October 9, 2007

Daniel Murdock

FROM BEAUTY TO NOTHING
Although the pursuit of knowledge is admirable, I have found it very difficult to re-focus after travelling around Egypt and Israel. Likewise, most of the students have been in a quasi-dream state since we have come home. For example, it took me half of Arabic class to remember all the basic words I had learned. I was definitely grateful that Arabic was the only class this morning. Consequently, there was time to catch up on sleep, homework, and exploring Jerusalem.
The desire to explore led a group of students to the Russian Orthodox Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene. It was quite the experience; the gardens surrounding the convent were flush with life and beauty, and the environment within the church was one of peaceful reflection. The church itself was small but quaint. As I sat watching some of the pilgrims, I was impressed by their quiet display of devotion and faith. Although I believe that the faith of both the nuns and pilgrims is somewhat misdirected, I was pleased to see that there are religious people still in this world.
On the way back from the convent we had the chance to go through the Orson Hyde Gardens. I was deeply moved. The park was lush and quiet with reverence. It is truly remarkable what the Lord has accomplished within Israel with no active missionary work.
This evening the Forum speaker was Eran Lerman; a former intelligence officer for the Israeli military. He spoke about a wide range of topics including the upcoming peace conference between President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert. In his opinion the peace conference is a waste. Although I would like to disagree, I likewise believe that it is highly unlikely that anything will come of the peace conference. Mr. Lerman also spoke about how people throughout the world are beginning to become weary of Islamic political extremists. He gave two examples to justify this assertion. First he highlighted that there had been no significant negative response to recent Israeli missile attacks against specified terrorist targets within another state, Syria. In addition, Mr. Lerman pointed out that Hamas is now willing to return to negotiations with Fatah as its political influence and power begin to fade over Palestinians within Gaza and the West Bank. It was a pleasure to attend Mr. Lerman’s presentation on current issues.
Today was not only a time to re-focus, but also to experience beauty and to hope that peace will reign.