Yesterday was a delightful day. I slept
in then a little too. Then I got up and got ready for church. It took
a little bit of investigative research to find the exact
house-converted-to-church, but I found it, of course by watching for
Mormon-looking people going in. It's a good thing I was watching
close! Only 8 were there! It was the smallest branch, by far, that I
have ever attended.
I sat down near a lovely Arab woman
from Nazareth. Her husband was in the district presidency, and was
presiding, since apparently the branch president was at another
branch translating into Spanish. He spoke very good English, and
repeated everything he said in Hebrew and Spanish. Astounding! One of
the families in the branch is from Uruguay, and they translate
everything! On the wall, the hymns are listed in English, Spanish,
what I think might be Russian (anyone able to confirm or correct?)
and Hebrew. The Sacrament was blessed by the one young man there, and
he blessed it in Hebrew! I was rather surprised, but so delighted.
And then it was time for bearing
testimonies. Already a special spirit was in the room, but as
testimony meeting began, I was overcome with how powerful the Holy
Ghost was, and my own emotions. Almost everyone in the room shared
their testimony – and it still didn't take the whole time. I also
shared mine, and became rather emotional (I never cry in a testimony!
I pride myself on this fact. But, alas, I was forced to find a
tissue).
After the meeting I had the opportunity
to speak with Sister Susan Mazawwi, the woman I had sat next to. The
story of her husband's and her conversion to the Church is rather
remarkable. They didn't have very much time to tell it, but
essentially, they had noticed the light in some members' eyes
(remember, we as members can't share or speak of our faith here,
other than to acknowledge that we are members of the Church). When
they were in America some time later, they asked about it, and upon
returning, went to Cyprus to receive the lessons. They were baptized
in the Mediterranean Sea in Cyprus almost two years ago. This last
year they traveled to Switzerland to receive their Temple Endowment
and be sealed as a family. I got her email address, and I'll be going
to see her while I'm Nazareth this week.
After the church meetings were over, I
got talking to Sister Hansen. She teaches at a local college here,
but is still working on her dissertation. (Her son is the one that
blessed the Sacrament.) When she found out I was at Brandeis, she
asked about someone who had written their MA thesis on President
Benson and the State of Israel. I gasped, “That was me!” I could
hardly believe someone here knew about that! She also asked if I knew
Jason Olsen, which, of course, I did. She asked what I thought of
him, and I said Jason and I don't see eye to eye on a few things. She
was glad to hear it, and proceeded to tell me all about it. I won't
go into it now, but she helped me feel much better about many of the
frustrations I have experienced over the last year. And she wants to
collaborate with me on writing a history of the Church in the Holy
Land! That sounds like a great idea to me!
I asked about places to eat on Shabbat,
and they directed me to an Arab restaurant in Golani (Sylvia and Anny
– remember that? It's where we started our hiking). So, after
making a trip to some of the local Christian sites, I made my way
over there to eat. And eat I did! The waiter was very attentive, and
I managed the whole thing in Hebrew! I got pita and hummus, with a
cucumber-tomato salad and pickled cucumbers and olives to start. Then
the main course was called shishlik,
which is skewered chicken cooked over the grill. Delicious! After
that he brought me coffee and some sort of small, gelatin-like
dessert with cinnamon sprinkled on top, and smothered in a bright
pink sweet sauce that tasted ever-so-slightly like cough-syrup. But
it was very good. I decided that while I'm here, I might as well
fully partake in the local customs, so I took a sip of the coffee. It
was dark, rich and bitter. Just kidding! Of course I didn't drink the
coffee! But it did smell dark, rich and bitter! Instead, I drank my
fill of fresh lemonade with fresh mint. Just when I thought I was
finished (my tummy was so entirely full!), the waiter brought out two
little bit-size pastries, both with pistachios in the middle. They
were delicious, even if I could barely squeeze them in.
And
that was that. I suppose I should get myself ready and get to some of
the other sites I need to see today. The internet is insufferable at
this place – the one drawback. So, I'll upload the pictures I took
yesterday of the view from the church, and of some of the Christian
sites, tomorrow. If I remember correctly, Fauzi Azar has good
internet.
No comments:
Post a Comment