Today was one of the more memorable days of my life!  In fact I need to remember that I’m writing a blog and not a book or this could get rather lengthy.  Elizabeth and I had breakfast together and while she headed north for meetings in Caesarea, I headed east for a meeting in Bethlehem with Sami Awad.  The town where Jesus was born is now located in Palestinian territory which lies behind a great wall which the Israeli’s built reportedly to protect themselves. 

I headed out on my journey from the hotel in a pouring rainstorm!  Fortunately the hotel was handing out free umbrellas though they were the cheap Chinese versions which easily turn inside out in the slightest breeze.  I made my way to Bus #16 heading to the Central Tel Aviv bus station.  I asked the driver to tell me when we were there as I had no idea what it looked like.  After about 20 minutes I heard an American voice call out “sir we are here!”  I was surprised to look up and see an older American gentleman talking to me.  As we departed the bus he asked me where I was headed and I said Bethlehem via Jerusalem.  He then asked how I was planning on getting there.  I told him I was going to catch a “sherut” which is an Israeli taxi van.  He had planned on taking the bus but decided to join me on the ride.  We walked around the station and inquired until we found a sherut bound for Jerusalem.  On the ride we swapped stories and I learned he was from Boston and lived in Israel 6 months out of the year while his wife taught at one of the universities here.

Once we got to Jerusalem he needed to catch another taxi to get to his destination and told me to jump in as he was going right past the Damascus gate where I needed to jump on Bus #21 to Bethlehem.  After a 5 minute ride we arrived and I tried to cover part of the fare but he refused to take my money saying it was the least he could do for a stranger.  Kindness is a wonderful attribute and he certainly set the tone for the rest on my day.  I located bus #21 and board it.  I soon found myself surrounded by Muslim women with their heads covered staring at me wondering what I was doing on “their” bus.  As the bus made its way to Bethlehem I was texting with Eilda who works at the Holy Land Trust and who has been my main point of contact to arrange this meeting.  I was fascinated listening to the ring tones on the Muslim women’s phones as we drove along in the driving rain.  Soon we were at the border and the bus stopped while Israeli soldiers boarded the bus. Guns hanging down in front of them, they checked our passports and documents.  After about 5 minutes they escorted 4 teenage boys off the bus and sent them back to Israel for some reason. 

Another 20 minutes later we were at the Bab Zqaq stop and I exited while looking around for Eilda’s car.  She was parked across the street in front of a roasted chicken restaurant.  After greeting each other we made our way over to the office of the Holy Land Trust, the organization Sami started on 1998.  Sami was there to greet me with a big smile on his face and we had a few laughs about the fact that while he had lived in Kansas City and still had family there, I had to come halfway around the world to meet him!  He then told me he wanted to make good use of our time and had asked some of his staff to join us while I shared my story.  For the next two hours we went on a deeply moving journey as we laughed and cried together sharing our painful and yet God directed experiences.  They then treated me to a Palestinian lunch and Sami and I headed out afterward for a tour of the city.

It was sad really.  I felt like I was in the movie “Escape from New York” were they walled off Manhattan and turned it into a giant penal colony.  As we drove along the tall grey concrete wall that separated the two lands my heart was saddened by the fact these precious brothers and sisters were imprisoned here.  Sami can’t even go to Jerusalem and he’s a US citizen!  We had a very candid conversation as we drove along.  What impressed me about Sami was not only his use of non-violence to make his point, but his object critique of the situation seeing the weakness, corruptness and arrogance on the part of both Palestinians and Israeli’s. He, like I do, believes the teachings of Jesus hold the key to peace and reconciliation in the region.  As we drove around we also stopped by the Bethlehem Bible College which was founded by his father Dr. Bishara Awad in 1979.  His uncle Alex, who is Dean of Students, greeted us and soon the four of us were sharing a cup of coffee.  I was deeply impressed by the stature and yet humility of these great men of God.  They are committed to raising up a generation of godly Palestinians committed to peace and the principles of the Kingdom of God.  I can see why some in the Messianic community are scared of them as the more people are made aware, the more the stereotype of all Palestinians being terrorists is broken.

I was sad to leave but needed to get back to the other side and get to Caesarea where I could reconnect with Elizabeth.  I jumped back on Bus #21 and headed back over the border, going through the same drill at the checkpoint and was dropped off at the Damascus gate.  As I walked around to the Jaffa gate the damp cold penetrated my bones and I stepped up my pace to keep warm.  Once I got to where I was going I couldn’t find a single sharut and revved up plan B.  I took a taxi to the train station and headed to Caesarea via Tel Aviv. For whatever reason I didn’t see a single person on the train all the way to Tel Aviv.  As I sat there in the silence I was overcome with emotion at all that had just transpired.  My heart was knit with these men.  I understood not only their plight but their journey.  They even invited me back in March for their “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference to share my story with other Evangelical leaders from around the world! “Oh God what are you up to, you have knit my heart with those who are often seen as on the “wrong” side of the equation.”  As the train meandered along, I found myself lost in thought for hours.  I finally arrived at the Caesarea train station to be met by the relieved eyes of the love of my life.  She gave me a big hug kiss and headed back to the hotel to catch up with each other’s lives. I felt as though I had lived a whole life one in one day!