Jordan River Baptism

Oh happy day!

Of all the memories we will have to take with us from this Olmsted experience, this one will certainly stand out. Just before Christmas this past year, Lydia and Will were baptized in the Jordan river, not far from where Jesus himself was baptized by John the Baptist. 

 As Christians, this is a pretty big deal for us.   We attend a sweet little Lutheran Church in Jaffa that is sponsored by a Norwegian organization.  The congregation is very international, even including a few Israelis.  Christian churches in Israel are sparse, but that is a topic for another time.  We have grown very fond of our little church as well as the pastor and his family.  They happen to be from Denmark.  Their kids attend an international school in Jaffa that teaches in English, Hebrew and Arabic.  Their little ones already speak four languages!  Crazy.  Anyhoo, with the Jordan river nearby, a trustworthy and favored pastor willing, and a recent profession of faith from Lydia - we had the perfect storm for a Whitney Houston style dunking.

Lydia is not pleased with the winter temps in the Jordan River, which by all honest accounts is more like a creek or even stream by the time it gets to the Dead Sea. She did great though, making it all the way through three cold dunks...in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Lydia was very ready for her big day.

Will was so happy before he was submerged, but after one frigid dunk he was shocked. Then he tried to climb on our pastor, Christian's, shoulders. Technically, he was only baptized in the name of the Father...but we said 'close enough' & called it good!

                                

happy Lydia

                          

poor Will

Scandalous amount of thigh showing for a baptism but unfortunately I only remembered tights for Lydia.

No? You don't have armed guards at your baptism? 

The banks of the Jordan river currently separate Israel from Jordan.  These guys were keeping the peace on the banks by making sure no one crossed the river. I imagine it is strange for these Jewish soldiers to watch people make pilgrimages to this mud puddle of a river and voluntarily wade into the filth as part of a meaningful religious ceremony.  As bizarre as the whole thing may be, this four year old little boy was thrilled to have big guns at his baptism.  Any one who has a little boy knows that they are strangely drawn to guns and can make a weapon out of anything.
All in good fun.
 No comments on the political landscape of American gun control please.

Another memorable part of this afternoon was the fact that we were able to share it with dear Aunt Katie, who was here in Israel for a visit. She does not take bad pictures. Ever.

The baptismal site is in Jericho, which is part of the West Bank.  This territory is constantly on and off limits to us (usually more off than on), so this was our first time in Jericho.  It was much more sparse than other parts of the West Bank to which we've traveled.  To say that it felt third world would be an understatement.  The disparity between Tel Aviv and Jericho is shocking.

Zaccheus was a wee little man & a wee little man was he...

After the baptism we drove through Jericho and saw the spot where Jesus called to Zaccheus from the sycamore tree (Luke 19: 1-10). Supposedly this is the tree.  Then we headed to see a wadi (dry riverbed) where a Greek Orthodox Monastery is literally cut into the rock. This is on the same path from Jericho up to Jerusalem on which thousands of pilgrims would traverse each year to go up to the holy city.

 

Will gets really excited to ride a donkey.  He is also a loose canon around people peddling their wares.  He accepts everything offered to him (we are working on this), and thus runs up a nice bill for his parents.  Before I knew it, he had embarked on this 100 shekel donkey ride, and then when all was said and done he accepted a refreshing 20 shekel cup of fresh squeezed orange juice.  We made him pay for the OJ out of his piggy bank when we got home, but we spotted him for the donkey ride.  Just this once.

This guy looks way scary in this picture, but he was quite nice.

Lydia and Aunt Katie with the monastery in the background.

The key is the symbol of the Palestinian desire to return to their homes, lost to Israel.  

Giant key statues like this one are a common sight in West Bank towns like Bethlehem and Jericho.

                               
This was quite an experience. We must thank our dear friends from Emmanuel church:
 Christian, Lisbeth, Amanda & Simon Rasmussen for joining us on this very special day!

