner roller.

The kids are playing with some Ibilin kids as I type. The kids have been fun to watch. They interact well with the locals. We had the grandson of our guide on the bus with us yesterday. The kids all sat at the back of teh bus and learned to sing Happy Birthday in 6 different languages...Arabic, Hebrew, Italian, German, French, and Spanish. (I promised them I would teach them the Romanian version later.) Each time they mastered a new one, they came up and sang it to Christina...even though her birthday was June 18th. (We figured that if we sing to her at 6:18 it would be okay.)

Yesterday we toured Biram...Abuna's home town that was destroyed when he was a child. It was a lovely 32 degrees. (Okay that's Celsius...around 90 ish or so) Abuna's cousin, Anis, gave us the grand tour of the ruins. He also grew up in Biram. We did this without the aid of a machete through shoulder high weeds, complete with stickery souveniers in our socks. We were expecting to see Stanley Livingston at any time. Anis welcomed us into his home...which consisted of 3 walls. We were told that if we were to dig through the rubble, we would get down to the marble tile on the floor of the guest house. He did apologize for not being able to offer us Arab coffee, which is the custom when one has guests. It was quite a site to see partial walls and volunteer plants growing everywhere. Anis was a great guide, not only in Biram, but also as we traveled through the countryside. We went to the Jordan River. I went wading in the river. The song is wrong...the Jordan River is not chilly and wide. It was rather warm and only about 20-30 feet wide where we were.

Well, I'd love to tell you more, but it's time for our group meeting, so I'll sign off for now!
Love to all... Debbie

Shelly's Blog-June 23rd

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:56:00 +0000

Please excuse any errors in spelling and punctuation...we have discovered that these computers are really tempermental and freeze at the slightest provocation. (Although it's sooooo hard to silence my inner teacher and not edit everything.)

We're about half way through our trip and already we have a lifetime of memories. The kids are currently outside playing soccer with new friends and the "adults" (using that term very loosely) are in the air conditioned bomb shelter/computer room. We are having a down day after several traveling and doing days.

We skipped the showers this morning and put on our splattered and dusty workclothes from a couple of days ago. I despise being dirty and wearing dirty stuff as my family will attest, but once you start in with the work, which actually feels like play because of the good natured folks in our group, you totally forget that you are grimy and utterly digusting. CAL OSHA would have a field day here. No safety regulations or expectations. We were commenting earlier that there would be no way to do work as we are in the states...it's refreshing and eye opening. The highlight for the guys today, I think, was to fling asst'd bags of trash from the 6th floor targeting the oil can below while precariously holding onto a pole of dubious stability. The bags would explode upon impact sending tile schrapnel to the far corners of the fenced off area. We got into a rhythm - shorts and talls, corner folks and those good at brush work. I got to be a "tall" today....roller on an extension pole! I will be a painter yet.

After we cleaned up and had lunch,we hiked over to the original church of Abuna...the one in which he locked the feuding congregation on Palm Sunday- refusing to let them out until they resolved their differences. If only there were enough Abunas and a big enough church in which to fit the whole of Israel...We sang in the sanctuary- helps to have some awesome voices and people who love to sing. We explored the 3 1/2 stores in Ibillin. I found cacahuates japonais (peanuts that my husband grew up eating as a kid in Mexico) that are interestingly named "American" Crunchy Peanuts. The storekeeper helped us and then we moseyed across the street to the next little storefront that seemed to have less savory snacks and alcohol and more sweets and individual candies. The storekeeper ran across the street after us and popped behind the register of the sweet shop- guess he works both locations.

We are full of ideas of things that need to be done- Lynn, Raymie and I are roommates. We tried to figure out how to solve the Palestinian/Israeli conflict..talked a lot and decided that the biggest impact we could have would be on changing the American perspective through education. We are talking about swamping Oprah with requests for Abuna's book Blood Brothers to become an official Oprah book selection and hopefully to have Father Chacour appear on the show. I'm trying to figure out how we can help to send a group of teachers and students from Ibillin to California to swap ideas, share their stories and maybe to attend a CADA leadership camp so that they can bring ideas back to help build even more leadership capacity within the student body. The solutions are going to have to come from within through the younger more flexible generations and through outside international pressure. South Africa only changed when the rest of the world insisted upon it... and I believe the same will be true with Israel and the States. The complete story of the conflict has to be told- not just a single side.
I'm trying to convince myself that the kitties here are just built more slimly than our cats. If I could, I'd be bringing a few carriers home. Any vets want to travel and do a little cat service project? Bob Barker would have a fit- no spay or neutering here. I have been reminded AGAIN that a blog is supposed to be short..a note, not a book. Apologies to all. Denia- if you actually read to the end, tell Cesar to return my emails. Happy birthdays to mom and dad. night all, Shel

A shout out to our Relay for Life team

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:19:00 +0000

Hello all - Christina here!! We just wanted you to know that we prayed for FPC yesterday as we worshipped in the chapel in Biram. The ruins of Abuna's childhood home. Luckily the chapel was not ruined but it sure was special to hear our pilgrim team share their faith in God and affirmation with each other in worship.

