by Markie

Hi Kids!

Before we left Bethlehem a couple days ago, we visited the wall that Israel built around Bethlehem. Israel said it was going to build it for security between Israel and Palestine, but the wall isn’t built along the border of Israel and the West Bank.  It goes inside the West Bank and has confiscated thousands and thousands of acres of Palestinian land.  It surrounds Bethlehem on three sides.

Ever since the Wall went up people from all over the world have been painting pictures on it and writing angry or sad or hopeful or happy messages on it.  Kathy and I took some pictures.  Can you find me in them?

Some artist called Banksy who’s supposed to be a big deal did this.

People who get really angry at the wall throw burning things at it. I got kind of dirty posing on it.

Some mystery CPTer wrote this on the wall and no one knows who! My teammate Cory and I went looking for clues!

We came to a neighborhood that was almost completely surrounded by the wall.  A woman whose home had been surrounded by the wall came up to us and asked us to look at her shop.  She had designed some really interesting things.  One was an olivewood nativity scene with a wall separating the wisemen and shepherds from baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary (you could take it out.)

When we got home, I was really dirty! So Kathy gave me a bath. Now I am all sparkley clean!  Hurray!