Tuesday 29 April 2014 Eran and the Kibbutz

 

In the conference room at the Jerusalem Center, we had a meeting the day before the students arrived to coordinate their arrival tour, meetings, assignments, etc.  From left to right: David Seeley, Fred Woods, Jay Fox, Dawn Fox, Dan Belnap, Jan Clayton, John Clayton, Alexis Nickle, Gary Nickle, Tawfic Alawi, Eran Hayet

 

  

After the meeting we asked Eran Hayet, the director of the JC to come to our apartment and talk about his experiences growing up in a kibbutz in the 60's.  We invited all of the couples living at the Jerusalem Center to join us for the lecture and soup.  Eran explained that everything was communal, based on socialistic ideals.  He and his twin brother lived in the children's quarters and visited their parents 3 hours a day.  He said it was quality time but he remembers waking up as a little boy and going to their cottage during the night. They would take him back.  He can't imagine living with his children under those conditions, but he doesn't feel like he was scarred  by it.  Their family left when the boys were 11 years old largely due to feelings of the children not being accepted by the other children.

Monday 28 April 2014 Dinner with Marcous at Bethlehem Branch

 

 

Since we can't visit the members in their homes in Bethlehem and they can't leave Bethlehem, we decided we would take dinner into the branch house in Bethlehem and invite one family at a time.  We invited the Marcos family.  Here are some pictures on the way home before the border crossing.

  This taxi driver became our friend, always greeting us when we crossed into Bethlehem.

The local pita factory in Jerusalem.  10 pita for 4 NIS

Sunday 27 April 2014 Palestinian Schools Technical Director and Nurse and branch picnic

Sunday we met Kholoud (left) at one of the seven public schools outside the Old City near the Rockefeller Museum.  We walked into the city with her and met the technical director of the public Palestinian schools Khaled (the man in the middle).  When we began talking with him, he seemed condescending and told us we needed to submit a proposal to give humanitarian kits.  Blaine explained it was just the opposite. He needed to write a proposal for us and we would present it to our bosses to see if they qualified for help.  His attitude changed.  We had breakfast with him and he asked if we could supply him with 500 kits for a summer school program.  I assume he thought we had an agenda or program that we wanted to implement.  He turned out to be quite nice.  Khaled is a nurse and in charge of 10 school health programs.  There are 40 schools in the Jerusalem district.  Khaled has his masters degree and attended school in Jordan and Cairo.

Pictures on the way home.  Trash is a big problem here.The Palestinians consider bread sacred and don't throw it on the ground.  They put it where birds or a hungry person can eat it.

Sunday afternoon we went to a Jerusalem branch social at Aqua Bella park off Highway #1 on the way to Tel Aviv.  There was a crusader castle at the park.  We had finger food, visited, and played Frisbee.

 

Linda, Susanna Fellows, ad CJ Bolts at the Crusader castle.

 

Linda and Erin Belnap. They are from our home ward in AF and live downstairs with their 4 children.

One of our reactivated Spanish speaking members and his son brought hats for Jan, Erin and Linda.

Friday April 25 Jerusalem Center Garden

Blaine and Linda had Dan Herman (right)  give a tour of the grounds telling us about the different plantings.  Dan has been here since it opened in 1987.  I asked him how often he comes and he replied " Morning, noon, and night.  It is my life and I love it. It is my garden." Dan has things planted so their is always something in bloom.  He digs up the tulips each fall and plants new bulbs.

 

  Samer Shweiki is the man on my right.  He is another gardener.

Thursday 24 April 2014 Deliver check to Nora Kort

 

1. Thursday after tours, we walked into the Old City to give Nora Kort  a check for the Arab Orthodox Society.  The society is a women's empowerment group that also has a medical clinic, museum, lunch counter, and embroidery store.  While we were there, we met a movie producer from Australia.  From left to right Nora's assist., the movie producer, Linda, Nora, and Yvette.  Nora and Yvette are good friends to BYU and Blaine and me.

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A Muslim minaret in the Old City

 



A  Palestinian woman carrying her bundles on her head.

 

 

 

Tuesday 22 April 2014- Farewell dinner for the students

The winter 2013-14 students left on Wed., April 23.  The night before we had our farewell dinner and a slide show of their favorite memories.  It's one of the big dinners the kitchen staff prepares: lots of schwarma, hamburgers, chicken, etc.  Achmad Saheen in the chief chef.

