Wow!!!

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Yes, it is true, we have braved coming to Jerusalem. And it has been more amazing than either of us expected! Spending Christmas here has been a real joy, to say the least.

We arrived by bus to the central bus station around 1:00pm, where our bags were thourougly checked and we were asked by the police if we were carrying a gun before we could enter the station. We then struggled to get a taxi to take us to the 'Damascus Gate', one of the several gates that enter the 'Old City' of Jerusalem, where we wanted to stay. It was the first time on our trip of being DENIED a taxi. None of them wanted to take us there, and we still haven't figured out the reason. But, it was all in God's plan, and we ended up getting a taxi to the 'Jaffa Gate', finding accomodations at the Lutheran Hospice--newly renovated, beautiful room/bathroom, the best so far! And then as we were walking around trying to find a snack, we ran into Corrie and Wim, our new friends from Holland who were staying at the Shelter Hostel with us in Eilat last week! That was a God-send, as they knew of a variety of Christmas activities that we were able to participate in on Christmas Eve and day.

After eating a quick lunch at a nearby Lebanese cafe (where we were jipped---things are pretty expensive here in the Old City, and there are very few tourists we've found, which isn't great for the economy here!), we met Corrie and Wim and went to a local Baptist Church that had a group going to sing Christmas Carols at Manger Square in Bethlehem! About 40 people went, a very international group, including Americans, Dutch, South Africans, a Costa Rican, and others. We took a minivan into Bethlehem, passsing through a 'checkpoint', which was not a problem since it was Christmas Eve and they were loosening up for the holiday. At the checkpoint, Trevor got a kick out of the Israeli soldiers all decked out in his fatigues with his rifle and gear, wearing a NIKE knit cap. We got to manger square to find a demonstration going on protesting the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. Luckily it was a peaceful demonstration, although the presence of several ambulances on the scene was not very reassuring! Before caroling, we checked out the Church of the Nativity, built over the supposed place where Christ was born, and also the place where the Palestinian soldiers were held up last year. We were more interested in the more recent history than in the pomp and circumstance of kissing the rock where Christ was supposed to be born. They have done a nice job of cleaning up the place since last year's incident. It was strange to be in this place that is symbolic of two vastly different events.

Back on manger square...let us paint you a picture of it first: on one side is the Bethlehem Center for Peace (or something like that), the opposite side is a row of stores, including 'Checkers' the fast food chain from the U.S.! The third side was more buildings, atop of which were tents for various news stations doing their broadcasts. The last side was the Church of the Nativity. We stood right in front of Checkers to sing our carols. We were accompanied by a trumpet and guitar, and drew quite a crowd of children and street vendors as we sang. It was a very, very moving experience, however. Singing 'Joy to the World', especially the verse, 'No more let sin and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow, Far as the curse is found...' and looking out at the young Palestinian kids listening intently and realizing only the Lord is the one who can bring peace and take away sorrow was powerful. Then singing 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' and looking up realizing it was in the sky above where we were standing that the angels were actually singing was amazing. And the line 'Christ was born in Bethlehem' from that carol, and here we were!!! Alison spent the first few songs with wet eyes!

As we kept singing, all the news stations caught wind of it and made their way over to film us. Trevor got picked out of the crowd and was interviewed by CNN! It doesn't look like he made the cut, though, as we haven't heard from anyone about seeing Trevor on TV! We were really hoping he would make it! Since he didn't make it, here are a few funny things in the interview:

CNN: So, what statement are you making by being here? T: None. CNN: Where are you from? T: Chicago. CNN: So, you are on a pilgrimage? T: No. I'm a tourist. CNN: You know there's not many tourists here right now... T: So? CNN: what do you think about Arafat asking people not to celebrate in Manger Square? T: I wasn't aware of that. CNN: So why are you here? T: We are here to sing Christmas carols and celebrate the birth of Jesus, God's Son, born here in Bethlehem, and that He is the only way to the Father.

Those were the hightlights, since it didn't make it!

We ended caroling around 5:30pm and left Bethlehem by taxi. We crossed the checkpoint on foot and then caught a bus (yes, we rode a bus in Jerusalem, not something we planned on, but our entourage was fearless...)

Christmas Eve dinner was apples, pretzels, and cookies in our room! Then we went to Christmas Eve Service at 10:30pm at Christ Church, the first Protestant Church in Jerusalem, just a short distance from our accomodations. Let us just say, it was the MOST meaningful Christmas Eve service we have ever been too. The dynamic of being in Bethlehem a few hours earlier, and now being in Jerusalem, and the pastor speaking on 'Why Bethlehem?' and brought out a number of reasons why Bethlehem was chosen as the birthplace of Christ. One of the 4 reasons was that the name of the city means 'House of Bread' so that is where the 'Bread of Life' had to be born. (for the 3 other reason, ask us and we email them to you!) We enjoyed another service there on Christmas morning, and were touched again as we took communion and enjoyed singing songs in both english and Hebrew. It was another powerful time.

The rest of Christmas day was spent inside the Israel Museum. It had been pouring rain since we got here, so we decided to spend the day inside. In addition to tons of other exhibits, the museum houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. We enjoyed this exhibit most, as it explained the life of the Essenes living in Qumran who created and hid the scrolls in the 1st century A.D.

In the evening, we spent an hour in the pouring rain looking for a place to call our families, and finally found some pay phones that we could use. It was great to talk to everyone, and seemed like they were just next door! After that, we tromped all over the 'New City', outside the 'Old City' walls and found a great dinner place (after Alison refused to eat Christmas dinner at McDonalds, which was Trevor's suggestion...)

Those were our Christmas adventures here in Jerusalem. We pray that your Christmas was as meaningful as ours, wherever you celebrated!

We love you all! Alison and Trevor