A few weeks ago, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to the sound of a man singing in Arabic. The sound was the morning call to prayer coming from a loud speaker at one of the mosques near our hotel in Bethlehem, Palestine. I’m used to the sounds of church bells and chimes, but the sound of the Muslim call to prayer was new and strange to me.
In November, my spouse Kristin and I spent eight days visiting people and places in Israel and Palestine. Over and over again, the people and stories, sights and sounds challenged and stretched my heart and understanding of the world. I saw first-hand that newness and strangeness can carry hidden blessings.