We are leaving Hebron tonight and I'm not sure if I will have internet access for a couple of days. Tomorrow we go to Tuwani (where the action was on Monday) and it is possible they will ask us to do another walk to Tuba.

I will post if I have access, otherwise, it will be a couple of days before another update. We will be in Jerusalem by Saturday night.

I feel greedy for asking, but please continue to pray. The team is getting tired!

I have to say again, I am so grateful for all of your love and support. It has been such a blessing to read your blog comments, your facebook comments, and your emails. I am grateful to everyone who contributed financially so that I could have this experience. I am grateful for the ways you have encouraged and supported me--from praying with me over Skype, to loaning me your backpack, your ipod, your camping towel, and your long-sleeved clothes! I even have a friend who changed her facebook picture to be a picture of the two of us--she is doing it as a sort of "vigil" while we are gone. Much love to my friends and family!

The truth is...

It is Wednesday morning here. We left Denver 10 days ago and, the truth is, I am ready to be home. I am ready for flush toilets, showers, a/c, clean clothes, and my husband. I am tired of walking, falafel, and sleeping on a mattress on the floor. The truth is, I am tired of hearing sad and painful things. I can FEEL the stories in my body--my body is carrying them and I think it is full.

I am tired of occupation. I am tired of barbed wire and checkpoints and soldiers and 10-year-old Jewish boys who call our Palestinian tour guides "bastards." I am tired of hearing about men who are arrested for no reason. Yesterday, we saw nearly 1000 children carrying buckets to the soup kitchen where they receive a bucket of soup for their family. We met a mother who can't send her children outside in the front yard because settlers will throw bricks. I am tired, tired, tired.

And the truth is, I am a wimp. I have only been here 10 days and I am tired. I am full. And it humbles me. I don't know how people live like this day after day and year after year. I don't know how they handle the fear and anxiety and the feeling like you might cry at any moment. They are amazing. They are brave. They are resilient. They are the REAL peacemakers. I am just tired...

Palestinian Children Are My Heroes

I'm not sure how to begin today's post. There really are no words.

We arrived in Tuwani around 9AM. There is a full-time CPT team that lives in Tuwani and they had been asked by local Palestinians to join the walk to Tuba (where the school is).

I ended up going with Joy, one of the full-time staff, up to one of the hills where we could videotape the walkers and call the media if necessary. We had a clear view of the road the children/internationals would be walking and it was our job to call the CPT staff when we saw military and/or settlers. (We saw both)

We were there about 30 minutes before the walkers came into view and what I saw was completely different than what I had imagined. In my mind, I had pictured big, brave internationals shepherding small, frightened children on the road. I imagined that walkers would try to be as indiscreet as possible.

Joy and I actually heard the walkers before we saw them. There were over 60 children walking and almost 20 internationals. The children were whistling, cheering, banging drums, and carrying flags. It was unbelievable.

Their teachers were walking with them and all were chanting in Arabic. I didn't understand what they were saying, but the message was clear.

They were boldly proclaiming that they have the right to walk to school. They were announcing that, despite the fact that the army can arrest their fathers and brothers and the settlers can beat them with baseball bats, they refuse to be afraid. They refuse to be violent. I stood at the top of the hill and watched the bravest people I have ever seen. And I wept.

Palestinian Children Are My Heroes

We only have a few minutes before our afternoon tour of Hebron but I wanted to post and let everyone know that we returned safely. All went well and I will DEFINITELY post more later.

Thanks for rallying! =)

It's Time to Rally: Please Send Prayers to Tuwani

I am trying to breathe. I am trying to breathe. Tomorrow is our first action and I am a disaster. I am trying to breathe.

We will get leave Hebron at 7:15 tomorrow morning and take a taxi to Tuwani. At 9:00 AM we will walk Palestinian children to their summer school classes.

The road they have taken in the past has been completely taken over by Israeli settlers. Palestinians are too scared to take the main road so they travel the rockier, hillier, longer route to their summer school classes.

