When I was 15 years old, I got the opportunity of a lifetime. I was part of a group of young people form my conference to get to travel halfway across the world and study the three Abrahamic religions. Not only did we get a better understanding of these religions, but we got to interact with people from a different culture. This was also the first time that I have been face to face with extreme poverty. I grew up in a middle class family, or at least I thought I did because we never went without and my mother always made sure that we had plenty to eat and a place to live. I now know that sometimes we would only have 5 or 10 dollars in the bank and that it was my mother that went without.
But I digress, I had never come face to face with poverty like I saw when I was in Bethlehem . For me before I went it was a place I had read about, it was the birthplace of Jesus. That was pretty much all I knew about it. We were required to read a book about the plight of a first hand account by Elias Chacour. This was my first understanding of the conflict in modern day Palestine. I began to understand that things are not necessarily black and white in life.
Two summers ago I got to return to Palestine/Israel as part of my seminary work. Granted it wasn’t what I hoped it would be, but I once again was confronted with issues that had been weighing on my heart since I was 15. If you were to have a discussion with me about my time in Israel/Palestine I would tell you of the story of the political rally that we stumbled across, or the way we were treated by the soldiers when they found out who we were and where we were staying. Or of the hospitality of the people that we came in contact with. The children at the High school that we visited and their view of how just because the person they are sitting next to is Muslim or Christian they are all Palestinians and they want peace.
These were just some of the stories that I heard on my first visit there. On my second visit, we had some interaction with the people and discussed the current situation. The gentleman who is a Muslim refugee who is working for peace in the area. The doctor who wants peace, but feels that unless the US supports the Palestinians there will never be peace.
I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about what I want to do when I get out of seminary. I love being a pastor and I love preaching, but I also am feeling compelled to apply for the Palestine Summer Exchange. I know that everyone is expecting me to finish my commissioning paper work in February, and I really do want to be commissioned, but I feel like I am being called to take part in this program. If I can afford it that is. I feel that this program would help me with my journey of faith and help with my ministry.
There are many things that excite me about this program. I would be staying with a host family in Bethlehem and working with students helping them with their English or working at the Bethlehem Peace Center. I would be learning Arabic and getting to see places that I still have not seen in Israel/Palestine. I would also betaking classes on Islam, Peaceful Justice, and The politics of the area. I think it will be a great opportunity for me. It is only three months, but I think that it will be three months that will form me even more.
When I think about this opportunity I get excited because I know that there are not many opportunities like this and if I am accepted into the program I will be volunteering in a place that I fell in love with when I was 15.
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