Refusing to Feed Others

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

I'm reading a book Discovering North Carolina which has dozens of stories, newspaper articles, and accounts about the state in which I've lived most of my life.  I found it at the twenty-five cent sale at Fifth Street Books in September, and started reading it in mid-October.  

It's divided into four sections: Environment (which includes things like how NC got its name, sailors' impressions, a visit by President Monroe, the Civil War on the Home Front, and so forth), People (an explorer-historian's description of "a well-shaped, clean-made people" i.e., the "Indians in colonial North Carolina"; Daniel Boone "who lived in North Carolina longer than he lived anywhere else"; several governors, Andy Griffith, Buck Duke, etc.), Events (the hanging of Tom Dula, visits from George Washington and Robert E. Lee, Walter Hines' attack on the "mummies" in the NC legislature, "The Camels Are Coming," and so forth), and Social Fabric ("Quarrels among the Baptists," life in the cotton mills, descriptions of a country church service, etc.)

Yesterday I was reading the latter part of the Events section about Greensboro, NC, where "The Sit-Ins Begin."  I grew up and still live about 30 minutes from Greensboro. I was there just last week when I took Zach to the Science Center where he likes seeing the aquarium, and we were able to see the tiger before his afternoon snooze.  We travel through Greensboro nearly every time we go to the North Carolina mountains, and our "local" news stations are from out that way.

I read this line in this Events story: "Still others pointed to a December 1959 episode when McNeil returned from a trip to New York and was refused food service at the Greensboro Trailways Bus Terminal." (pg. 275)

That made me so sad!  I want to think if I were a white Southerner back in those days (pre-Civil War, during the Civil War, and in 1959!) that I would treat people with respect and kindness despite the fact that they were black.  I don't see how people justified this racism. How some perhaps had the audacity to use the Bible to justify this.  Yes, quote me those verses about servants and masters. Whatever. But refusing to feed a paying customer? Making black people use separate water fountains?  Sit at the back of buses and theaters and churches?  Why?  Do you think they will give you cooties? 

Why do people who often say they love "the good Lord," go to church, think they are going to heaven because they are basically good or said a prayer, do these things? Do you just ignore all those teachings about loving others as you love yourself?  In honor preferring one another? washing others' feet as Jesus showed us? even loving your enemies (if you consider them such..guess what? you gotta love them if you follow Christ.)

I don't get it.

I had a very small taste of this when I went to Syria in early 2009.  We'd had a wonderful visit there, and were treated exceptionally well.  But one person - one friend who had joined us several days to walk us through Damascus neighborhoods - said something that hurt me. Even his Syrian friends looked at him like he said the wrong thing and somewhat scolded him.  I really don't think he meant to hurt us.

We'd met with several Syrians that week.  A couple had had us over to their houses or taken us out to eat. This particular guy had joined us many times, but unlike a couple of others, he'd not had us meet anyone in his family.  Apparently his parents were super-pious and American Christians would have contaminated them because one day towards the end of our visit B commented, "My parents would have liked to meet you...if you were only Muslim." 



On the other hand, I remember one specific instance where I know I hurt someone because he was different than I so I know I've hurt others, too.  Probably many more than I want to admit - or even realize.

Have you ever been shunned or hurt because you weren't the right gender, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, or _______?  Even though you tell yourself so and so might not have meant it quite the way it came out, it still hurts a little (or a lot.) 

Anyway, this was just something I'd been thinking about.  I know we are in an election time when people are dividing and sometimes telling how stupid the other side is, but let's remember to be known for loving and serving others, fellow Christians, even if they differ from us.   Yes, even if they vote for that candidate you really, really don't like! 

Bible Land Culture: Courtyards, Non-Privacy, The Nativity, Bread, Voices

I finally finished Wild Goose Chase the other day and started on another book. I'm only on page 80 of over 300 pages, but I wanted to record these things while they were fresh on my mind.


