Some of you know that Pastor Gabi Aelabouni is the pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Brookfield. His cousin, Pastor Said Aelabouni, is now the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in LaGrange; for some time Marilyn knew him when he was the director for the ELCA’s work in Europe and the Middle East in our Global Mission unit. As their family name indicates, they come from Eilabun, a village in Galilee north of Nazareth.
At Pastor Gabi’s suggestion, we contacted his parents, Samir and Janette Aelabouni, and they invited us to visit them last Tuesday, July 8th, when we were in Galilee. Since we didn’t have a car, Gabi’s brother, Victor, picked us up and drove us to their home. Victor speaks English quite well, and he served as translator for us, although Gabi’s father can communicate in English as well. What a wonderful visit we had! Of course, we were treated to a feast of typical Palestinian dishes, topped off with local fruit and pistachio ice cream. Mainly it was so special to enjoy the gracious hospitality of a family who lives in Galilee. Tourist sites are important, but meeting the people of the country is more significant. Communication was a little difficult, but pictures are worth a 1,000 words. Victor and his wife, Jonar, have a four-month old baby boy, Samir. They shared the pictures from his birth and baptism, including one showing him with Winnie the Pooh. As some of you know who visit my office, our daughter Sarah takes pictures of our grandson with a big Winnie the Pooh each month so that we can see how he’s growing. Communication crossed cultural and language barriers as we shared our pictures and this similar custom. A couple times during the evening the family made it clear that ordinary people in Israel want peace. Their village is mostly Christian with a number of Muslims; Victor works with Israelis — peaceful working together is possible. We rejoice in a wonderful evening of hospitality; we pray that their land may know genuine peace.
