Images of Christmas

This year I was able to enjoy Christmas in Bethlehem with my two friends Aimee and Elise from College. It was great to have Aimee and Elise here and show them a little bit of my life. Enjoy the pictures from the past week of fun!

P.S. Although I didn't get to see my family for Bethlehem, I will be leaving in a few hours to visit them in Florida and then make my way up to Minnesota. If you are in either of those places, I hope to see you!


My friend Majdi, was our tour guide in Hebron. Here Aimee is talking with him at the Ibrahimi Mosque.


Leather sandals, popularly known as "Jesus Sandal" are made at the factory in Hebron.


Typical pottery that can be found in tourist shops all over Israel is handmade. Here we watch the talented artists.


Eating Hummus at Afteem's Restaurant. The best place in town!


My friend Alaa gave us a tour around Jerusalem. Here we are taking a rest at the Church of All Nations on the Mount of Olives.


Many of us gather after church service on Christmas Eve to celebrate with a nice dinner at the Tent Restaurant in Beit Sahour. Many families were there celebrating that night.


People gather in Manger Square, outside of the Church of the Nativity, for concerts and celebration on Christmas Eve.


On the last day, Aimme, Elise, Sara (my roommate) and I hiked for a couple hours in the Oasis of En Gedi.


Aimee and Elise covered with skin cleansing mud from the Dead Sea.

Kairos Palestine Document

The Kairos Palestine Document, is a document modeled after the Kairos document launched by Christian leaders in South Africa in 1985. In South Africa, the Kairos Document was used to unite people in the struggle against apartheid, calling apartheid a sin, and appealing to Christians around the world to join with their brothers and sisters in South Africa to work to end the sin of apartheid in South Africa.

In the same spirit, the Kairos Palestine Document was launched by Palestinian Christian leaders last Friday, December 11. This document, which may be better read as a letter, labels the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land as a sin, because it distorts the divine image of God present in all people: "We also declare that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is a sin against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians of their basic human rights, bestowed by God. It distorts the image of God in the Israeli who h as become an occupier just as it distorts this image in the palestinian living under occupation."

With the Kairos Palestine Document, Palestinian Christians send "a word of faith, hope, and love" to Palestinians, Israelis, Christians, Muslims and Jews of the local community and the international community, and to the Church worldwide

The Kairos Palestine Document is a significant step towards uniting the Christian community. In a land that is so divided, even within the Palestinian people, politically, religiously, and even denominationally, this letter brings together Christian leaders of all denominations as an attempt to create unity within the Palestinian people from which they can effectively resist the Israeli occupation non-violently.

The Kairos Palestine Document is a call to the Church around the world. We as a church are required to support our brothers and sisters in Christ no matter where they are in the world. These Palestinian Christian leaders call the churches around the world to regain the mission of the church, which is to pray and serve in the spirit of Jesus, who called us to love others as he loved us, thus realizing their human dignity and fighting against injustice which destroys this dignity. They thank churches around the world who have shown persistent support and ask churches who have not: "to revisit fundamentalist theological positions that support certain unjust political options with regard to the Palestinian people. It is a call to stand alongside the oppressed and preserve the word of God as good news for all rather than to turn it into a weapon with which to slay the oppressed. The word of God is a word of love for all His creation."

The Kairos Palestine Document also contains poignant words to Palestinians and Israelis and I encourage you to read the full version found HERE.

I myself have found myself worn out and tired within the past few weeks, because of the persistence of the conflict here. Reading these words, which are meant to create unity among Palestinian Christians, gives me hope that further unity will come and peace which seems impossible at times will one day prevail.

For more information, please go to the Kairos Palestine Document Website or read this article on the International Solidarity Movement Website.

Palestinian Generosity

I have not been very good about updating my blog recently. Probably for about 4 or 5 months. Once the newness of this place wore off, it was hard for me to write about things, because they were not as new and exciting. I am going to try, however, to start up my blog again. From now on, I will write once a week about an experience or event. This way, all of my friends will be able to here from me more often, since we are such a long distance away.

Anytime you come into the company of Palestinians, you will be told about the extreme generosity of Palestinians. This generosity is something with which I have recently been blessed.

Living in Bethlehem, I have been able to become friends with quite a few local people. I would like to tell you about a few in particular now.

Rania worked as a secretary for Bethlehem Bible College a couple months this fall. During that time, I had the privilege to be invited to her house to spend time with her family. Since that time, I have been invited several times to their home. It is unusual for a Palestinian family, to have a 23 year old girl living on her own (without family) in a foreign country, as most young Palestinian people do not leave home until they are married. Therefore, they think that this young person must not know how to take care of themselves or feed themselves. Whenever I go then, they always feed me so much that I am bursting at the seams.I like to spend time with this family, as they do not speak much English, so I am forced to improve my Arabic skills.

