Tim Frakes and I arrived on Tuesday morning at the Tel Aviv airport and were met by an LWF staffer who then delivered us to the Augusta Victoria Hospital compound on the Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem where we are staying while we are in Jerusalem these days.

After some quick unpacking we headed off to the Lutheran World Federation’s Vocational Training Center in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of east Jerusalem.  There we interviewed that center’s director, Yousef Shalian, and heard of the amazing work the center does in vocational training for high school age young people.  While the unemployment among Palestinian young adults is very high, 40% or more, those graduating from the LWF Vocation Center have a 90% chance of finding work!  More on the center’s wonderful work with Palestinian young adults can be found here.

Here’s a photo of our interview with Yousef Shalian (that’s Tim with the headphones on the left and me on the right) –

Here’s one with Tim videotaping the students and their instructor in the center’s electronics class –

And one of students in the center’s ceramics class –

We’ve been awake now more than 24 hours and are fading fast.  We have dinner at the Brown’s home this evening and then early to bed.

But, for now, we are still at it…