Delegates Visit Villages and More... March 24,9 p.m. ( 2p.m. CST)

For the past two days, delegates from the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) delegation in Israel/Palestine visited the village of At-Tuwani, where CPT has a permanent delegation. There, delegation members learned first hand from villagers how the people made their village completely non-violent and how they exemplify this way of life every day. This means that when villagers are attacked from nearby Jewish Settlers, they respond with non-violence and resist fighting back. Non-violence is also practiced when crops are damaged or stolen, and live stalk is threatened as well.

CPT members also witnessed the conditions of Palestinian school children by participating in school patrol, as well as going out with the shepherds as their sheep graze. This is to discourage any kind of violence perpetrated by the Jewish Settlers on the children and shepherds, (which has occurred in the past). Time was also spent learning about the village Co-op, which sells various artisan's crafts, clothing and accessories from local women in the village, as well as from women from the surrounding villages.

Six delegation members also had the amazing opportunity to go to two different villages near At-Tuwani, called Tuba and Magher Alabeed, where the villagers live in cave houses. After walking for more than an hour over beautiful terrain, members arrived at their camps. Besides sharing a meal, delegation members also shared about their lives and learned about the lives of the villagers. It can be easily said that members had a once in a lifetime chance to learn and grow from these intriguing families. One delegation member, who went to Tuba, says of the experience, "It was amazing to see the mother of the family that we stayed with baking fresh bread in the morning, the children milking goats, and sharing time with the family. The cave was cozy, warm and dark, and I felt like a hibernating bear...it was hard to wake up in the morning."

Members arrived back in Hebron on Tuesday, visited a hospital in the city, and tomorrow head to the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee in the morning. They will also have some free time to shop, and then will head to two different villages to spend the night with two families in surrounding villages. On Thursday, members head back to Bethlehem for two nights, and then to Jerusalem for the last leg of their trip.

Members have truly gained an experience they soon will not forget and have many plans to bring the information home to share in many different ways to help people understand the situation here on the ground.