On Christmas

This evening, I can genuinely say I was glad to have been here for Christmas this year. This may seem like an obvious conclusion, but leading up to this day, even 24 hours ago, I wasn't sure this would be the case. But my thought process got a re-tuning, and I'm not sure I'll be able to articulate everything, but I have to try. Last night, as we walked into part of a carol sing at Christ Church in the Old City, those already present were singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem." While we were finding our seats, we sang the next-to-last verse, the words of which helped me frame my thoughts then and now. (Please forgive me the length of this post.)

How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.

When people back home ask me "What is Christmas like where you are?" the first thing I want to say is "It's quiet. Very quiet." With just a 2% Christian population in the country, I guess this should not have caught me by surprise, but it did and broad-side. Today was in many respects, "just another day" in Jerusalem. Oh, it was Shabbat, so there were fewer cars driving and most of the grocery stores and restaurants were closed, but traffic will be back and the places of business will be open again after sundown. One has to look very hard to find any hint of a Christmas decoration in any part of town. It was a much busier day 5 miles south of here in the no-longer-so-little town of Bethlehem, but even there, the day was occasionally trumped by those taking advantage of the crowds for the purpose of political posturing. It didn't "feel like" Christmas. At all. How can this be, as we are (metaphorically speaking) in the shadow of the stable?

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.

Two days ago, we took our kids to Bethlehem, not really sure of what we would encounter there, or even what our purpose should be. I got lost driving, but suddenly, after making a spontaneous right turn (both directionally and in terms of correctness), we were in Manger Square. So we went to the church there, which was surprisingly not busy at all on December 23, and we had a really good talk with our boys about the Christmas story. It strikes me now that the roles have reversed somewhat when it comes to the events surrounding Christmas, at least in terms of activity. Today, Bethlehem was all a buzz and Jerusalem not so much. Upon the visit of the Magi (not exactly the same time as the events of Luke 2, but remembered at Christmastime today), Bethlehem was quiet and all Jerusalem was disturbed at the news (probably because Herod was disturbed). Without the distractions of shopping sales, the TV specials, and the decorations, Christmas was boiled down once again to its very core. Jesus, while "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness" (Phil. 2:6-7). The ultimate result for us: life now and forever reconciled to God! The blessings of heaven indeed.

No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin...

Still, something was keeping me from joy. While Michelle was with the kids on Christmas Eve at the rehearsal for the Christmas pageant, I was doing some grocery shopping in the open air market (more truthfully, I needed some 'wander time'). On my way back, very near the church building, the police had a road I wanted to walk roped off. What was this about? After a few minutes and an explanation offered to me in broken English, I discovered that a suspicious item had been discovered nearby. The police were taking care of it. It soon occurred to me that 'taking care of it' was going to involve a detonation device. Honestly, my initial reaction was, "Cool!" After the bag was 'taken care of' with a loud bang (it turned out to be just an old pack filled with trash that someone had discarded near, but not in, a dumpster), the sound reminded me of the ongoing tension that makes events like this less joke and more everyday reality here. I already mentioned the carol sing at Christ Church; the day before, there was a memorial service there for Kristine Luken, the American who was stabbed to death one week ago today (we did not know her, and we still feel safe here, but please pray for her family and friends). These recent events turned my thoughts once again to the Christmas story. What was it that the angels said? "Peace on earth; goodwill toward men" (or "toward men of goodwill," depending on your translation). What was it that Isaiah said He would be called? "Prince of Peace," among other things. Really? Here? It is easy at this point to see the despair Longfellow saw as he wrote the penultimate stanza in his poem-now-turned-song "Christmas Bells." But his poem had one more verse, and this story has at least one more part as well...

Where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in.

