North Carolina Volunteers # 2

Day 1

Things are all in order! Checked the bags over and over and made final changes. Phew! Everything was okay and checked within limits by the grace of God. The flight, though delayed, went without a hitch. First stop to take a picture in front of the fountain. Here we go!

Day 2

Got the much needed rest and were ready to go about 4:30 am….wait there was no place to go! A few hours later we were prepared to meet and greet the first children we were to see. We enjoyed hearing the plans and dreams of the school for the girls. The girls baked cookies with the kitchen crew, then charmed us with their hospitality, and finally showed creative talent at jewelry making. The idea started simple and then grew to fashionable sets to share with friends. We were asked to be friends and accepted beaded jewelry gifts. Of the finest jewels we will wear, these will be thought of as priceless gifts to never part with.

Day 3

This day we walked where the Lord walked, envisioned where the Lord suffered, and finally saw where the Lord rose! The amazing scenes that we have only known by words, now have been seen, touched, and experienced. There was definitely a moment held between the savior and his believers then and now. After traveling through, we were able to shop. We were greeted by many people ready to help us choose not only one, but quite a few things to enjoy.

Day 4

Church in Arabic! The songs of worship and a sermon spoken for all to receive, was an experience to relish. After the service we were met with warm hearts and gentle hands of grace. We learned of the area’s tradition as well as how the Lord was working among the people. The evening of this day was the day of final preparation, before starting the English camp. We spent some time organizing craft supplies, tying up story lines, and finally finishing up the gift bags. The excitement and anticipation were in full swing....

Day 5

Today was the big day! The first time to meet the girls that would be having fun with us for days to come was finally here! Things went well, and the group was able to meet changes in plans with creative solutions. One impressionable thing that was provided, was a child to translate the puppet show. How could we have asked for a better translator? Even in translation it was difficult for her not to laugh while telling the story! Hugs were plentiful, songs rang through the halls, and English was taught through the international language of love.

M.H.

North Carolina Volunteers #1

The day was beautiful with bright sunshine and a cool breeze. Our destination was situated on a steep cliff in a small village outside Jerusalem. The houses are surrounded by olive trees, grape vines and beautiful flowers in bloom. We met with the girls home director who shared her vision for the girls over cups of sweet sage tea. When we lingered longer than their excitement would allow, the girls started to drift into the room. And the fun began…..

There were 15 girls of all different sizes and ages. We divided up the girls into two groups, one making jewelry and one making cookies. The cookie group started mixing the ingredients and rolling out the dough. Flowers, teddy bears, circles, and butterflies began to appear. One by one, each girl shaped her cookies. An excited buzz filled the small room and a wonderful fragrance filled the air.

The other group began the careful process of selecting just the right beads to make a bracelet….. then a necklace, a ring …. and more jewelry than they could wear. As everyone began to prepare for lunch, one little girl grabbed a bowl of beads and slipped around the corner. There, she sat on the steps, quietly stringing more beads to make yet another lovely necklace.

We ate lunch with the girls and then had to say goodbye. Leaving was hard because the girls didn’t want us to go. Where there had been laughter, now there was sadness. They invited us back again next year…..…and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Later, we visited the Mount of Olives, the Church of all Nations, and the Garden of Gethsemane.

Arriving back at our home base, we walked down the street for a traditional Middle Eastern meal…Shawarma, chips and salad.

The day ended with everyone tired, full and eager for more.

KW

The Latest News from Gaza

I am currently on a trip out of the Middle East, but I’ve just talked to several Palestinian friends in Gaza. The last three days have been extremely difficult, but today (Friday) is quieter. One man from the church was injured when a bomb went off near him, but I didn’t understand that the injury was severe. Most said that as long as they stayed inside they felt safe, but one friend said that bullets came through his window and three people from his neighborhood was killed in the fighting. They were all from one extended family – 2 were Hamas and 1 was Fatah.

No one knows what is going to happen next, but they believe that the next few days will be critical.

We just got an e-mail from a friend – edited below. If you’d like to know more, I recommend his blog: www.tabulagaza.com

“I just wanted to let all know that I am well and safe. I am still with my friends in Gaza City. Hamas now has full control over the Gaza Strip and all parties involved (the PA in the West bank, Israel, the US, EU and UN...) seem to be scrambling to adapt to the new realities. Despite all the uncertainties for the future of Gaza, the up-side of recent events is that internally the situation is safer than it has been in a long time because there are not two governments and not multiple security bodies fighting for control here. My friend who works at a big government hospital here has told me many times that Hamas has always been best at keeping his hospital safe and well controlled.The borders remain closed…, but I feel very safe and can even move around which I am keeping to a minimum.”

Pressing On In Gaza

We received the following last Tuesday from a partner in Gaza.

