“Are we gonna ride on those camels all the way to Bethlehem?” asked Bea.

“You bet we are!” remarked Prudence. “We need to make it to the Nativity Church by nightfall or we’ll miss the big moment.”  They walked out of the red tent and toward the camels.  As they meandered across the cool desert landscape, they stopped briefly to watch a beautiful belly dancer as she perfected her performance for a group of tourists.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv31hKngR00#

“Wow! She’s got control!  I’ve never seen a belly dancer like her!” said Purity.

“I wish I could do that!” said Bea.

“You could.  It just requires practice and patience,” the belly dancer said as she grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from her neck. “What it requires is discipline: doing the moves everyday consistently until you do them correctly.”

“You’d be surprised what you can do with every day effort,” said Purity.  “Just look at our grades!  Five years ago, we never would have thought we could have such good marks in school.”

“You are so right,” said Bea.

They continued walking to the camels.  Once there, they met their English speaking guide.

“My name is Sadie. Let’s walk over to the camel on his left side.  We don’t want to startle him.  Be careful, camels are rather vicious.  They bite pretty hard!”

“They bite?” said the girls slowly. What had Prudy gotten them into THIS time?!

The caravan rode through the morning south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.  Bea and Purity were astonished how this country, so far away from their home, looked almost exactly like their home in the U.S. Then, they saw a city in the distance.

“What city is that?” asked Bea.

“That’s Bethlehem!” said Sadie.

“I thought it was just a little village, ” said Purity.

“When Joseph and Mary rode into Bethlehem, it was.  My father is going to take us on a tour of the caves surrounding the city.  That way, you’ll get a good feel for how it was back in Roman times,” said Sadie.

“Roman times?!” asked Bea.

“Yes, the Romans had conquered Judea (AKA Israel) during the time of Christ,” an older gentleman said as he came up alongside the three girls.

“This is my father, Jeremiah.  Tell them the real story of the first Christmas Papa! Sadie said.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ-b6pQrxtE#

“Why did Jesus have to born in a stable?” asked Bea.

“Because he was poor,” said Purity.

“Joseph was not poor.  Mary would not have been told to marry him if he was destitute.  No, Jews were discriminated against in their own country by the Romans,” said Jeremiah.  Romans ruled over the Jews.  They did not think much of Jews.  They made them slaves when they needed a work force.  They could conscript them into the army anytime. Do you have brothers?”

“Yes,” said the girls in unison.

“In that time, young Jewish men were kidnapped by soldiers and forced into military life,” said Sadie. Imagine your brothers here one day, gone the next.”

Neither girl said anything.