last year (right around this time) when we bought our car, we thought we were getting a really good deal. ha! if only we had known... i mean, we were glad to have bought it when we did (since i was with child and not a fan of riding on the scooter), and we did end up paying less for it than we had planned. but since then, i has been the bain of my existence. i think our first clue should have been when the fuel pump happened to break as we were starting the car to drive home, literally one minute after shaking the guy's had that we bought it from. since that moment, we have had so much trouble with it. i think we've paid almost as much to fix the car as we did to buy it. too bad we didn't just buy a nicer one on a payment plan. i can't even list all the things we've had to get fixed but a short list includes the fuel pump, the water pump, the ignition, the distributer, the lights, the breaks, and oh yeah - rebuilding the engine.
so since we have a car that likes to visit the garage every other week or so, we have to have a mechanic. enter ziad. now, ziad is the second bain of my existnence. on the one hand, he is great. he is so nice, he will come resuce us wherever we happen to be stranded, he will let us borrow his car when ours is being fixed, he lets us pay him whenever we can. on the other hand, he sucks. the main problem with ziad is that he's our friend now, so we can't dump him. you just don't do that kind of thing here - you stick with whatever mechanic, gas guy, plumber, or other guy that you start with, espcially if you become friends. his other problems include that he's at least an hour later than he says he will be to resuce us, he takes at least two hours longer to fix our car than he says he will, and we always, always, ALWAYS have to take it back to him to tweek something.
we think we've figured out why this is. ziad has some chickens in his garage. they just run around while he works on the cars and they're always covered in motor oil, much like the mechanics are. the chickens are very important to ziad. he's told us this. our newest theory is that when we take our car to his garage, ziad sticks the chickens under the hood, closes it, lets them peck around for a few minutes, opens the hood and calls it fixed. then he drives our car around for a while to see if it works, and when it sort of does, he brings it back to us. then the next day when it won't work for us, he comes to our house and actually does the work here.
and if he doesn't let the chickens fix it, he has very, shall we say...unconvential ways of fixing things. for example, the water from our ratiator leaks. this is after the chickens pecking at it at least five times. so the other day, which he was working on the distributor, i mentioned that the water was still leaking. then i went inside becuase hiba was taking a nap and i figured she would wake up soon. a few minutes later, andrew (our neighbor who works with jason) shows up at the door holding a cap to a water bottle and says: "ziad needs you to fill this with black pepper". yes, that is right. apparently, if your water leaks you can pour a cap full of black pepper in the radiator and it works as a plug. i think the chickens were hungry.
Monday, October 13
Friday, October 10
the palestinian sonic
so there is an ice cream place right near our house, flavors. when we first moved in here i was really excited about it because i was pregnant and could eat ice cream all the time (you know, cravings and all that fun stuff) and it wasn't too expensive. it was 4 shekels for a cone and the cones were a good size. and they always gave me extra. but then it closed for the winter (because eating ice cream in the winter makes you sick...) and when it opened this last spring, it had a new owner. they changed the menu and added a bunch of stuff like sandwiches and pizza and slushies, which i was very excited about. but then we realized that it is way more expensive than last year and the cones are smaller, so we stopped going. if i wanted ice cream, i just got it from the grocery store and i didn't think of trying the slushies because i figured they were way overpriced. i was kind of boycotting it, not so much actively, but i just never went to flavors. all summer - like when it was really hot and a cold treat would have been really nice. especially a slushie.
last week, my friend jessie came over and she brought slushies from flavors. they were sooooooo good. kind of like a palestinian sonic slushie. and they are only 5 shekels and come in medium subway cups. they have four flavors and you can mix them if you want. my favorite is berry-lemon. it's delicious.
last night after going for a walk with hiba, i stopped and got one. when i got home, i was very hot from pushing her huge stroller, but she was really hungry and ready to go to bed, so i stuck the slushie in the freezer, fed hiba, and put her to bed. i was still quite warm, so i was excited about my berry-lemon slushie. i ate it really fast. when i was done, i was freezing. so i put on a big sweatshirt and closed all the windows. i was about to light up the heater, but i thought might be a little dramatic. but even though it made me freeze, i still loved it and am glad i discovered them.
it's too bad that i discovered this in OCTOBER, now that it's getting cold. it is especially cold at night, which is when i like to go for walks, and therefore the most likely time that i will buy one. but, unlike most people around here, i don't mind eating cold treats in the winter. i'll go buy a slushie and then come back home and eat it in front of a heater. or put on lots of warm clothes and climb under my down comforter. i just hope that flavors stays open this winter so i can enjoy my new found favorite treat.
last week, my friend jessie came over and she brought slushies from flavors. they were sooooooo good. kind of like a palestinian sonic slushie. and they are only 5 shekels and come in medium subway cups. they have four flavors and you can mix them if you want. my favorite is berry-lemon. it's delicious.