Gaza streets are again under the control of gunmen as the violence spirals out of control. Security forces loyal to different factions took up positions at major intersections in the early hours of the morning and Gaza awoke to the sounds of war. The route to school this morning took me past numerous gunmen and a detour into an area I would have rather not gone. Arriving later than normal I was happy and surprised to see that most of the staff had already arrived.

Students at the School officially ended the school year last Thursday but returned today to receive their certificates and report cards. What was supposed to be a time of celebration and fun was overshadowed by the tension of renewed fighting. Exchanges of gunfire could be heard as certificates were passed out to each class. The students were quickly put back on the bus and sent home as the violence spread throughout Gaza City. We are thankful to the Lord that despite all the obstacles and difficulties, the school year ended successfully and the children all made it home safely

They will spend the beginning of their summer vacation indoors, off the streets and hopefully out of harms way. We pray for the Lord's protection upon each one of them and upon their families.

As always your prayers for Gaza and the people here, for our family and the ministry God has called us to, are greatly needed and much appreciated.

He is FAITHFUL!

Helping people to see

A couple of our team members recently helped with an eye surgery clinic in northern Jordan. Below are some of their reactions.

After screening over 400 patients, around 75 were chosen, along with a long waiting list, to have cataract surgery. The patients chosen did not have any means of financial help or insurance to pay a local physician for the surgery. Also, the ones chosen had very mature cataracts and have had to wait for many years to have the surgery. The team was able to do approximately 17 patients per day with a total of 73 persons having the cataract surgery.

The team represented several different countries… Jordan , Korea , North America, South America , and Malaysia. I felt so blessed to be a part of such an awesome team. Everyone worked together like a well oiled machine. Teamwork was initiated from taking the vital signs to instilling the eye drops to measuring the eye for the lens implant to inserting the eye blocks to performing the actual surgery to assessing the patient after surgery. The patients were so excited the next day as they returned to have their bandage removed. Shouts of joy could be heard when many patients were able to see for the first time in many years. Our doctor stated that all of our service was done in the name of Jesus and none of us received any money for what we had done. One man kept saying over and over that he just could not understand why anyone would come and help people like him for free. God is so good! As patients left to go home there were many hugs and kisses and along with a few happy tears of praising God for a successful operation. WOW, what an awesome experience to participate in.

The gate is opening

Those of you who have been reading this for a while know of our desire to have work among Palestinians in Lebanon. Well, last week our first team member went there to live.

While our commitment to begin this work has not wavered, we were uncertain of the timing. With the on-going violence in the Palestinian Camp in northern Lebanon, we were uncertain of what we’d find. In faith we flew from Amman to Beirut. The next morning we went south. We were fortunate to have friends in the country working among other people groups to point the way.

For the next 48 hours we searched for an apartment. Our first stop was at a barber shop. The barber has a side job as a “real estate broker”. He called a friend/agent who showed us an apartment. It was the only empty furnished apartment that he knew. Other people showed us a total of five apartments, but, in the end we took the first apartment we saw. On Friday morning we went to sign the contract. Sounds simple. Well, it took 2 hours. First we had tea and sweets. Then we had to see the apartment again. We met the neighbors. We translated the contract and renegotiated the contract. It was pleasant, but exhausting. When we thought we were finished there was a major argument between the agent and the owner over the agen'ts fee. We just sat and chatted with some realitives who had dropped by and pretented we didn't hear the shouting int he hall.

Then we went to open a bank account. More than money is needed. Too many questions. (This was an international bank and they want to make sure that the money is not used for evil purposes.) In the end, we had to gather some more information and go back later.

Everyone we met – Lebanese, Palestinian, expats – were friendly and helpful. We were very encouraged by the reception we received. Around 200 Pal families have fled the fighting in the north and we'll start our work in the area by helping these families with some food.

Then we were back to Beirut on the public bus. Now I know how sardines must feel.

Thanks for your continued prayers for AD as she begins her work among Palestinians in southern Lebanon. She will move into her apartment on Tuesday.

Making progress in Arabic

AS has been on our team for a month. She studied Arabic in college and has been studying with a tutor since she arrived. She shares the following story.

I have had one successful time of sharing truth in Arabic, and it was with a Palestinian girl. I am so thankful to God because He definitely gave me the words that I didn't know that I had. Drawing on words that I knew from another language and also a word that I had read in a book and happened to look up, I pieced together the Gospel message in Arabic!

Pretty exciting even though there was zero interest. I was happy because it was the first time I got to do that in Arabic, and how cool that it was with a Palestinian girl? Also, her family has relatives in the camps in another country, and they're going to give me info so I can meet them.

