My last blog post was about a week ago and for good reason. In between my time at Hebron and now, I have done a lot of mental processing. Thinking about my actions of what I want to do after this trip is also on my mind. However, what changed my thoughts from almost complete despair towards determination was my conversation with Jeff Halper who is the co-founder of ICAHD, Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions.

When I last left you, I was fresh from a meeting with Wi’am. I felt quite hopeful. Now, I feel hardened, like iron being refined in a fire, until I emerge in a changed state--not beautiful but more resilient.

“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction."

-Isaiah 48:10

My last blog post painted a slightly grim picture: me, stuck in Bethlehem with no luggage and no visa and destined to wear three shirts for the next twenty days. Now, I have +1 shirt, thanks to haggling in the Old City of Jerusalem, and a sense of peace about my visa being lost in the ether. Apparently, I am in Israel’s system, and I can be searched if I am questioned at a checkpoint.

Here are how my last few days have been, told through the reality of walls, issues of water, and my wonderful meeting with Wi’am!