All in a Week

The past week has been diverse and educational. Upon arriving at Nazareth Village one day, we realized their was a panic because several staff members were gone and there was NO SHEPHERD! Philip and I dressed up and headed out with the sheep and goats just in time for the first tour group to exclaim and snap pictures. As we brought the sheep through the village to the sheepfold a couple groups of tiny children were on a field trip around the village. They began yelling en masse "maaa, maaa!"
We had arrived bringing two volunteers from the Fauzi, Johanna and Maurice. They were on the tour and took pictures of us all dressed up and trying to keep the goats, especially, under control. We learned a lot.
The shepherd stands in the door of the day sheep fold if he wants the sheep to stay inside. Usually the sheep and goats know the shepherds voice but they didn't know ours. The goats are ornery and sneak out past the shepherd, usually just when the tour leader is explaining to his group how the shepherd reminds us of Jesus' words about being the door of the sheepfold, about how the sheep listen to his voice...
Later in the day, we were still hanging out with the sheep and one of our friends who works at NV came walking down the hill with the donkey. He began calling to the sheep and they all perked right up and baaing, responding to him. We do not yet have that power!

Another day at Nazareth Village, I experienced the power of translation! I led two groups around the village. The first was from a Spanish speaking country and had a good translator. The second group arrived 45 minutes late. I asked if they spoke English. No. I asked if they had a translator. No. We all stood stunned for a moment until they produced a nice lady who could speak a little English and the German required to communicate with the group of 50+!

After an evening at NV, Philip and I were invited out by a friend of Philip's who works just down from the Fauzi. Islam is his name. He works with his father and two brothers (Umar and Jihad) at his father's bakery. We buy pita and pizzas from them. The father is a very sweet man. He always has a piece of wisdom to offer along with his bread. Once when we asked how he was he said, "A healthy body, a white heart and a pure mind - this is all you need." Islam is a something of a rebel philosopher. He took us to eat at Zan's, a restaurant owned by his friend. They all treated us. They served salads and dips and bread, calamari, chicken, hummus, and kanafe, tea and coffee until we did not know how to stop them. We sat and ate with Islam, who did not eat much but simply philosophized about marriage, morality, beer, honor of parents, music, and anything else we asked about.

Another day this week, we hiked out on the first day of Jesus Trail to fix a sign. Here you will see the ornery sign that was confusing hikers right and left...

...and here you will see the same sign wrenched into place and wired securely. It was a beautiful evening. As we hiked back to town the sun kept setting because we were in a valley hiking up onto one of the mountains surrounding Nazareth. Below you can see some of the splendor.





Betsy