Why Did Christina Go to the Holy Land

By Maria C. Khoury

As the forgotten faithful, the Palestinian Christians, in the sacred land where our Lord and Savior was born are decreasing in high numbers many wonder what the value of a pilgrimage is today. Christina might be unknown to many but for some, who have grown up with Christina since 1992, they have seen her first go to Church and become knowledgeable about the symbolism of the Orthodox Church in terms of why people light candles, why do we kiss the priest's hand and why do people kiss icons in the very popular, "Christina Goes to Church." Young children have seen Christina grow closer to God as she learns her numbers in "My Orthodox Counting Book," and also as she practices the alphabet in "You Are Special," reflecting how wonderful the Christian identity truly is in our multicultural world today.

Finally by elementary age, Christina, the ideal Orthodox Christian character illustrated originally by a beloved friend, Antonia Marshall, finally also learns why some people become priests and why some people are married in "Christina Learns the Sacraments." Since it is natural to grow closer and closer to God, this "perfect" little Christian child learns more about people who have deeply devoted their lives to God in "Christina's Favorite Saints."

One such saint mentioned in the children's book who has contributed tremendously to preserving our Christian presence in the Holy Land is Constantine the Great and his beloved mother, Saint Helen. Without the great works of these two famous saints we would not have what we can enjoy today in the Holy Land which basically sums up to the most precious Christian sites that one can visit in the world. Saint Helen was very instrumental in building the Holy Nativity Church in Bethlehem where Christ was born and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected on the third day. Christina being so curious, adventurous and pious must visit these holy sites with her family, timeless of any violence and catastrophe taking place in the Land of Christ's holy resurrection.

This magnificent trip to the Holy Land is exactly what Christina and her family accomplish in the story during the pilgrimage of a life time in "Christina Goes to the Holy Land." They actually walk in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, step by step and see where He was born, baptized, said "no" to Satin on the Mount of Temptation and actually performed the first miracle of changing the water into wine in Galilee.

Christina went to the Holy Land because, today the truth is, that the Holy Land can no longer survive without pilgrims coming to venerate the precious and holy sites of our Lord and Savior. Since September 2000, the Second Uprising, the violence and bloodshed has kept pilgrims away but truly what the Holy Land needs in order for more jobs to be available in the Christian community is for the pilgrims to return and continue to venerate and walk in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior.

In the last page of Christina Goes to the Holy Land, the ideal Christian child visits the one and only all-Christian village left in Palestine, "Taybeh" where the church is making efforts to create jobs by building homes for Christians who do not have their own homes, realistically referring to about thirty families from Saint George Greek Orthodox Church, www.saintgeorgetaybeh.org and now Christina has a new mission to go back to her school, church and American community and let them know of this great need.

Knowing the generosity of Christians abroad and American people at large, for sure the Taybeh community will be saved for another few thousands years to come in order to maintain its true unique Christian identity. The village of Taybeh, has the innocent character of being Christian since the time of Christ in the Biblical land of Judea now on the highest mountain region of the West Bank producing by the way the highest quality olive oil and finest beer in the Middle East. Taybeh is the Biblical town of Ephraim where Christ came for a retreat right before His crucifixion mentioned in John 11:54.

If you have never thought about such a pilgrimage, think about it today. Please join Christina and ask other members of your church to walk in the footsteps of Christ. Such pilgrimages to the Holy Land are the ultimate way to show support and solidarity for the small struggling Christian community in Palestine. We urge you to show financial, social, emotional, spiritual and genuine support for the Christian community in the Holy Land. Please come and pray with us at Saint George Greek Orthodox Church of Taybeh, after all, the fictional character "Christiana' has done so.

Note: Anyone wishing to support building homes in Taybeh can kindly send their donations to the Metropolis of Boston Holy Land Housing, 162 Goddard Ave, Boston, MA 02445.