星期天下午往商場走走

星期天下午往商場走走
"找個家庭節目吧!" 星期天下午不如往商場走走, 也算個節目。拿著護照往關卡駛去, 不過十分鐘就到最近的大型商場, 感到很幸福,卻又有些歉意。
"老師問我們週末去了裡, 我本想舉手後來作罷…" 可忠放杲學回來說, 唉, 連他也知其他同學聽到他過了耶路撒冷祇有羨慕的份兒, 對巴勒斯坦人來說, 沒有特別准許, 他們不能回去, 縱使那是他的出生地, 縱使那是他的祖業所在! 生活在一群沒有護照, 家園的人中, 我從我英語教案中,刪去了"旅遊"那一課, 取而代之的應是甚麼呢?

Real Life in an Exotic Place

Real Life in an Exotic Place
Finding an apartment, getting a bed, a table, a shelf or two, some plates and cups, then pots, a washing machine, getting a telephone line that works (still unsuccessful, not to mention internet connection), knowing the right names to contact, asking for favours, meeting people and trying to make friends, dealing with a plugged drainage, getting the shower to work and accepting that it won't, getting gas so that you can finally boil some rice, getting water so that you don't have to choose between doing laundry or taking a bath…Some of these problems are finally solved (AlHamdulillah, thank God).Some are still waiting (Inshaa'alla, If God wills it).  And then there are the challenges of working with and ministering to people who may try to avoid speaking English, which happens to be the only way of communication for us, as least for now.  I am still not talking about culture differences, social and political differences…
These challenges remind me to thank God for every blessing, and there are plenty of them: 

• A kind word from my landlord, "don't worry about water, let me know when you need more."
• An email from a friend asking if she can send a parcel of goodies from home.
• Finding a used toaster at a ridiculously low price and have been able to enjoy a good breakfast every morning.
• Visited a neighbour and on my leaving, she mustered her limited ability to speak in English, "you are family."
• ...

I would like to be here for

I would like to be here for my church back home …

--to live among our brothers and sisters in Bethlehem.

--to learn from the faithful ones of Bethlehem, who have been witnesses to our Lord Jesus Christ since the very beginning.

--to extend our love for this part of our Body of Christ who is often misunderstood and forgotten.

--to encourage the disheartened by meeting them where they are

--to share God's blessings, in words, in actions, with our time, our resources, and our lives.

What does that mean?

I want to help build the Arab Church by teaching future pastors and teachers in the Bethlehem Bible College

I want to reach out to the people in the community by offering English classes through the Bible College.

I want to invite people to my house so that we can have a good meal, meaningful conversations and build friendships!

I want to spend time talking to students from the school, neighbours, shopkeepers, and attend social gatherings.

I want to devote myself to studying some Arabic, reading books to understand the issues here, to write for my blog, to visit…

Of course, I need to attend to all the important things everyone needs to do, no matter where he is, to have time for God, for our spouse, children, ourselves, housework…

Jogging on the Hebron Road

The time is 6:00. I just had a busy day preparing lesson (for the English class I am teaching to first year students at the Bethlehem Bible College), cleaning the house (we now live in the boys' dorm before we find our own apartment), sitting with my 7-year-old for homework, taking an Arabic lesson from him, I decided to go jogging before making dinner (and then piano lesson for him)!

So here I am, jogging on the Hebron Road, the street that connects Jerusalem and Hebron.  Of course, I'm not going to Jerusalem now, I donot have my passport with me.  And, my friend cautioned me about going to Hebron, as the people there are not "well-informed of foreigners", whatever she meant by that!  Wonder what the passer-bys think, this Chinese woman (probably the only one living in town) running on a Palestinian street!