Dear Family and Friends,

My incredible journey into the life of the Palestinians in the Bethlehem area and at Hope School has come to an end.It has been a life changing experIence and it is hard to believe I arrived five months ago during the height of the war in Gaza. I felt unsure of the conditions in the West Bank but found out that the West Bank and Gaza are two different worlds. My stay at Hope School has been made unforgettable by the warmth of the staff and the families of the school. I leave behind dear friends, in spite of some language barriers, and have experienced the frustrations and joys of their every day lives. I also leave behind the friendship of many students, especially Mohammed and Salem, the two boarders with whom I shared the evening meals and many special other times.
I return with a better understanding of the situation in Palestine and feel passionately about the injustice which exists.. The balance of power is so unequal that there is no equal playing field in this game. I have admired my friends for their determination to make the best of their situation. Their lives are so very difficult at times.
I leave behind the beauty of this landscape. I will miss my walks behind the school down into the valley with olive trees, local sheepherders, and ancient rock walls with a spring which has produced water since Roman times, The Bible stories become so real here, and from the very beginning I have felt a special affinity for this ancient place. I encourage you to come and see for yourself and experience this Holy Land. It is no more dangerous than the freeways in LA and you will be warmly received. Busloads of pilrgims drive by constantly and we have many visitors that come to Hope School to support us in our mission to educate boys and girls from poor families. The school survives from donations and we do not get financial aid from the government because we are a private school. It is not always easy to pay the bills and the staff at the end of the month. The director, Solomon Nour, is steadfast in his faith that by some divine intervention money will arrive in the mail to make it htrough another month.
Thanks to those who responded to my blog and it will be strange not to have this connection, but it will be oh so wonderful to see you personally again. It also will be strange to get into my own car and be able to go wherever I want without having to go through checkpoints. What a sense of freedom that will be!!
Your unfailing support of this mission has given me strength throughout these months and I am deeply grateful to all of you.
Peace be with you. Salam!
yvonne

I had the fortunate experience of having my sister Sonja (from Holland) visit me at Hope School. She stayed for 10 days and we travelled up north one week end and south the other to visit the Dead Sea. Both experiences were interesting and totally different. The north is green and mountainous, wheras the area around the Dead Sea is desert like but also with many mountains. The second Friday she was here I drove her to a small Moslem village close by the school and just by chance we were stopped in the village by a teacher from Hope School and were invited to come to a wedding which had just started. Of course we were not dressed for the occasion but were convinced by Ahmed that it did not matter. We expereinced an amazing celebration and were the only western women . All the women wore scarves and the younger ones are just beautiful. We were warmly welcomed by the parents of the bride and fed the traditional food of boiled meat served with rice and a sauce, which was accompanied by a can of Fanta. The women were at one place and the men at another, and only did the groom and bride dance together for a short while at the gathering place of the women. We never got to see the men except when everyone was walking on the road accompanying the bridal pair; she in the car (with a "just married" sign on the back), following the groom who was being carried on the shoulders of his friends. Swords were waved in the air and there was a constant siniging by men as well as women. The women made the trilling sound with their tongues, and the older women wore the beautifully embroidered traditional long dresses. The bride was really made up and dolled out in an incredible wedding gown, lots of make up!,and the groom wore a silver-like suit. He was a handsome young man and I was glad to see they were the same age. It happens a lot in the Middle East that older men marry very young women. Women danced for some time with the bridal pair and then the wedding sort of came to an end. Sonja and I could not believe our luck of being a part of this celebration and the recipients of such warm hospitality from our hosts. It was just one of those incredibly wonderful experiences one has while travelling. And since this was a Moslem occasion I will end by saying Salam to all of you. Inshalla! May God be with you. Yvonne