Manners and Customs of Bible Lands by Fred Wight

My dad had this book at his house and suggested I read it last week when I was visiting. I have found it so interesting, and it actually made me "homesick" for Syria and life in the Bible lands. When I saw a sketch and read a description of the traditional house with courtyard, I could totally picture it because I'd stayed in one while in Damascus. (The hostel was actually an old Damascene house with courtyard and click here to see an old house with courtyard converted into a restaurant.) I could relate when the author said it was like within the courtyard one was inside his own house, but with the bonus of also being able to see the sky and experience God's great outdoors. He said when Bathsheba was bathing in the courtyard, she was within her house and not able to be seen by most. Only because of the palace's vantage point was David able to view her.

Many things stated reminded me of Syria -- removing the shoes upon entering a house, the warm, demonstrative greetings, the importance of hospitality. I enjoyed the part about Arabs not wanting to eat alone and how if you stayed as a guest in an Eastern house, you wouldn't be left alone (so don't expect much privacy) because they don't like being alone. To be left alone is a sad thing in a place that values relationships and community. I remember Thomas from the hostel. He was a young American who decided to rent a room with a Syrian family in order to learn more Arabic. One of his complaints: they never left him alone! He said the little boys were constantly opening the door to his room and wanting him to watch movies with them. (American movies, mind you, so they didn't really help him improve his Arabic!) But now reading this about how an Eastern person would feel "ill-treated" if left alone and how they would expect companionship, it makes much more sense why this Arab family kept seeking out Thomas' company.

Page 34 deals with seeing the birth of Jesus from Western and Eastern eyes. I'd first been introduced to this concept two years ago when I read an Arab Christian's book and found it pretty amazing to have my long-held views challenged. It was neat to see it mentioned in this book as well. Makes me believe we totally got that whole born-alone-in-a-barn thing wrong by looking at Jesus' birth and interpreting "manger" talk through our Western eyes. Of course we have mangers in barns, but people of Jesus' days were not like us. And for Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem which was the place of their family roots and not find one hospitable soul in a culture that exudes hospitality is plum crazy!

I read about the importance even "sacredness" of bread and, therefore, how amazing Jesus' "I am the Bread of Life" statement was to people of His day. (see pg. 45) Also I loved the part about how people would knock on the doors and say "It is I" and the other would recognize his voice. The author reminded us of when Jesus appeared to his disciples and said "It is I" and they recognized His voice (see pg. 40). He stated that the Easterner "is trained to listen to a voice and be able to recognize a friend." Does this relate to Jesus' statement about His sheep knowing His voice and following Him? (see John 10)

This book was published in the 1950s. The author said Arabs of today had preserved so much of the Biblical culture that they could get true glimpses of Bible times by speaking of present-day Arabs. Of course things could have changed within the last 60 years, but still I could relate to some of the things stated as I mentioned above. This book seriously made me want to live in Syria for a while and experience living in this great culture.


Did I mention that one year ago today we made our plane reservations for our trip to Syria? I can hardly believe the time has passed so quickly.

Visiting Mt. Kassioun with Amer

Apparently one of my Arab friends was looking at my Syrian pictures on Facebook last night because he commented that he should have been in this picture. Unfortunately Amer was in a car accident about two weeks prior to our trip and was not able to hang out with us due to torn ligaments in his ankle. We did visit him at his house, but he missed all other adventures.

I commented that maybe we'll have to draw him in the picture so today he sent me this. Apparently he photoshopped himself so it appears that he visited Mt. Kassioun with us.



See him there on the left? I thought this was pretty cute and wanted to share it here. Glad you could join us, Amer! :-) You can see the original picture here.

Six Months!

Today marks six months since our last day in Syria. It was the day we visited Samer's family at their house and met with Basheer, Ahmad "Jake," and a couple of Basheer's friends later that evening. We walked in the souq and bought a few goodies to take home. We made a few more memories in the hostel. And I cried. Boy, did I cry.


I miss this place. Just the atmosphere, the sights, sounds and smells. And the people. Out of this world. Lovely people.

