Christmas in Bethlehem!

by Chrissie, with help...

After enjoying our 26 hour visit to Amman, Jordan, we hit the road again. It was December 24, and we wanted to be in Bethlehem for Christmas. Here's how we got there: 1) Taxi from Amman Marriott to the King Hussein / Allanby Bridge. 2) Big bus across the actual bridge, to the Israeli border entrance. 3) After standing in line for over an hour, as we were stuck behind a large tour group, a small bus to downtown Jerusalem (Damascus Gate). 4) Large bus to Bethlehem, from the Arab Bus Station, via the "old" security checkpoint, where our bus was boarded by an Israeli soldier who checked the ID of anyone who looked Arab. 5) Taxi to our hotel, the Jacir Palace.

In case you don't know your Holy Land history, Bethlehem is not in Israel. It is part of the West Bank, which is Palestine. Ironically, it is only 5 miles from Jerusalem, which IS part of Israel. In case you can't remember this, Israel has graciously erected an 8-meter high wall separating the two. If you are a tourist, like us, you are free to move between Israel and Palestine. If you are Palestinian, you must stay on your side of the wall. Needless to say, this is very difficult for the Palestinians.

We had a wonderful 2 days in Bethlehem. We wandered the city streets, which were full of soldiers. They were very friendly, and a bit bored. We think they were there to protect us? From what, we're not sure. We visited Manger Square, which is the heart of Bethlehem. It is bordered at one end by a big mosque, and at the other by the Church of the Nativity. On the 24th, there was a choir performance in the square all evening. We hung around, ate roasted corn and cotton candy, and soaked up the scene - soldiers on the roofs of the buildings, children selling packs of gum, tourist groups wearing matching yellow caps, vendors wishing us a Merry Christmas and hoping that we will purchase something in their shops. The church holds midnight mass, but we had been traveling all day, and turned into pumpkins at about 7:00. Oh, and Matt pulled out a loose tooth in the midst of the mayhem.

We went back to Manger Square on the 25th, and enjoyed the scene again - Italian Christians singing and dancing in the square, more roasted corn and children selling gum, and hordes of tourists visiting the Church. Inside the Church of the Nativity, if you are willing to wait in line, you can go into a cave and see a 14-pointed star which marks the place where Jesus was born. (Leave it to the Christians to erect a giant church over this humble site!) We didn't wait in line, but we did see the star. Let's just say it involved Chris lying to a priest. We'll leave it at that.

We've been saying for weeks, "It will be so amazing to be in Bethlehem on Christmas!" Now we can't decide if it's the best time, or the worst possible time to visit Bethlehem. So many people, so little worship. But maybe that's how it was when Jesus was born - lots of activity, but nobody really paying attention to him.

On the morning of the 26th, we had breakfast with some local Palestinian Christians, who are friends of our cousin, David Austin. It was powerful to hear their stories. One of the women is the captain of the Palestinian National Soccer Team. Some of their players live in the West Bank, and some in Gaza. In order to practice together, they must leave the country, as there is no way to travel between the two parts of Palestine. We asked how we could pray for them, and they said pray for Peace, Health, and Freedom. Will do!

At this moment (11am on the 27th) we are in an internet cafe in the Old City of Jerusalem. We'll write more about this amazing city after we've explored it a little more!