"It has fallen to us to defend Jerusalem, and we have made our preparations as well as they can be made. None of us took this city from Muslims. No Muslim of the great army now coming against us was born when this city was lost. We fight over an offence we did not give against those who were not alive to be offended. What is Jerusalem? Your holy places lie over the Jewish temple that the Romans pulled down. The Muslims places of worship lie over yours. Which is holy? The Wall? The Mosque? The Sepulcher? Who has claim? No one has claim.

When I was sixteen, my cousin gave me a book which was a step by step guide to nature awareness. The Kamana curriculum required in depth research of one's habitat. As a student of the nature awareness program, developed by John Young, you would have to research the history of the land, where the natural resources were, how natural migrations of wildlife interacted with the land...

After our lunch meeting we took a small hike up to the Church of the Visitation and then headed over to the Holocaust Museum. The Museum was not unlike the Holocaust The Museum was not unlike the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. but seeing its contents in context with what we are studying suggested many parallels that I do not feel comfortable articulating in this medium. This day left me emotionally exhausted and concerned for the future of these people and this land.

We had the pleasure of meeting with the CPT members who are present in Hebron, seeing their space and hearing a bit about their experiences. Being in Hebron was a powerful experience for me. I was able to see the plague in the CPT office that honor’s Tom. I hope someday I can return and spend time with the children of Hebron… just like he did, many years ago.

Speaking with Mr. Geldman was challenging. He had sterotypes of us, outsiders wanting to listen to his story, and we had stereotypes of him, a settler within the Palestinian borders. We asked him why he had chosen to live here in the settlement and not in another place in Israel. He and his family moved to that particular area (outside of Bethlehem) because it was affordable, close to family, and they had the opportunity to design their own house. He considered all of the West Bank part of Israel and said that legally, all the land is “up for grabs” and the “borders are artificial.”

We had lunch in Manger Square and got to visit parts of the Church of the Nativity. There were many people there (it’s getting close to Orthodox Christmas) so we weren’t able to see everything. Still, the church is beautiful and it was nice to see where Jerome and Paula worked. We also got to visit the Shepherd’s fields later in the afternoon where supposedly the shepherd’s say the angel and the star that led them to where Jesus was born.

The morning is beautiful here. I haven’t be up for the sunrise in a long time. The air smells fresh and the sound of the morning birds cooing was beautiful. Taking a shower this morning was cleansing -- a baptism of sorts into the work of this adventure.We met with two groups today: two programs of the World Council of Churches in the morning and Rabbis for Human Rights in the afternoon. By the time we finished at 3:00pm, all of us were ready for bed. Jet lag of this caliber is really kicking my butt!

When Jesus descended down the path from the Mount of Olives, his followers began to shout and sing. Some of the Jewish leaders and Roman officials asked Jesus to make the crowds stop: "Teacher, order your disciples to stop!" Jesus answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would shout out" (paraphrase of Luke 18:37-40) We made it to Israel after a 14 hour flight. Everything went well and my own casualty is that I left my journal on the plane. Perhaps this is the universe speaking to me in metaphors, that all the many worries I have in my head are silly compared to the grander scheme of things. Whoever finds that journal, may they not be appalled by the chaos of my mind.