Sunday

am used to being in East Jerusalem now, and really am beginning to know my way around the city. I love this city, I love the culture, the cuisine, the atmosphere... It is unlike any other. The indescribable blend of religion and tradition and people is astonishing. Two peoples, two faiths, two entirely different belief systems exist side by side and vie for dominion of this fascinating country. It is an arid, dry, rocky place filled with passionate people who freely share their beliefs with anyone and everyone willing to listen. There is no such thing as being politically correct in Israel. In their own regard, every man's opinion is politically correct. I am extremely careful about what I share with others, but for the Israeli citizen, they freely share their views and opinion of God, Christianity, America... All are very welcoming and quick to ask where I am from, and then welcome me more. I am continually amazed that such different religions can live in such close proximity to one another without constant war 24/7. I have felt safe my entire trip, up until a few fleeting moments yesterday. I was totally safe, but made me think "whoa, I'm in Israel now."

I was going to the Western Wall with Stephania. We left the house around 9AM, like any normal day here in East Jerusalem. When we had reached the Damascus Gate, we were met my a an array of soldiers and police officers. We were waved through the throng because we were obviously not Arab, Palestinian, or Jewish. We continued to walk and about 10 minutes later at the end of the Via Dolorosa was another row of soldiers, UN peace keepers, and police. No Arabs or Palestinians were allowed to go through the blockade. Row after row after row, we finally made it to the Wall. It was crazy seeing that many people in uniform quelling the crowds of people flocking down the narrow streets of the Old City. After Stephania visited the Temple Mount and I went to the Wall to pray, we met again and began to journey home, again met by rows of soldiers and officers. This time though, multiple people had been hit by rocks hurled from atop the roofs of the houses in the Arab Quarter through which we were walking. Stephania wanted to stand and take pictures, but I really didn't want to be in a place where I could easily be hit from above. In certain parts of the alleys, sheets of tin shield passersby from the glaring sun and occasional rainfall. The area where we stopped to take pictures was unprotected from any stones, and through broken English it was explained that it would be in our best interest to keep moving. As we continued to walk, multiple men who had been hit in the head with rocks were being treated on the spot by soldiers. None of the injuries were very serious, but it was a reminder for me that I need to be diligent in maintaining my guard.
The reason for all the soldiers was Purim. Because it is a holiday, and therefore close to the heart of the Jewish people, the Muslims tried to make it as difficult as possible for the Jews to get to the Wall to pray. According to an article I read later on during the day, some Palestinians had barricaded the door of a mosque near the Temple Mount and had been hurling objects at visitors and tourists. Several people were arrested for throwing stones, but other than that, it was a brief bump in the road.

I would love if you continued to pray for my physical safety, as well as every aspect of my being here:

• relationships with the other staff,
• having the heart of a servant,
• continuing to passionately seek after God,
• effective communication to everyone I come into contact with,
• opportunities to share the love of Jesus,
• diligence to work on this blog ;)

Later on that night our team hosted Georgian Banov's group again for one last meeting. We arrived at the church at 9:30 and didn't leave until 1:15AM! It was another anointed, awesome time and as always, a lot of fun.