Abduction In Haifa

After a lifetime of repressed emotions and poor personal decisions, Martha Browning, a fifty something, middle class housewife from Indiana surrendered her frustrations to the church, which allowed her to escape her alcoholism and quiet the constant feelings of inferiority and loneliness. However, after several years as a "born again" Christian, and challenged by the unraveling of her third marriage, she realized there were some unanswered questions regarding her commitment to fundamentalist Christianity. In an effort to answer these questions, and at the suggestion of her preacher, she decided to visit Israel and the "Holy Lands". She hoped seeing the various religious sites would in some way bring her closer to her church, and more importantly, to Jesus. However, it was not the religious sites and artifacts which revealed the power of Jesus, it was the complexity of the culture, and ancient mysteries of the region and its conflicts. Shortly after arriving in Israel, Martha befriended an Arab-Israeli doctor by the name of Khalil Suleiman. Aside from awakening thoughts of romance, Dr. Suleiman revealed the reality of Israel, and the struggles of its citizens and affected neighbors. He also introduced Martha to the region's entangled religious history, and offered some complex thoughts regarding the future of religion, society, and the Arab and Hebrew communities within Israel and the Palestinian Territories. When Martha met Kahlil's daughter, Salem, and her family, in their home in a section of Haifa known as Wadi Nisnas, Martha felt herself being drawn into this enchanting world. More significantly, she was exposed to a display of love and compassion that brought some clarity to her life's purpose. Guided by the pragmatic thoughts of Salem's husband Nadim, an Oxford scholar and Professor of International Relations at the University of Haifa, Martha discovered what she felt were reasonable answers to her most enigmatic questions regarding the church and the nature of her beliefs. She now knew what changes she needed to make in her life to help herself, and to help others not as fortunate as she. However, as Martha made plans within her mind to implement these changes, she was kidnapped, and taken to a cavern hideout. Paralyzed by terror, and in total fear of her captors, Martha suddenly faced a situation she never could have anticipated. She began to question whether she should have trusted Khalil and his family, and suspected they might well have been participants in her kidnapping. For the days that followed, Martha was forced to work in the fields for her captors, and she became more and more frustrated and confused as she faced the realization that she might spend the remainder of her life with those who abducted her without knowing exactly why she was taken. As she adapted to her knew life as a captive however, she established a trusting relationship with a young woman assigned to train her. This helped her achieve some degree of comfort with this strange new reality. When clarity of her situation was finally offered, Martha found she had developed a strength through self awareness which allowed her to find the peace of mind she had sought for so long.