Can't we all just get along?
Last night we spent the night in Bethlehem. We stayed with friends right across from Rachel’s tomb (pronounced Rah-hell) and the Wall. It was a little hard being there. People there feel trapped and it comes out in their conversations and attitudes. We attended an Arab church service in the morning. The message was one of hope out of hopelessness and peace out of hardship. At the end, there was a prayer for peace for the region. The service was spoken completely in Arabic. They had headphones so we could listen to a live interpretation of the message. The people were extremely nice. We were welcomed and blessed by half of the congregation before we could leave. Then we ate some of the best fried chicken I have ever had. Mmmmm. Fried chicken.
Later that night, back in Jerusalem, we went to a Messianic Jewish service. It was a much more upbeat service. There was true joy there and love. But then, they had a song about reconciliation and peace. It struck me how most people here all want the same thing. Peace. The problems that most people have is with bureaucracy and corruption, not with people.
Last night, after the service, we sat around drinking coffee at a local coffee shop right in the heart of Jerusalem. It hit me how fortunate I am to be where I am. We had wonderful conversation about plans for the future and what we want to do with the rest of our lives. I am in good company. Nobody else knows either.
I am going to try to write this next part without bragging. Hmm. Okay. Um. Well.... Okay, I can’t. I cooked the most fabulous dinner the other night. It was awesome. I bought four chickens from a butcher in the old city (yeah, four there was like 10 of us). I chopped of the neck and pulled out the guts that the butcher missed. I arranged them on two separate pans (one for each oven) with chopped carrots, onions, and potatoes. I rubbed down the chickens with butter oil and garlic and fresh rosemary under the skin (with salt and pepper, of course). I cooked them breast up, really hot (200 C, whatever that means) and then flipped them over, added a cup of water to each pan, and turned the heat down (130 C, whatever that means). I cooked them for about three hours, the meat was falling off the bone. I also made some rice. I learned a new technique from one of the staff’s wives. You fry the raw rice in oil with garlic for about 10 minutes stirring the whole time until it chunks together. Then you add water and cook regularly. I mean, it was good. Okay, it was quite simple but I was really happy with it. Especially since the spaghetti sauce that I cooked the night before which was almost completely inedible.
Oh, and I got shoes yesterday. Hallelujah.
Later that night, back in Jerusalem, we went to a Messianic Jewish service. It was a much more upbeat service. There was true joy there and love. But then, they had a song about reconciliation and peace. It struck me how most people here all want the same thing. Peace. The problems that most people have is with bureaucracy and corruption, not with people.
Last night, after the service, we sat around drinking coffee at a local coffee shop right in the heart of Jerusalem. It hit me how fortunate I am to be where I am. We had wonderful conversation about plans for the future and what we want to do with the rest of our lives. I am in good company. Nobody else knows either.
I am going to try to write this next part without bragging. Hmm. Okay. Um. Well.... Okay, I can’t. I cooked the most fabulous dinner the other night. It was awesome. I bought four chickens from a butcher in the old city (yeah, four there was like 10 of us). I chopped of the neck and pulled out the guts that the butcher missed. I arranged them on two separate pans (one for each oven) with chopped carrots, onions, and potatoes. I rubbed down the chickens with butter oil and garlic and fresh rosemary under the skin (with salt and pepper, of course). I cooked them breast up, really hot (200 C, whatever that means) and then flipped them over, added a cup of water to each pan, and turned the heat down (130 C, whatever that means). I cooked them for about three hours, the meat was falling off the bone. I also made some rice. I learned a new technique from one of the staff’s wives. You fry the raw rice in oil with garlic for about 10 minutes stirring the whole time until it chunks together. Then you add water and cook regularly. I mean, it was good. Okay, it was quite simple but I was really happy with it. Especially since the spaghetti sauce that I cooked the night before which was almost completely inedible.
Oh, and I got shoes yesterday. Hallelujah.
posted by Michael at 6:25 PM
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