I Don’t Drink Tobacco Any More

Smoking here is part of the culture, just about everyone here smokes, I have even seen small children smoke in the streets on their way to school. Even if you don’t smoke, you often end up smoking someone else’s cigarette by inhaling their second hand smoke. There are no “no smoking” sections in this part of the world. You can smoke in restaurants, taxies, government offices, and just about anywhere. There are even restaurants that specialize in people who what to smoke red hot ambers through a tall water pipe and a plastic mouth piece, which in the west I am told, is called hubbly bubbly. There are a few names for it in Arabic but I just call it annoying and nasty.

Often while traveling in taxies I am asked if I would like a cigarette. I of course say no thank you, but I feel like telling them that they can save money by not offering me a cigarette because I am going to smoking half of theirs through second hand smoke anyway. I have recently learned that one way to say “I don’t smoke” in Arabic is to say “ma bashrabsh dukhkhaan”. This is literally translated as “I don’t drink tobacco”. Well I thank Jesus that by his grace I do not drink tobacco any more. Maybe this phrase comes from the hubbly bubbly water, but I do not think they drink the water, but I would not be surprised. I do not want to sound very negative because there are some things to be thankful. I am thankful that I live in a part of the world where alcohol consumption is rare so the temptation to use alcohol is not present because, I don smoke alcohol any more either.

Now I have to admit I am an ex-smoker and they say that ex-smokers are the worst when it comes to complaining about smokers. But maybe that’s because we know better now that we don’t smoke anymore and can feel the difference. When you quit smoking you can breathe better and actually taste things when you eat them. Oh and we don’t smell like an ashtray anymore either. Well at least not before we get into the taxi. Sometimes I wonder why I take a shower or wash my cloths.

However, I do want to take this situation and bring glory to God. I recently read a book where the author had the same problem when he was in this part of the world. He says that when the taxi driver asked him if he wanted a cigarette he would refuse and then use it for an opportunity to witness to him. He would start by telling the driver he did not smoke because God gave him two things, time and a body. He would also tell them that one day we will all have to answer to God how we used them. Both the author and I do not want to have to explain that we wasted any of the good things He has given us. I think I will try this next time someone offers me a cigarette instead of complaining to myself about it.

posted by LR

The Situation in Lebanon

The situation in Lebanon is almost incomprehehisbly complex. The issues that led to Lebanon's civil war have never really been resolved. The following article published earlier this week explains some of the background of the problem as well as the current crisis.

One fact to remember: Lebanon’s 400,000 Palestinians remain among the most downtrodden refugees in the Arab world, enjoying few rights and facing strict restrictions on the kind of work they can do. Most are limited to menial, low-paying jobs and face significant prejudices.

Dozens Slain as Lebanese Army Fights Islamists
By HASSAN M. FATTAH and NADA BAKRI
New York TImes
May 21, 2007


TRIPOLI, Lebanon, May 20 — Fierce clashes erupted between Lebanese Army soldiers and Islamic militants in the vicinity of a Palestinian refugee camp here on Sunday, leaving 22 Lebanese soldiers and 17 militants dead and dozens injured in one of the most significant challenges to the army since the end of Lebanon’s bloody civil war.

The confrontation with the Islamist group, Fatah al-Islam, raised fears of a wider battle to rout militants in the rest of Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps, where radical Islam has been gaining in recent years. That, in turn, raised the possibility of a deadly conclusion to the crisis, placing strains on the embattled government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

While anxious not to seem weak in the face of the militant challenge, military experts say, the government and the military also want to avoid any scenes that might draw comparisons to the Israeli attacks on Palestinian camps in the West Bank and Gaza.

Many of the complex crosscurrents of Lebanon’s politics were on display in the crisis. The army, under an agreement with the Palestinian leadership and Arab countries, was not allowed to enter the camp. Lebanese citizens, who hold the Palestinians responsible for sparking the civil war in 1975, cheered the army on the streets of Tripoli and outside the camp.

Syria, which Lebanon accuses of backing Fatah al-Islam, closed several border crossings in the area. And the fighting broke out just as the Security Council had taken up a resolution to try suspects tied to the February 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri. Syria has been accused in previous investigations of ordering the killing, but vigorously denies any connection.

Tensions rose further late Sunday night when a car bomb exploded in a nearly empty parking lot in a Christian section of eastern Beirut, killing one person, wounding 12 others and sparking fears of an orchestrated terrorist campaign. Last month, Lebanese authorities charged four members of Fatah al-Islam with bombing two commuter buses carrying Lebanese Christians in another Christian district.

Fatah al-Islam has been a growing concern for security authorities in Lebanon and much of the region. Intelligence officials say it counts between 150 and 200 fighters in its ranks and subscribes to the fundamentalist precepts of Al Qaeda.

The group’s leader, Shakir al-Abssi, is a fugitive Palestinian and former associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia who was killed last year in Iraq. Both men were sentenced to death in absentia for the 2002 murder of an American diplomat, Lawrence Foley, in Jordan.

