The Real Work Begins

The Real Work Begins
[Friday, June 23, 2006]

We left Jerusalem at 8 a.m. for our return to Jordan. We all said farewell to Lindsey who will be leaving for the Deheisha Refugee Camp in Bethlehem latter this morning. We all waved goodbye as our bus pulled off and Sarah and Katie tried to sing the "Lindsey Song", which Lindsey sang in Arabic throughout our trip. Lindsey called out to us that she should have tought us the words. She's right! For me, I am saying farewell to my roomate of two weeks and a great friend.

We drive the short distance from Jerusalem to Jericho before crossing the border at the Allenby Bridge from the West Bank into Jordan. In Jericho our bus takes us on a tour of the Mount of Temptation and the Tree of Zacchaeus. We all know the mount is said to be where the devil tempted Jesus. Now, there is a Greek Orthodox monastery standing on the edge of the cliff.

Exiting Israel is quite a bit easier than our entrance on June 11th and we return to Jordan in time to tour the Citadel and Jordan Archeological Museum in Amman, which houses a collection of antiquities ranging from prehistoric times to the 15th century. There also is an exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls. We also toured the remains of a small Byzantine basilica. From atop one of the seven hills in which Amman is built we are able to see the royal palace, the Roman amphitheatre that was built during the reign of Antonius Pius (138-161 CE), and an enormous Jordanian flag that's almost too big to open up in the light breeze that is blowing through the city.

After seeing the sights we returned to the Madaba Inn Hotel. We spent our last night at the same hotel where we spent our first and we feel like we have come full circle. And yet, we are closer to each other and different now--enlightened--for having made this trip together. Together, we walked in Jesus' steps and placed Chist at our center every single day of this pilgramage.

I feel very privledged to have had this opportunity to partake in this journey--from Jordan to the Galilee, to Bethlehem, to Jerusalem, back to Jordan. Tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. we will fly from Jordan to Paris and then to Virginia.

Lindsey said in her morning devotion a few days ago that our work as a VIM team would really begin once we returned home. For it is then that we will share with all of you our stories--the stories of Israel and Palestine. At the beginning of our trip Dr. Elias Chacour told us, "without hope we will die. We can not love one side and hate the other." Our VIM team witnessed despair and perserverance: a people in need of advocates. We are the advocates. --Anne