We included in our prayers the Relay for Life event in Livermore as many of us had such a fabulous time last year. We thought of you and were with you in spirit as it was hot and humid here as well.

Thanks everybody for your comments and we hope you are enjoying seeing some of our adventure as we travel through the Holy Land. Everyone has been fabulous and it seems that the personalities are blending well together. We finished the postcards last night and NOW we just need to find stamps and a mailbox.

I'm trying to add new pics each morning so be sure to check out our photobucket at
http://photobucket.com/revcallie

Callie was my nickname when I lived out on the east coast...shortened from "that girl from California"...a bit nicer as well.

Love to you all - Christina

Greetings from Israel!

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:17:00 +0000

He everyone! It's Becca. Israel is so beautiful. It's like the fourth day today... I think. But I'm not quite sure, the first few days ran together as one because we didn't sleep much. Today we got to sleep in!! And by sleep in, I mean 9 o'clock was when Natalie and I were woken up...and everyone else was already up and showered. Woo! Unlike everyone else, I skipped breakfast to get ready. So, I ate on the bus instead. Today we met with Anis Shakkour and Fadi Obeid. Fadi Obeid has three sisters, two of whom we met, Mona and Manal, at the school. Anis Shakkour is Fadi's grandfather and a cousin to Elias Chacour. They took the time to show us Biram, the village where Anis and Elias grew up. We went trekking on a safari to see everything. We got to walk through brush, pokey plants, and stickers. We also got to climb over a fallen cactus! It was in fact, very rewarding. Also, we were able to go inside the church there and perform our own service, part of which will be in the service on July 20th, led by the us, the Pilgrims of Ibillin. We later got to know Fadi more. I sat across from him during lunch and I think he might think that I am crazy (for those of you who don't know me, I talk way too much. It's the Italian in me). Anyway, Fadi is actually studying Italian to try to get into school there to become a specialized denstist. He was really cool, once he started to open up. We asked him a lot of questions... some completely nonsense, and some with curiosity and a truly desired answer. We asked him about the schooling here, music, customs, holiday, and birthdays. He even taught us how to sing Happy Birthday in three languages: Arabic, Italian, and Hebrew. In return, we taught him how to sing it in three languages as well: Spanish (Alyssa, Matt, Lauren, and David), French (David, Natalie, and I), and German (Bruno). We sang it to Christina every time we learned a new one. And later, Debbie is going to teach it to us in Romanian! Fadi was so much fun to have on the bus. He really likes art and we talked to him about that. We answered a lot of questions from him as well. A lot of our free time things are the same. He likes to ride his bike and go to the movies. They also go out into the fields and hang out. We go to the movies, go to parks, ride bikes, and hang out. It was so much fun learning how much we have in common as teenagers. Then we went to the Jordan River. Christina "babtized" Lynn. We took lots of picures wading in the water. "Wade in the water, wade in the water..." I like that song. Ross then skipped rocks. He skipped one "umpteenth" times. On the way back to the school, we stopped for ice cream! American ice cream that is... McDonalds to be exact. We then bought Israeli candy at a market thing near by. And finally we arrived back to the school after a long day. It was the first time we had ever been on the bus at night with the blue lights coming from the ceiling above every seat. And now I am writing this. I hope you are all well and having fun doing whatever it is you are doing. Can't wait to hear from you in your comments.

-Becca

Laurens Blog :P

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:15:00 +0000

Finally I figure out how to blog! Hey there Lauren is finally up and rolling! Israel has been a blast :) Today we went to the ruins of Bar'am. It was so cool, yet so sad to think about what had happened there only 60 years ago. The treck through the ruins was . . .interesting. Our guide was one of the refugees forced to leave Bar'am along with Abuna Chacour. He also brought along his grandson which was fun for us high schoolers. We were able to ask him sooo many questions, I think he was a bit overwelled in the begining. I found out he likes art (bounus) wihich makes him totally awesome in my book ; P He was really cool and we hope to keep in contact with him!After Bar'am we went to this nice restauranr where their main dish is trout. The only thing is they serve the WHOLE!!! Head to tail XD Boy did we have some fun photo ops LOL
(The fish was really good by the way)
I have had such a great time, tomorrow we get to help work on the new rooms again and hopefully meet some of the elementary kids. They looked so cute at the graduation last night *kyaaaa* ^-^
I'm so glad the rooms here have air conditioning. Except last night I had it on fan so when I woke up [around 6 am :( ] the room was so HUMID!!! The food here has been suprisingly good. i have yet to find a food that i dislike here. (yes i am rambling now bear with me) lets see . . . oh we also took a quick dip in the jordan river. The water was nice but the ground was really squishy ;P well its 10:45 so good night all!