Shalom Y'all,
the Welches

Israeli Election-Day

This past Tuesday, Israelis went to the polls to exercise their democratic rights to elect their leaders. As a foreigner, I can honestly say that understanding the ins & outs of this system is beyond confusing. There are over 25 different political parties from which to choose here (yep, it's not just red-state / blue-state). The Israeli Knesset (parlament) is made up of different coalitions of these parties which range from ultra-orthodox, to Arab-Israeli. Honestly, hearing about who is siding with who and which coalitions will make a majority sounds almost like kids on a playground joining forces to see who can have the biggest, strongest club. Reading or hearing explanations of politics and elections here can be daunting in English.  Just imagine it in Hebrew.

So who to support? Lots of people say, "Bibi"
Our friend Izzy summed it up well, "the nice thing about Israeli politics is that if you don't like Bibi, you can always vote for Bibi!" True enough--he always seems to win. Bibi Netanyahu has been a centerpiece of Israeli politics for years. He is conservative, popular, and his disagreements with President Obama are well-known here and in DC. Many Israelis support him, but I don't know anyone who actually admires him. I was relieved to discover that many of my Israeli friends weren't decided on their vote (much like me in November, wavering between two mediocre-to-bad choices).

The actual results from Tuesday's election provided a break from the norm.  There were some shocking and unexpected changes to the political landscape. Bibi is once again the prime minister, but it is not all black and white as before.  Yair Lapid, a former news host turned politician, was the surprise 'winner' who's party essentially gets to decide what the new government will look like. This is new because rarely do outsiders break into the political scene (Israelis like to recycle their politicians). Lapid's biggest push thus far is to require all Israelis, including the Haredim (ultra-orthodox) to serve time in the military. This would be a huge change for this country that the majority of Israelis will welcome.

As for us, we couldn't vote.  We're not Israeli citizens, and we wouldn't know who to vote for anyway. Instead, team Welch enjoyed a nice down-day since elections afford everyone here a day off work & school. This was a perfect chance to take the kids to the beach with our friends...we even went swimming (in January!?!) Boo-ya. Thanks again General Olmsted.
Now for the obligatory family pics...


We loaded the wagon for our first morning on the beach since October.

We hung out with our dear friends Alon & Avital and had a wonderful election day. 

 Shalom Y'all,
Stew & E

Israelis love Iranians?!?

Apparently yes...
Below is a TED lecture given in Jaffa this past September. EJ & I were actually registered to be in the audience, but we didn't make it (I was in Cairo). It's an interesting story about Israelis and Iranians reaching out through social media. If you have 15 min, it's worth a look.

This simple little experiment illustrates the gap that often exists between government rhetoric and the whims of regular, everyday people. Sometimes that gap can be enormous (especially in this part of the world).  So will all this Facebook love bring peace to the Middle East? Probably not.
Is it a step in the right direction?
I think so.

Shalom Y'all,
Stew

A River Runs Through It

Today the sun is shining, and the temperature is starting to rise again.  Thank Goodness! We just aren't prepared for cold weather out here.



This past week has been an unusually stormy one for Israel.  Heavy rains, hail, snow, flooding, strong winds, and unusually low temps for the country have thrown everyone off kilter. Yes, I am well aware that this pales in comparison to something like Katrina, but this is really big stuff for this part of the world!



On Tuesday morning I had a date with a friend in Jaffa, which is about a 15 minute drive from us.  Since my weekday mornings are spent making breakfast, packing school lunches, and making sure all family members are dressed and out the door on time, I typically don't listen to Israeli news radio or TV.  OK, I never do.  So, because of this it is no surprise that when I set off to meet my friend I had no idea that half of Tel Aviv was shut down due to the storms, that the major highways were closed, and that the police were advising everyone not to travel into Tel Aviv unless absolutely necessary.  Oops.  My fifteen minute drive took a solid hour.  Stop lights were out everywhere, and traffic was at a standstill.  On the plus side, as I drove down the main beach road I was able to see the Mediterranean in such a fury that the beach restaurants were flooded and the road I was on was covered in sand.  It was quite a sight!

