By Ellen Rasmussen 10.29.2016

For most of us, today is our last overnight abroad and it was an ordinary kind of day for me (almost), which, upon reflection, makes it an extraordinary day. It began with a good night’s sleep and waking refreshed at MEEI after a fabulous feast at a local home last night. A choice was made to go with a later group to visit a middle school class and so the day got off at a leisurely pace.

Feast at the home of a wonderful family whose children/grandchildren attend Mar Elias

Late morning, I joined a handful to journey to Nassar’s 7^th grade English class. I was invited to sit down by one of the students who shared his workbook with me. Ahhhh, I fondly remembered the days of teaching in the middle school. Similar behaviors. Similar energy. Children will be children and it was wonderful! In the midst of all that surrounds them, in the midst of struggling to gain equality in a system that will attempt to hold them down and back, these children laughed and giggled, shied away and brazenly showed off (all with great respect for their teacher). It was a gift to be with the children.

The blessings continued as we headed toward special guests for lunch—young men from the high school to share stories and teachers coming in when they could.

The casual conversations and shared laughter are signs of hope—-of a reality being lived out, yet not fully realized. Sacred time. Holy conversation. Thank you, Lord, for these opportunities.

Following lunch, we gathered to journey to Saffuriya, or more accurately, the ruins of Saffuriya (about a half hour’s drive) with freelance journalist Jonathan Cook. He used to write for The Guardian, among other papers. He has also written Disappearing Palestine; Blood and Religion: The Unmaking of the Jewish and Democratic State; and Israel and the Clash of Civilisations.  He shared many stories and included poetry by Palestinian poet, Taha Mohammad Ali. He taught us about Palestinian filmmakers, Elia Suleiman (The Time That Remains, Divine Intervention) and Hany Abu Assad (Paradise Now, Omar —both Oscar nominated films).

The stones of the village, even though hidden among trees and cacti, continue to tell a story that is witnessed by the ancient olive tree.

Dinner with Abuna Elias Chacour closed our last day at Mar Elias: a gift both ordinary and much more.

Our Living Stones group with Abuna Chacour

By Mary Ann King and Mary Beth Spooner

We are thinking that the influence of our Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has been felt in Ibillin, where we are today. Schools here are experiencing drastic budget cuts. In spite of this the students of Mar Elias schools are getting a good education and scoring highly on their ACT/SAT type tests We spent 45 minutes with 10th grade English students. They peppered us with questions, and we assured them that we did not know Justin Bieber personally.

Mary Ann with Mar Elias students

Another bus ride took us to Nazareth. We visited with a winner of the Martin Luther King Award, Nabila Espanioly, who is the director of a local nonprofit which assists women and children. We enjoyed lunch with another new food and a talk by Habib Karam, a friend of Pilgrims of Ibillin who lived in California and decided to return to Galilee. The owner of the cafe also told us about creating this traditional meeting place in the old city.

Liwan Cultural Cafe

Our afternoon continued with visits to churches and historic sites. The Basilica of the Annunciation and St. Joseph’s were moving examples of important events in Biblical history. We also viewed excavation sites of homes in caves, one supporting a church which was built over it.

After a late return, we determined that we won’t have to take our evening walk. (Oh, wait, we don’t do that anyway.) After 8 days together it is apparent that we have melded (perhaps that should be melted) as a group. All in all, this journey has been a remarkable experience. We have come to learn that the US media does not cover everything in Israel or Palestine.