Energized this morning by thoughtful wishes and actions of good friends, but still turning all this over in my mind, we came to corporate worship this morning, with an angel and a sheep costume for the pageant. Perhaps you think that a Christmas pageant here would have better costumes or would be less chaotic than such things elsewhere. You would be wrong on both counts. This is in no way a reflection on the effort, skill, or patience of the wonderful people who organized it--as anyone who has taken such a thing on can attest. Nevertheless, there was stage-fright, tears, and a meltdown (not by our kids), but it in no way detracted from the beautiful simplicity of the story and its telling. During worship, stories were heard of encounters with not-yet-believers in Jerusalem and Bethlehem both, and I realized that there are people here who are hungry for God. Perhaps they aren't even sure of what they are looking for, but they are curious about Christ! And that's the idea. Christ was born in the relative quiet (minus the angel chorus to the shepherds) of a stable in Bethlehem, but the message was one of deep transformation and salvation just as it is today. And on our walk home, I heard the Christmas bells pealing loud and deep. Even in the face of silence, apathy, and darkness Christ is on the throne: the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and yes, the Prince of Shalom--which He is bringing about in His time.

O Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray.

Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell.

O come to us, abide with us our Lord, Emmanuel.

Hezekiah's Tunnel

Well, as Michelle told you, Caleb and I went to "City of David" today to go ahead and try Hezekiah's Tunnel. If you're curious as to what that is, it's a 2700 year old engineering masterpiece that Hezekiah's men undertook to get the water from the Gihon spring (Jerusalem's primary water source, but outside the main city walls and vulnerable) to a pool lower in elevation, but inside the city wall. For more information, check out 2 Chronicles 32 (especially v. 30) and this web page.

Taking Caleb into the tunnel was something I had wanted to do since we've been here, but I was never quite sure how he'd feel about a 1/3 mile walk through a narrow, dark (except for flashlights) tunnel with (cold) water running ankle to knee deep. I was also nervous because (as those who have been there can attest) it is a 1-way deal. Once you've started, you're in it for the long haul. When the time came, however, he just got right down in there like nobody's business, and we had a great time. Nobody was behind us (as far as we could hear, which, if you've been there, is actually quite far), and only a small group of noisy boys was ahead of us, so we could move at our own pace. We noticed the cavities for lamps in the tunnel as well as the chisel marks in the walls. Also, in my previous treks through the tunnel, I had never paused long enough to consider the exact place where the two sets of tunnel diggers met, but together, we noticed a definite place where the direction of hewing quite abruptly and obviously changes, so I learned a new thing, too. At one point, Caleb even wanted to turn off his light (and mine!) for a few seconds to see how dark it would get (answer: completely dark!). It was pretty cool! For all you archaeology buffs, the third picture is of a structure that Eilat Mazar (the excavator here) believes to be the remains of David's Palace. The picture doesn't do it justice, but if she is correct, this is a find of enormous importance.

Caleb in Hezekiah's Tunnel. It's tricky because he's smiling in the dark until the camera flashes! Still...not bad.

Today, the tunnel empties into a pool dating to the time of the Crusaders, but in the 2nd Temple Period, the water system emptied into this, known as the Pool of Siloam (John 9).

If E. Mazar is correct, this is part of what remains of David's Palace (2 Sam 5:11, or "House of Cedar" in 2 Sam 7:2).

You Know You've Been in Israel for a While When...

... you walk into the living room to see your 3-year-old playing with his toy cash register. He says to you, "Mommy, I want you to buy something from my store." "Okay," you respond, grabbing a toy to buy. "How much does this cost?" you ask. Josiah responds with, "20 shekels." :)

Tim took Caleb to David's City this morning to walk through Hezekiah's tunnel! He just called me and said they got through, and Caleb did GREAT. He loved it. I was afraid he would be scared because it's pitch black inside (they took flashlights), and the tunnel has about a foot of water in it. But Tim said they had a very good time together and they're glad they did it.

Tim is Home!

Whew! Tim made it home safely last night, and we are so happy to have him back. Please forgive my last post; I think I had a rough day with Josiah and was a bit hard on him in the blog. The following days were much better. Thank you for your prayers! We have had an amazing day. I declared it a "teacher in-service day" because normally it would be a school day, but we all just needed time together to play. Tim and Caleb went out a couple of times while Josiah and Abby and I stayed home together. Tim also spent a lot of time playing with the kids here, and it was so refreshing.

