Comments for West Bank and Israel Travel Log: Purposes at http://juliamobrien.net , comment 1 to 8 out of 8 comments http://juliamobrien.net Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:15:42 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://juliamobrien.net/index.php/blog/west-bank-and-israel-travel-log-purposes.html#comment-270 I am so glad the seminary has taken this trip to the Holy Land. It brings back memories of the cross cultural I had to plan and take alone to Israel and the West Bank/Palestine in 2003. My class was supposed to go there but the trip had to be canceled due to the political situation. I went first to the Holy Sites (which sustained me through the rest) and then connected up with Christian Peacemaker Teams to go into Bethlehem and Hebron in the West Bank. (While in Jerusalem, I stayed in a hostel in the Muslim quarter and felt utterly safe at all times.) The wall, at that time, was mostly still in the planning. To see the pictures in your next post reminds me of the incredibly fragmented lives everyone lives in this part of the world. Is it a one-sided picture? Probably yes. But it is the side we rarely see or hear about in the US. In spite of the deep pain and conflict, I came away with a powerful sense of God's presence in the people -- Jews, Palestinians, Arabs, Israelis, ex-patriots, and all who simply will not stop working together for peace. That spirit is real and that spirit is what I chose to cling to. :) Must be God! - Lyn Barrett Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:26:47 +0100 http://juliamobrien.net/index.php/blog/west-bank-and-israel-travel-log-purposes.html#comment-268 woot! thank you for posting your thoughts, it's been a joy to read thus far! both your posts and the comments that follow. really eye-opening. - Luke Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:39:54 +0100 http://juliamobrien.net/index.php/blog/west-bank-and-israel-travel-log-purposes.html#comment-267 Peace is a never ending quest - one that we all should be engaged in whole-heartedly. Sister Paulette of CPT (Hebron visit) said something that I felt was a good reminder. In the midst of the tragedies of the Israeli-Palestinian issue, God is greiving for all those lost, oppressed, hurt, and hopeful. Truth is somewhere in the middle and our job is to help find the middle and promote a vocabulary for peace that we can all speak, feel, and live. The trip was an awesome, eye-opening experience, and one that I will never forget. Yet the journey of how we can be active participants in this journey to peace is just beginning. May God open our eyes and help us find the way to be lights, sign-posts, and advocate of the peace process for all of God's children. Like Lynn, I greatly appreciate and thank Anabel and Julia for their wonderful guidance during this trip, and for my seminarian family that shared this part of the journey with me. - Brenda Marin Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:53:54 +0100 http://juliamobrien.net/index.php/blog/west-bank-and-israel-travel-log-purposes.html#comment-265 Thank you, Karen, for your comments. I have also shed tear. I have been feeling very "empty" since our return and a fellow seminarian identified that feeling. I realized on Sunday during church that the feelings are real and not imagined. He said sometimes we feel as if our soul is still "back there." That's how I feel--like my soul has not caught up with me. You are right--not understanding each other equals hatred. We must find a higher and better way to act--intentional love. Paul said to the Corinthians, "I will show you a better way." I want to remember that peace looks different to people who are walled in. I also want to remind myself of the high calling we are called to answer. - Lynn Wetzel Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:45:12 +0100 http://juliamobrien.net/index.php/blog/west-bank-and-israel-travel-log-purposes.html#comment-264 Julia and fellow-travellers: I find myself weeping as I relive my three sojourns in Israel/Palestine via your reflections. I yearn to sit with people there again - Jews, Christians and Muslims, Arabs, Israelis, Palestinians, and all the configurations of identities. I don't think we need to worry about one-sided exposure, since that's not even possible. I took an independent trip there in 2005, to fulfill LTS's cross cultural requirement. I was impressed with how little contact the Israelis and Palestinians have with each other - how hard it is for them to respect each others passion for the land. (Common for polarized people.) The schools and programs where many identities live and learn together are very hopeful. May we strive to break down barriers in our own lives by reaching out to "the other" in sincere love. As one Palestinian Christian said: Pray not for Arab or Jew, for Palestinian or Israeli. But pray rather for ourselves that we might not divide them in our prayers but keep them both together in our hearts. - Karen Sensenig Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:46:40 +0100 http://juliamobrien.net/index.php/blog/west-bank-and-israel-travel-log-purposes.html#comment-263 I, too, have been receiving comments and "glances" telling me our experience was one-sided. I must also agree with Chris that I saw and felt much blending. Julia, I appreciate your overview. Reality stood boldly in front of our faces--and we walked on. My appreciation for the experiences we encountered becomes greater each day as I review pictures, tell stories, shed tears and smile smiles. My heart and mind are still "there," and pieces of me will always be "there." Our experience does not stop now that we are home. I am sure each of us are, and will be, reading, talking, learning, and questioning. I am different--Now I must discern HOW and WHY I am different and what God wants me to do with this. Thanks Julia, Anabel, and my second-year family!!! - Lynn Wetzel Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:04:15 +0100 http://juliamobrien.net/index.php/blog/west-bank-and-israel-travel-log-purposes.html#comment-262 Thank you, Julia. For those of us who can't go, it's great to get a first-hand report. - Nancy Payne Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:56:39 +0100 http://juliamobrien.net/index.php/blog/west-bank-and-israel-travel-log-purposes.html#comment-261 Can't wait to read your observations. As one of the trip's participants, I also appreciate your brief overview of our trip. Before the trip, during it, and even in the few days after I've met responses similar to "well, it looks like you are only getting one side of the conflict." Truth is, as we saw and heard, there are not only two sides. There are several. There is much blend. And our task was not to compare and contrast the "Palestinian" versus "Israeli" position. As if a homogeneous "Israeli" position or homogeneous "Palestinian" position even exists. Your overview helps define what we were there to do. It gives an indication of why we stayed where we did, why we interviewed who we did, and how we did our best to involve a variety of voices - both before our trip and during. - Chris Eden Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:36:03 +0100