Monday (9/15) I left home for the next three months. My flight began in Dayton, OH with a quick trip to Atlanta, GA. I was relieved on that flight when some people got bumped up to first class and the guy sitting next to me (or should I say crammed in next to me) ran for an empty seat. He was in such a hurry he left his bag behind. After a few minutes he came back and got his bag but didn't ever make eye contact with me. So I had a comfortable ride to Atlanta.

At the Atlanta airport I made my way to the international flights area. I don't actually know whether that area serves other international flights or just flights to Tel Aviv. The waiting area seemed to have two main kinds of people, typical Jewish-looking people (men with yarmulke's, tassels, or even more orthodox style) and a group of white, mid-western looking church-goers (Wal-Mart style clothes and tour IDs around their neck). I was among the latter group, though without an ID. I couldn't tell whether any Arabs were present or not. Even though we all had already gone through airport security, we went through another security check before boarding the plane. There was one other difference on the flight. Apparently Israel has a law that people cannot move around on a plane within 30 minutes of landing. Everyone was warned to get their potty breaks done before the 30 minute mark.

This Delta flight was one of my best experiences. This was the first time I've been on a plane where each person his/her own TV monitor in the back of the seat in front of them. They had a touch screen, so it was very easy to navigate. There were episodes from major TV shows as well as documentaries. It wasn't until half way there that I discovered there were movies also. I had wanted to watch the Indiana Jones movie before leaving and just didn't find the time. I got to watch it in flight as well as The Iron Man and most of Kung Fu Panda.

I was a bit nervous going through the Israeli passport check. The woman wanted to know how long I was staying and wanted to see my return ticket. I tried to explain that it is an electronic ticket. I did have my itinerary printed out, so I showed her that. She also wanted to know where I was staying. Then she asked me what religion I was. I wanted to say, as any American would, "what business is it of yours?" But I said I was a Christian, then I added that I was a Quaker. She didn't seem very impressed, but I guess any answer was acceptable as long as I didn't say Muslim. Last of all, she wanted to know my father's name and my paternal grandfather's name. I felt rather stupid, because I always get confused about my grandfather's name. I always called him Grandpa. I gave her the name Edgar. I think that's right. I wouldn't want to lie ... twice.

I had arranged with Bethlehem Bible College (BBC) to have a driver pick me up at the airport. We hadn't really had much time to make the arrangements. After getting my baggage, walking through customs, and passing the passport checkpoint, I entered the front area of the airport where people were waiting to greet their loved one. I started looking around at people with signs to see if I could find my driver. I looked for about 45 minutes. Then I tried to call someone at BBC. I couldn't get the phone number to work. A security guard even let me try her cell phone. I finally went back to the front of the airport. Within a minute I saw a person I hadn't seen before with a sign. As I walked closer I finally made out that it said in large capital letters TIM. He had been walking around trying to find me. After loading up his car, we sped off -- and I mean that literally -- into the evening. Because of traffic he said we would go around Jerusalem. The ride probably took an hour at least. It was dark by the time we arrived in Bethlehem. We passed one police barrier, but it wasn't a checkpoint. I guess we avoided any checkpoint. The police officer just looked into the car. The driver told me people think he looks Russian and he agreed that I look Jewish. We were just waved on.

A young man was sitting on the steps to BBC and he helped me get to the right door. We finally got the guesthouse and the woman there, Esther, came down and showed me to my apartment. I suppose it's about what I expected. It's quite small with a sitting room, kitchenette, bathroom(ette), and bedroom. There's a small kitchen table across from the couch. The kitchen has a large sink and counter area, a tiny gas stove (looks new), medium sized frig, and microwave. Someone provided me with a box of milk, a baggie of cereal, a couple of eggs, and some coffee and tea packets. The bathroom has a tub with a spray hose. It's not intended to be a shower -- no shower curtain. Here's the kicker, no toilet paper down the toilet. Another way that my Honduras visit has prepared me for international travel. The bedroom has a large wardrobe. The bed is nice and comfortable. The room has a medium sized floor-stand fan. It has made sleeping quite comfortable.

The night was very quiet. In the evening I heard the Muslim call to prayer and I heard it again early in the morning. From my bedroom window I look out at Bethlehem stretching up the hillside.