I wanted to post about our Hanukkah experience with our neighbor before Tim left. Our dear neighbor across the hall invited our family over for traditional Hanukkah snacks, songs, and the lighting of the candles. We had a delightful time!

This is Ruth Joy. She is a sweetheart and a wonderful neighbor!

Here, Ruth Joy is showing Caleb the different Hebrew characters on the dreidel. If you purchase a dreidel set (Hanukkah game) in the U.S., the 4 characters stand for "A Great Miracle Happened There." The dreidels that are made here in Israel have a different 4th character because the last word is here ("A Great Miracle Happened Here.") Isn't that cool?!

Ready to light the Hanukkah menorah!

There were several musical instrument toys out for the kids to play with.

Tim and Abby

Josiah and Caleb eating their Hanukkah snacks

The following morning we put up the little Christmas tree we found in a closet here. The lights didn't work, but that's okay. We've seen very few holiday decorations here in Jerusalem. There were some Hanukkah menorahs up in windows, plazas, and even on top of taxis; but Christmas isn't really celebrated here, so there are no Christmas trees, lights, or other decorations. We are celebrating in our own way and are even enjoying not having the hype and busyness that often comes along with the holiday season.Later the same day, we took the kids out to McDonald's for milkshakes because they earned their 50 tokens for getting along with each other over the previous two weeks. :) (Yes, it was December 3, and we were out eating ice cream in short sleeves! As of yesterday, it finally feels like winter, with cold winds and temperatures in the low 50's during the day, and low 40's at night!) Thank you for praying for the relationship between Josiah and Caleb. They have been getting along better with each other and sometimes even enjoy playing together! :)

We look forward to our last month here as we learn and explore together as a family. Tim is hoping to post soon about his amazing week in Egypt. Thanks again for your continued prayers for health, safety, and for God's provision. We are learning so much and look forward to returning in less than a month to share what God has done in our lives here.

Update/prayer concerns

I just wanted to let everyone know we are back online! It only lasted a couple of days. The company made an error and it's still not resolved as far as I know, but they're leaving us alone now. However, we are having problems with our laptop chargers now. One quick working, and the other seems to be giving us trouble, too. If we lose both chargers, we will have no computer access. Thank you for your prayers! We want to be able to stay connected with everyone, play DVD's for our kids, and load our pictures onto our laptops so we can reload our memory cards. :)

This has been an extremely difficult week for me with Tim gone in Egypt, but God has given me so much grace to handle everything. Josiah has been a HANDFUL. He is in a very difficult stage right now. Those of you who remember his relationship with baby Abigail - you know how much he adored her for the first several months of her life. Lately he has been picking on her - hitting, pushing, name-calling, etc. It hurts me to see him act that way toward her. He's also not getting along with Caleb a lot of the time. He's been having frequent potty accidents and is defiant and often disrespectful to me. Whenever I praise him for doing something good, he wants to do the opposite. I have been praying that the Lord will show me how to love him in his own love language, in a way that he will feel loved and accepted. He desperately needs one-on-one time, which he will get when Daddy returns. Please keep him in your prayers, and pray for wisdom for us as we seek to love, encourage, and discipline him appropriately.

When I have more time, I will post some pictures and give you another update. We love hearing from you and pray you are enjoying this amazing season, not losing sight of the One who created it.

No Internet

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let you know that our internet is down, and I'm not sure how long it will take to get it back up and running. The internet company is claiming we haven't paid the bills, but we have. Please pray we get this taken care of soon! We hiked over to a friend's house to post a quick blog and let everyone know.

Tim made it safely to Egypt, but I have no communication with him until he returns on Saturday. My heart aches for him, but the kids are doing well. We praise God for his constant protection and provision and trust Him to help us all through this week!

Thanks for your prayers!

Fire

Just a quick post to let you know that the fire in northern Israel, while serious, is not near us at all. Still, we appreciate your thoughts and prayers for those affected by it and involved in the effort to put it out.