234 of 273

Today is my 273rd day in BVS. For 234 of those days, Gaza has been under siege. October 7th is rightfully a day to lament and decry, but it cannot be understood without also knowing about the Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were violently dispossessed. For all 8,639 days of my life and many before, Palestine has groaned under the weight of Israeli occupation. When I was working on the farm in Ecuador, thousands of Palestinians were being displaced once again, their homes and land destroyed. When I was coming home because of political unrest, they had nowhere safe to flee. While temperatures rise above 100 degrees in Texas, just yesterday Palestinian women and children literally burned in a blaze of bombs in Rafah.

Yesterday was also Memorial Day, a day set aside to mourn and honor those who have died during military service. Often people will wear a poppy as a symbol of remembrance, which started in WWI when poppies sprouted up on barren battlefields. Poppies are also considered the national flower of Palestine. They symbolize the blood of those who have died and the resilience and the beauty of all those who have struggled for freedom from oppression and separation, for freedom to thrive. When I look at a poppy I think, what am I willing to sacrifice for peace, and how will my generation be remembered?  

As someone who believes that all human life is valuable, that justice is the basis for true peace, and that education and creative nonviolent resistance can pave the path for justice, I offer the following ideas of how we can respond to the situation in Israel and Palestine, acknowledging that there is so much I do not know and so much I have not done.

·       Learn about/get involved with Mennonite Action (join their email list, sign their petition for a permanent ceasefire)

·       Read the short, accessible book Beyond the Two-State Solution by Jonathan Kuttab. You can download a free copy here

·       Listen to any of the episodes of the Inverse Podcast (co-hosted by Drew Hart, Messiah University Prof and Harrisburg First COB member) focused on Palestine

·       Listen to the song Hind’s Hall by Macklemore (warning: there is strong language and imagery)

·       Try Palestinian food or otherwise celebrate Palestinian culture

·       Email our representatives to let them know we support a permanent ceasefire and oppose military funding for Israel

·       Attend a pro-Palestine protest

·       Pray for peace!

·       Have conversations in the pews and from the pulpit

·       Donate to an organization providing humanitarian aid or advocating for peace and justice in Palestine (like UNRWA or Nonviolence International)

~ We aren’t free until everybody’s free ~

……….

Following is a list of life updates from the last month:

·       My boss Terri has a full caseload so we’re not accepting new clients for the time being, but it feels like enough previous and current clients call or stop in that I’m not twiddling my thumbs all day! The non-profit that shares the space and offers English classes and childcare is on summer break, so it is a lot quieter without a bunch of kids running around.

·       Alice found good homes for all of the kittens.

·       I’ve been getting more plugged in at Austin Mennonite. I’m signed up for a variety of volunteer roles in coming months and get invited out for lunch and to other events. A church member named Susan who also lives in South Austin has been picking me up and dropping me off after church. She works in immigration law and originally came to Austin as a Mennonite voluntary service worker. I’m stoked that she has also agreed to be a formal mentor for me while I’m here; the first benefit of that was being invited to a pool party yesterday with her kids and some of her friends ;)

·       I am planning to extend my time in BVS through the fall, and potentially beyond. My placement feels like a good fit and overall I am quite content in Austin.

·       It has gotten HOT here. Yesterday the real feel was 107 degrees. Thankfully, though, Austin has so far dodged the other types of severe weather plaguing other parts of Texas.

·       I was gifted a bike by a coworker! It is red (my favorite color) and a vast improvement over not having a bike but lacks gears and doesn’t have hand brakes or a water bottle holder, so it also comes with challenges. Terri gifted me a quality bike lock and a helmet. Someone from Austin Mennonite said they will give me a bike that has gears when I get back from Ecuador. I feel very supported!

·       I am returning to Ecuador May 31-June 10 to co-lead a Church of the Brethren FaithX service trip alongside Marissa Witkovsky-Eldred. There will be 13 of us on the trip and most of our time will be spent at FBU where I was serving with a few days of sightseeing in Quito at the end.

·       I’ve continued to enjoy sightseeing right here in Austin, both solo and with friends. Some recent highlights have included visiting a coffee shop by a lake, attending a Spanish guitar concert, visiting a friend’s rock climbing gym, happening upon a refugee fair with lots of yummy food and beautiful handicrafts, and going to a well-known Austin pun competition!

·       The definite highlight of the past month was a visit from my cousin Carrie May 17-20! We saw some of the famous Austin bats fly out from under the South Congress bridge. We visited a Texas history museum and the capital, attended a concert by The Mavericks at the ACL Live venue, went paddle boarding, did some shopping with my friend Rachel, and just enjoyed being together!

Below is a smattering of photos and videos from past weeks!