We have been prepped for possible settler attacks and/or arrest by Israeli soldiers for being in a restricted area. There will be 15-20 of us internationals and, hopefully, our presence will prevent any violence being done to the Palestinian children. I feel the need to vomit when I think about witnessing violence against children...

Please, please, please send your prayers this way. We know you all are powerful pray-ers!

We have internet access in Hebron where we are staying so I will email/post immediately when we have safely returned.

Delegation: Day 3

I took this picture last night when we were touring the refugee camp in Bethlehem. I took 3 pictures hoping I could get the boy to look up, but he was too busy with his ice cream! =)

I don't feel like posting much today but I wanted to assure everyone that we are fine.

We went to Tent of Nations this morning and heard AMAZING stories from Palestinian brothers. I highly encourage you to check out their website.

This afternoon we went to AIC in Bethlehem. AIC stands for "Alternative Information Centre," an organization made up of both Israelis and Palestinians that offers an alternative approach/analysis to what is portrayed in the media.

Tomorrow we will get a tour of the wall and then tomorrow evening we head to Hebron.

Delegation: Day 2

My head is spinning. It has been an intense day!

We started this morning with a trip to the Sabeel office. Sabeel is an Arabic word that means "The Way" and is an ecumenical grassroots movement. It was founded by Naim Ateek, an Anglican priest in Jerusalem who was displaced from his home when Israel became a State.

Ateek is a Palestinian Christian who wrote a Palestinian Theology of Liberation called "Justice and Only Justice." It claims freedom and fullness of life for all of God's children, including Palestinians.

Sabeel began as a movement and later became an organization in 1995. They encourage faith communities to challenge the Israeli occupation and are working for a just solution.

I learned that 2% of Palestinians are Christians, which is not a large percentage, but is more than most people know exists. We heard a lot today about the Christian value of forgiveness and whether Palestinians will be able to forgive Israelis for the occupation. Nora at Sabeel commented that the ability to be nonviolent IS part of the forgiveness process.

After lunch we met up with "Women in Black," a group of Israeli women who stand on a busy corner in Jerusalem and silently witness against the occupation. We joined them in their witness and held big black hands that had "Stop the Occupation" in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. The women are all in their 70s and 80s and I asked them how long they have been doing their witness. One of the women, Dagne, told me they have been there every Friday since 1987.

It was really humbling to be part of their witness. It was hot and the hour felt long. Most people ignored us, but many people shouted at us in Hebrew and a little boy (he looked about 10) put his head out the car window and stuck his tongue out at me. A young guy in his 20s flipped us off and made a rude gesture to his private parts, but Greta just held up her sign and said, "Talk to the Hand." (Our signs were hands) I can't believe how many hours those women, Israeli women, have spent on the street corner...

We left Jerusalem and took a taxi to the Wall, where we experienced our first checkpoint. Palestinians who live in the West Bank have to apply for permits to leave the West Bank and enter Jerusalem. Checkpoints are part of their daily commute to work or to visit family. Many Palestinians are denied permits so they are not able to leave the West Bank at all.

We are staying in a refugee camp in Bethlehem. In 1948, when Israel was established, 800,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and many are now living in Bethlehem. We were given a tour of the camp, a city within the city, and ate dinner in the home of a Palestinian family. The parents have 3 children and when I saw their faces, I lost it. I have thought about and prayed for Palestinian children, but today I met them. And saw their faces. And it broke my heart.

We had a question and answer time at dinner and Greta asked the parents what they hope for their children. The mother wasn't able to answer without crying and the father told us it was a hard question to answer. He hopes that things will be better for them--they try to make a nice home for their children, send them to school, buy them bicycles--but, in reality, he knows his children will not have a lot of options. He said that one of the saddest things for him is that his children have never seen the Sea.

There is SO much more to tell, but too much for a blog post. My head is spinning, my body is tired, and my heart is broken. This is harder than I ever dreamed it would be.