Our morning began with a visit to the Dheishes Refugee Camp where Palestinians have been living since 1948. It is called a refugee camp but in actuality they have been displaced because this is their homeland. We met the Director, Rajrodeh, and he explained that there are currently 13,000 inhabitants from 50 villages in an area of less than 1/3 mile. There are more than 6,000 children there under the age of 18. Their unemployment rate is 70%. We got to tour the refugee camp that is incomplete, crowded, and loitered with trash everywhere. My favorite part was visiting their school of children around the ages of 4 to 5. I played with them on their playground and played patty cake with them. As I interacted with them, I thought how joyful and carefree they were in this environment having faith like children that God talks about. The children revealed to me that I need to be more like a child running, playing and being carefree before my Heavenly Father with no worries and childlike faith. As we left the school, we walked down a busy street in the refugee camp that was full of hustling people and big UN trucks that was delivering their rations of rice and flour. The Director, Rajrodeh, told us that the Palestinian people want one state and that is answer with every Jew, Muslim & Christian living with and among each other. What is frustrating to them is that the UN has passed 14 resolutions, but they are not following or enforcing them at all.
Next we visited an arts center established by the Lutheran Church for the Palestinian people. They moved into their beautiful new facility in 2011 and just became an accredited university for the arts. Their mission is to empower the Palestinians by teaching them their heritage art skills of mosaics, glass, jewelry, ceramics and now media production for personal documentaries. This university was inspiring of how they were changing the lives of these young adults.
We then traveled to Beit Shaour to Hope School that is for disadvantaged children grades 7 - 12. This is an ecumenical Christian school that is operating on a lot of faith and hope. Some months they don't have enough money left over after expenses to pay their teachers. The school is worn and simple but you can feel the love that these kids are receiving with an education that would not otherwise be possible. To raise money for their school they had three flocks of chickens that they raised to sell the eggs. They are now down to one flock and the Israeli's will not let them purchase a rooster so that they can continue to have a productive flock.
As I reflect on all three of these places that I have been at today, I see in their faces loving, passionate people with amazing dreams, faith and resiliency that can still in spite of their circumstances have dreams and hope. I am inspired by the directors, the principal of Hope School that does not take a salary but is a volunteer that also works as an independent lawyer, as well as the teachers who may or may not get paid at the end of the month. These are people who are committed to a mission of making a difference and improving the lives of others even though they are not being paid their earned wages. That is the work and love of Jesus Christ that has been put into action! I am in awe at how visible God is here in this place, the Holy Land. Thank you God for revealing yourself to me in countless ways already in my five days of being here. Amen and continued blessings on these people who are making a difference and their programs!
Our morning began with a visit to the Dheishes Refugee Camp where Palestinians have been living since 1948. It is called a refugee camp but in actuality they have been displaced because this is their homeland. We met the Director, Rajrodeh, and he explained that there are currently 13,000 inhabitants from 50 villages in an area of less than 1/3 mile. There are more than 6,000 children there under the age of 18. Their unemployment rate is 70%. We got to tour the refugee camp that is incomplete, crowded, and loitered with trash everywhere. My favorite part was visiting their school of children around the ages of 4 to 5. I played with them on their playground and played patty cake with them. As I interacted with them, I thought how joyful and carefree they were in this environment having faith like children that God talks about. The children revealed to me that I need to be more like a child running, playing and being carefree before my Heavenly Father with no worries and childlike faith. As we left the school, we walked down a busy street in the refugee camp that was full of hustling people and big UN trucks that was delivering their rations of rice and flour. The Director, Rajrodeh, told us that the Palestinian people want one state and that is answer with every Jew, Muslim & Christian living with and among each other. What is frustrating to them is that the UN has passed 14 resolutions, but they are not following or enforcing them at all. 
Next we visited an arts center established by the Lutheran Church for the Palestinian people. They moved into their beautiful new facility in 2011 and just became an accredited university for the arts. Their mission is to empower the Palestinians by teaching them their heritage art skills of mosaics, glass, jewelry, ceramics and now media production for personal documentaries. This university was inspiring of how they were changing the lives of these young adults.
We then traveled to Beit Shaour to Hope School that is for disadvantaged children grades 7 - 12. This is an ecumenical Christian school that is operating on a lot of faith and hope. Some months they don't have enough money left over after expenses to pay their teachers. The school is worn and simple but you can feel the love that these kids are receiving with an education that would not otherwise be possible. To raise money for their school they had three flocks of chickens that they raised to sell the eggs. They are now down to one flock and the Israeli's will not let them purchase a rooster so that they can continue to have a productive flock.
As I reflect on all three of these places that I have been at today, I see in their faces loving, passionate people with amazing dreams, faith and resiliency that can still in spite of their circumstances have dreams and hope. I am inspired by the directors, the principal of Hope School that does not take a salary but is a volunteer that also works as an independent lawyer, as well as the teachers who may or may not get paid at the end of the month. These are people who are committed to a mission of making a difference and improving the lives of others even though they are not being paid their earned wages. That is the work and love of Jesus Christ that has been put into action! I am in awe at how visible God is here in this place, the Holy Land. Thank you God for revealing yourself to me in countless ways already in my five days of being here. Amen and continued blessings on these people who are making a difference and their programs!
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