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I’m finally back in Nazareth for a little while after a busy summer in and out of the area working with various groups.

While I was gone, an article about the Jesus Trail went out through the Associated Press, which resulted in extensive coverage announcing the creation of the trail, including articles in CNN, MSN, and Yahoo. We’ve been getting a lot of attention via emails and others working with tourism since, and anticipate many people coming to hiking in the spring of 2009. We’ve also completed a printable databook with the help of our volunteers Nate and Matt which provides turn by turn directions and maps, including all facilities and points of interest along the route. More information on all of this is available at http://jesustrail.com. Make sure to check out the video and multimedia presentations made by AP.

I’ll let the photo albums tell the story of the past three months, showing the most recent first. Click on the thumbnails or titles to view the entire album of photos.

Nazareth Youth Venture 2008
I co-led a three week service learning trip with Hinke Loewen-Rudgers for young adults through MMN, splitting our time between Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

Check out the groups blog with journals and photos at http://nazarethyouthventure.wordpress.com/

Turkey

My time in Turkey was spent scouting a section of the St. Paul Trail for use with an EMU Cross cultural in Turkey and the Greek Islands for May 2009 with Linford Stutzman. My sister and brother-in-law, Jesse and Maria Rodriguez, joined Linford and I for some sailing and hiking, and then the three of us traveled together in Turkey for another week.

View the route of our hike below:

View Larger Map

Morocco

I assisted in leading a three week trip through Franconia Conference to Spain and Morocco, focusing most of my work on a week’s hike on the Camino Fisterra portion of the Camino Santiago in northwest Spain.

Below is the route of the Camino Fisterra hike:

View Larger Map

Spain

Barcelona

Sheldon and I traveled to Barcelona together and enjoyed a few days visiting the city’s sites, especially the Gaudi architecture. We were also able to connect with a friend living in Barcelona that I had met in Jerusalem with my parents in the spring, and she was happy to show us around the city.

London
Connecting with Sheldon Good at the Mennonite Centre, we spent a few days exploring the city and hanging out with folks at the center, including Sharon Kniss, a friend from EMU.

Since these trips have all finished, I’ve spent some time with Michael Blunk and Evan Parks who are with the EPIC Pedal Project, documenting stories of people they meet in Israel and Palestine as they travel through by bicycle. Check out there websites at http://epicpedal.org and http://epicpedal.blogspot.com/

And now I’m back in Nazareth, settling into a new room at the Fauzi Azar Inn and catching up on various projects from the summer. I’m trying to work more at learning Arabic these days and am looking forward to staying in one place for a little while and resting up.

Here’s what’s new for me:

May

A Canadian Mennonite young adult group called “Yella” was staying in Nazareth at the Fauzi for a week and hiked a few days of the Jesus Trail. They were a great group and you can read more about their experience on their blog: http://yella2008.blogspot.com/

We have two new volunteers with the Jesus Trail: Matt Cooper from Orlando, Florida and Nate Herr, a recent graduate from Goshen College. They will both be in Nazareth for about two months, creating a printable data book for hikers that will provide detailed directions and maps as well as practical information. We’ve spent a lot of the last two weeks hiking the route together.

View a couple of photos from one of our scouting trips here: http://dplandis.com/photos/main.php/v/may_2008/jesus_trail_with_nathaniel_and_matthew/

We will be hosting a TV crew from the Associated Press for the next two days who are filming a story about the Jesus Trail. AP is also doing an article with multimedia slide show which will be out in the next few weeks.

If you speak German, check out this new article and radio broadcast about the Jesus Trail here: http://jesustrail.com/press/wandern-auf-den-spuren-jesu-jesus-pfad-von-nazareth-nach-kafarnaum

In early May, I also had the privilege of meeting with the people behind the development of other long-distance hiking trails in the region, including Kate Clow who has developed the St. Paul Trail, Lycian Way, and routes in the Kachkar region of Turkey as well Joshua Weiss from the Abraham Path initiative. These interactions have been very helpful in learning more about collaborative trail development and promotion.

On Tuesday, I fly out for London, where I will travel with Sheldon Good and visit the Mennonite Centre, and then make our way through Barcelona to meet the Franconia Conference group in Madrid the following week.

June+
For the next month or so, I will be on the road throughout different parts of Europe and the Mediterranean:
- Spain and Morocco with Franconia Conference. I will be helping to lead this group, guiding for a week on the Camino Santiago, and we will be looking at themes of pilgrimage and the interaction of historic and contemporary Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities in the region as an educational leadership development experience. Check out http://verano.via-global.org
- Turkey, joining Linford Stutzman and Jesse and Maria Rodriguez (my sister and brother-in-law) and scouting out a new section of the St. Paul trail for use with an EMU cross cultural in May 2009

I will be traveling without my computer, so if you don’t hear from me in a little while, I will get back to you when I can. I will return to Israel in early July.

