January 2020 – Page 2

Israel / Palestine Trip – Day Seven

2020/01/26 Gayle 0

Stardate: January 26,2020 Today we left Jerusalem. We drove out of the city in what seemed like the same way we had taken to go to Masada and to go to the Dead Sea. And yet we ended up in a city in Ramallah. It all had a very different feel from when we had gone on our adventure to the Dead Sea and Masada. As we drove into Ramallah it seemed like any other city except that as we were going in, Jared pointed out a sign that said to Israeli Jews that it wasn’t safe for them to enter the city. It was perhaps the first time that I truly had a sense of danger, a real sense of danger not the fake The rest of the story

Israel / Palestine Trip – Day Six

2020/01/25 Gayle 0

Stardate: January 25,2020 Welcome to Sabbath. Sabbath has been one of those things that I talk about often. It’s one of those things that my pastor and mentor and advisor have really pushed me to do, to take a Sabbath. And I always pay lip service to taking a Sabbath. But I’m not sure that I really knew what it meant until today. I spent the morning walking around in old Jerusalem after sleeping in a bit. It was really cool, we went to a bookstore which was a lot of fun, just to see the different books that were available. Then we walked into the old city through the gate that we have been through before, but we had time to meander and to The rest of the story

Israel / Palestine Trip – Day Five

2020/01/24 Gayle 0

Stardate: January 23, 2020 It was a very difficult day in so many ways even though it wasn’t a huge walking day. We spent a lot of time with the Palestinian people. It’s a story that’s very rarely told in our society and in our news. I’m going to try and unpack a little bit. We started our day by going to the the Pac Community Center and visiting with people there, learning about the environmental issues of the area. At first, the presentation seemed very rudimentary but when I realized that it was for the Palestinian people who had come to to learn and not necessarily for us, I understood why it was how it was. Then after the presentation we were able The rest of the story

Israel / Palestine Trip – Day Four

2020/01/23 Gayle 0

Stardate: January 22nd, 2020 The day started early. I didn’t really want to eat breakfast, which is kind of a downside when you know you’re going to have a busy day. I was quite unprepared for what it would feel like to cross out of Jerusalem and into the countryside. The countryside is far more what I expected to find here. The expanse of land and seeing the cities in the distance was just absolutely amazing. In some ways it felt very emotional because I felt like for the first time I was in Israel. I feel like we turned a corner and there was the Dead Sea and somehow the connection of water and how water seems to be playing a role in this The rest of the story

Israel / Palestine Trip – Day Three

2020/01/22 Gayle 0

Stardate: January 21st, 2020 Today was a little bit frustrating. It Is difficult to be in Israel and in Jerusalem and to spend our time in the hotel listening to speakers. Logistically I understand the need to have done things this way, however, there’s still a certain amount of frustration that comes with not being able to see and experience things as we would like to or as I would have liked to. I absolutely loved hearing from Rami’s grandfather. It was spectacular. As I listened, I imagined my own grandmother as she narrated family history to me many times and I could hear that same love and affection in Rami’s grandfather’s voice as he relayed history and as he struggled to remember places and The rest of the story