Wed. morning I woke up every few hours. I would make myself go back to bed. Then when it got to be 7 or 8 in the morning, I didn't want to get up. I finally got up, took a shower(ette) and got dressed. I ate a bowl of the cereal and had a cup of coffee while doing some reading. At 1:30 a guy named Al knocked on my door and invited me to lunch. The school provides a free lunch to staff, teachers, and students. There I met Rami, my translator, for a brief second and later met Alex Awad, the Dean of Students, full-time instructor, and senior pastor of the East Jerusalem Baptist Church. I sat with several people who are not locals and they answered my many questions.

Wed. afternoon I walked down the street that runs in front of BBC to find the grocery store. Maybe it was a mile, probably less. Actually, I only crossed one street and one busy intersection. I felt okay walking down the sidewalk. For the most part people ignored me. I tried to smile and nod my head at people I passed.  I bought some food and supplies. The store clerk seemed very happy for my business. He kept saying, "God bless you." He did well communicating in English.

My contact at BBC has been Munther Isaac. He came to my room Thursday morning. We went to chapel, which I'm assuming is every Thursday at 11am. There were about 40 - 50 students in the room. The songs were in Arabic, of course. I could sort of follow along on the screen which words they were singing. I did sing a little when they repeated a line that went something like Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, his name is Jesus. When Alex Awad began to give a chapel message, a woman came and sat next to me and translated. She did a terrific job. Apparently the students knew I was coming and have been asking about me. Several people have been calling me Dr. Tim, which I find very flattering and endearing. Everyone is very kind and gracious. After chapel Munther gave me a little tour. He is leaving soon for a month and a half in England, where he is beginning a research doctorate at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies.

Friday morning I made my way over to the main office at 8:30 am to make sure I knew where my classroom would be. Because I would have not only third year students but also second year students, the number would be 18. They are a wonderful group of mainly young people. They responded in a way students do in the States when you begin the class by questioning common assumptions. For instance, they were perplexed by my assertion that we didn't know who wrote Hebrews or to whom it was written. It turns out the Arabic Bible commonly used, called the Van Dyke translation, makes use of the Greek manuscripts which include a subscription at the end of Hebrews. I have not given that much thought over the years. I'm aware of its existence, but it is no longer an issue for modern English translations of the New Testament. It was described to me that young people are regularly taught by Muslims two things: Christians are infidels and the Bible is corrupt. This means I will need to spend some time talking about the text of the New Testament.

I'm not surprised I didn't get very far with my written lectures. I will need to do better with summarizing what I've written. That will mean spending some more time thinking about Hebrews and how best to communicate the central message to these students. I was very impressed with their inquisitiveness and the quality of their questions. I hope they all stick with me and not drop after a difficult and challenging first class.

After class Rami and I went to a nearby restaurant. The meal was largely the appetizers—pita bread and dishes of stuff like hummus, babaganoush, and a half dozen other dishes I didn't recognize. We also ordered a single order of lamb kabob. We couldn't finish everything. We had a cup of Arabic coffee, which came with small slices of baklava. In my blogs from Rome I complained about the size of the Italian espresso. If you can believe it, it seems like Arab coffee cups are half the size of Italian espressos.

I hope that everyone who reads this blog will check out the Gift Shop online at BBC . I met the man who coordinates the gift shop. One of the best ways you can support personally what I'm doing here, support BBC, and help local Palestinian Christians is to buy Christmas presents from this gift shop. I've been impressed by the quality of the work and its beauty. Order soon, order often. Imagine, Christmas presents from Bethlehem.

I now have an ethernet connection for internet in my apartment. I also figured out how to call my wife. She was trying to call me but the number we were told to use would get rejected. So I went ahead and called her from the phone in my apartment. We hadn't really talked to each other since Monday. Everything has been worked out now so we can stay connected. I also have an office to use. I've been a little uncomfortable working at the kitchen table and sitting in a straight back kitchen chair.

On Saturday I'll do some shopping, walk around Bethlehem on my own, and probably do some reading. I'm planning to catch a ride to the East Jerusalem Baptist Church this Sunday. Eventually I'll work out how to get to Ramallah for worship at the Friends meetinghouse.

I feel especially blessed to have met Rami. Besides the fact that he's one of the nicest people I've ever met, he is an experienced and professional tour guide and a trained archaeologist. We are making plans for him to give me weekly private tours around Israel/Palestine. We've already had conversations about what it might mean for Earlham School of Religion to bring students here for a two-week intensive. He loves the idea that we would want to combine visiting archaeological sites with time spent meeting Palestinians and learning about Arab culture. Great things are on the way and we're just starting.