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I’ve met a lot of people - but there isn’t a single person I admire more or have enjoyed more than Oliver McTernan.  I met Oliver in a small international group I’m a part of that discusses and discovers ways of bridging the gap between the East and the West, Christians-Muslims-Secularist.  Rather an unusual and diverse group - but one that is sometimes very spirited and overall pretty sharp.  Didn’t tell a lot of people ahead of time where I was going - it’s a rather sensitive place with many angles and the less said the better.  Over the next few days I’m going to share with you stories of people and opportunities that are there for those willing to love deep and risk some. 

About Oliver - he was raised in Ireland and as a boy felt called to be a Catholic priest.  He went into the priesthood having come from a very devout family.  He was the youngest of 6 - all girls and him!  His dad was the conductor on a train.  His mom died when he was 2 years old - so he was raised and “worshipped” by his sisters.  The family had to relocate to London, and most of his Catholic friends saw it as the end of his walk with God - going to that big pagan city where people didn’t know if you went to church or not - but he did.  He went on to become a priest and a very prominent one at that.  He was also involved in relationships during the Cold War with the Catholic Church and the Orthodox in the former Soviet Union.  He’s met everyone and knows everyone - and the most humble man you’d ever meet.  HE DOES SIN!!!!  I saw it twice - once going into Gaza and once coming out.  He became very impatient both times - and I understood. The rigmarole is just incredible.  But it was nice to see such a kind and gentle Irishman become frustrated and sin like I have so often!  Six years ago he left the priesthood to start a full-time NGO called Forward Thinking and then married a girl he’d known since he was 8 years old.  No - she wasn’t a nun!  He has a program on the BBC listened to by 8 million people.  He’s a huge risk-taker and an intellectual.  He would have made a great American President - being we’ve had some Irish fill the job in the past. 

About Gaza - it’s horrible.  There is pretty much a Western news black out so it’s hard to get information.  I did meet people from other news organizations - but trying to get objective news out of that place is like trying to milk a frog.  To get into Gaza was very difficult - not saying it shouldn’t be - but it was very, very hard.  Just the application process is pretty difficult.  Then approaching the entry point is pretty massive.  The walls are far higher than I saw in Bethlehem and other places in the West Bank.  It’s a huge metal facility and is virtually empty except for an occasional person from an NGO, UN people, and the occasional Palestinian.  Once in, it takes a good while to go through - then you walk a no man’s land.  It’s about a 15 minute walk - maybe a mile or so - I’m not sure.  Immediately walking through the no man’s land you see bombed out buildings, etc.  It’s eerie and sad.  Finally, on the Palestinian side, there’s a little hut where they check your bags - a couple of rusted cabs are waiting - you get in and go where you are headed. 
We stayed with the Deputy Foreign Minister for the 3 days we were there, yes we met with the Hamas government and leaders to see if there was a desire for us to try to come and help, and if so, what would that look like.  We also met with the U.N.  Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about my meetings and people I met.  This week, I’ll post interviews I got on my Iphone along with an interview on my Flip camera. 

All in all, this was probably one of the greatest trips of my life.  A lot of my views were challenged by what I saw and who I talked to.  Stay with me this week - and ask what you will - I’ve probably already asked the questions that you would ask to others.