Merry Christmas Everybody

'Does he ride a red-nose reindeer,

Does a ton-up on his sleigh,

Do the fairies keep him sober for a day?

So here it is, merry Christmas...

Now I realise what I miss about Christmas in the UK - the continuous wall to wall sounds of glam rock songs from the 70's. As a teenager of the 70's I enjoyed the songs then, but how many times over the years have I heard songs from those glam pop years, the 'highlight' being 1973 with Christmas songs from Slade, Wizard and Elton John.

We are obviously missing everything about Christmas in the UK, but we are not left in any doubt that it is Christmas, our diary is full of choir performances, church, school & hospital services, carolling evenings and concerts - including Handel's Messiah on Christms Day. P

baaba noweel

Birthdays are over and we are now getting into the Christmas spirit. We had a busy time during our birthdays (16th & 28th) with trips to Bethlehem, helping at a youth conference and our day to day routines. But our routine was interupted last night by a call from the Childrens Ward, 'Can you come and help decorate the ward, because the Pope is visiting us tomorrow?' We helped with the Christmas decorations and this morning waited for a 'messenger' from the Pope who turned out to be heavily disguised as Father Christmas from Germany, who had been delayed by snow a Frankfurt airport! He had a bishop's mitre and crook, and a pet pig to give out the chocolates (culturally sensitive!). He was surrounded by the local press and all the hospital mangement so we didn't manage to get a papal chocolate. P

Let them eat cake!

Our Arabic may be basic and people often laugh at our attempts - "Would you like to drink some cake?" - but it is also amusing when locals use their English with us. People always ask us where we are from, and then why we are here - which is always a good opening. England seems to revolve around Manchester United: "Where are you from?" "England." "Which England, London or Manchester United?" I have also started to help with English Administration at the Bible College, part of this has been amending translations from Arabic into English. A translated student profile read: 'I want a teaching postion, if I did I would be in love with it.' P

Drought Plants

I've been given a project to improve the chapel garden at the hospital. The hospital grounds have previously had a good irrigation system, but Israel has had 5 years of drought over the last 6 years. The level of Galilee has dropped to a dangerous level and the cost of water has gone up. So with my limited gardening experience I have been taking cutting and seedlings from all the plants that survive the waterless summers: rosemary, lavender, palm trees, olive trees, cactus and many more unknown plants - my plant knowledge is poor. More than 50% are surviving. I planted them in the spring and I was told that if you get them through their first summer then they should survive, so hopefully they will grow. Now is the time for the olive harvest, we have one tree, but our neighbour has a few more and she is more skilled in picking the olives. P

Three Seas

Last week we enjoyed having our niece and nephew with us for a few days. It was a whistle-stop holiday because there is so much to see in Israel and they were only here for a week, but we were able to see all the important holy sights and visit the three seas - Dead, Galilee and the Med.
We were also able to visit friends in Jerusalem and Nazareth, Julie & Phil enjoyed having time to listen to people's stories and experiences - something that package tours miss out on.
Life is now getting back to normal following the end of Ramadan, the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur celebrations. P

Our most productive day!

We have had a frustrating few weeks trying to arrange meetings with some of our partners, but making appointments is not how it is done here, but yesterday turned out to be very productive.
Our previous visa appointments have never had a positive conclusion, we have always had to leave and return a few days later with additional documents, not this time. At our early meeting at the Ministry of the Interior we discovered that one of our documents didn't have the official church stamp, our early appointment gave us time to race over to our vicar's home, he had just returned home from a meeting, and so he was able to stamp the letter in time for us to drop it back to the visa lady - we now have visas for another year.
On the way home we called into the school (without an appointment) to see the head-teacher and found that for once she was not busy. She was also able to introduce us to the new English teacher and music teacher. We start the new term in a few days.
And then out of the blue came a call from the new administrator of the Bible College, he was arriving in 10 minutes so could we meet - over the next couple of weeks we will be helping with their relocation to offices in the hospital.
In the afternoon we had the pleasure to meet with Hector and Lydia (CMS) ,they have recently arrived in Israel. And then to round off the day we went to a BBQ for ex-pats returning from a cool summer in USA and UK.
Our most productive day! P

Man in Black

During the summer, with temperatures 100F+, I have decided not to wear my cassock (black robe) at church and only wear my surplice (short white linen vestment normally worn over a cassock).
But without the cassock I have had to invest in an all-black outfit to wear under my surplice. Walking to church now feels much hotter in my black clothes, so I have started to use an umbrella to provide some shade. I get some strange looks, so I wear my sunglasses as a disguise. P

Oh for water games

The 'Summer Camps / Holiday Clubs' have ended, but the temperatures have remained high. Our current heatwave started a few weeks ago and yesterday climbed to 114F (44C). The favoutite activity was water games. It was quite amusing to see relay races and team games where the prize for winning was having water ballons broken over your head; and pass the parcel (pass the water balloon) where the prize for holding the water balloon when the music stopped was bursting it over yourself.