last night after going for a walk with hiba, i stopped and got one. when i got home, i was very hot from pushing her huge stroller, but she was really hungry and ready to go to bed, so i stuck the slushie in the freezer, fed hiba, and put her to bed. i was still quite warm, so i was excited about my berry-lemon slushie. i ate it really fast. when i was done, i was freezing. so i put on a big sweatshirt and closed all the windows. i was about to light up the heater, but i thought might be a little dramatic. but even though it made me freeze, i still loved it and am glad i discovered them.
it's too bad that i discovered this in OCTOBER, now that it's getting cold. it is especially cold at night, which is when i like to go for walks, and therefore the most likely time that i will buy one. but, unlike most people around here, i don't mind eating cold treats in the winter. i'll go buy a slushie and then come back home and eat it in front of a heater. or put on lots of warm clothes and climb under my down comforter. i just hope that flavors stays open this winter so i can enjoy my new found favorite treat.
Tuesday, September 23
Ramadan Kareem
Ramadan Kareem! That's the traditional Ramadan greeting here. Well, things have slowed down a bit for us. Here is a quick update on life as we know it:
-The settlers haven't come back too many times since the prayer service. I don't know what their new plan of attack is, but I'm sure they aren't gone for good. Praise God that they haven't interfered with any more of Paidia's work, but please continue to pray for the whole situation.
- Paidia is taking a break from most of the programs because it is Ramadan. It's a good time to take a breath and plan a little.
-Jason is playing rugby with the Beit Jala Lions. He leaves Friday for a 10 day trip to Cyprus. He loves it, Sarah tolerates it (with a smile, of course).
-Sarah is still working part time and being a mom full time. It's quite a fun job.
-Hiba is still very cute and growing every day. She is officially a US citizen, as we finally had an appointment to get her passport.
-Ramadan = time change, so it gets dark at 6ish. The good news is it starts getting cool around 3 or 3:30, which is making the days much more pleasant. The bad news is Jason and I want to go to bed at like 7:30 every night because it's dark and Hiba's in bed...and then we realize it's 7:30.
-And now - here is Hiba in all of her cuteness. You can see more pictures of her here, here, here, here, and here. Or become my friend on Facebook (if you're lucky...)
At the beach in Tel Aviv
Pretty in Pink
She eats real food now...well, sort of.
-The settlers haven't come back too many times since the prayer service. I don't know what their new plan of attack is, but I'm sure they aren't gone for good. Praise God that they haven't interfered with any more of Paidia's work, but please continue to pray for the whole situation.
- Paidia is taking a break from most of the programs because it is Ramadan. It's a good time to take a breath and plan a little.
-Jason is playing rugby with the Beit Jala Lions. He leaves Friday for a 10 day trip to Cyprus. He loves it, Sarah tolerates it (with a smile, of course).
-Sarah is still working part time and being a mom full time. It's quite a fun job.
-Hiba is still very cute and growing every day. She is officially a US citizen, as we finally had an appointment to get her passport.
-Ramadan = time change, so it gets dark at 6ish. The good news is it starts getting cool around 3 or 3:30, which is making the days much more pleasant. The bad news is Jason and I want to go to bed at like 7:30 every night because it's dark and Hiba's in bed...and then we realize it's 7:30.
-And now - here is Hiba in all of her cuteness. You can see more pictures of her here, here, here, here, and here. Or become my friend on Facebook (if you're lucky...)
At the beach in Tel Aviv
Pretty in Pink
She eats real food now...well, sort of.
Thursday, August 28
two years...
two years ago yesterday was our first trip to jericho. you can read about it on our blog in the archives. i hated it. in fact, i was pretty sure i hated being in palestine and would never stay here. i've come a long way.
our first trip to jericho was miserable. jason says it was an adventure - i say it was a disaster. it was soooo hot. we rode on a bus with no air conditioning, bad breaks, and a bus driver with no sense of time. we went with people who we didn't know. it took two hours to get there and like four hours to get back. we knew about four words of arabic. we had no plan, no food, no schedule, and by the end i had no intention of ever visiting jericho again.
today we went to jericho. it was still hot, but not miserable. we went in our own car with air conditioning on our own time. we went with one really good friend and three newer friends who will be really good friend. we left from our house with our child and came back when we wanted to. we went because we wanted to, not because we felt we had to. we could speak the language, or at least sort of. it was a really fun day.
if you had told me this is what my life would be like two years ago, i would never have believed you. when you finally got me to believe you, i probably would have cried. but we are really happy now. we have a good house. we have a church. we have a wonderful community of friends, both internationals and palestinians. we have jobs that we like. we have a butcher and a supermarket. it's amazing to look back and see how God has placed us here over the last two years and all that He has done for us. and it makes me wonder what in the world He has for us next...
our first trip to jericho was miserable. jason says it was an adventure - i say it was a disaster. it was soooo hot. we rode on a bus with no air conditioning, bad breaks, and a bus driver with no sense of time. we went with people who we didn't know. it took two hours to get there and like four hours to get back. we knew about four words of arabic. we had no plan, no food, no schedule, and by the end i had no intention of ever visiting jericho again.
today we went to jericho. it was still hot, but not miserable. we went in our own car with air conditioning on our own time. we went with one really good friend and three newer friends who will be really good friend. we left from our house with our child and came back when we wanted to. we went because we wanted to, not because we felt we had to. we could speak the language, or at least sort of. it was a really fun day.
if you had told me this is what my life would be like two years ago, i would never have believed you. when you finally got me to believe you, i probably would have cried. but we are really happy now. we have a good house. we have a church. we have a wonderful community of friends, both internationals and palestinians. we have jobs that we like. we have a butcher and a supermarket. it's amazing to look back and see how God has placed us here over the last two years and all that He has done for us. and it makes me wonder what in the world He has for us next...