This week, I was invited by Rania and her family to attend part of the wedding celebrations of a relative. The first part was for women only. The women in the family of the groom welcomed the new bride by painting her with henna and offering her gifts of gold jewelry as is traditional. This was followed by a large meal and plenty of dancing, in which the new couple were presented. Dancing is extremely fun in the culture, as everybody joins in to dance to traditional and pop Arabic music.

The grooms mother joins the bride and groom in the dancing.

Majdi has also become a friend of mine. Majdi is the owner of a souvenir shop in Bethlehem. At anytime he will welcome people to come sit in his shop, hear his stories, and drink traditional bedouin tea (black tea, with mint, and sugar). He always offers a good price for his gifts to any foreigners living in Bethlehem and is always willing to offer and extra hand. Many times he has driven me to the checkpoint as I am on my way to Jerusalem.

Khalil and his family are other friends of mine. Khalil and his family live in Al-Azza refugee camp, one of the three refugee camps in Bethlehem. All the families in this camp were driven here during the war in 1948 from a village near the Gaza strip. I met Khalil one morning when I was walking to work at Bethlehem Bible College in the rain. I ducked under the awning of his car repair shop to wait out the rain. He proceeded to offer me coffee and invited me to spend time with his family whenever I was available. The following Saturday, my roommate Sara and I ventured to their house for a traditional meal of Mensaf (rice and chicken). We were fed until we couldn't eat any more, then offered fruit and multiple cups of strong Arabic coffee. Ihave since been treated to Kenafe (a traditional Arabic sweet) and many cups of coffee in the morning as I pass by his shop.

Although it may not be true of every Palestinian across the board, but I have been treated to some incredible Palestinian generosity living in Bethlehem.

Settling down in Bethlehem

Wow! Time certainly goes by incredibly fast! The longer I am in Bethlehem, the faster the days and weeks seemed to pass. In my last update, I wrote about how I was adjusting to life lived in Bethlehem, rather than Jerusalem. Now that we are in November and I have lived in Bethlehem for three months, I would say that I am officially into the routine of life here.


A picture of the Treasury in Petra. I traveled here the end of September in order to extend my visa once again.

I continue to work at Bethlehem Bible College. In my three months there, I have gotten used to the constant ebb and flow of visitors and volunteer groups coming and going to the campus. One of my main jobs is coordinating our guesthouse, volunteer groups that come to the Bible College, and visitors who may come for a day. In order to do this job, I must constantly be in conversation with various people in the Bible College, administrators, teachers, cooks, and guesthouse managers, as well as local tour guides, in order to ensure that everybody’s visit goes smoothly. This task can prove difficult at times, and has not been without its mistakes. With each mishap, I learn more about how I can better make certain that visitors are given a warm welcome to Bethlehem Bible College.


Joining with Sabeel, I helped some Palestinian farmers with the annual Olive Harvest.

The school year at the Bible College is well on its way. In fact, the fall semester is winding down as Christmas is less than two months away. As Christmas draws near, the Bible College begins to prepare for numerous events. The choir plans to sing at many events during and around the Christmas Holiday and the Shepherd’s Society is preparing for their annual Christmas Dinner. On average, 1000 people attend this annual Christmas Dinner. It is a chance to bring people from many different walks of life within the Bethlehem Community together for a bountiful and joyful Christmas meal. In addition, Christmas baskets, food coupons and other humanitarian aids are given to families in need.

As I settle into life in Bethlehem, I seek to engage in different parts of the community in addition to the Bible College. Thus, I have begun to volunteer once a week at Al-Rowwad. Al-Rowwad is a cultural center situated in the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. Recently, I have begun to help out with the music class for these kids. Life in refugee camps is often difficult in Palestine. Because of the lack of school space and teachers, most children only have school for half the day. One group of children will go in the morning; the other children will go in the afternoon. Half days of school only allows these children to learn the essentials of math, reading, writing, and science. It leaves them with no chance to for sports, music, or art. While I often took for granted the fact that my parents forced me to take piano lessons, for these kids, the two hours of play they get to have with music is an incredible opportunity. So far, I have really enjoyed getting to know these kids and seeing their enthusiasm for music and the arts. To learn more about Al-Rowwad, check out their website at:

The longer I am here, the more I realize the importance of joy. I have had a fortunate childhood filled with much joy. This joy has helped me face even tough situations, such as I have encountered here, with undying optimism. I believe that it is incredibly important for the children of Aida camp to have a chance to play and to experience the joy and beauty found in the arts. I hope that Al-Rowwad, and my participation with them, will instill a little bit of joy into these children and help them face the conflict in which they live daily with a little more optimism and hope.