Tomorrow evening I’ll head to the airport to fly back to Philadelphia. I’ll be in the area for a few weeks catching up with friends and family, doing some speaking in various churches and hanging out at EMU’s graduation where Maria will receive her Master’s degree.

There is currently a coffeehouse hangout time being planned at Main St. Java in Souderton, Pa on the evening of Monday, April 21st, so I hope to see some of you there. More details to follow soon…

Also, I’ll be at Franconia Mennonite Church and Philadelphia Praise Center on Sunday morning, April 20, and at Deep Run East Mennonite Church on Saturday, April 18 at 7pm.

The last few weeks have been kept busy with my parents visiting for three weeks and spending time with the EMU group while they were in Nazareth. I also recently wrapped up some of the research that I have been doing in relation to the Jesus Trail, and sharing this with the EMU as a part of their final course on the early movement of the church.

The Jesus Trail continues to receive press attention, including a radio spot on Moody Radio’s Prime Time America Show and an article in the Catholic News Service. Yesterday, Maoz and I spent the day hiking with a photographer and journalist from the Associated Press who will be writing a story that will come out in a few weeks.

Be sure to check out some photos from the past few months.
View photos from March
View photos from April

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you soon!

Many people come to the Holy Lands trying to change the world. They come with an agenda, either to speed up the end of the world or find personal spiritual epiphany. Sometimes they try to call down justice to give the land to the Jews or create a Palestinian state. In comparison, most of the people who were born here seem to just want to live their lives in peace. In a land that has been a crossroads of trade, culture and religion for millennia, they are used to visitors coming and going with crazy ideas and absurd goals.

My most meaningful experiences in the past four and a half months have not been with revolutionaries, peace activists or religious leaders. They come from the normal people who populate the towns and cities, spending time with their families, and going to work each day. These relationships are built within an atmosphere of hospitality sharing the normal parts of life—coffee, tea, falafel and shwarama. These people seem to have a greater ability to see their neighbors as human beings, not as others representing a specific religious or ethnic background.

I’ve spent a lot of time walking the routes that Jesus would have traveled regularly in the Galilee. Nazareth, Cana, and Capernaum, as well as most of the places mentioned in the Gospels, were almost inconsequential in relation to the broader ruling empire. The two largest cities of power and glory in the region—Tiberias and Sepphoris—were never mentioned in scripture. Jesus’ disciples were common peasants and laborers with mixed and ambiguous perspectives on the Roman Empire. Many of them would have spent most of their lives just trying to feed their families.

Last week my Israeli friend Maoz and I took a journalist and photographer from the Israeli Newspaper Ha’aretz on the Jesus Trail, a hiking route that we are developing to connect these places. It was a lot of fun to share some of the places of Jesus’ life with them, explaining why they were significant to his history and the Christian story. When we passed by an ancient synagogue at the ruins of Arbella, they shared pieces of their Jewish heritage with me.

Together we visited the Mount of Beatitudes, all remarking on the ugliness of the church’s interior and how much more beautiful the green paths of the countryside is in comparison. I think it all made us wonder about the difference between Jesus the Jewish peasant traveler and the Christianity that has developed since he walked these hills 2000 years ago.

I am currently taking a seminary course that explores the first century context of Jesus’ life. In my research, I am continually struck by his normalcy. Although history does indicate that his life brought revolution to western civilization, I often wonder if his intention was to be someone who would change the world. My suspicion is that he was just trying to live his life well and help a diversity of others to do the same, directing their journeys toward God.

There is a saying that if you spend a week in Israel you can write a book about your experience, and that if you stay for a month you can produce a really good article. The adage continues saying that if you stay here much more than this, you won’t even know what to say.

The longer I stay in Nazareth, the more I just want to live my life in the company of close friends, sharing the hospitable space that happens over a cup of coffee or dinner. This renews and sustains our relationships and brings us joy each day. And perhaps because they’re not trying to start a revolution, these interactions may change the world.

Also posted on http://franconiaconference.org/blog/staff-blogs/dplandis/you-say-you-want-a-revolution

Today the sun is out and it’s really starting to feel like spring is here as the temperatures reach into the 70s. Throughout the winter, I’ve spent a lot of time inside reading and working on my computer in my room in Nazareth, so it’s nice to be able to open the windows, get outside and enjoy the change of seasons.

So much has happened in the last few months that it’s difficult to know where to begin. One of the most exciting things that has happened recently is having an article published in Ha’aretz about the Jesus Trail, which is one of the biggest newspapers in Israel. The article tells the story of Maoz and I, and how our meeting led to the creation of the Jesus Trail, including both Hebrew and English versions. You can read it online here: http://jesustrail.com/updates/jesus-trail-in-haaretz

It’s exciting to watch this project really take off and get attention from so many different people. There is another reporter writing for the Catholic News Service coming next week to do a similar story. I’m taking a course from Eastern Mennonite Seminary called “The Jesus Movement in Early Context” which relates to my work with the trail, researching where Jesus would have walked, the kinds of people he would have met with, and how this might have affected his life and teaching.

