A few thoughts

A quiet day in Jerusalem.  We have heard there is a cease fire between Gaza and Israel, but shortly after it was announced Gaza sent more rockets in to Israel.  I guess cease fire means something different to them - maybe they think it just means not as many rockets can be sent!  We haven't heard what they have done today.
There are many local staff who have had family called up to the reserves.  One of the staff members son in law was called to the front lines as a medic.  He has been told he may be able to go home tomorrow.  Please pray for him and his family as he has seen injuries and death that will be hard for him to put out of his mind.  We have had many tours cancel their trip to Israel.  That is so unfortunate as it is safe in and around Israel.  The tour companies and tour guides would not take any chances of putting the people in harm, and the tours that are here are not feeling in any danger at all. However, we also know that they cannot guarantee that nothing will happen.  But of course, whether we are in Canada or anywhere in the world, we never know if something could happen.  Is it safe to go to certain parts of Vancouver or Calgary or Toronto?  There is a better chance of getting mugged in those areas than it is to be hit from a rocket here. I feel sorry for the people who have waited for a life time to come to Israel, and then have to cancel because of this unrest.   It is interesting that the tours that have cancelled coming to the Garden are all from America.  The Nigerians, Indonesians and Europeans are all still coming.  It is generally quieter in the month of December as people do plan on staying close to home before Christmas, but now it will be even quieter with these cancellations.

The following is just a list of what comes quickly to my mind. If I think of others I will send them in another email.

Things I miss
1. not being able to find any low fat cheese or milk.  Most of the cottage cheese is either 3%,5%, or 9%.  I found 1% once but haven't seen it since.  There is also no skim milk and the 1% milk tastes more like 3%.
2. not being able to read labels and know what is sour cream or yogurt.  Not knowing what package is white flour, whole wheat flour, oat flour or ?.  It makes shopping interesting.
3. baking in an oven that is in only in celsius - and then it shows 100, 200, hot or very hot.  Makes baking interesting.  So far nothing burned or under cooked, but can't go by what the recipe says as far as how long it needs to be in the oven.
4. seeing all our friends and family - although we do skype with our kids and grandkids on a regular basis.
5. knowing what the exact the cost of something is.  Because we buy most of our vegetables and meat from small stores around the garden we never know if we are getting a good price or not.
6. understanding what the people are saying on the streets and in the shops. 
7. not knowing what will be open and what will be closed.  Fridays is the Muslim sabbath so their stores are closed, as of sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday the Jewish shops are closed and on Sundays the store owners who are Christians close their shops.  After a while you get to know who is who but today I walked a few blocks to a shop where I knew I could get some spices and they weren't open - so I guess they are Muslim.  Late this afternoon Don and I thought we would experience the new tram to see how far it goes from one end to the other, but we were too late.  We were there just after 3 pm but it had already stopped for the day so that they would be back at the main station before Shabbat started.  Oh well, another day. 

Things I don't miss!
1. having a busy schedule with no down time - here our evenings are free so we have lots of time to invite fellow volunteers or some of the local staff over for dinner and a visit.
2. Having to hop in the car to get this errand or that errand done.  Here we walk everywhere, don't miss driving at all, and love all the exercise.
3.  The cold winter weather.  Here we are still experiencing temperatures in the 20's, the sun shining most days with the birds singing.  We know the rain and cooler tempertures will be coming soon, but we're not shovelling snow!
4.  All the stress and craziness of preparing for Christmas.  Even the believers here celebrate in a very small way.  All the stores, schools, businesses, etc are still open on Christmas day - December 25.  Because of the diverse religions, each religion celebrates on their specific holiday- their specific day.  The Jews with Hanukah, the Greek Orthodox in January, etc.  We have come across 2 stores though that do have Christmas decorations for sale - Santas, reindeers, snowmen and twinkling lights. 

Things I love about being here!
1.  Serving the Lord in such a beautiful place.  The garden is so peaceful so even if there is unrest in other parts of the country we live in a beautiful garden, listening to worship in different languages from people of many different countries.
2.  Meeting people from all over the world that believe in the same risen Lord that we believe in.
3.  Going to different churches on Sunday and worshipping with Palestinians, Jews, or other nationalities and singing songs in English, Arabic or Hebrew.
4.  Everywhere we go - in Jerusalem or other parts of Israel, there is some significance that relates to a part of the Bible or an event in the history of the country.
5.  Making friends with fellow volunteers from England, Sweden, Australia and the United States.  It is amazing that none of us know each other before arriving here, and yet in a couple of days we have become good friends.  We know that it is this common interest in serving here at the garden that bonds us together so quickly.
6.  Learning new recipes from the local staff here.  One of the ladies, Matilda who is in her early 20's - a Palestinian who has become a born again Christian, has been sharing some of her recipes with me.  I'm eager to try them out and hope Don likes them as much as me.  If not, friends back at home will have to try them with me.
Here is a picture of Matilda and me.  She was not happy to get her picture taken today as she was not dressed as nice as she usually is.  I told her I would take another picture another day so you can see her at her best.

7. The fast food here is a Falafel or a Shawarma.  They are everywhere and they are sooooo good and actually quite healthy.  Even Don has come to like them!  They have McDonalds here and we did stop in to see what they were like.  They don't have Big Macs or quarter pounders, but have the New Yorker, LA, Miami, and Chicago.  Of course none of them come with cheese as that would not be kosher.  We bought some fries just to see if they tasted the same and they were good.

Here are some pictures.  I've tried to upload some video but it doesn't seem to work.  For those of you on facebook I will try and upload a few videos there. 
This picture is the vendors selling just outside the Damascus gate.  It was taken a few days ago.

This is the garden cat.  She comes to every apartment as different volunteers always let her in.  The last few mornings she was hanging around our door so much to Don's dismay I let her in and as you can see, she made herself right at home.  At lunch time when Don was resting on the couch, she actually curled up right beside him and Don didn't seem to mind at all!

We went in to the old city today, and because it is Friday and the muslim prayer day, people must have decided to stay away as the streets were empty of people.  It was nice to walk around without hundreds of other people.

A meat market in the old city.  Not sure what type of fish is hanging there!

A lady selling her spices.  I noticed today that a lot of the ladies were selling raisins and dates.  I just might have to buy some. 

This was a barricade that was set up down the street checking the muslim men's passports before entering the old city.  Nothing happened today.

Till next time - Shalom.