Contrasts

Sarah, Adele and Joshua Ralston

Yesterday I ventured into Ramallah to visit good friends, Sarah (Miller) and Joshua Ralston and their daughter Adele. Navigating checkpoints, horrific traffic in Jerusalem, and driving without any kind of map or GPS was an engaging adventure. Fortunately, nothing in this region is that far apart, geographically speaking that is. And when trying to find Ramallah, all you do is head north until you see a security wall. 

Sarah and Joshua have been in this part of the world for well over a year for Sarah’s position advocating for justice, empowerment, and services for the Palestinians with CARE International, thus providing Joshua a great opportunity to write his doctoral dissertation. They decamp for the US by year’s end for Joshua’s new position as a theology professor at Union Seminary in Virginia. It was a bit disorienting for all of us to see one another here in the Middle East as we have always had a West Coast relationship. Both of them served on staff (Sarah as an intern and Joshua as College Director) at First Pres nearly a decade ago. They come back often to visit, Joshua more so than Sarah, due to our sponsorship of Joshua for ordination in the PC(USA). But as mind-bending as it might be to see friends here in the West Bank, that cannot even begin to match the contrasts I’ve experienced in the past 36 hours.

First - LANGUAGES
I was astonished when eighth grader Michael, Cloudette’s nephew, spontaneously translated my English into Arabic for his cousins. The Ralston's two-year old Adele speaks fluent Arabic which blows me -  and everyone else who meets her - away. All the Palestinian kids I’ve met study Arabic, English and either German or French beginning in first grade! In the US, most kids don’t start even one foreign language until middle school. First thing Iyad and Cloudette’s children wanted to know was how many languages I spoke. A big moment of shame because biblical Hebrew and Greek don't count and my college French is very, very rusty.

Mara

And another surprise: FEMINISM, PALESTINIAN STYLE
As soon as I got to Ramallah, Sarah mentioned that she needed to go to Jericho for a road rally of sorts. So off we went to watch Marah Zahalka, a Palestinian women from Jenin who grew up in a refuge camp. She taught herself how to drive at 12 years old while watching her mother give driving lessons. Now 20, Marah is one of only a few women in the West Bank who races cars. In a makeshift arena filled with hyped-up testosterone-driven men, Marah placed in the top ten. I found it amusing that a news reporter cornered us for an interview because she was surprised see foreigners at the race. Frankly, I was more astonished that we were among only a handful of women watching the races in a crowd of thousands of men. Let me just say that is a lot of male energy! Sarah told me that CARE was sponsoring Marah’s car as a symbol for women’s empowerment. In this patriarchal culture, this was one unusual and unexpected experience! Check out the story about this “speed sister” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNMXtAq5jX0

And if that wasn’t enough, today we went to Oktoberfest in the Palestinian town of Taybeh. Yes, you read that correctly.  Oktoberfest in the West Bank. I must admit that I never expected to see a German beer festival in this predominately Muslim region. But since Taybeh is the only 100% Christian village in the Palestinian Territories, it stands to reason that only a non-muslim locale like this one could and would host the only brewery in all of Palestine.  

donkey rides

The festival was fun. I saw the Palestinian book-mobile, a traveling library for kids who don’t have much access to books. Adele had her face painted as you might have noticed in the photo above. We ate great street food and I bought good Palestinian olive oil. There was a family friendly parade featuring clowns and human butterflies. And for those 
of you who traveled on our last pilgrimage, there were “donker” rides. This was not a drunken brawl by any description but good Christian fun! Anyone think Oktoberfest might be in First Pres' future?

But as great as it was, it was sobering for me. This little community of 1,400 people is facing huge challenges. They have no economy to speak of, water is available only two days a week (a hardship if you run a brewery), and most of its young people are emigrating for hope of a better life. The question facing this vulnerable village is will there be a next generation to carry on its tradition and witness. The village boasts three active churches,  Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Melkite, as well as the ruins of a 5th century Byzantine church that has the most beautiful stone baptismal font I’ve ever seen! Their claim to fame is that they are the biblical town of Ephraim where Jesus and his disciples went for respite after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town call Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with his disciples.  (John 11:54)

In this place of ancient retreat and rest, I’m praying that the Lord will continue to support and sustain this small but salient Christian outpost. 

me with Adele!