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:01:00 +0000

Photobucket Album

We've Got Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:16:00 +0000

Okay folks, Cathy here...

We've been struggling to get our pictures on the slide show.

SO... we have some posted on another site.

Go to: http://photobucket.com/RevCallie and find some photos!

It's been a great trip so far. Everyone has had a positive attitude and been flexible every day as our plans change minute by minute! We are staying in the new rooms on the sixth floor of the elementary school. We have air conditioning in our bedrooms which has been a blessing! Today we worked on the sixth floor of the college building. What Alyssa and David didn't say was that in order to get to the college we had to go down the hill, down lots of steps, up some steps, down some more, and up six floors to work. Everyone worked really hard and we got lots done!

Swimming in the Mediterraen Sea was wonderful. We collected lots of "holy" sea shells, and had fun. There were lots of rocks and it stayed shallow so we could go out quite a ways. We all wished we could have stayed longer.

We attended the Elementary School Graduation tonight. The auditorium was full of families and we found seats in the balcony at the back where we had a great view. Some of the students (First graders through eighth graders) danced. One graduating student gave a 5 minute speech in english and Abuna spoke passionately in english a bit as well.

Tomorrow we're off to Biram. Check in with us and hear about our latest adventures!

Cathy

Woah man, Israel.

noreply@blogger.com (FPC Youth Group) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:15:00 +0000

I'm David Miller, just to start.

I'm writing from a computer lab somewhere in the Mar Elias school. I think I heard it's friday, but the past few days have been a blur of early morning/late nights and holy sites. This morning we woke up early (for summer) and set out to do some good will volunteering around the campus. We headed over to the new college building (under construction, with no real oversight, the adults keep saying something about "osha" which I guess is some California safety for workers thing, I'd check wikipedia, but I don't know if this computer could handle two things at once. Also, I'm pretty sure some adult will repeat it, they make the same jokes over and over. Also, the British are liars and the Dutch invented sailing and computers. Haha, I guess that jokes thing goes all around, for good reason.) Man, I really don't know how to handle ending a sentence with parentheses. Anyways, we went there and some people started sanding, which sounded like a swarm of insects with a mind to kill us with sound. "Could you apologize that we haven't been able to ad pictures to our blog we have been having difficulties. We are still alive, we just don't have photographic proof." That was Christina, I would have forgotten if I hadn't written it down. Okay! So, then Alyssa and I went down and scooped up heaps of dirt and bagged it, and Ellen wouldn't let me chuck the bags out of the door from the fifth stoor out into nothingness like the workersx were doing, oh well. Anyways, I was walking through the halls and then I hit my foot on something and it was all bleeding, so then I went into another room (they made me do all the cleaning stuff, I guess this is Israel and all.) But then I was doing slow-motion running for some reason, and I accidentally stepped on a paint tray (Brendan says he warned me, chhwhatever.) Then everyone laughed and I tried to not fall out the window. Oh well. It was really cool though! I felt like I was getting a little negative. We got a lot of work done, like, enough that I felt like we were actually making some impact. Mmm, manual labor is satisfying. Much much more than studying. So then later on we went to Caesarea, which is a ruin that's been, well, made new. A nuin. Haha, dumb. Okay so, it was cool, and we wspent some time walking around in the dusty, humid Israel air, which I guess is just God's way of making us appreciate the ocean, which was awesome. Well, once you got over the fifty feet of rocks out into the ocean. Someone said they saw an eel, who said that? It was really nice though, it was as nice looking as the Mexican water, with less than a fifth of the parasites! Sorry Mexico, better step up your game. Then we dried off in the sun, which was God's way of reminding us that things aren't always as nice as the ocean, which we're not allowed to live in, and all you can do is take things as they come. Alyssa says it's Saturday. Then we left and went to some aquaduct ( a nice aquaduct), and then back to the school for the graduation.
I need to make more paragraphs, pretty late, though. So we were late to that, only me and Bruno and Ross(?) and Matt, but it seems like that always happens. It was cool, and pretty, well, it was exactly the same as an American graduation. The others are reading this and criticizing, I bet they're reading this now. Oh gosh, that sounded like some paranoid ghost movie line. Anyways, I guess Alyssa and Bruno are grammar hounds, and that's always annoying. But then, it's aliSsa and Brewn'oh (Oh yeah, they're FREAKING OUT!) Okay, gotta go. Things are great, our room has an amazing view, this town really gets more active at night. Night!