In the six months since he arrived from Syria, Mr. Abssi has established a base of operations at the Nahr al Bared Palestinian refugee camp on the northern outskirts of this city, and the scene of the fighting on Sunday.

What began as a raid on several homes in Tripoli in pursuit of suspected bank robbers connected to Fatah al-Islam quickly escalated into an open confrontation with the group at their stronghold in the camp.

Three soldiers and four militants were killed in the early morning confrontation, said a Lebanese security official, who was not authorized to speak publicly. Hours later, they said, militants tied to the group attacked an army patrol in the Koura region south of Tripoli, killing four more soldiers. The gunmen also attacked soldiers who were passing by unaware of the fighting, said Lebanon’s information minister, Ghazi Aridi.

The fighting raged throughout the afternoon at the camp, home to about 40,000 refugees, as army reinforcements rushed to the scene and tanks began shelling targets in the camp. Militants who had taken positions around the outskirts of the camp fired back, keeping the army at bay.
Four children and three women were injured in the shelling, said one medical official, who requested anonymity because his organization forbids members from speaking to the news media. But residents inside the camp, reached by telephone, said at least two civilians had been killed and more than 45 had been injured in the shelling. There was no independent verification of the residents’ claims.

By nightfall, the army had regained control of several outposts surrounding the camp, but the siege of the camp continued. Soldiers manned checkpoints in the area and filled the streets late Sunday night and armored personnel carriers rumbled through the city.

Many residents of Tripoli welcomed the army into town, and onlookers clapped whenever tanks fired shells into the camp, bringing to the surface longstanding tensions between Lebanese and Palestinians.

“This should have happened from the start,” said one man, who stood in a crowd of onlookers as the tanks fired into the camp. The crowd shouted, “God is great, and God protect the army,” with each shell fired.

“We wish the government would destroy the whole camp and the rest of the camps,” said another in the crowd, Ahmad al-Marooq. “Nothing good comes out of the Palestinians.”
But military experts said a direct assault on the camps would be a grave mistake. “We cannot afford to have that here,” said Elias Hanna, a retired army general, who warned against a direct assault. “This is not a question of the army’s capabilities or its professionalism. You simply can’t send the army into the camps to arrest 200 people without paying a heavy price in civilian casualties.”

Residents of the camp said that water and electricity had been cut off, and that an effort to convince the militants to hold their fire to allow the Red Cross to evacuate injured civilians collapsed because the Lebanese Army said it could not guarantee the medics’ security.

Lebanon’s 400,000 Palestinians remain among the most downtrodden refugees in the Arab world, enjoying few rights and facing strict restrictions on the kind of work they can do. Most are limited to menial, low-paying jobs and face significant prejudices.

Some refugee camps, in turn, have become fertile ground for growing militancy, especially focused against Israel.

In recent years the ranks of religious militants bent on a broader jihad have swelled, as some have traveled to Iraq to join the insurgency there and, more recently, have returned to establish movements of their own within the camps.

“The army will not be able to defeat them,” said Ahmad Skaff, 20, who lives near the camp, and who said he watched the militants gather outside the camp early Sunday, carrying rocket propelled grenades and other heavy weaponry, ready for a fight. “They are fearless; they will slaughter the army.”

The bomb in Beirut exploded just before midnight on Sunday in a parking lot behind a towering shopping mall called ABC and next to a multilevel garage. There was no clear target, though it may have been aimed at moviegoers who sometimes leave the mall around midnight. But the lot was relatively empty at the time of the bombing.

The explosion shattered the windows of apartment buildings and stores for blocks around. Fire trucks and police vehicles inched their way through the crowded, narrow streets toward the site. Lebanese soldiers in berets and green camouflage fatigues pushed back hundreds of people trying to shove their way into the area, many snapping photos with their cell phones.
“We thought the building had collapsed because it was so strong,” said Hamid Saliba, 39, as he and his wife gingerly stepped through the debris of her mother’s apartment, just a few hundred feet from the blast site. A painting of Jesus Christ hung askew on a wall.

Edward Wong contributed reporting from Beirut, and Nada Bakri from Tripoli.

Thoughts from a friend in Gaza

We received this last week from a friend living in Gaza. He has some deep things to say about the situation in Gaza and our response. Take a few minutes to read and pray - both for the Palestinians in Gaza and for your self!

As I write these words today the streets below my apartment are rather empty. The Palestinian Interior Minister resigned just hours ago and the situation is once again taking a turn for the worst. When the situation becomes too unstable I have the option of leaving here, I can leave Gaza and never come back. I can run from this world of discomfort, of poverty and lack of security. But I can’t and won’t, because it is for the other, rather than for my-self that I believe I exist.

