We party alot here.

I helped MC Fr. Basilius' birthday night

Thomas, ML, Fr. Basilius looking at crazy art
I tried to bait these vultures, I think they were related to the turkey vultures that circle Clemens Stadium..."Don't go down today"
Moat at Kohav fortress
Valley leading up to Jordan border/mountains

Me, Thomas, and ML standing on fortress walls looking out at Jordan

In part of the fortress Thomas, Me, Fr. Basilius
Some of that crazy art outside the fortress, doesn't fit with the feeling of a fort
Roadside garden market, really fun to barter in this country
Line backed up to get into Jerusalem
Lots of rain
A lot more flooding
Fr. Zacharias' reception
Proceeding out of Vespers
The Abbot and Fr. Zacharias
"You like that? Its mine!"

Martin, Thomas, ML, Richard (Dormition zivi), and Johannes
Me and ML with Dormition's beauty behind us

Quite a bit has happened since we last talked. Fr. Basilius celebrated his birthday on the 18th. We as the volunteers tried our best to throw him a small party. It involved; a team game of charades, musical chairs, a clown nose (on me), hit music from the Father’s younger years, and lots of laughing.

Then on Monday the 20th, a young adult group of men from Germany and a physically handicapped group of Moslems from the Jerusalem area arrived. Both were pretty low-key groups throughout the week and the Germans left on Thursday. Then on Friday, Thomas, ML, Fr. Basilius, and I were invited to dinner by the Moslem group (Martin and Johannes had free this weekend and went on a trip). I did not know what to expect going into the night but my cheeks literally hurt so badly at the end of the night from all the smiling. We started off eating supper of traditional Arabic food. We had pitas which you filled with chicken, hamburger, newly made hummus, fresh vegetable salads, salsa-like sauce, coleslaw-like salad, homemade potato fries, cooked eggplant, fresh olives; all very delicious and shoved at me at an unbelievable pace.

There are many people back in America that I wish could spend time with these gracious people I’ve met. I did not have a dread of seeing and meeting Arabic people before coming to Israel, so for me this was just another point cementing the idea that we are led to believe many misconceptions of many Arabic facets (yes I try to keep up on the news, I know of the recent US strike in Syria on members of Hammas). This is extremely sugarcoated; there are people of Moslem religion who do not want anything to do with Christians or Jews, but there are Christians and Jews who have the same mindset. From my short life experiences, I’ve always come round to the same determination: no group of people is entirely monolithic and to estimate whom they actually are as humans is imperceptive.

After supper the Father departed us, we were invited for a smoke of sheesha (flavored tobacco smoked from a water pipe, of which I cordially declined), and were taught some basic Arabic phrases. After the smoke everyone went inside for dancing. It was tons of fun! This older man busted out a homemade flute-shaped instrument that resembled the sound of bagpipes (lots of vibrating frequency). Along with a drum and some singing we had ourselves a party. At first Thomas, ML, and I just clapped and watched because I was in awe at the music coming from the instrument and all the dancing. I had a constant smile up to this point and it grew even bigger when some girls pulled me out into the dancing area. As I incompetently tried to pick up the style of dancing I looked out into the crowd to see Thomas and ML smiling and laughing very hard. A beer would have been a blessing but since Moslems abstain, my nerves needed to gradually loosen on their own. They did and I was a dancing fiend. Many pictures and videos of our dancing, laughing, and celebrating were taken (none of which I hope end up of youtube titled “American fails to dance”). We ended the night eating hot Arabic dessert just off the grill. It is this mouthwatering-layered morsel consisting of: cheese, then something like shredded wheat, tons of sugar (which caramelizes), and pistachios. It is salty, sweet, and super rich which makes you feel distended because they serve you pieces the size of 1 inch-thick postcards. We three left the party at midnight after another round of sheesha (its more like a constant stream of someone smoking and others just coming to join) and talking (mostly listening on our part). We found out the next morning from one of the group members that they stayed up until 4am.
On Sunday everyone from Tabgha headed to Jerusalem. Father Zacharias was to say his final vows at Dormition (he will now come to Tabgha and stay for good and I will tell you more about him as I begin to know him) and we would also say goodbye to Fr. Jeremias. Fr. Jeremias headed back to Germany for a couple weeks (sabbatical), he will return at the end of November for a few days, and then leave in December and either go to stay in Germany or hopefully to a monastery in the California overlooking the ocean for a couple months. On the drive Fr. Basilius took Thomas, ML, and I to a fortress, used in the crusader times, near the Jordan border which we toured and had a picnic. It had some crazy art out in front of it (made in the 1900s), a huge moat, gigantic walls, and a scenic vista of Jordan to the west. As we were leaving the fortress it began to rain heavily. After driving for about an hour the rain stopped and shortly after so did we. We bartered with a roadside garden market owner for some decorations for the “Meeting Place” garden. During the complimentary tea that accompanies such prestigious acquisitions as ours we were shown pictures of the previous mornings rain on areas just down the road towards Jerusalem. I am dumbfounded at how there is any soil left in this country. Apparently every year torrential rains come and wash across everything destroying (roads and houses) and rebuilding (plants). Yet there seems no want to create a system to collect the water in a way to protect things.

We pulled up to the security gate that monitors traffic going into Jerusalem and were about the third car deep when all four lanes going into Jerusalem halted for half an hour. The line had to literally be backed up to the Dead Sea (almost 20 miles to the east) because so much traffic enters Jerusalem. At Dormition we changed clothes, attended the Vespers (evening prayer), and then everyone collected for a reception in Fr. Zacharias’ honor. The Vespers was when Fr. Zacharias professed his vows and it is a very exceptional ceremony with the monks arriving in procession, the Abbot endowing Fr. Zacharias, and all the monks congratulating him. Between when he was bestowed the title and all the hugs, there was one action performed by him which basically looked like he was rubbing his accomplishment in the faces of the other monks (almost the opposite of what he was actually doing). He would hold his diploma in the face of one monk and they would acknowledge his capability. I like the “family” that Dormition and Tabgha create. Everyone is so kind, unique, and geared toward this “togetherness”. It is sometimes hard to converse because of my lack of German language skills but these friends naturally pick up where I seem to drop off in ability.

I wait in great anticipation of this coming Tuesday and the US Presidential election. The mail system between the US and Israel may be sub-contracted out to the Pony Express causing me to get my ballot just last week. My options were to send it back paying normal postage (about $1.50) via airmail and hope it gets there in just under two weeks or overnight it at the minimum price of $20. I could not miss possibly the most important election of my time…mom & dad: send money please.

I’ve inadvertently become the resident veterinarian here in Tabgha. Ayla and four of her puppies have local infections on their necks. We took the puppies for vaccinations to the veterinarian Monday. He was home this time and we were given some medicine that must be administered by needle once a day for five days. The vet is in a town 25 minutes away so it is not practical to take them there everyday. I was given the medicine, some syringes, and left to “figure it out”…Paging Dr. Bancks…Paging Dr. Bancks.