A Brief Ride Together

I returned to Tulkarm on February 4th after my placement visit in Jerusalem.   I left early because on Friday there is only limited transportation.  There was a bus from Jerusalem to Ramallah but I had to take a different route from Ramallah.  The Service drivers are always so helpful and they said I could only get to Tulkarm by going through Nablus.  It was raining quite steadily and even though it is a bit of an inconvenience for us, it is a very welcome rain for Palestine. It has been a dry winter and they have not received the average amount of rainfall for this time of year. 

In the middle of our Service van was a Palestinian family.  The mother was holding a tiny baby and it appeared to be a newborn.  The father was holding a one year old child.  When I asked if they spoke English they replied in Arabic “La” which means “no.”  My guess is that they were just returning from the hospital after the baby was born.  The Service driver stopped in the country and they got out in the pouring rain.  It did not appear that anyone was right there waiting for them.  She had made a call on her cell phone during the trip so hopefully they were rescued from the rain in a very short time.

Another baby born in this land of uncertainty.  I wonder what awaits him or her.  It is the same question that Joseph and Mary perhaps pondered not far from here.  Will there be opportunities to achieve freedom?  I hope and pray that there will. 

Susanne