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/biggest-storm-in-decade-wreaks-havoc-in-israel-shuts-down-ayalon-highway-for-9-hours.premium-1.492773

In keeping true to form with our Israeli experience thus far, you just never know what to expect or what each day will hold.  I guess that is more of a life lesson than an Israel lesson.  And since I am on the subject of life lessons....

Life lesson #863: When you order new rain boots for your child three weeks before Christmas, they will arrive five weeks later - on the last day of the biggest storm in 15 years, naturally.

Let's hope they still fit next year.

Shalom Y'all,

E

Last Stop...Brussels

We are so fortunate to be part of the Olmsted Program.  We've said it before, and we'll say it again. This trip was such a blessing to us in so many ways.  The sites were fantastic, and the weather was refreshing, but the real creme de la creme of the trip were fellow Olmsteders.  We had such a nice time at each location getting to know the other Olmsted families on this mad, crazy & often surreal experience.  The Hensarlings in Brussels were no exception; in fact, they are some of the sweetest, most enjoyable people. We hung out, the guys played lots of guitars....and they were so patient with our kids, who at the end of a three week, multi-stop vacation started to go a little batty.  Ok, more than a little.


Will felt an immediate connection with the token symbol of Brussels, "Manneken pis."

Then he proved how he is obviously his father's son...

The Brussels Military Museum was excellent, loaded with uniforms, planes and tanks, including this one from WWI which inspired the one pictured in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

Outside, Hugs and smiles...

....turn ugly. We still don't know who won this one.

I wish we had a picture of this carousel from afar.  It was the strangest conglomeration of ride ons we have ever seen.  Will loved the submarine.  Lydia was on a dinosaur skeleton. And one little lucky/ traumatized boy was placed in the rocket, which literally went up through the top of the carousel and back down again as it spun around and around.

When Stewart sees a bass he just has to play...

This was one of the many culinary treats of the Christmas markets. Not only do Belgians make amazing chocolate, delicious food, and about 10,000 varieties of beer, the street venders sold this potatoes/ham/spices/brie combo that was 'to die for'. We are just now getting back to pre-Euro-trip weight...after a month. Scrumptious!


We spent on afternoon in the quaint castle-city of Bruges. The dates written on many of the buildings show how old they are (this one was built in 1608).

 Good times, good friends, and a healthy dose of wintery Christmas made this a trip to remember. Thanks again, General Olmsted!

Shalom Y'all,
E & Stew

Winter Wonderland

From Munich we took a day trip to Salzburg, Austria, and then we traveled on to our next stop: Garmisch, Germany.

Salzburg was beautiful.  And COLD.  Very, very cold.

More Christmas markets!

Mozart's birthplace - the one place in Salzburg Stewart was determined to see. We parked in a parking garage that accessed the back of this building.  But we didn't know this valuable bit of information, so we meandered and wandered in circles until finally, hours later we gave up and stopped to eat directly across from said building.  It was right under our noses the whole time!

Really?  You want me to pose for another picture?

After Austria and our final day in Munich we packed up the x-large purple church van rental (they snickered when they told us they had a 'free' upgrade from the station wagon we reserved) and hit the road through Bavaria.  Germany in the snowy winter season is absolutely gorgeous.  It looks exactly like you imagine it in fairy tales. 

Since there wasn't enough snow around our lodge to get in any snow play, we decided to take the nearby cable car up to Zugspitze - the highest peak on the German Alps, bordering Austria.  The views were unbelievable.  So was the cold. Unfortunately, ski season wasn't starting for another week, so we just a smidge too early for skiing, sledding, and even gear rental - hence our lack of snow gear.

                                                Stewart poses for a potential profile pic.

                                Family shot provided by random non-English speaking stranger.

Sitting above the clouds and warming up in the cafe.

Back at Edelweiss... the kids take a seat on Santa's throne? and hope that they stay off that naughty list for a few more weeks.

                  Heh heh heh...