The last two days have been jam-packed with religious, learning, and service opportunities. In attempt to get as much sleep as possible, I'll play the highlight reel.
Yesterday: A tour of the Old City by our guide Ibrahim, a Palestinian Christian with plenty of information about the history of the place, religion, and sites. We began the tour at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, an ELCJHL congregation in the Old City and joining us on the tour were six Palestinian Lutheran youth. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre marks the spot(s) in which Jesus was crucified and was buried, the tomb is now covered by an elaborate structure through which only a few can go at a time. Many "sites" in the Holy Land are places where Christians have gathered for centuries and millennia commemorating an act or happening in the Bible that may or may not be the actual spot; however, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has some pretty convincing evidence that this was indeed the actual spot.
While waiting in line for entrance to the area of the Western (or Wailing) Wall, the Israeli guards began checking for ID and passports. Scott and I walked through without issue, but our Palestinian friends were told "only tourists" can go in. Attempts to explain to the guards that these were our friends here to see holy sites as well were met without understanding and our friends were turned away from entering. Lisa asked earlier why people were just able to go in through the other side of the passageway (presumably an exit), and was told, "because they have weapons."
Scott and I walked back through that exit and the group continued our tour of the Old City, sans a trip to the Western Wall.

In the afternoon, we walked to West Jerusalem to the Israeli Committe Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) office. Maya, a courageous and vocal young Israeli (who spoke faster English than most people I have met), was our guide for the ICAHD tour. Using detailed maps, statistics, and figures, she gave us an unapologetic introduction into the policies of the state of Israel. While her perspective is certainly considered radical and fanatic within the Israeli public eye, especially considering she refused the army taking jail instead, she spoke with a background of understanding for the views of Israel and its citizens.
It is impossible to go over all of the information she gave us that afternoon, but here are some things to ponder:

• The United States government gives $3 billion to the Israeli military, unconditionally.
• Residents in East Jerusalem and residents in West Jerusalem each pay equal municipal taxes. Arabs in East Jerusalem make up 35% of the population of the municipality of Jerusalem. In 2009, 7.37% of that tax revenue was spent on East Jerusalem residents.
• West Jerusalem is filled with parks, trees, sidewalks, garbage cans, litter-free streets, and full stores. East Jerusalem has few sidewalks, no garbage system, limited sewer system
  
• In order to build in Jerusalem (adding-on to a home or new construction), you must have a permit for building. This permit is granted given there is a zoning plan for the area. The zoning plans for East Jerusalem were made decades ago and accounted only for the small villages that existed at the time, and have not since been updated. The government will not approve new zoning plans, even when put forth by independent, non-profit companies. Thus, for residents in East Jerusalem, it is nearly impossible to build, making for a crisis in housing as there is not enough space. Should any person or family build without that permit, this is considered illegal. As of now, there are 22,000 homes that are in this category. 6,000 of these have demolition orders on them. This means that at anytime, the IDF, police, and a Catepillar bulldozer (specially made for the task) can show up at your door, give you 15 minutes to collect your belongings, and raze the house.

We returned to our hotel and rested quickly before we headed to synagogue for Friday night Shabbat services. After our East Jerusalem cab drivers got us lost several times in West Jerusalem, we made it to the "modern" or "worldly" (as it was sometimes referred) Orthodox synagogue. We were met by Debbie, who gave us an overview of what to expect during the service and how to follow along. After the service (where we struggled to figure out where we were, but the members helped us along), we divided up and went to different homes for Shabbat meal, as a part of a ministry that that particular synagogue performs. Bill and I went to the home of Lisa and Ralph and their three children - one of whom was just about to complete his required military service, while another just entering. What an experience. The food was delicious and the conversation varied from school, to different sects of Judaism, travel, and career. Considerably absent from the talk; however, was the discussion of the situation with Palestinians. As close as we got to that was the surprised look on the faces of our hosts when we told them that we were staying in East Jerusalem. I truly enjoyed the experience and company of such kind and educated people. They brought us into their home as any other guest observing the holy day with them, guided us through unfamiliar parts, and made us comfortable and a part of the dinner. The day of rest is taken seriously in the Orthodox tradition, so our hosts accompanied us to a main street where we said our goodbyes and hailed a cab. We were dropped off at the end of our street in East Jerusalem and walked down the road to meet to foreboding characters standing outside of the alley to our hotel. With their arms crossed, Al and Scott looked like parents disappointed at their children breaking curfew - as it was 1:00 am when Bill and I came strolling up.


A little extra sleep was warranted in the morning and we headed for the Mount of Olives and the Lutheran World Federation at 9:00. There we met Mark Brown, the representative from the LWF for the Jerusalem area and got to work cleaning trash from the property. Joudeah (spelling I am sure is wrong), a Palestinian youth we met the day before joined us as well. In our several hours of cleaning we found:

• Thousands of scraps of paper
• Hundreds of trash bags
• Dozens of cigarrette butts
• Dozens of broken bottles & bottle caps
  
• Wires and hoses
• Socks & shoes
• Many exam gloves
  
• 4 dirty diapers
• 3 homemade hash pipes
• 1 door knob
• 1 XXX DVD

After cleaning up ourselves as best as possible after that mess, we toured the Church of the Ascension, climbed the tower (with the best view of the city), and walked into the Augusta Victoria Hospital. Built by Kaiser Willhelm in the early 20th century, it was initially a place for German pilgrims to find themselves when visiting the Holy Land (and to encourage visits). The property has changed hands, at one time used by the British, another by the Red Cross for Palestinian refugees. Now owned and operated by LWF, Augusta Victoria is the only place for Palestinian children to go for dialysis, and houses specialties in oncology, nephrology, and gastroenterology.

In the afternoon, we walked down the Mount of Olives, visiting several churches along the way. The Church of Pater Noster contains the cave where Jesus is believed to have spoken to his disciples, and has the Lord's Prayer written in tile around the property in over 100 languages. The road ends at the Church of All Nations and Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was arrested.

This exhausting morning and walk was finished with some Taybeh beer or pop at the Austrian Hospice in the Old City, a peaceful refuge which really reminded me of the gardens in Europe.

Bishop Younan met us at our hotel when we returned and we engaged in conversation about the Lutheran church in the Holy Land. Dinner, candy, blog/FB updating, games, and bracelet making followed - and now the favorite - sleep.

So I guess what was meant to be a highlight reel, is quite the overview. But it only touches the surface of what we DID, and hopefully I can gather my thoughts into a cohesive point to express how it FELT. What is experience without reflection?