An ending

My mother is coming tomorrow. Tomorrow! I can't believe it. I'm so excited I can hardly sit still. And yet, her coming also signals my transition back towards the USA. I'll go into tourist mode for a little while while we travel around, and then we'll fly back to the States on the 20th. I'm so excited for her to be here but also bracing myself for the pain of leaving this place that I love so much.

Yesterday was my official last day as an intern at Holy Land Trust. I had my closing meetings with my supervisor and the director of the organization, and tied up any loose ends. Craig and I finished our report on Palestinian Evangelicals on Wednesday, and it felt great to hand that over to Dan yesterday. I completed  all of my Al Walaja interviews for my independent study and I will put them together into an analysis/paper in the spring. Things are really ending.

It was great to talk to both my supervisor, Dan, and the director, Sami Awad, yesterday about my future plans and any advice they could give me related to them. I have felt called to advocacy for a while, but now I am especially interested in Palestinian/Middle East advocacy. Dan and Sami both set me up with some good leads and I am very excited to look into those opportunities in the spring!

This will most likely be my last post before I return to the USA. I thought it would be fitting to end this part of the journey in a way that reflects my time in Palestine: filled with both incredible beauty and intense pain. Thank you to all of you who have supported me so faithfully and kept me in your prayers. May the Lord bring peace and justice to Palestine and bless you with an understanding of His love this Christmas.

Inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. These mark the tombs of Isaac and Rebecca (beneath the mosque) and we also saw markers for the tombs of Abraham and Sarah.

My host family for these past 5 1/2 months. They are great people.

Two of my great coworkers at Holy Land Trust. Lubna and Marwan both welcomed me into their homes and were consistent highlights of my day :) 

My two buddies from the cafe in Bethlehem (where I am sitting as I write this). Every Friday I came and hung out with them instead of doing my HNGR work :) 

With three of my coworkers, Marwan, Lubna, and Rana, in front of the Nativity Church. 

With Marwan and his family after dinner in his home. Love this family! The kids gave me the nickname "Majnuune" which means crazy!

I've lived on this side of the wall for the past 5 1/2 months. This wall has slowly shrunk the prison that Palestinians are forced to live in.

Israeli soldiers guarding Jewish settlers on a tour through the old city of Hebron. Notice how Palestinian children look on as soldiers forbid them from passing by in the street.

This was a march in support of the thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons without a hope of release.  

Palestinians protesting the illegal destruction of a road in Al Walaja to make way for the Israeli separation wall around the village.

I titled this post "An ending" because I know that my journey with Palestine does not end when I leave this time. I am sure I will be back, insha'allah (God willing), and I cannot wait to see her again soon.