More from the Camper Information Meeting

We started the meeting with a rousing game of musical chairs! :)

Great fun. The winner got 25 shekels off his/her camp price.

Camper Information Meeting

Tonight we held the camper information meeting at the Village Park. It’s a wonderful area (perfect for outdoor YL club meetings) near Yousef’s parents' house. About 50 kids and leaders showed up to play some games and get information about the camp next weekend. We set up the sound system and played a big game of musical chairs. We broke into 3 groups, collected 50 shekels from each camper and went over the packing list with the kids. One of the kids, Ilea, brought his 50 shekels (coins) in a bag. Here he is with one of his leaders, Isam.

Due to space at the camp (and to maintain a good leader-camper ratio), we have limited this first camp to 50 campers. One way to limit the number was to allow only one child per family to attend. Kids also have to pay 50 shekels (about $15 US), which for some is quite a lot of money to keep their name on the list. I loved looking at the list Yousef is keeping of the kids signing up for camp. It looks just like lists we have kept taking kids to camp, with payments, some scratched out and other names added, only everything is in Arabic. Several kids came to the information meeting hoping a space would open up if someone did not show or had not paid his/her 50 shekels. What a blessing so many kids are excited about the camp. It was great fun to see the kids having fun and hanging out with their leaders. It’s really exciting what God is doing here.

After the camper meeting, the senior leadership team met for several hours to continue putting the final details on the camp and pray for kids. We are renting space in cabins near the Dead Sea for the camp, but need to prepare meals for the camp working out of mini refrigerators in the rooms and a outdoor grille. There will be 6-7 of us acting as a "workcrew", cooking and serving typical Arab dishes. Fortunately, Alysia and I will have some help since I have very little experience cooking Arab food other than serving the hummus and pita chips I get at Costco! ;) Abir did teach me to make lebane (soft cheese spread) last week when we were at her house...so I have one dish under my belt so far.

Shekels...

We are now staying at the home of the parents of one of the leaders in Palestine, Yousef Kahlil.

We are definitely NOT in Netanya anymore. Today we went to a near by market to get some snacks. For 13 shekels (about $4), I got a falafal sandwich, 2 bags of chips, a bag of pretels, a liter of water, some guava juice and 2 packs of wafer cookies. The total for this picnic was one shekel less than we spent for one 14 shekel popsicle in Netanya. It’s good to be in Zababdeh.

On to the West Bank...but a few more blessings before we go

This is our last morning in Nazareth. Sigh. Last day in our Chocolate Cafe (pictured above).

Because we had rented a Hertz car when we first arrived at the airport, they would not allow us to take the car to the West Bank. Nieem said he would drive us to the Israeli/West Bank check point where Youseff would pick us up on the other (West Bank) end. However, we were concerned that we would have to walk all of our bags across the check point. Fortunately, Azar told us yesterday that he has a friend who works at a rental car agency here in town that will rent us a car we can drive across the border. This way, we can leave the luggage in the car as we cross through the check point.

This was also a great blessing to Haley because it meant that we would not have to leave Nazareth until later this afternoon and she could go to one more day of school. Not only does she get to see her new friends one last time, it's "Sports Day" today (their version of "Field Day" events). Double Bonus!! Hunter and I also got the opportunity to spend one more morning in Chocolate café. After switching the cars out and packing up, we will pick Haley up from school and head to the West Bank to Yousef’s parents’ house. We are excited to be with the leaders and start putting the finishing touches on camp.

Haley with her new friends in Zababdeh in the West Bank.

Divine Appointments...God is Good! June 26

Sunday, we drove to Tiberias to the Sea of Galilee for a few hours. This is a picture of our family on the Sea of Galilee. It was beautiful there...and very hot. It helps give us a feel for what the 110 degree weather might be like on the Dead Sea where we will have the camp.

We did some shopping at the Souk, where Haley bought a toy and some candy. We then made our way to yet another birthday party for our friend Nieem’s son who was turning 1. Nieem works at NBS and had been to our house last year on one of the fundraising visits for the school. His father has a heart for all kids and developed “King’s Kids” ministry which has been reaching out to and discipling kids from all over Israel for the last 17 years. He has turned his 3 story house into rooms and spaces that quickly convert to places for activities and meetings for kids of all ages. Because he has an Israeli passport and also works with prison ministries here in Nazareth, he is not able to go into the West Bank very easily. He was so excited to hear that we were starting a ministry there and that we would be training leaders and hosting the camp in July.

There were a lot of kids at the party and they had a piñata for the kids. Haley was in heaven once again. At the party, we also met Nieem’s aunt Amel who was visiting from Texas to see his sister’s newborn baby (1 week old). Nieem had told her earlier that day that he had invited some Americans to the party and we worked with a group called YoungLife. She said she jumped out of her chair with excitement to tell him that she not only knew what YL was, but she was on the local committee and her daughter had been to Sharp Top Cove in 2009. She loved Young Life and was so excited to hear that it was coming to the Middle East. We are hoping that she and Nieem will come see the camp at Siesta at the Dead Sea in July to experience a little bit of what YL camping is all about.

