December 30, 2004

A New Assignment -- Tonga

[Bergton, Virginia] Since my last update, I've been given a new place of assignment -- Tonga. I don't know much about it yet, but I'm excited about serving the community in the South Pacific. I'll continue to update this site with frequent information about life in Tonga.

Despite all of the good news I've heard from the US media, my friends in Palestine tell me that life there for the typical Palestinian is still the same. Israeli settlements continue to grab more and more Palestinian land, Bethlehem continues to shrink, the separation wall is still being built, checkpoints and roadblocks are still stopping Palestinians from going from one side of their villages to the other, and Israeli military invasions are still common. We'll see how things develop. As a reminder, you can get information on eyewitness accounts from internationals in Palestine. The ISM posts a lot of inside material from people in the area. You can read their reports and join their mailing list:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/

And for good websites, I'll continue to refer you to my links page. There is accurate information from Bethlehem Media Net and the International Middle East Media Center.

I hope your Christmas was fantastic! It was my first Christmas home in three years, and it was so great to spend it with my family. I especially liked opening gifts with my niece and nephews. I'm not sure if Casey (age 4) or I had the most fun.

Since returning to America, I've met some folks. One of the most interesting exchanges took place just a week ago in a Virginia shopping mall. A young woman approached me to sell some beauty products. (Listen, I need all the help I can get.) She looked a little familiar, so I asked her where she was from. She told me she had just finished her Israeli military service. I told her she looked like she might be one of the soldiers stationed in Ramallah, and she replied that she was. So we talked for a half-hour or so. Removed from the situation with both our defenses dropped, the conversation was free and easy and sometimes actually sort of fun. I don't think either of us changed our minds about much, but I continue to think that dialogue is important.

Another interesting person that I met recently is Lori from CrossingMusic.com. She runs a nice website for contemporary Christian music. She offered some suggestions and introduced me to some really great music. I picked up four CDs, and I'll be back for more. If you're ever interested in buying gifts for missionaries, I haven't met one yet who didn't like music.

My good friend JZ got married. I was honored to be his best man. Mabruk, buddy!

JZ and Janina by the Rhine River.

After the wedding, I returned to Palestine for a week to see some friends. Here was my nice welcome back to Bethlehem:.

Israeli Security Wall in Bethlehem (Jerusalem side)

Israeli Security Wall in Bethlehem (Bethlehem side)