Six months already. And in some ways it seems like a lifetime ago or like a dream. But I have pictures to prove I was there. Thank You, God, for the amazing opportunity that we had to visit Syria!

Miss y'all.

Damascus -- Final Photos

Can you believe it? This is it! Hear that? THIS IS IT! My last few pictures to share from our adventures in Syria! It's about time since this week marks four months since we boarded the plane for this country! I have enjoyed reviewing my pictures and remembering our days there. Now I can go back and reread things when I want to think about the places we saw and people we met. I may still recall some memories and share them from time to time, but this is all of the pictures that I took. Enough already, eh?


So humor me and let me show you my final pictures. Come along now. But let's put on our shoes first. This isn't easy ground to explore in socks.

Most of our adventures included the three of us: Susanne and Andrew, the American tourists, and Samer, our helpful friend who did so very much for us during our visit!

A few times it was the four of us as Abu Muhammad was the driver we hired to take us to Krac des Chevaliers and the mountainous areas of Saydnaya and Maaloula. He was a sweet person. Unfortunately, I can't stay in touch with him because he doesn't speak English, and I don't know Arabic.


I came to Syria and definitely had a great time. When Andrew took this picture, I was thinking of some commercial from waaaaaaay back. Was it an insurance commercial? All State perhaps? I just remember it having some lyric: "like a rock."


So now the stairs are empty .. of Susie and Andrew, at least

What's next on the horizon? What's beyond that hill where my eyes cannot see from this place?

For sure I am looking and wondering that myself. And most definitely this picture captures me during my stay in Syria. Always looking, always curious, always delighted by the many new experiences!

Pictures from Syria
January/February 2009

Damascus -- Street People

Besides the numerous westerners we met at the hostel, from time to time we met tourists on the streets of Old Damascus. I have in my notes that we gave directions to some Swiss tourists on the fourth day we were there. Imagine that! We must have thought we were Old Damascus pros by then. I do recall that meeting. They had their Syria & Lebanon Lonely Planet travel guide just like we had back at the hostel. We were able to recommend a place for a quick lunch since Damascus fast food was rather plentiful. One day as we were on our way to an internet café, we were stopped by Thomas because he was pretty much wanting some help in getting away from an acquaintance who had delayed him. (That's my reading between the lines.)



So good old Thomas (left) called us over to meet Christopher (second from left) and one of the only other Americans we met while in Syria. Was his name Bill? I'll call him that anyway. These guys were interesting characters.

First of all Bill is a Vietnam vet who later in life decided to travel the world. He told Samer at first he was a little fearful knowing full well his country dropped a lot of bombs all over the world, but so far whenever he knocked, the door was opened. He had visited Eastern Europe and a few countries in the Middle East with hopes of visiting Iran next. Samer actually ran into him a couple months after our initial meeting and Bill told Samer that so far he hadn't had any luck getting into Iran. He was going to give it a short while longer and then give up and head somewhere else. I admire his adventurous spirit!

Christopher is German and Irish, but he knows Arabic and lives there in Damascus. He arranges tours and helps foreigners find rooms for rent. I believe this is why Thomas knew him as Christopher may have put Thomas in touch with some families who boarded students. He kept saying how Irish I looked, how much my coloring favored his Irish mom although her hair was a bit lighter, on and on. He really dominated my time during that visit and I had a hard time getting away. You can tell when we had the one picture together that he pulled me right to his face.

Thomas was our acquaintance from the hostel. His plans were to study Arabic at Damascus University. He'd previously studied in Egypt, I believe. He was another of the Americans we met. The only other one whom I recall besides Bill (above) was Sarah from Chicago whom we met at the bookstore. She was buying an Arabic-English dictionary.

Picture from Damascus, Syria
February 3, 2009

Damascus -- Random Mountain Pictures

This was the first day we escaped the crowds and noise of Damascus and experienced a different part of Syria. Below are random pictures of our trip to Saydnaya and Maaloula.

