Rain

Our christians sheltering in our
parish church in Gaza

 The winter rains have come. It drizzled for 2 days last week. Then the night temp kept falling. Last night was 13 degrees. Yesterday saw more drizzle and scattered showers. Today heavy showers. Normally I'd rejoiced ... as would many others. The land is parched from this year's several heatwaves. The rains will clean the air and saturate the earth. It is good.

Well actually no. Actually I'm praying for it to stop raining. I'm thinking of the Gazans ... without shelter, heating, winter clothes ... they'll die of cold in this weather. As it is there is not enough food and water. Few want to shelter in buildings as they'd be targeted by missiles. So sheltering in the open is the only alternative ... and rain is not good.

Holy Sepulchre church ... empty

Our christians are still holding out in our parish church there. Once in a while electricity returns and they quickly send out messages that they are alright. Let's continue to pray for them.

While life is back to normal in Jerusalem, the absence of tourists is felt severely. Most shops and restaurants are closed. So are hotels and churches. However there're still several groups of Indonesian christians coming. I've met them in the streets here and spoken with them. They're very upbeat and positive despite not being able to visit Bethlehem and Jericho. I wish more groups would do the same.