Alright. We have arrived in the Holy Land. I would say "without a hitch," but Mom and I got detained for a minute at passport control at Ben-Gurion, likely due to her 2-year passport. Or just because the agents were on a power trip. Oh, well... just another taste of the injustice so many people experience on a far larger scale every day.
We will be spending the next six nights here in Bethlehem while we spend our days meeting with various Palestinian groups and individuals working for peace, as well as seeing the sites here and in Jerusalem. From here, we go to Ibillin, Israel. I will do my best to share about these visits as the next week and a half progresses. But for now, allow me to introduce my new friend, Usama...
Usama works with Wiam, a Palestinian conflict resolution center. (This predictive text won't allow me to type it correctly; there's an apostrophe in the middle.) He is a native Palestinian Christian and traces his family and their discipleship of Jesus to the 1st century. Literally the world's oldest Christian community.
He shared with us this evening that while there are a total of 4 million Palestinian Christians throughout the world, there are only 50,000 in the West Bank and Gaza. Let me drive that point home: only 50,000 Christians in the birthplace of and lands where Jesus walked, lived, and taught. They have, like all Palestinians, suffered immense persecution here, and I am grateful for the opportunity to meet and learn from them.
Usama did speak a bit this evening about the vast and profound need for counseling and mental health care among Palestinians, particularly in light of the most-recent assault on Gaza. Needless to say, his words struck me hard. Despite all of the difficulty surrounding him, I can see that this man has great faith and a desire to see justice done in this place. Praise Jesus for his witness, fervor, and faith! (And a shout-out to him for switching my Kindle 's keypad from Arabic so I could type left-to-right and write this post.)
The most impactful moment for me today was driving through the checkpoint as we crossed into Bethlehem. The separation wall (that I have read about and seen in so many pictures) is terribly sobering. It snakes in and out of the West Bank and is twice as high as the Berlin Wall. I have never been in a place where the oppression was so blatant, systematic, and out-in-the-open. It's a whole new ballgame, so to speak.
I anticipate the coming days to be challenging, joyful, educational, and difficult, so stay tuned!
(I can now say that I celebrated my birthday where Jesus was born!)
We will be spending the next six nights here in Bethlehem while we spend our days meeting with various Palestinian groups and individuals working for peace, as well as seeing the sites here and in Jerusalem. From here, we go to Ibillin, Israel. I will do my best to share about these visits as the next week and a half progresses. But for now, allow me to introduce my new friend, Usama...
Usama works with Wiam, a Palestinian conflict resolution center. (This predictive text won't allow me to type it correctly; there's an apostrophe in the middle.) He is a native Palestinian Christian and traces his family and their discipleship of Jesus to the 1st century. Literally the world's oldest Christian community.
He shared with us this evening that while there are a total of 4 million Palestinian Christians throughout the world, there are only 50,000 in the West Bank and Gaza. Let me drive that point home: only 50,000 Christians in the birthplace of and lands where Jesus walked, lived, and taught. They have, like all Palestinians, suffered immense persecution here, and I am grateful for the opportunity to meet and learn from them.
Usama did speak a bit this evening about the vast and profound need for counseling and mental health care among Palestinians, particularly in light of the most-recent assault on Gaza. Needless to say, his words struck me hard. Despite all of the difficulty surrounding him, I can see that this man has great faith and a desire to see justice done in this place. Praise Jesus for his witness, fervor, and faith! (And a shout-out to him for switching my Kindle 's keypad from Arabic so I could type left-to-right and write this post.)
The most impactful moment for me today was driving through the checkpoint as we crossed into Bethlehem. The separation wall (that I have read about and seen in so many pictures) is terribly sobering. It snakes in and out of the West Bank and is twice as high as the Berlin Wall. I have never been in a place where the oppression was so blatant, systematic, and out-in-the-open. It's a whole new ballgame, so to speak.
I anticipate the coming days to be challenging, joyful, educational, and difficult, so stay tuned!
(I can now say that I celebrated my birthday where Jesus was born!)
So glad to be sharing part of this journey with you!
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