Monday, August 25
Enemies
One of Jesus of Nazareth's most famous statements was recorded by the Apostle Matthew in the 5th chapter of his gospel. "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."
The 'Love Your Enemy" ethic is one of the most revolutionary and striking things about Jesus' teachings while he was walking around in 1st century Palestine. Now, 2000 or so years later, it is one of the most difficult to apply. For many people, it is difficult to apply because it doesn't feel like we really have enemies. Sure, my neighbor might be really loud late at night, and that guy at the work really annoys the hell out of me when he takes credit for my work, but those aren't enemies. It doesn't cost me a lot to pray for them (of course that doesn't mean I always do it).
For the first time in my life, I actually have enemies. The 200-300 Israeli Jewish Settlers who are trying to take over the land that is bordering Paidia's Adventure Gardens consider me their enemy, and I suppose that I consider them my enemies as well, as they are trying to destroy the work to which I have devoted the last year of my life. They harass me and others in our group over e-mail and phone, they try to get us deported, and a couple weeks ago, they physically assaulted us. When they speak with us, they have hate in their eyes and their voices, and they say things that are supposed to hurt as much as possible.
In the aftermath of our most recent interaction with the settlers, me and a couple others sat together and talked about the idea of praying for our enemies. We decided we wanted to try and get together and pray for the individual settlers with whom we have interacted. We haven't done it yet.
Busyness is one possible excuse, we all have jobs, families, and other responsibilities, but I have think that they idea is not as exciting in practice as it is in theory. To actually look at a picture of someone who hates me, and ask God to bless that person, to fill them with His love, and to do it without an agenda, is a tall, tall order. To respond to taunts of "Jew-Hater," "Euro-Trash," and "Nazi" with blessings seems downright unreasonable. In fact, I have found that I usually end up day-dreaming about ways to "get" the settlers when I sit down to pray for them, and before I know it, I'm angrier than when I started.
I'm not entirely sure what my conclusions is on this topic. I have to do what I have been commanded to do regardless of the discomfort involved, and, to be honest, it hasn't gotten any easier as I have tried to start praying for them on my own. Maybe the solution is our first idea, praying together, supporting one another in this audacious and unreasonable command that Jesus has given us may be the first step to actually doing it.
The 'Love Your Enemy" ethic is one of the most revolutionary and striking things about Jesus' teachings while he was walking around in 1st century Palestine. Now, 2000 or so years later, it is one of the most difficult to apply. For many people, it is difficult to apply because it doesn't feel like we really have enemies. Sure, my neighbor might be really loud late at night, and that guy at the work really annoys the hell out of me when he takes credit for my work, but those aren't enemies. It doesn't cost me a lot to pray for them (of course that doesn't mean I always do it).
For the first time in my life, I actually have enemies. The 200-300 Israeli Jewish Settlers who are trying to take over the land that is bordering Paidia's Adventure Gardens consider me their enemy, and I suppose that I consider them my enemies as well, as they are trying to destroy the work to which I have devoted the last year of my life. They harass me and others in our group over e-mail and phone, they try to get us deported, and a couple weeks ago, they physically assaulted us. When they speak with us, they have hate in their eyes and their voices, and they say things that are supposed to hurt as much as possible.
In the aftermath of our most recent interaction with the settlers, me and a couple others sat together and talked about the idea of praying for our enemies. We decided we wanted to try and get together and pray for the individual settlers with whom we have interacted. We haven't done it yet.
Busyness is one possible excuse, we all have jobs, families, and other responsibilities, but I have think that they idea is not as exciting in practice as it is in theory. To actually look at a picture of someone who hates me, and ask God to bless that person, to fill them with His love, and to do it without an agenda, is a tall, tall order. To respond to taunts of "Jew-Hater," "Euro-Trash," and "Nazi" with blessings seems downright unreasonable. In fact, I have found that I usually end up day-dreaming about ways to "get" the settlers when I sit down to pray for them, and before I know it, I'm angrier than when I started.
I'm not entirely sure what my conclusions is on this topic. I have to do what I have been commanded to do regardless of the discomfort involved, and, to be honest, it hasn't gotten any easier as I have tried to start praying for them on my own. Maybe the solution is our first idea, praying together, supporting one another in this audacious and unreasonable command that Jesus has given us may be the first step to actually doing it.
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