It takes a re-shaping of the habits of my mind and heart to reach even partially this world-view. Today fear fills the hearts of Gaza’s people. A fear that they may one day return from their perpetual search for charity and donation empty handed (80% of Gazans are receiving international food aid); a fear of waking to another day of hopelessness (70% of Gazans are either unemployed or largely unpaid government employees); a fear that the economic disaster they are experiencing today may overcome their lives (60% of the population live under the poverty level of $2 per day); a fear is that this economic crisis will divide the entire population in inter-factional feuding and result in a lawless chaos as factions and political parties vie for the little power that does exist in Gaza.

All this could be prevented, but it takes a perspective of the conflict that includes a memory that goes back further than just a couple years, one must go back to the start. Prior to 1948 and the creation of the state of Israel the Gaza Strip did not exist. On that fateful day nearly 60 years ago a majority of the ancestors of Palestinians living/imprisoned in the Gaza Strip today, walked the dusty paths to this plot of land. On that day their future was determined to be confined in this space, which only then was renamed, the Gaza Strip, a prison with borders to keep in an unwanted people. 200,000 refugees were added to the 70,000 living in Gaza City and its surrounding cities at the time. Life began in UN tents and over the course of these 60 years those rows of tents have become overcrowded and inhumane refugee camps, where families listen to their neighbors’ conversations and private interactions, where sickness spreads with ease, where children play in sewage that runs down narrow streets. I have come to find that the injustice of this world exists to maintain the status quo of the ease of life of the upper class, to keep comfortable those already living in comfort, to keep wealthy those living with wealth, to keep secure those living in security.

The root of what is considered a social or political sickness is a matter of interpretation. My perspective as either oppressor or oppressed, whether I am aware of it, will determine how I see the world around me and may well determine my social and political views until I am shaken awake to reality, somehow. This explains the saying that one person’s terrorist becomes another’s freedom fighter. The great women and men of history are those that have been able to step out of their perch of comfort and identify with the one that is colonized, the one who is deprived of human rights, the one that is abused, the one who is forgotten by the mighty of the world. From a place of comfort it is always easy to consider the oppressed, a victim of her own lack of perseverance, his inactivity or her idleness. From the eyes of the individualist where one is always considered able to “make one’s self”, the fault lies with the victim. It takes an awaking, a metamorphosis to be able to place oneself in the shoes of the other, and there staring at death to gain new eyes that condemn one’s own inactivity and idleness in the face of the oppression that one’s very existence executes on the oppressed. Some of the worst evils we commit are the ones we are unaware of. My heart burns for these, the oppressed.

Recently I have been challenged and consoled by a prayer of St Francis’ of Assisi. Francis was a man who chose to leave behind the splendor of a bourgeois life to serve and live among the poor, no doubt he was familiar with the suffering of the oppressed. These words are powerful in a world that is more prone to raping, economically, politically, sexually, than to giving.

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;Where there is sadness, joy;Where there is darkness, light;
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
Not so much to be understood, as to understand;Not so much to be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

I thought Easter was about eggs!

We are a little late posting this, but it is a great story.

Yesterday (Monday), we had one of our family friends come and visit us forEaster. It was a pleasure for us to have them in our home for they honoured us and our Easter holiday. We always enjoy visiting with this family. While their children (I boy and 2 girls) are younger than our kids, they find ways to play together. One of our family traditions during Easter is to have a basket that is fullof Resurrection Eggs. We go through the various stories of the Passion Week and discuss their significance to our faith. When our friends came over,they asked about the eggs. We proceeded to open each egg and explain the significance of each symbol to our faith. Our discussion was interjectedwith statements like: "Oh, I didn't know that about the Easter story" or "I thought that you believed this or that", "Yes, I've heard that before, but Ididn't understand why" "I thought Easter was about eggs!" "I thought youChristians just decorated and ate eggs at Easter". What a joy to see the lights go on in the lives of this precious couple. They were open and receptive to hear the stories and in the end took The Book home with them to read the stories themselves. Pray with us that the stories of J. and the words written in The Book would penetrate theirhearts.

Posted by GT

80% Chance of Sand

Trying to get accustomed to new weather patterns when you move to another part of the world can be tricky. Having moved from New York to Florida years ago, I had to get used new types of weather and weather patterns including severe thunder storms, tornados, and even water spouts. In Florida one day, it could be 90 degrees and then 35 degrees the next morning. Another strange thing about the weather in Florida is that it can be raining cats and dogs across the street and bright and sunny right where you are standing. (Here it just rains cats.)

However, living in Florida never prepared me for the forecast the other day that called for “sand.” The Weather Channel even had an icon of the sun, which normally has clouds or rain transposed over it this time of year, with a little picture of swirling sand and the word “Sand” where normally the words “sunny” or “rain” would be.