Tawfic Alawi, assistant director, and Eran Hayet.  Tawfic is the assist. director over operations and Eran is the administrator.  The staff is made up of Palestinians, Jews, and Christians.  They say they are a family.  Sometimes they fight but then they work it out and keep going. It is quite unusual to have both nationalities working together.  They create a very welcome and warm environment. Tawfic and Eran have worked together for 20 years.

Monday 21 April 2014 Brunch with Carmen and Ilia

 

 

Carmen, her husband Ilia, and their little boy, Adam live in Ma'ale Adumim which is a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.  They have been living in a little studio apartment and just moved into a one bedroom unit.  They were so excited they invited the Claytons and us over for brunch.  It was fruit, French toast, and potatoe pie.  Carmen is my counselor in RS.  She is from Bolivia and Ilia is Jewish.

Sunday 20 April 2014 Garden Tomb, Old City

 

 

 

Easter Sunday morning we got up early (4:45 a.m.) and went into the Garden Tomb with the students and faculty.  The administrators at the Garden Tomb had an area reserved for BYU.  The Garden was packed with people from all over the world.  They had a singing group with guitars and keyboard that played some very lively music.  People were swaying and singing with the music, all in a very joyous attitude. 

BYU has a good relationship with the director of the Garden. Students love to come there and the people at the Garden love the students.  After the Dec. 12-14 snowstorm, some of the boys went down to the Garden Tomb and spent the day helping them clean up the Garden.  They used chain saws and cut down broken limbs.  That night the director and his wife braved the storm and road closures to come to the student Christmas concert.  They said the students had been so helpful to them that when they heard they were singing in a concert later that night, they had to come.

They had communion for those who wanted to partake.  It was grape juice with a wafer packaged on top.



 

There are beautiful paths and gathering areas throughout the garden.

 







Blaine and Linda at the Garden Tomb

 



Belnap family on the way home from the Garden Tomb in front of the wall near Herod's gate. 

The horses from the Israeli Police were on alert in case there were any problems on Easter.



The Israeli police were ready with their horses incase of any disturbance in the city.

Thursday 17 April 2014 Notre Dame Mass - washing feet

Thursday April 17, was a special Easter program at Notre Dame Church across the street from the New Gate entrance.  It was a mass where the Patriarchs washed the feet of men representing the disciples.  It looked like the men were regular members of their church, not the priests or other officials. 

 

The Priests filed out after the ceremony

Tuesday 15 April 2014 Delivered hygiene kits to Jerusalem Schools

These are pictures from a school kit delivery in the area outside the Old City.  This was an all-girls school which seemed to be well run.  The students were well behaved and loved practicing their English by asking us questions.

 

They gave us a demonstration of how they use the hygiene kits we have given them.  They showed us how they wash their hands.

 

The boys from the school next door were preparing the gardens to plant vegetables in the courtyard.

Monday 14 April 2014 Wedding anniversary

  

Today, April 14, was our 42nd wedding anniversary.  We went to the Old Train Station that was converted into an outdoor shopping center and eatery.  We rented bikes and rode a bike trial to the Teddy Kollek Stadium (about 1 hour round trip).  After we had Hungarian Goulash at an outdoor restaurant.  It was the beginning of Passover so much of the city closed early. 

 

 

Sunday 13 April 2014- School visit North/East of Old City, Easter Walk from Bethphage to Jerusalem

Sunday, April 13, we delivered school kits to 2 schools just outside the Old City near Jimmy's wood carving.  Inas Ansari and her aunt Namati came with us.  Those in the picture: Mohamed (Namati's son), principal, director of health for 10 schools, Inas Ansari, teacher, Namati, and Linda.

 

 

 

The kids from the school helped us unload the school kits.

 

The teachers, principal, Linda, and Inas and Namati  Ansari ( the 2 in the middle of the right side)

 



Arab Society for the Physically Handicapped is one of the organizations that we service.  They have wheelchairs from LDS Charities that they have received.  We visited them after the school on Sunday.

This is the board of the Arab Society for the Physically Handicapped

 

Since it was the Sunday before Easter, it was also Palm Sunday.  We started at the church in Bethphage, top of the Mount of Olives and joined thousands of others.  This was the same way that Christ would have traveled for his last entry into Jerusalem.  It was a very joyous pilgrimage with many people of different cultures singing and chanting.  We ended at St. Anne's Church.

 



Many people waved palm fronds.



People along the parade route came out of their homes to celebrate.

 



Some walked in groups.

 



 Religious leaders from all denominations and nuns walked.

 





BYU students as well as faculty all walked.  Emma and Dan Belnap are pictured.

 

Walking in front of the Jewish cemetery.