Away in a Manger

Your Northern Illinois travelers spent today in Bethlehem. Early this morning we walked from our hotel down to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity. In the cave beneath the church we gathered at the traditional site of Jesus' birth and from memory sang "Away in a Manger" with tears in our eyes. Always meaningful, this simple song took us to new levels of understanding. It was quite a moment.

Our tour guide, a Lutheran himself, added a stop to our itinerary, taking us to a Lutheran School for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. It is a school teaching the values of tolerance and peace. We also toured a refugee camp, where believe it or not, I ran into a resident there whom I have met before. He recognized me and I him, but neither of us can place when or where we met. It was surely in the United States. I'm hoping it might come to me in the middle of the night sometime.

Today we finally took a little time for some souvenir shopping. That was fun until I tried to use my credit card and it was declined! I was irritated, but it saved me some money. By the way, the card did work later at a different shop. No one else seemed to have any trouble.

We drove to Beit Sahour for an incredible view of the Shepherds Fields. From this point there is also a stunning view of the entire city of Bethlehem. We concluded the day with a relaxing Bedouin-style dinner of chicken, lamb and beef. You cannot compare the hummus at home to what we have eaten here! Back at the hotel we gathered for our daily devotions and a few announcements.

All of our travelers are well, our group has gelled; we are having a wonderful, educational, and faith enriching experience. Thanks be to God! We will worship tomorrow morning at Christmas Lutheran church in Bethlehem. Please pray for us in your worship. We will be remembering you. Shalom! Salaam! Peace! --JC