The folks who guide us

I just want to mention the two men that serve as our guide and driver and what special folks that they are.  Our driver is Hattim and he is a Muslim living in Jerusalem. His prayer shawl is with him on the bus.  Hattim is 6’2” and he is a very quiet man, either that or he can’t get a word in edge wise because of our guide.  Hattim seems to tolerate us, but in a kind spirited way.  He does offer us smiles, and nods and the occasional “you are welcome.”  But mostly what Hattim gives us are his amazing driving skills.  He zips around in this massive tour coach like it was a mini Cooper.  The traffic in Israel is far calmer than in India or Cambodia, but the roads in the ancient cities are quite narrow, and he takes us right up to the door of those he is able to.  But tonight we found new depths of admiration for Hattim.  We entered this large garage complex to obtain permission to drive up to Manger Square.  We dropped off the guide and Hattim accelerated through the garage and whipped the bus around, well as much as a bus whips.  We were all cheering and clapping, and then he weaved in between two posts.  We all agreed Hattim had mad driving skillz and he was our hero. 

                Our guide is Nader and he is an Arab Christian living in Jerusalem.  His Christian tradition is Syrian Orthodox.   Nader has been in the tourist industry for 30 years, he knows his Bible and he knows his job.  In addition to English he speaks Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic.  He has charts that he pulls out to show us things that need further explanation, and when the questions continually turned to location and geography he pulled out a map and taped it to the video overhead on the bus so he could show us the topography.  Nader is only still when he is sitting down.  I discovered the hard way you should not stand near him while he is introducing a new area, because he dances around and waves his arms.  He has clichés that he uses all the time, “chop chop, shake a leg,” to keep us moving, “bingo” when we are all on the bus, and my favorite “for you to know” when it’s something we need to know.  Nader calls the women “honey” regardless of their age, and calls the Bishop “syidna.”  I could use Nader in my classes, because he has no bones about calling you out if you are not paying attention to his lecture, he will however, cut you some slack if you are sleeping during his lecture.  In contrast to Hattim, Nader is a smaller man about 5’4”.

Together, these two men are pulling back the veil to reveal the thin places.