One advantage of not having air-conditioning and a car is that you become more accustomed to the heat. Last night we were driven back to our home in a nice air-conditioned car and when I got out my glasses misted over because of the heat and night-time humidity - something that normally happens when you enter a steamy kitchen or bathroom. P

Supermarket Dash

We are now into the season of children's holiday clubs, with a choice of various workshops. A couple of days ago I was asked to run a 'Little Scientists' workshop for next week's camp, so with the weekend drawing closer and closer I had to go on a supermarket dash. When I got to the till I wondered what was going through the cashier's mind. After a packet of balloons, napkins, wrapping paper, straws and plastic cups she probably thought that I was organising a birthday party - but then confusion was written over her face as she scanned vinegar, cooking oil, food colouring, rope, glycerin, pipettes and Alka-Seltzer (to make a home made lava-lamp, together with the cooking oil and food colouring). P

Razor Teeth

One night last week as Jane made a nocturnal visit to the fridge (just for a cold drink!) a slight rustling was heard in pile of recycling materials; it was all neatly folded and she assumed that it was a crunchy poly bag; she returned to her night time rest.
Five minutes later she hears a yell in the darkness of the night. Peter shrieked in fear and trembling. Awakened from his deep slumber he felt sharp claws and something large and fluffy on his arm. His shrieks frightened the poor beast and as he rushed to the assitance of the electic light; the illuminated room, revealed a rather large rat. Ratty is rather terrified and runs up a plastic window roller blind. Quick thinking Peter slams down the blind forming a sealed unit of glass and plastic blind.
The rat stressed from his misdemenour falls asleep and the worried humans have an animated discussion about how to deal with their new 'friend'. The next day as they asrise from a disturbed night the decision has already been made; King rat has climbed over the security mesh and then chewed his way right though the wire insect screen escaping to certain freedom. J

IKEA

The IKEA angels recently bought us a Poang chair. For those who haven't been tempted into an IKEA corner-shop the Poang chair a simple but very comfortable chair, especially when combined with a Poang footstool (we had two in the UK). We are grateful for all the furniture that we have in our appartment, but we have been waiting for a comfy chair for a while. The chair and footstool boxes also resolved our shoe storage problem. P
PS The absence of blogs in June were partly caused by Mr Lloyd Mastercard not sending our monthly direct debit to Mr Israel Orange, and thus causing our internet to be disconnected for a couple of weeks.

Condolences

One of the problems of being away from home is not being able to share in grieving for those who have died. Over the last few weeks Peter has lost an uncle and Jane a person who had a great influence in her life.
Uncle Derrick was Peter's father's youngest brother and like most of his father's family he lived in Devon all his life - why would anyone choose to live anywhere else?
Joan had a zest and enthusiasm for life which was infectious. She always had time for everyone and was a real people's person.
Bereavement is quite different over here. The funeral is the day after the death (Uncle Derrick's funeral was 2 weeks after he died). This is followed by 3 days of condolences when a hall is hired as a place where people can visit the family of the deceased to express their sadness.

Mint

It has taken a year to start adding a few luxuries to our lives. We now have mint growing on our kitchen window sill - apart from Arabic coffee, black tea with mint is the favourite hot drink. The weather is set fine (no rain is expected until October) so we now have our own bar-b-que, which will get regular use, and we are planning to buy a micro-wave, which will transform our cooking.

Jane's parents are half way through their holiday with us and are currently enjoying 100+F temperatures at Masada, so look out for some shrivelled 'Burgoynes' when they return to the UK in a couple of weeks. P

All in a days work

We have a variety of roles, which means that no two days are alike. Yesterday it was teaching English in the school and a barbecue with stranded Brits who couldn't fly home to the UK; today it was helping to lead a prayer meeting and general maintenance in and around the chapel, which was later the venue for a funeral. The deceased was Nijme (Arabic for star), a lady who was adopted by the hospital 79 years ago after being abandoned by her parents aged 8. She was 'adopted' by various doctors and nurses, and later worked in the hospital as the head chef. She had no family, but the chapel was full of her hospital family. She was an Anglican and was buried in the church cemetery, which is in the hospital grounds, hence the Reader outfit. P

Home

Over the last two and a half years home has been wherever we open our suitcase, but since we have settled in Nazareth it is where my pillow is. We had a nice Easter at home in the UK with our families, but I have been looking forward to my pillow and bed in Nazareth.
We have recovered from our overnight flight and today we will be linking up with a group from CMS who are staying in Nazareth for a few days.
It is hard to choose between spring in the UK or here - the perfect mix would be the weather of Israel with the flowers and blossoms of the UK. In the UK we had rain on most days, but we had some sunshine when we visited St Mawes in Cornwall - the perfect setting to try out my new camera on some lovely spring daffodils. P

