Good bye Songs

March 25, 2011

Ayman, Gilligan and Gio



Our Tour Guide and our Bus Driver were instrumental to the success of our Pilgrimage. Our guide was Giovanni Anbar a Palestinian Christian. Our bus driver was Ayman Abu Ghannam also a Palestinian.



Jay and Ann, I recognize the back
of their heads. :)

 We were also blessed with a tune setter! Now some of you may remember the teacher blowing into the funky little round thing that looks like a harmonica pressed into the shape of a donut. I had nuns growing up as teachers and each time I heard a sound from the tuner, I started to shake. It meant that we HAD TO SING. Now, Jay Boekhoff looks nothing like a nun so when he pulled this little tune thingy out of his pocket, I knew I was going to be ok. Jay is much larger than any nun I ever had. Enough of that, I told you that to tell you this.

Jay and his wife Ann are talented writhers of quips and songs. The group was honored to sing some songs written by Jay and Ann Boekhoff about Giovanni and Ayman. These are the lyrics to the “Going Away” songs we all sang to them prior to departing for the airport on our last evening.

AYMAN (Sung to the tune of Amazing Grace)

Amazing Ayman drives our bus and never hits a thing.
He sees an ibex; he drives backwards through all of Bethlehem.
He wheels and deals, goes up and down, thru curves and swerves and hills.
He does all this without a frown and still he gives us thrills.

Ayman

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Giovanni (sung to the tune of Just a Closer Walk with Thee)

Refrain:
Just a longer walk with Giovanni.
Where 10 minutes turn to 33.
Oh, the countless things you’ll see.
And, dear friends, your hearts will open actually.

Verse #1:
First we start in Tel Aviv. To the Golan Heights he leads.
With headsets on, we all proceed. Along the steps of Jesus on Galilee

Refrain:

Verse #2:
Jordan River, Bet She ‘a and Jericho, Gio in our ears tells us what to know.
Dead Sea bobbing, Dead Sea Scrolls. On leads along the holy roads.

Refrain:

Verse #3:
Qumran, Masada, Philippi, Sweetly lead us by and by.
Koreans singing made us cry. Oh dear Gio you are quite a guy.

Refrain:
Verse #4:
Jericho is at an all-time low. Gethsemane has seen some woe.
Plans so well the places us to send, we shall surely miss our dear friend.

Refrain:

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Thank You (sung to Amen tune)

Ayman, Gio, Ayman, Gio Shoocrah!



Thank you Jay and Ann and others from our group who put these lyrics together. I have emailed them to both Ayman and Gio.

Gilligan