After a relaxed breakfast of hummus, olives, eggs, yogurt and Satar (a mix of thyme and assorted other spices served at every meal here) your intrepid pilgrims headed out to the Princess Basma Center for Disabled Children on the Mount of Olives just across the Kedron Valley from Jerusalem.
Although the Center is named after Princess Basma, the aunt of Jordan's president Abdullah who is a major supporter of Arab charities and first sponsored it, the main source of ongoing support and funding comes from the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem a charity that several members of our parish support. Our tour guide Niserene introduced us to the Center's mission and work then gave us a chance to see first hand some of the terrific work being done on the behalf of children starting life with very few breaks in their favor.*
The children and their families have to overcome all of the usual difficulties that their disabilities entail while dealing with the added burdens that living in an occupied land present. As difficult as life must be for these children and their families, it was wonderful to see the love, care and respect offered them by the Center's staff. I believe that many of us were thinking of Mathew 25 "I was a stranger and you took me in...I was sick and you visited me" as we departed.
After leaving the children, we drove 20 miles from the Mount of Olives to the Dead Sea dropping from an elevation of around 2,600 at the Mount of Olives to about 1,380 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea. Fortunately for those brave enough to swim in January, the decline in altitude brought with it an increase in temperature from the mid 50's to the mid 60's. The swimsuit portion of our trip was accompanied by an energetic chorus of Gilbert and Sullivan's Hippopotamus Song. "Mud, mud glorious mud, nothing quite like it for cooling the blood..." We are happy to report both that swimming in the Dead Sea is just flat out fun...and that this is not a photo blog.
After our energetic swim, we were graciously invited to the home of our guide Iyad Qumri and his wife Simone in Jericho. The main event was an exchange of gifts and stories with our secret prayer partners. This writer cannot do justice to the many happy and prayerful stories exchanged, suffice it to say that we felt closer than ever to our fellow pilgrims after the afternoon of shared stories and will miss each other deeply on our return home.
On the lighter side, we sat down together and watched a brief movie which helped break some of the tension that we have all been feeling with regard to the very visible injustices that we have witnessed perpetrated on the Palestinians by the more right wing factions of the Israeli government. Should you need an upbeat moment, the video is available through this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgQfCUNf0no
After dinner our guest speaker for the evening was Mr. Ophir Yarden whose discussion of: "Contemporary Issues - An Israeli Perspective" helped us to gain a far deeper understanding, if not clarity, on the range of Israeli political views from biblical, historical and security perspectives. To bridge the gap, Mr. Yarden noted the important role that Christians can play as mediators in this conflict if only because their presence in the Holy Land reminds both sides that this conflict is primarily a political dispute not a religious one. Political disagreements can be solved through political means as politics, to quote Otto von Bismarck, is the art of the possible. Religious disagreements in this all too promised land have become absolute and dangerous.
* For more information on the Basma Center's work please see: http://www.j-diocese.org/index.php?lang=en&page=institutions&sub=12969833465
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