Friends...Friends...Friends -- June 25

Haley was invited to go with May to a birthday party at the Plaza Hotel swimming pool. Several new friends from her school were also at the party. She had a great time. We went to breakfast with Botrus and Abir at Aroma Café. Botrus was trying to convince us to “convert” from Chocolate Café where we spend every morning on the computers to Aroma (which is more modern and a hot spot in town). Although the food was equally as good, the atmosphere did not compare to Chocolate. Most days, we are the only 2 people in the café in the mornings, so it’s quiet and we can get work done. Botrus took us on a tour of Mount Tabor where the transfiguration happened. We saw the area called Deborah and Valley of Megiddo where the book of Revelations indicates the Battle of Armageddon will take place.

Friday afternoon, we had lunch with Azar and Eptisom (which means “smile” in English) and their 3 boys. Their oldest son, Halil stayed with us last year when the group from the school was in the states and visited Sharp Top Cove. It was nice to see him again.

Haley's last day at NBS and coffee with Seedo Attalah

Today was Haley’s last day of school. She had a great week getting to know the students, teachers and administration. Here she is pictured with one of her teachers (Rania) and the principal of the school (Liza).

Haley said they learned to write the arabic letter "J connected to a W with 2 dots". When I asked her if she knew the name of letter, she replied, “J,W dot dot”. We’re not sure exactly what sound that "letter" makes, but at least it’s a start. :)

After school, we took Haley's new friends, May and Lydia, to get icecream. They had a short play date together to celebrate Haley's last day at the Nazareth school (any excuse to get ice cream!).

Hunter and I spent the morning at the internet café, working on the computer then went to visit Atallah Mansour (Botrus’ father).

"Seedo" (grandpa) Atallah was the first Arab journalist to write for the main Israeli newspaper. He is incredibly smart and an encyclopedia of knowledge. He grew up in Palestine, lived in Lebanon as a child, stayed in a Jewish Kabutz for a year where he learned to speak Hebrew, lived in Oxford for 2 years, and has worked as a journalist for close to 60 years. We had had the opportunity to speak with him several times during the week and enjoyed every conversation. The time with him was never long enough. He has lived a fascinating life and is a great story teller.

We were happy to have the opportunity to go to his house for coffee and some uninterrupted conversation. He shared wonderful stories of his past, both about his family life and the history of this country as well as the world. Once again, our time together seemed too short and we were left wanting more. He signed a copy of one of his books, “Narrow Gate Churches” and we are looking forward to reading it. Quite a wonderful man.

June 23rd...NETS and the Greens

Today we met with Dr. Bryson Arthur from Scotland. Dr. Arthur is the President of the Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary (aka, NETS). He was very supportive of the idea of Young Life in the Middle East and talked about ways they could partner with us. It was a very encouraging meeting all the way around. Later, we went to a nearby national park called Sachne (aka Gan Hashlosha National Park) with the Green family. Randy and Stacy Green are from Chicago and have lived here for 3 years. Randy works at the school part time and teaches some classes at the Seminary. He and Stacy have been very helpful about offering practical advice about what life is like for Americans in the Middle East. They have 4 children (ages 2-12), the 7, 9 and 12 year old attend the Baptist school and are all fluent in Arabic. The park was great fun. We enjoyed a nice picnic, swam in the natural springs and played under the waterfalls. Beautiful.

Haley goes to Haifa...without us! June 22

Haley is on a field trip with her class today to a place called Haifa. It's the main port in Israel about 45 minutes from Nazareth. The class will ride on a boat, go to a zoo, and eat lunch in a park. She's very excited. They all boarded nice coach tour buses this morning. We were going to follow the buses to Haifa (that's the back of her bus in the photo above) and try to take pictures of her adventures from afar. We then decided it might not be best for us to follow her so she could be with her new friends without the distraction of her over-protective parents in the background.

Some of the teachers took pictures of their field trip so we were able to see all the fun things she got to do. Check out the NBS website under 6/22/11 for pictures of her visit. www.nbs.org.il

Did I mention we met Tony Blair?

The first day we took Haley to school, we were walking back through the city and we ran into Tony Blair. Literally. He was walking with a few people around him (a camera men and a couple of other men in suits). We were the only ones walking toward him. It was surreal to see him there without much fan fare. He stopped and shook our hands and said it was nice to see us there...he seemed to be a very pleasant and kind man. :) The tv cameras were on us the whole time. Then the camera man came over and put the camera right in front of our faces, as if we might have something profound to say after meeting Tony Blair. We didn't. The camera was quickly turned back onto the prime minister and they continued through the streets of the Old City. ;)

Surreal.

Nazareth Baptist School...June 20th

Haley is attending first grade at the Nazareth Baptist School (NBS) all week. We thought this would give her a good "taste" of what school would be like here and also give us time to meet with folks during the mornings. NBS is an all-Arabic speaking school, but it doesn't seem to matter to her. She thinks the kids can understand her English. It's funny to watch her talking to them, completely unaware that they don’t understand what she is saying. But they laugh and smile at her, pulling her along to the next game or fun thing to do. After the first day of school I asked her if she had learned any arabic and she said, "Of course mom, ...Javier". :) I guess a lot of the words here sound like Spanish to her. :) At least she's trying. ;) Day 1, she already made friends with many of the kids. She was excited to come back the next day.

