Welcome Home!

Once we had confirmation of the site, we headed out with Cate to the Golan hills across the Sea of Galilee. We loaded up as much as we could carry to prepare our camp and then hiked along a trail marked by piles of stones and colorful rainbow ribbons. The sun was going down and we were exhausted by the time we arrived at the welcome center, but a cup of hot chai and a warm "welcome home!" greeting by a beautiful rainbow sister from Germany helped to revive us. Everyone there urged us to spend the night at the welcome center as the climb down to the main camp was long and difficult and full of thorny bushes, but we decided to press on. It was the new moon, so no natural light was available to help us find our way. We asked directions at the chai tent half way down, but the directions were so vague and complicated that the man there decided to guide us down. We whacked our way through thorn bush after thorn bush. How thankful we were for our guide, especially as our little crew multiplied with more and more people who had been wondering around lost in the thorny abyss. We crossed a river at the bottom and finally made it to the main circle. We spread out our sleeping bags and crashed for the night.

The next couple days were busy building our camp. We needed a spot big enough for our big family tent and Cate's individual one. We found a perfect space between two trees and Ian (my eagle scout hero husband!) tied up tarps to give shade and rain cover for a community area between our two tents. We cleared the ground of thorns and thistles and other pokey things and then set up our tents:



Aside from the endless variety of thorn trees and bushes, the location of the gathering was ideal. It was in a valley with a flowing river for washing and water supply, and we could see the Sea of Galilee between the mountains from our camp site. We also discovered new shortcuts back up the trail to the car, making the journey much quicker and easier.

Food is prepared, served, and eaten communally at a rainbow gathering. Those with the inspiration will focus volunteers to create a meal, and if more are needed then the call echoes through the camp, "Help in the kitchen!!!" As things are coming together, the call goes out, "Food Circle!!!" An hour or two later, another call is heard. "Food Circle...NOW!!!" This last call is repeated once or twice until the circle forms and becomes focused. Everyone holds hands and sings songs together before the food is served. Everyone brings and cleans their own personal eating dish and utensils. After the meal, a "magic hat" is passed around the circle along with a particularly happy song and dance to collect offerings to help replenish supplies for the kitchen and community.

Here is a view of the kitchen tent and main circle fire from the welcome area above:



Here is a closer view (cameras aren't so welcome at gatherings so we didn't take many pictures)






Food Circle:



Every once in a while we would hike back up to the car for supplies or to make a trip. Here are some of our creative carrying maneuvers:

Christy carrying a heavy load Nepali style...

Asha riding in Abba's back pocket...


Our dear friend Chinua flew in from India and also joined us at the rainbow. Both he and Cate have been to the Israeli gatherings for years now, as well as the annual "Peace in the Middle East" gatherings in Turkey which are closely related. We have heard of these gatherings for years, but now it was exciting to actually be there ourselves and be part of their community. Chinua is an amazing musician, so the moment he arrived everyone begged him to play. We sat around the fire singing praise songs and spirituals for hours. It was so heavenly! People joined in, dancing and singing. After one of the worship songs, a young girl who had been dancing spontaneously said, "Praise de Lord!" Chinua also sang Yeshu bhajans (Indian style devotional songs to Jesus) around the night fire circle. Sometimes I only heard them from my tent, but when I was there at the circle I blissfully joined in and sang with all my soul. So sweet!!!

The most memorable and terrifying event of the gathering in Asha's experience was...the helicopters. Loud, scary military helicopters that came too close to our camp. The valley was strategic for training pilots through rough terrain that is uninhabited, so throughout the day and often at night they would swoop low into our camp and back, two by two, leaving a terrified toddler burying her face in her hands and clutching her Mama or Abba for dear life. We have been back home for a few days now, and she still talks about it all the time and runs to us trembling at the slightest sound of an airplane in the sky.



Rainbow gatherings usually build up until the full moon, and then thin out from there. We knew a big thunder storm was on its way, so the night of the full moon we quickly packed up and escaped just before torrents of rain made the steep climb impossible. We didn't even have time to say goodbye. We had to hurry, especially since Cate and Chinua had a flight back home to India to catch. So we slipped away in the night. It was sad to leave so silently. There were people we wanted to connect more with and pray with and sing with, but we had to trust these new friends in His hand. Perhaps next year's rainbow gathering, maybe the next Turkey gathering, maybe one day we would see them again... its a small world after all :)

Making our way up

After a couple nights in Sde Boker, we made our way north toward the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) for the rainbow gathering.

There are some signs on the highways in Israel that we don't see back home:



On our way up, we camped out by the Dead Sea and took a dip in the thick salty water. It was fun for a few minutes, until Asha accidentally went partially under the water and then screamed at the top of her lungs for a good half hour. Every single person on the beach glared at us with hatred and condemnation. I scanned the crowd for at least one sympathetic soul but none was to be found. Not so fun. Asha finally recovered, but we avoided the Dead Sea from then on...



