From Israel! We are thoroughly enjoying our time in Jerusalem with our children, Brian and Erin, and our grandchildren, Grace and Eliott. We are staying with Erin's parents, who still live and work in this part of the world. They've been here over 30 years. That's pretty amazing! Erin's entire family is here, her two sisters, one who lives here in Jerusalem and the other who now calls Indiana home for herself and her family of four. Erin's younger brother is also here from Chicago with his fiancée. It is packed and such fun! Watching Gracie play with her cousins, Zoe (3) and Scarlett (20 months) is so much fun. She just cannot get enough of them! We are playing a lot as well, on the floor with playmobiles and dollies.
Today we went to Bethlehem, now part of the Palestinian area, visited the Church of the Nativity, Manger Square, and went to the Franciscan run Shepherd's Field. The most interesting thing to me were all the different nationalities converging on this place, on this day, to honor the birth of the Christ Child. There are many Arab Christians living in this community. Too often we forget them, focusing only on other faith groups. Today is a great day of celebration for the Arab Christians: Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, all come together as one to worship and celebrate Christ-mas. May we remember that it is about Christ, his coming, his sacrifice and celebrate with open hearts the greatest gift the world has ever received. Merry Christmas!
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