We chose to put her in the first grade because

there is a little girl in her class, Lydia, who speaks both Arabic and English. They share a desk and Lydia has been a great help to her. She wears a uniform to school each day (gray polo shirt and shorts). I am a big fan of the uniform! So easy to get her dressed in the mornings!

Family, food, fun...did I mention food?

Sunday night we went to a birthday party for a friend, Riyadh. He is an architect in Nazareth and was the chief designer for the Nazareth Village (a replication of a first century village built on top of 1st century ruins. This is a well known stop for any tour group visiting to Nazareth). Parties in Nazareth mean good friends. long conversation and lots (understatement) of food!! You could easily spend 4 hours at a table eating and talking...and there would still be enough food for 4 more hours for the next four days!! And all of it is wonderful!!

Haley had a great time playing with other children at the party. The kids wereplaying a version of hide and seek, the person selected as the "finder" would recite a counting rhyme in arabic while the other children scattered. At one point, there was quite a discussion as to who would be "it"...Haley tried to get them to stop the discussing and get on to playing...she kept asking them, "can't we just play tag?"

Of course, they didn't understand her English and continued discussing who should be "it". It was humorous watching Haley try to negotiate without any Arabic skills.

I will say she fit right in and after a few minutes, was well immersed in their games and fun.

On to Nazareth...June 18

After 2 days in Netanya, we drove to Nazareth. We are staying with dear friends, Botrus and Abir Mansour. Botrus is a lawyer and Director of the Nazareth Baptist School. His wife, Abir, is a counselor at the school as well as a million other things. They both work tirelessly into the night, but are also great hosts and great fun to be with. Botrus has stayed with us when he travels to Atlanta as part of his fundraising efforts to help build a new school in another part of town that would allow more children to attend school. They have 3 children, 2 teenagers (Atullah and Lema) and a little girl, May, who is 7. Haley and May were completely taken with each other the moment they met. They giggle and run around talking to each other in their native tongues, oblivious that neither one understands the other. :) May knows the English words "wait' and "no" and uses them quite a bit with Haley. :)

A few pictures of Haley in Netanya for the grandparents...

There was a nice "work out" park right on the beach in Netanya. Haley loved to "pump iron" here and get in some cardio.

Playing in the sand and at the pool...

Netanya

June 16

We arrived at the Park Hotel in Netanya, a Russian-Jewish city home to the only Israeli Bible College and a beautiful beach community located on the Mediterranean. This is the incredible view from our room. Across the street from the hotel, there was a park full of restaurants and shops, including a play area for kids with crafts and a bounce house. Haley was in heaven. We ate some shwarma (meat on a spicket) and some salads for lunch and Haley did some sandart. Later that night, we returned to the Square to get some snacks. An hour after we returned to the hotel, we heard a loud explosion followed by a lot of sirens. Hunter went out to explore what had happened, knowing it could have potentially been a terrorist act. Netanya had experienced several bombings in the past (one we found out later had occurred in the very hotel where we were staying). He retuned to tell us that it had been a gas explosion and the chairs we had been sitting in an hour earlier were completely blown to pieces and under debris from the building. The explosion had occurred in the alley beside the shwarma kiosk.

Even though it was after midnight, we went out to watch the paramedics rescue folks from the apartments above the restaurants with a crane. The 4-story building was in shambles. Windows of shops were shattered in 100 meter radius around the square. They spent 5 hours rescuing people who were trapped on the top floor of the building. It was amazing how quickly and effectively the police and paramedics mobilized rescue efforts. Sadly, I’m sure they are used to these type of things happening here. We learned later that 4 people were killed in the explosion (3 teenage girls and a 28-year old man who very much resembled the guy who has sold us the schwarma). It was very scary and surreal, especially considering we had been sitting in that exact spot just an hour earlier. We didn't get to sleep until after 4 am. Quite an exciting start to our adventure here.

On a lighter note, we enjoyed the beach the next day and Haley had a blast in the waves. It was very expensive to stay there (we paid 14 shekels for a popsicle...that's over $4!), so we were more than ready to leave the next day and get to Nazareth.

On to Israel...June 15

We took the train back to the airport and boarded the plane to Israel. We arrived at 2:00 AM with our 8 suitcases full of camp supplies and 3 backpacks. When we arrived at the Hertz car rental agency, they laughed when they saw all of our luggage because the car they had reserved for us was the size of a mini cooper. We quickly upgraded 5 levels to a car that resembles a station wagon. Even with the bigger car, the luggage was a tight squeeze.

And so the Journey begins...first stop, Amsterdam...

Our journey began at 10:30 PM on June 14th (thanks Alysia for taking us to the airport!). After a nice, long nap on the 8-

hour plane ride, we arrived...in Amsterdam. We took a train to the center of town to find some fun ways to spend our 10-hour layover

We ate some very expensive McDonalds--the kid's meal was 8.00--and that was the cheapest food we could find! Then we took a boat tour around the canal to see the highlights of Amsterdam.