The “sand” is from the start of the Khamaseen season when much of the area will be affected by warm dusty winds. The Khamaseen is a cyclonic-type wind that originates in the Sahara and affects North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Levant. The wind occurs during a 50-day period from March until early May and is characterized by hot and dusty conditions. The name is derived from the Arabic khamsen, meaning 50. You can actually see the sand suspended in the air, which gives the sky an eerie yellow hue. You can also feel the sand when the wind blows.

Over all I do like the weather here better than Florida because of the absence of humidity and hurricanes in the summer and the winters are mild, but it will take some getting used to. Just days before the “sand” it was 80 degrees here and then it snowed, then rained, then sand, then rain again. Every morning before I leave for school I check the weather on the Internet to see if I should bring my light or heavy jacket, an umbrella, my sunglasses, or a respirator mask.

Posted by LR who is still battling sand.

God Surprises us with the Little Things

The thing that surprises me the most about the Holy Land is how small and close everything is. I guess I just expected the Sea of Galilee to be much larger or the old city of Jerusalem to be much bigger. When reading about the Holy Land in the Bible things seem to be so much larger in our imaginations, almost bigger than life. However, of course, they are bigger than life, but not for size but for the things that were accomplished there. God often uses a remnant or something of little significant in size to accomplish His great work. The boy David slaying the giant Goliath or the 300 troops of Gideon come to mind. It is amazing that the tiny old city of Jerusalem could have such an impact on history and on our salvation. The old city now is surrounded by walls that were constructed for the most part in the 17th Century. I am told that this is much larger than the city even existed in the 1st century, and larger still than the original city of David. I guess it is easy to make judgments on its size based on the large cities we are accustomed to today. Maybe that is what is so awe inspiring about Jerusalem that so many things of significance were done there that has an everlasting impact. The city is venerated by three of the major religions and is the center of attention around the world even today. God does use the small things to accomplish his plan. My prayer for all of us is that we do not think that we are too small for God to use. He has shown us time after time that he uses the small things as well as those who are far from perfect.

Posted by LP.

Easter in Jerusalem

Spending Easter in Jerusalem is something I never expected to do and I admit that I thought it would be full of the Easter spirit but I soon learned otherwise. Because Jerusalem is such a diverse city (Jews/Muslims/Christians), it is a new experience altogether to be here the week that Jesus' death and resurrection are celebrated. One of the major observations that I have made is the impact of the Jewish Passover on this week. As I was walking through the Old City on Friday evening with a couple of friends, we noticed that many Orthodox Jews were headed towards the Western Wall for Sabbath prayers. This was particularly interesting to us because it was the Passover Sabbath and Jews from all around the world come to pray at the Western Wall for this occasion. The area next to the Temple Mount was full of people, singing and praying and reading the Torah together. As we watched and observed, the call to prayer sounded from a mosque next to the Temple Mount. The air was full of both Hebrew and Arabic, from two completely different religions that both claim belief in One True God whose followers are so similar yet at such odds with each other. They are neighbors but many are enemies. But I was struck at the sincerity in which followers of both religions seriously seek to know God, yet they are both so far from the Truth. Especially in a city like Jerusalem that is full of history of the life of Jesus Christ! It was a strange combination of Judaism and Islam and I left with a new sense of how hard so many people in this region of the world are trying to please God yet they have no idea of what this weekend really represents. Pray for the people of Jerusalem, that they may one day celebrate the Resurrection with us!

Posted by SH, a new member of our team.

What a Strange place we live!

We had a fun day today. Three of us went down to the Dead Sea for the day. We climbed up to Ein Gedi and saw where David hung out while he hid from Saul. It was a difficult climb twenty years ago but was a little harder this time. Why was that ?

Then we went across the street to float in the Dead Sea. It was a Friday, so there were many Arabs also enjoying the beautiful spring day. This is where the strangeness enters in. We floated in our modest bathing suits on the salty water. Some Arab men who don’t swim very often don’t bother with swim suits…so they went swimming in their very white underwear. It seemed that these guys were everywhere!! As we left to shower off, I noticed one woman who was covered head to toe. She wore a face veil that covered her entire face and even had on stockings and gloves. (It was probably 85 degrees at the time) As we pulled out of the parking lot, six men lined up in the distance for prayers. It always strikes me that we live in such a strange place. Men swimming in what became see-through underwear, (woe! WAY too much information!) those same men facing Mecca and praying, women covered head to toe in hot weather, Israelis equally as different. I have no doubt that America is incongruent, as well…but we sure do live in a strange place!

Posted by HL who had no trouble getting out of bed today.... well not much.

The Gates are Open !!

