Interviewing Betsy

Creative intro about how awesome Betsy Lee Fisher Rhodes is and how I love being married to her...
And then 1, 2, 3 rolling...

-What's one of your favorite smells here and in what context do you smell it?
One of my favorite smells in Nazareth is a secret spice that the owner of our spice shop, El Babour, gave us the first day when we were buying lentils. He said, "This will make your food taste like Nazareth kitchen." We eat a lot of lentils here and I smell it every time I make lentil soup...usually at the Fauzi kitchen, but sometimes in our tiny kitchen as well.

-What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Reading "The Moonstone" out loud with Philip and sometimes chatting with people who are hanging out at the Fauzi. I also love going grocery shopping...in the market and in little shops in the neighborhood.

-What has been your favorite date so far?
The evening we walked out to Mt. Precipice and then were extremely hungry, but it was Friday night so few places were open. Finally we found a friendly falafel man who made us falafels and hummus...and he had some random children in the shop deliver them to us.

-What's one of the most inspiring things you've seen or experienced so far?
Daniel's family and Pria gathered together in Daniel and Yuliana's home sharing our stories about what God has been doing in our lives.

-In what ways have you encountered "the conflict" here and how have you chosen to respond?
Immedieately some tour groups come to mind. Sometimes tourists at Nazareth Village will say things that seem like they don't know much about what is going on. One guy thought there were more Jewish Christians than Arab Christans in this country and that we were really here to save the Arabs. This usually makes me angry inside and I have to watch what I say to people like this. I also like to teach tourists to say "Salaam" rather than "Shalom" to the Arabs working at Nazareth Village.

-What children and/or elderly folks have you met in Nazareth that you could tell a story about?
Last week two little boys were playing near our door. They were about 5 and wanted to talk to us in Arabic, but we couldn't understand a word they said. I felt pretty vulnerable. And an older lady who is a grandmother but still seems very young at heart makes our breakfast every morning. Her name is Um Rami which means "Mother of Rami". It is a sign of honor to be called by your eldest son's name.

-How does your experience here in Nazareth so far compare with your time in South Africa?
Philip is with me every single day (haha)...It's so much easier to be with an equal making decisions instead of leading a team. The responsibility seems far less. I like sharing.

-Who are you excited about getting to know more in the next couple of weeks?
I'd love to get to know Marwah more. She is a young Arab mother who works at the Fauzi part-time. I'm also very excited to get to know Daniel and his wife and two daughters better. I also look forward to continuing conversations like the one I shared yesterday with an Arab college student who works at Nazareth Village--Melissa. She is very multi-cultural and it was good to speak so openly with her about our lives as well as the people around us.

-If someone said they would send you any 4 books right now, which ones would you request?
Oooh (rubs her hands together and laughs), that is a good [question] but it's going to be a hard one too. Cry the Beloved Country because I gave it away right before we left. The Little Princess because I had an urge to read it the other day when we were reading another book about India. The other day I also wished I had my huge blue book that is about language theory and criticism. And something really deep that really stretches my mind.

-What do you expect to be a highlight of this coming week and/or month?
Next Sunday! ...when we rest from an exhausting week (smiley face). But I feel our schedule is starting to fall into place and it is easier to not feel so overwhelmed. I also look forward to Evonne coming back to Nazareth Village after being gone for a week because I like her presence in the weaver's shop and I like her excitement for people.

-Philip