80th

We managed to avoid the British Airways strike and we are flying back to the UK today. It promises to be a busy time. The main reason for our trip is my father's 80th birthday. We are also going to be godparents to children of some good friends who are moving abroad to work. There are the obligatory visits to the doctor, dentist, optician, bank etc. When we return to Nazareth we will hit the road running because there will be CMS tour in town for a few nights, which will be hosted by our regional manager. Part of our responsibilities will be giving a presentation about our various roles and experiences. P

Welcome

This must be one of the most photographed warning signs in Israel: No dogs; No shorts; No talking; No food or drinks; No guns; No smoking. It is the 'welcoming' sign of the Church of the Beatitudes, near the Sea of Galilee. I wonder if there were similar restrictions when Jesus taught on these hills.
Perhaps you should consider adopting a similar sign at your church/club as it pulls in thousands of punters every week. P

New curtains

We have been busy with our little home and as you can see in the background of the photograph we have some new burgundy curtains in our living room, and we now have a lamp-shade. But my DIY has been slightly hindered by an accident I had with a hack-saw, as well as cutting the bolt I managed to also cut my finger. Having never had an injury like this before I thought the pain and discomfort was normal, until I had the dressing changed today only to find a bad infection - that would explain the throbbing pain last night.
Having the stitches out this morning produced more than one ouch. P

Inflation

We have just successfully renewed our visas, so we are here for another 6 months. We survived one sizzling summer, so I'm sure we can manage another. The clerk in the Ministry of the Interior made an interesting comment to our solicitor when he asked her about the process of renewing our visas again in 6 months time. She told him that we probably wouldn't want to stay for another 6 months, but if we did then there would be extra forms to complete. Perhaps she thought that we didn't want to go through the frustrating, lengthy and irritating visa application process again, that we didn't like living in Nazareth, or perhaps it was the cost of renewing a visa. In August last year we paid 80 shekels each (£14), today we paid 165 shekels each (£28), by my reckoning if the Ministry of the Interior inflation continues it will be 340 shekels in August, the price of rubber stamps and ink must be going up. P

Green Pastures

Nazareth is a friendly place whose appearance had been compared to a wasps nest attached to a Galilean hill side. The many honey coloured concrete homes and crooked streets, cling to the steep sides of this Arab town.

But sometimes I just long for green hills, to go and run into and amble up. There are no gardens or parks in Nazareth, however just a ten minutes walk away from the hospital we have discovered a verdant oasis. It is a small green wooded area, which at the top has amazing views of Haifa and the West Bank. There are amazing wild flowers, such as red anemones and lilac cyclamen. The surrounding grass is rich and lush. The only blot on the landscape is the fly-tipping, with litter scattered around, but somehow I have learnt to block this out, to see the natural beauty without the dross. J

Lingo

Overcoming the language barrier has prompted me to do what I enjoy most, problem solving. Our church service is totally in Arabic and so visitors find it difficult to fully participate. There are English equivalents to the Arabic Book of Common Prayer, Arabic hymn book, and Arabic service book. We use the Arabic prayer book for the collect and readings - problem simply solved by ordering English prayer books. The hymn book is more problematic. We have been given some 'New English Hymnal' hymn books, and so I am matching the tunes found in both books and producing a list of hymns that can be sung together in English and Arabic. And finally, although we have English service book for visitors, they like to join in certain parts of the service in Arabic (Lord's prayer, sharing the peace etc). To solve this last problem I am producing the Arabic service book in simple phonetics. But I'll still need to use all the books, so it's a good job I sit at an old choir stall instead of the small prayer desk. P

It's the thought that counts

We are just coming to the end of the Christmas season - we had our church Christmas party last night. Christmas decorations are still on display for those celebrating the Orthodox Christmas.

I do hope you had Christmas presents that were given after much thought and consideration - I certainly did. We spent Christmas Day with Phil & Angela. Angela had just returned from the UK and brought back some traditional Christmas food, which was appreciated by one and all. She also took advantage of her time at home to get some presents that are difficult to buy in Israel. After our delicious Christmas dinner Angela handed her present to me - imagine my surprise to have a pot of 'SUDOCREM', for the treatment of nappy rash, incontinence dermatitis and eczema. I would have preferred to have had some 'SUDAFED' tablets for my sinus problems! The mistake caused tears of laughter and I'm sure her new granddaughter will appreciate my returned gift. P

Christmas Tree

Our previous vicar often reminded us that this time of year is still the season of Christmas - so Happy Christmas. In the Holy Land Christmas continues for a couple more weeks, the Orthodox Christmas is next week and the Armenian Christmas in 2 weeks. It's possible to get 'traditional' Christmas trees in Nazareth, but we have improvised with a cactus that was given to us a few weeks ago. A generous lady at church told us that she had a cactus she wanted to give to us. She lives a few miles from us so Jane caught a taxi to collect it. The taxi driver was given a well deserved tip for getting both Jane and the 7' cactus home in one piece. P