Some of you might remember that last year we had a Pr.Walk that we titled Fortress Gates. Most of the gates we encountered seemed primarily to be closed. Although that was difficult, we didn’t lose heart because even a closed gate is direction (to go another way) So, we want now to tell you how God has worked in the intervening months. We spent time on Friday with a friend that we have known for many many years. He made several calls to his contacts. It was really his contacts that the Lord used to open several doors to us. On Friday evening, we had dinner with one of the leaders from our organization in Lebanon and their workers who are down south. That was a delightful time and we left encouraged…knowing that they would do whatever they could to help us. We are so grateful for how we see the Body working together for the Kingdom!!

Early Saturday morning we headed south. We had to get permission from the Lebanese government to enter the Palestinian Refugee Camp. We thought we had done all the paper work that needed to be done, but of course, it couldn’t be quite that easy !! Paul and our driver worked and the rest of us prayed. We finally arrived at our destination around 11 AM. After entering the camp, we immediately met with the man in charge of all Palestinians in Lebanon. There are some funny/interesting/exciting/moral of the story lessons that came from that visit but we won’t go into all of that now. Then we visited in a couple of centers where we hope to have some projects in the future. The staff of these centers were very hospitable. We weren’t the least bit surprised by that since that is the nature of Palestinians. They are open to having us work with them in the future. We began making plans together and we are all excited about the months ahead.

Late in the afternoon we settled into a hotel on the edge of the city. Friends of our friend graciously agreed to meet with us for dinner on Saturday night even though they had had a very difficult week moving house. Although they are not with our organization, they have goals similar to ours. Their focus is different from ours, but compatible. They were very welcoming and helpful. They will be a great asset for us in this city. We are so grateful for the team that they will provide for our workers. They have many years history in this area and their wisdom will be invaluable !!

On Sunday we met with another worker and a local man who share our concern for Palestinians. It was exciting to hear all that is happening through these two men.

We left this city and got back to the airport in Beirut early for our flight.

The Fortress Gates are opening !! Local people welcoming !! God is able to do more than we can ask or even imagine! We were greatly blessed by this trip. Ask that we’ll have all the wisdom we need as we begin this work. Ask also that personnel will volunteer for the positions now open. Most of them are short term request…is God asking you to join Him in His work in Southern Lebanon ??

Noisy Hassan

Today I visited some homes in the West Bank delivering food. We were in a village near Ramallah. I’d like to tell about 2 of the visits.

In one home a young man answered the door. His name was Ala’ and he was 23 years old. He invited us in and we sat in the living room. We were soon joined by his mother and a neighbor. We found out that there were 3 sons and 6 daughters; three of the daughters and the oldest son were married. The youngest son, Abed, was 14 years old. He was born prematurely during a curfew. (During curfews which are imposed by the Israeli army no one is allowed out of their homes.) Since his parents could not get out of their home, they could not go to the hospital. Abed suffered severe brain damage. He walks and understands instructions, but cannot talk, dress himself or control his bodily functions. Ala’ has never held a full-time job. Since Palestinians are not allowed to enter Israel to work there are no jobs. He tried to work in Ramallah, but transportation takes most of the $10 he would make for a 12 hour shift and the jobs only last a few days. Ala’ told us his father does not work because he is very old and ill and unable to work. “How old is your father?” “He is 45”. It turns out that his father has respiratory problems; I won’t go into that story.

The neighbor invited us to come to her home so after some juice, we went next door where we were served coffee. As we walked from one house to the next, I asked the family name. “Oh, ask anyone and they can tell you where Hassan Enkarka lives” Later, our Palestinian partner told us that means Noisy Hassan.

This neighbor was a widow. She and her three children lived in one room. It was very old – yard thick walls, domed ceiling, slanting cement floor – but very clean and orderly. They do not own their home; it is provided through the generosity of a neighbor since she cannot pay rent. Another neighbor runs a wire to her house so that she’ll have lights since she can’t pay electricity. In the court yard, there is a washing machine that her teenage daughter is using to wash cloths. It is loaned for the day from another neighbor. Her husband died when he was 30 years old. He had severe diabetes. She is able to get around now, but has been ill. Her daughter, who is the oldest, dropped out of school to care for the family. Her oldest son is 16 and retarded. Her youngest is 14 and is the only one is school. She told us he was the hope of the family.

We told these ladies about God’s love and told them we’d pray for them. Our hostess told us that her name was Kadijah. “When you pray, mention my name to God; tell him my name.” Abed and Ala’s mother asked us to pray for Abed. “The only thing I ask for Abed is that he would be able to go to the bathroom by himself.” So, before we left we prayed – by name for Kakijah and for Abed. We asked God’s greatest blessing on the village.

Please pray with us for Kadijah and Abed.


