some welcome

i've been wicked busy since the princess kitty's birthday party and almost all of it was blog-worthy (especially the silent prince taking a hunk out of my friend's wedding cake before the pictures were taken.)

last week we spent in new hampshire at a place called camp calumet. we were all there (including the kids and mel our babysitter extraordinaire) for confirmation camp. which meant that we were there with a bunch of 12-14 year olds from all over new england. it was a great week and while there were some mishaps it went much better than i expected it to.

7 churches joined forces to teach all the kids about prayer and the kids really responded to what we were teaching. i talked about it in my sermon yesterday.

when we got to camp we were welcomed with songs, cheers, games, and an ice cream social. the next day when we gathered for our learning time we told the kids about a group of 16 year old boys who were travelling to calumet this week. there were supposed to be 10 of them from our companion synod the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. they were going to be at camp for a week then visit with some families and go see new york city before retuning to their homes in palestine.

except that only 5 boys were granted permission from the israeli government to leave their homes and travel here. there was no reason for them not to be allowed to come except that they are palestinian.

the kids we were teaching made them prayer beads, enough to give to the boys left behind and more to others living in that choas. we wanted them to know that we were praying for them.

the next day we were given an update. the 5 boys and their male adult leader had safely landed at JFK to make their connecting flight further north but had missed the flight.

because they were detained, questioned, and strip searched.

and to make matters worse there wasn't another flight for them to take until the next day, nor was their a hotel for them to stay in so they spent the night at JFK airport.

let me just contrast these welcomes one more time...

ice cream social --- strip search

sleeping in a cabin out in the woods --- sleeping on a chair in an airport

the kids at camp didn't understand at first why these boys were detained until i jumped up and got on my soap box.

it's because they were from... palestine
and most people from palestine are... muslim
and most people believe muslims are... terrorists

we could see it begin to sink in. 12-14 year olds get it. at 12-14 years of age they understand what it feels like to be judged based on how you look or how you act or where you are from or what you believe. they get it and they were as horrified and angry as i was.

and i hope they remember.

God's peace y'all