When we arrived at the Kinneret, there were still questions about the location of the gathering so we camped out and waited until we had final confirmation. Here is Asha with our tent:

Reunion at Sde Boker

Our friend Cate (who we visited in India last year) picked Ian and Asha up at the airport in Tel Aviv. All hostels and homes were totally booked that night, so the only option was for them to drive south several hours to our dear friend Leilah's home in the beautiful desert community of Sde Boker. Two days later, I drove down to meet them. Yay!

Leilah is there doing graduate work in soil and water science. Here is Leilah with her current research project:



Breakfast at Leilah's: the most amazing spiced apple oatmeal ever!!!



I am personally not so much a fan of the desert, but the geography here was stunning. Ian urged me to see the sunrise my first morning and it was like stepping out into another world with its desert cliffs and nubian ibex...

They're on a plane...and I'm not!

Ok, imagine this. You are all packed and ready to go. You arrive at the ticket counter with time to spare and confidently present your tickets and passports, anxious to get through security check so you can get that bagel and cream cheese your daughter has been begging for and relax at the gate together in excited anticipation, waiting for your flight. Everything goes smooth for a few blissful seconds, then the bomb drops. The airline attendant looks confused and points to your passport, "It's expired."

Now every time I prepare for a big trip, this sort of scenario goes through my head. All those last minute tragedies like a forgotten ID or ticket issued in the wrong name. But this time it was no anxious thought...it was reality. I was stunned. I looked at my well worn passport and alas, it had expired two months ago.

I tried to diffuse the frenzy of panic and humiliation and hopeless thoughts, I struggled to trust that God had a plan in the midst of this and for some reason in His sovereignty had allowed me to make such a simple yet catastrophic mistake...oh it was a struggle!

To make a long story short, Ian and Asha continued as planned onto the flight while I scrambled to get an appointment at the passport agency and a new ticket to meet them as soon as possible. It was all so sudden, I hardly had a moment to say goodbye to them. Before I knew it, they were gone. On a plane. Far, far away. Oh Lord, help!!!

And help He did. My parents offered to pay the cost of the extra flight I had to purchase. I was able to get a crisp new passport the next day. And I am scheduled to board the plane tomorrow morning... Thank you Jesus!!!

As for Abba and baby, I have received several snippets of news. Asha slept the first two hour leg. Good! They had a sweet bonding time the second leg. Fantastic! I did not know there were so many legs to their journey, but seems they had at least three yesterday. There was a long delay somewhere along the way, and they arrived in Atlanta too late to catch their connecting flight to Israel. They spent last night in Atlanta and the entire day today in the airport. Asha napped an hour and a half on the floor, then woke up and cried for me for about 20 minutes :( Then she saw someone with my build and hair back in a bun, and she thought it was me for one comforting moment... Then she realized it wasn't, and really broke down. Oh how my heart breaks to scoop that little muffin up in my arms! Thankfully Ian was able to calm her down with airline pretzels and that was the last I heard from them, other than a quick note to say they were boarding the plane at 6:30 this evening and would be in Israel in about 8 or 9 hours.

Lord willing, our next post will be from the Holy Land!


That tragic moment:




Asha the world traveler



Waiting to board the plane



Hidden blessing - Abba/daughter bonding time :)

Israel

Stay tuned! we're leaving in the morning. We'll be there for a month. We may not post pictures till we get back (mid Nov.).

-- Love,
us.

Home sweet home!

We left Delhi on the afternoon of New Year's Eve and celebrated the new year on the plane just outside Taipei. We then went back in time to arrive in San Francisco about 6pm the same day we left and celebrate the new year once again. Pretty weird. We are still adjusting from the time warp, seeing as it is past 4 am and we have been up working on this blog since midnight...

Many thanks and apologies to all of you who have followed our blog and found it going nowhere for long stretches of time. Traveling with a baby, slow internet connections, the constant adjustment of traveling and trying to just be present where we were are a few of our favorite excuses. Your prayers for our travels despite our lack of communication have held us up. We had an amazing adventure and have returned feeling much healthier in every way. We are so very grateful!

Pahar Ganj

We left Goa with renewed spirits and ready to face the urban sprawl of our last stop in India: Pahar Ganj, New Delhi. Unlike many other more savory areas of the city, this narrow street of shops, guest houses, aggressive street vendors, beggars, dust and cows is a dreaded hub for budget travelers in India. We were surprised to find ourselves really enjoying our time there, however, and learned that we wouldn't even mind living in this kind of urban environment. Downtown Santa Cruz, perhaps?










Ajay Guest House, an old favorite. This is where we stayed.

My friend, Haog. He is officially a refugee from Yugoslavia and supports himself by selling incense along the traveler trail. He has faithfully sent me at least two postcards annually for the past 6 years.

Sunset in Arambol

The villiage where our friends live is filled with travelers with children. Every evening, they all come out for fire dancing, juggling, watching the sunset, and playing on the beach. We loved singing worship at sunset while the children played in the sand and water.