End of the Pilgrimage, mid-May 2018 ~ Alan Dorway

Sigh, I know, this is late.  I signed up to write a blog on our last day.  However, our last day was filled with travel.  I could have easily re-written my blog post from my previous trip, but I did not think that would be fair and I’m sure some who read would note that I just plagiarized myself.

Alan with Luke, leading devotions

As I prayerfully reflect on my trip to Israel/Palestine, the people we met there, the stories I heard, the rich conversations with members of our group, and the deep sense that where Jesus walked may not be the place he walks today, one image stood out to me: speed bumps.

I do not think there was a straight, solid stretch of road in the West Bank.  Everywhere we turned, there was a roundabout and a speed bump.  I’m not sure why there were so many speed bumps.  Our bus bravely tried to make it up to 40 or 45 miles per hour at times, but unless we were on a road in Israel, highway speeds were non-existent in the West Bank.

Israel/Palestine is a multi-layered complex area about the size of New Jersey.  This is a place where geography, history, politics, and theology merge and form competing narratives over-lapping and converging in a complicated reality. Plus, there are a lot of speed bumps.

Yes, we can think of speed bumps like the multiple attempts at peace accords.  We can think about rockets fired out of Gaza and then missiles shot back into the same stretch of land.  We know for every child detained bitterness grows and rocks being thrown at guard towers can turn into shots fired.  Those and many other images from our media and our knowledge are speed bumps.  Yet, speed bumps are not always bad.

For instance, speed bumps get you to slow down. How many of us have casually driven through a neighborhood and seen a sign for “Children Playing”, but without the speed bump, we may not have slowed down?  For me even when annoying, speed bumps make me slow down and notice what’s going on around me.  That’s one of their main purposes: make one slow down and pay attention.  In the West Bank, speed bumps make you see what’s going on around you.  As our bus slowed down and went over a bump, I was able to take pictures of powerful graffiti along the separation wall.  I was able to see Bedouin camps slated for destruction.  I took note of the cisterns on the roofs of Palestinian homes, but not on homes in settlements as a testimony to the lack of water for one group and ample water for another.

Charlie, Daher Nassar, Daoud Nassar, Heidi Saikaly at the inspiriting Tent of Nations Farm

Speed bumps caused me to slow down to see and to listen.  I heard our host in the West Bank talk about his struggles as a peacemaker.  I heard again the story of hope coming from a refugee camp.  I was reminded that when women get together they can ensure a bright future for their children.  I heard music coming from cars, who also had to slow down over speed bumps, as we ate gelato on a patio.  I noticed that a coffee shop could help revitalize part of the old town in Nazareth. I saw students get excited about opportunities to learn and even practice English with visitors.  I heard heart breaking stories from parents who have come together after a loved one has died due to conflict, yet also listened as hope triumphed over more violence, hate, and separation.