Yesterday, my dad flew across the pond. He left from Chicago and arrived in Tele Viv, Israel with ten other awesome peeps from the states. This is the third short term relief trip that he has been able to go on in the Middle-East. The other trips were to Pakistan, after the earthquake, and Lebanon, after the war.
In Pakistan, my dad and his team hiked up a mountain with some serious poundage on their backs. They build shelters for families, in remote areas, whose houses were destroyed in the earthquake.
In Lebanon, my dad and his team helped to rebuild a house that was destroyed in the war. They also talked openly with people on the streets about Jesus.
The team arrived in Tele Viv earlier today but was not able to leave the airport for a few hours because one of the guys was “brought in for questioning” because he too went to Lebanon and had a big beard. It was a brief scare but from what I know everyone is alright and nothing came about from the interrogation. Once they left the airport, they headed to Bethlehem where they will be staying with various host families.
The format of the trip will be much like that of my Rwanda trip. They will meet with someone who lives there and he will take them to many different places around the country so that they can experience what is going on there and reach out to as many people as possible in the name of Jesus. For the next couple of days the team will be working at a refugee camp in the West Bank. They will also serve Sudanese refugees in the area. One of the days they will hopefully be able to go into Gaza to serve the people there. It is very hard to get into Gaza so please pray that God would pull some strings for them. Before they leave, they will also travel around Bethlehem and see places most of us have only read about.
I’m so excited for my dad and the others with him. Israel/Palestine is such a unique place for followers of Jesus to be. There are Muslims, Jews, and Christians all around. It is a conglamorate of people in need of hope. In the midst of the chaos, Jesus’ love is even greater reaching than the missiles. His grace and compassion go farther than the effects of violence. I am so glad my dad is a part of sharing that love. Thank you Father!
p.s. My dad wants you to pray for the people of Palestine more than you pray for him.
Thanks for keeping us up to date – praying it’s a great trip/ministry time.