Posted by PL

His Victory is the Important Thing

I recently had a great opportunity to visit the Holy Land and over the next few weeks, I want to share some of my observations. The first thing that hit on my visit there is that almost every holy site has been changed by human intervention and no longer in its natural state. Some might say that these sites have become unnatural due to the human ornamentation of most of the sacred places. One could choose the example of Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The Church was built around the Sepulchre or Tomb of Christ, and the place of crucifixion. Outside and inside of the tomb just about every inch of it is covered with some type of painting, carving, lamp, picture, or what every else you can think of. In fact, when I entered the tomb I felt more as if I was in my Grandmother’s parlor, complete with candles and pictures of old saints, than in the place our Lord was buried and resurrected and where His great Victory for us was accomplished.

This is just one example but the effects of human intervention are evident just about everywhere in the Holy Land. I don’t want to be critical but it to me anyway feels that it is the veneration of the things themselves are more important than the victory of our Lord that took place there. Many of the pilgrims kiss everything. To be fair maybe it might just be me, I am uncomfortable kissing my Mother let alone some rocks. However, it is easy to get the impression, especially for those not understanding Christ’s Victory on the Cross, that the “things” are more important then the Victory accomplished there. Perhaps some people need a physical identification with our Lord forgetting that it was His Victory that gave salvation to all of us who believe. I want to remember that His great power comes from above and not from the inanimate sticks and stones of this world.

Now, I don’t wish to dissuade anyone from visiting the Holy Land, or sound like I did not enjoy my visit there, because being there is an experience that can not described. It’s a place of great history and a witness to Christ’s great accomplishments. It is also a moving experience to know that our Lord and Savior once walked, and prayed on the hillsides, valleys, and sea of this Holy land. Even though many of the sacred places are ornamented beyond recognition, some places are untouched by human hands, un-humanized if you will, still in their original state just as our Lord knew them. There are still places to go where there is solitude to pray and reflect. “After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.” (Mat 14:23 NASB)

One place, reflected in the previous verse, is the Sea of Galilee area where our Lord spent much of His ministry teaching, preaching and praying. Now of course the cities and towns around the lake are bigger and modern and therefore unlike what our Lord knew but the people in these towns are not any different than they were in His day. You can still look out from the sea and see the lost, the broken hearted, the hypocrites, the idol worshipers, the sinners, and the lost lambs just as Jesus once did. I had the opportunity to actually go on the lake and reflect on what Jesus saw from the lake itself. From the lake, you will get the impression that it is untouched by man but forever shaped by God himself through His ministry and life.

If you do every get the chance to go to the Holy Land I strongly suggest you do. However, you don’t have to do a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to reflect on Christ’s Victory on the Cross for us. His Victory allows us to be with Him anywhere and in all places absent any special ornamentation or sacred rite. Have you made Christ the Lord of you life or are the “things” around you your lord?

posted by LR

Is my brain tired or am I just crazy?

Anyone who has studied a second language knows that words may have multiple meanings depending on context. Well, the following story is an example of one of my language blunders.

I was recently doing a training session with nationals. I had been talking with the group almost completely in Arabic the whole morning (about 3 hours). Near the end of our time together I was struggling to keep the Arabic flowing. So I switched to English to communicate a thought. One of the students stopped me and asked, “What, are you finished talking Arabic now?” I was surprised but quickly responded, “Mukhi taaban,” which I thought meant, “my brain is tired.” Yes, it does mean that, but it also has another meaning, “I’m sick in the head” (I’m having psychiatric problems),” or more colloquially “I’m crazy! Now, I’m not sure how this phrase was taken by the group, (although many of them laughed) but I know that I will be more careful the next time I use this phrase!

The moral of the story: not everything translates literally and have a sense of humour while studying language!

Posted by GT

Texas Volunteers - Sunday

On Sunday, November 12 we celebrated the completion and dedication of the Gaza Baptist Church in the Gaza Strip. I was excited to be invited; honored that the pastor would ask me and my wife to come be a part of the deication of their new building, but the real joy waas that we were actually able to be there.

What an evening!! At least 250 people were in attendance including Brother Andrew, "God's Smuggler". He was the preacher for the service. We sang hymns and choruses, prayed, listened to special guests from all over the world who help support and finance the building of the only evangelical church in the Gaza Strip.

The building is six floors tall; the worship center being on the 6th floor. The only Christian library in Gaza occupies the first two floors. This is a lending library with books in Arabic and English. A clinic, offices and guest quarters occupy the other floors. One interesting note, it is directly across the street from the Palestinian Police headquarters for the city of Gaza.

God has and is using the Church to minister to the people in the Gaza Strip for Jesus Christ. Pray with us for God's blessing and watchcare for eveyone connected to the Gaza Church.

For Pictures of the building, click HERE. We hope to keep adding pictures over the next couple of days.

Posted by Jack.