The mountains seem to form a natural wall

Road sign along the way

President's photo in Maaloula

We got out often in Maaloula to see interesting things

I saw this young boy walking home after school

A closer look

So many neat sights in this area

Abu Muhammad enjoyed the trip as well!

Pictures from Maaloula, Syria
February 5, 2009

Damascus -- Random Shots

This week I have walked several times at dusk. It wouldn't necessarily start off that way, but I think we all know how it's light and then gradually "the sun goes down" and it gets dusky. Anyway, I've noticed three times recently how that time of day reminds me of Damascus. I guess it's because we walked a lot and it was winter so the days were shorter. We tended to walk quite a bit in the evenings. In this post I've included 3 pictures of Damascus at night. These particular shots were taken near the Umayyad mosque. Also this post just has some random shots of various places around Damascus.

Minaret at Umayyad Mosque

Samer at the old wall

Andrew & Susanne at the library

Here with are with the President's
photo in the background. See it under the flags?

Andrew at the fruit stand

A building near the falafel restaurant

A narrow alley near the hostel

I like Damascus at night.

Pictures from Damascus, Syria
January/February 2009

Damascus -- Convent of St. Takla

Remember the convent sheltered in the mountain? (see next to last picture) Well, here it is up close! We had to go through the gap to get here.

Convent of St. Takla

a nearby house

Samer, our faithful friend

Susanne & Samer

American and Syrian. Who would have ever thought such very different people would be friends one day? Oh, that would be God! Ha, ha...what a story. I certainly never asked for Middle Easterners to invade my life, but what a wonderful blessing from God to give me such dear friends. I miss them so much!

A view of St. Takla
This place had a really nice cave we were able to visit.

I just loved seeing clothes hanging out to dry!

I am one of the few Americans who does this despite having a perfectly fine dryer.

Pictures from Maaloula, Syria
February 5, 2009

Damascus -- Meeting the Sheikh's Son

One of our first evenings in Damascus, we met Hassan, a dentist friend whom I had actually exchanged e-mails with from time to time. He was a friend of Samer's from their shared German class.


We went to a café for a short visit and took a couple of pictures before we went our separate ways. Hassan didn't beat around the bush, but asked us straight up what our impressions were of Islam and if we were thinking of converting.


Perhaps he is more direct because he is the son of a well-known sheikh, and maybe he got his outgoing evangelistic nature from his father. Or maybe he just realized he may never see us again and wanted to invite us to Islam during his one-and-only meeting. Either way, I enjoyed talking with him and found his bold approach different from the others who were much more shy.

We also saw a few sights around central Damascus as darkness fell

Pictures from Damascus, Syria
February 2009

Damascus -- St. Serge Gift Shop

Now that we've seen some things from St. Serge, how about we check out the gift shop.

Oh, it seems an exciting prospect for me!

and what an interesting ceiling this was .. not as lovely as the ones in the mosques and churches, but charming nevertheless


Georgette was our guide in the chapel area of the convent where we were not allowed to take photos. I did buy a pamphlet with pictures from there. Within the chapel, she said the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. For some reason that brought tears to my eyes as I thought of Jesus saying these words .. they were HIS words, in HIS language. Sweet. In this picture, Georgette is showing us how an ancient lock worked.


The gift shop had many interesting things such as this map of ancient civilizations in the Middle East

and various decorative items

This door is supposedly 2,000 years old and was made from the cedars of Lebanon which are mentioned in the Bible. Lebanon here meaning the mountains of the modern-day country which has that name.

Pictures from Maaloula, Syria
February 5, 2009

Damascus -- Views from the Convent of St. Serge

In the previous post, you saw a bit from outside and within the courtyard of the Convent of St. Serge.

After a while we went to the balcony area to see the sights around us

such as these views

though we saw many crosses throughout our journey through Saydnaya and Maaloula, we did see the occasional minaret

afterall we were in a Muslim country

Pictures from Maaloula, Syria
February 5, 2009