Last Day at Bethlehem

This was our last day here in the city of the incarnation. it's bittersweet, saying good-bye to this place. and yet i look forward with anticipation to galilee and nazareth tomorrow and friday, before journeying to jerusalem for our last week here in the holy land.
today we visited an israeli settlement community here in palestine, just north of bethlehem, and were able to visit with a resident of that community. he graciously invited us into his home to visit and learn about the israeli perspective in the israeli/palestinian conflict. the overwhelming lesson i am learning here by visiting with these people is that the majority of the "ordinary" citizens of this land want to live peacefully together. if governements would get their noses out of things, i think that life here would be much better for everyone.
following that, we visited a palestinian refugee camp, which was sobering. it is hard to see people living in such abject poverty. yet, in the midst of awful conditions, they still have hope that a peaceful solution can be reached.
lunch was at at the shepherd's tent restaurant, near shepherd's field. we had visited shepherd's field two days ago and i think i forgot to blog about that. we were able to go into a cave in the field that it is believed the shepherds were in when they received the good news about the birth of a savior from the angels. what an amazing place. legend also has it that david probably stayed in this cave as well as he was a boy, shepherding his sheep. to stand in a place that holds so much history, to stand on the soil where king david may have stood as a young boy, to share space that the first worshippers of the newborn king shared - i felt privileged to be a living stone among the ancient stones that hold the history of God's people.
anyway, lunch was in a giant tent, sitting on low sofas around low tables and served an obscene amount of food! it was all very good, as usual, and we waddled out to our bus to enjoy a surprise that our guide, Naim, has been planning for us all week but wouldn't tell us about until today.
we went to herodyon, the place that was just recently uncovered and is still undergoing archaeological digs. it is the former palace and burial place of herod the great. WHAT A COOL PLACE!!! it was so amazing to see the ruins as they have been uncovered and as yet unrestored, along with traveling down into the mountain through a tunnel to see herod's burial place. there were several remains of giant urns that were in remarkable shape, as well as buildings that were still quite intact. it was a wonderful surprise and we were all thrilled to have had this special privilege.
this will probably be the last place where i will have free internet access, so i'm not sure how frequently i will be updating my blog. i like doing this, it's a nice way to journal my experiences here and keep things fresh and share with you all. i will do my best to update every other day from here on out. until then, be good to one another, cherish those we love, and count your blessings, even the little ones like flushing toilet paper! i love and miss you all and, although i am feeling very homesick today, look forward to experiencing much more to share with you when i get home.
shalom,
jan