Palestine
The West Bank
Israel
January 3–21, 2009
“We are commanded to forgive.” – Salim, Musalaha
“Reconciliation – expressing and receiving forgiveness and pursuing intimate fellowship with previous enemies” – Salim, Musalaha
“I do it because my life isn’t mine – I was bought with a price” – Ritta, Messianic Jew
“People of Israel are to be a people of Priests; pointing […]

I must begin with a report about yesterday.  We left in a van with our driver to go to the Sea of Galilee.  Our tour guide was Palestinian, so we had to drop him off at the check point so he could walk through.  He had his permission papers to leave Bethlehem and guide our […]

It is Monday and our first work day.  Bushara took us way up on a hill overlooking the city where a man is building a duplex.  One side of this will be Bushara’s home (until now he has lived in the downstairs of the Bible College).
It was a beautiful sunny day, so we thought it would be […]

Todd, Lou and Sue just left for the airport in Tel Aviv so now there are six…
We worshiped today at Emmanuel Church here in Bethlehem.  It is a Christian Palestinian Church.  The service was translated into English for us via head phones.  The Church was full and we enjoyed the music.  We met with the […]

We had a full day yesterday travelling to the Med. Sea where we worshiped with a congregation of Messianic Jews.  The service was so interesting.  We wore headsets so we could hear the translation in English.  There were also translations into Russian and for a group from Ethiopia.  The people were so warm and for […]

To both Israelis and Palestinians, the current conflict in Gaza has brought nothing but pain and suffering. It has also caused friction among some believers as they choose to pledge sole allegiance to t heir own people group. Some are even expressing an unabashed hatred for the other side through articles, e-mails and graphic content […]

Sunrise in Bethlehem is a beautiful sight.  It’s difficult to grasp the unrest here when you look out at the silent white houses shining in the sunrise climbing up the hills behind BBC.
I awoke this morning (I think it is around 4:30) when the call to prayer is played on loudspeakers all over town.  As […]

Keith & I arrived safe and sound in Bethlehem last night around 7:00 p.m. local time.  We had great flights.  Our flight out of Chicago was delayed one hour, but we made our connection in Atlanta with no problems.  The eleven hour flight was a killer, but we slept off and on and watched a […]

We received word this morning that the team is well and safely “tucked in” at BBC.  Some of the team visited the Herodian while Lou, Sue and Todd went to Jerusalem to interview a professor.  They also went to Musalaha for a very informative lecture.  Even though some have been there before they are learning […]