I’ve also had the privilege of meeting with many travelers from home over the past few months, including the EMU cross cultural group in which my sister Kristina and other friends are participating, Matt Bucher and Elaine from MCC Egypt, Herb and Ginny Buckwalter from Canada, and my friends Conrad and Loren from Pennsylvania. It’s been fun to have so many familiar faces around, and I’m also looking forward to my parents’ visit in about two weeks and traveling with them. In April I will be home for a few weeks, and look forward to connecting with all of you in PA and VA while I’m home.

The attached photo albums and mini-updates attached below will give those of you know don’t check my blog an opportunity to see some of the more day-to-day stuff that keeps me busy.

View Photos

On Sunday some of us from the Fauzi Azar visited Ronny who works in Nazareth at the tourism office and lives in Eilabun, one of the few primarily Christian villages in the Galilee. He was curious about starting a guesthouse with a similar feel to the Fauzi Azar in his home village, as a way to create a unique cultural experience and build relationships across diverse backgrounds.

Eilabun has a unique and tragic history, and you can read more about it at the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilabun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Eilaboun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_sons_of_Eilaboun
http://www.sonsofeilaboun.com/story

View more photos

We had 13 Mennonites living in the area gather for dinner in Nazareth the other evening. Ryan and Heather Lehman (http://ryanandheatherlehman.blogspot.com/) came up for a few days and the rest of us are currently staying in Nazareth, with the Nazareth Village and the English Hospital.

View photos

My friend and co-worker Gaby and his brother Marco play for one of Nazareth’s soccer teams (there are three total). Last Saturday I went along to watch the game and shoot photos for the team. Gaby’s father Monsur has been helping with the team’s leadership for more than the last 20 years.

The other night one of our neighbor’s houses in the Nazareth suk caught on fire, destroying everything inside. Fortunately, the stone buildings hold out pretty well in fire, but the narrow city streets do make it difficult for a fire truck to get close to the house. A makeshift fire hose was constructed using extensions of garden hoses until firefighters could arrive. No one was hurt, but the event shook up a lot of the neighbors, as they all know each other quite well.

On Christmas Eve, I will make the trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem, retracing the familiar route of Mary and Joseph on the first Christmas. In Bethlehem a service of celebration is held in the Church of the Nativity, the traditional site of the birth of Jesus. Beneath the church lies a small grotto with a 14-point star on the ground surrounded by candles and pilgrims waiting for their turn to bow down and kiss the sacred spot. Christians from all over the world travel to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve for the celebration, joined by a community of Palestinian Christians from Bethlehem.

When I was in Bethlehem last week visiting the Church of the Nativity, I ran into Samer, an old friend that I have known since I studied in the Middle East with EMU in 2002. He and his daughters were visiting the grotto to light candles and prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth. Samer had invited me to his house for dinner three years ago, and we spent an evening squeezing lemons and making fried spinach pirogies. When we met last week, he remembered our meal years ago and invited me back again. We had a wonderful evening catching up on the past years and talking about the upcoming Christmas celebration in Bethlehem.

Samer’s family’s optimistic presence has been an ongoing reminder to me of the hope of the Palestinian Christians. They experience daily the irony of living in a place where the purpose of Jesus’ birth was to bring ‘peace on earth and goodwill to men.’ Their ability to share this peace through hospitality has helped many find hope while waiting for Christ’s coming peace in the midst of despair and conflict.

Thank you for your continued prayer as I serve in the Middle East. I am currently living in Nazareth and volunteering at a guest house, providing many opportunities to interact and share with travelers from all over the world. The last two months have been full of diverse experiences and learning opportunities, and I feel blessed to be able to be here with your support. Much of my time has been spent getting to know my neighborhood as well as the Mennonites working in the region. I am enjoying studying Arabic, and I will continue lessons with increased discipline throughout the winter months.

This fall I have spent a lot of time working on the Jesus Trail, a hiking route connecting the places of Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee. I have been exploring the best walking paths using Hebrew hiking maps and Google Earth and compiling them on http://jesustrail.com. I believe this will be a creative
and authentic way for travelers to experience the adventure of Jesus’ life and ministry.

This Christmas, remember to pray for:
- All the people living here who have been affected by the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict
- Energy and strength as I work with a variety of internet development projects and spend much of the cold and rainy winter months inside on the computer
- Continued progress learning Arabic and Hebrew
- The Eastern Mennonite University cross cultural group studying here this spring semester
- The various Mennonites serving in the region including Nazareth Village and MCC work in Bethlehem and Jerusalem

Thank you for the Christmas cards and emails you have sent. It’s always wonderful to receive kind
words of encouragement from friends at home. I will think of you all on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem.

The following links are posted on my website, http://dplandis.com

View photos from December 2007