Dear Friends,

Merry christmas from myself, Jenni, and the BCP board.  Thank you for all the support and prayers you have invested in us this year.  We hope you have a blessed and merry Christmas!

God bless you,
Ali

Today we delivered gifts to Hope School and Talitha Kumi in Area C (area C, 65+% of the West Bank, is Palestinian territory under full Israeli administrative and military control). This was also a day in which the unexpected found us.

We began our day at Hope School. Hope is an oasis for poverty stricken children, orphans, and children of broken homes. For me, personally, it was bittersweet experience for I could see the children’s smiles, but I could also a sadness lurking just beneath the surface in many of them. Nonetheless, there were several gregarious characters who, after gift delivery, were more than willing to give us a tour of their classrooms and playground areas. It was a fun time, but the sum of the experience left me with the sense that we must do more for the children here.

The second location we delivered to (Talitha Kumi), gets is name from the Aramic phrase found in Mark 5:21-24. It translates to “Girl, get up”. This school is a modern school built in 2003 whose guiding principle is the message of peace as proclaimed in the Gospel. Girls and boys in Palestine grow up in a continually stressful environment full of tension and political conflict. Within this context, Talitha Kumi provides a safe place for learning and development. Our time at the school featured a show by the Palestinian Clown “Mr. Ok!” which the children very much enjoyed. On a side note, I was goofing off with the children before the clown made his appearance and they were calling me “Mr. Ok”. Perhaps I have a future in clowning?

Following gift delivery, the team returned to the Bible College for rest before dinner, and that’s when the unexpected came. Since the team had a little bit of time, Rod Reding and I decided to visit the ‘Azza refugee camp. We weren’t sure how we would be received, and initially the residents were skeptical of us and our video/camera equipment. But, before long, we were offered tea then invited in as guests.

This was a singularly surreal experience. Imagine yourself in an impoverished refugee camp over 60 years old with streets in such disrepair that they can barely be called streets. Then imagine yourself in a living room just a little bit bigger than a walk-in closet lit by an old chandelier with only a few functioning bulbs talking with four or so young men who have grown up in the camp and one of whom is raising a little boy there. Then imagine that man’s little boy (a child about 4 or 5 years old) offering you not one, but two, packages of cookies (one for Rod and one for me). It was as if the widow from Luke 21:1-4 had just dropped her two mites in my hand.

What do you say? You want to say no, but you want to be grateful and gracious. I accepted the cookies but after the boy left I told his father: “Let me leave these here for your son.” I just could not imagine taking from this boy or this family. His reply: “No, these are his gift to you.” His gift to me! His gift to me!?! It still seems surreal as I write it… His son blessed me, and here I was a little nervous about being in this strange world I had never seen thinking: “I am with people I have never met who are living in terrible conditions. What could happen to me? What if the conversation takes a wrong turn? What if somehow I am offensive? No one knows were I am and I have no way to communicate with the anyone.” Well, let me tell you what can happen: what can happen is all of a sudden you can feel very small. Very, very small: humbled by a child.

Such is life here, as I noted in my blog two nights ago, the surreal is all around you. There is so much more to tell but it is now 12:30AM and I very much need sleep. God bless you all.

What a day, yesterday’s post was appropriately named Before the Whirlwind.  Today was very much a day of constantly being on the move as we delivered gifts to four centers.

We spent our morning with the children of the Dheisheh Refugee Camp Kindergarden delivering winter clothing.  The children were a complete joy as you can see from the photo!  Our two hours with them went by too quickly.  They loved the gifts of clothing we were able to provide and they very much relished in playing with us as much as we did with them.

After Dheisheh, we delivered gifts at the Holy Child Program (where we again delivered clothing) followed by Al-Basma Center for Children with Special Needs.  The children at Holy Child were very thrilled to receive their gifts.  One girl in particular moved from team member to team member showing us her new clothes.

At Al-Basma, we were treated to dancing before we distributed gifts followed by a tour of the center where we saw their newly created bioneering project.  The project teaches the students how to create a sustainable farm using fish to provide sustenance for plants.  It was amazing to see so much accomplished with so little.

The staff at Al-Basma was very grateful for the gifts that were delivered and thanked us repeatedly for coming yet again to the center.  We told them that we were merely the face of believers back home who all made this project possible.  Once again, thank you!  Your prayer and financial support is making a difference here in Bethlehem.  The staff, by the way, pointed out how the children at Al-Basma were wearing clothing from gifts delivered in previous years.  That was a sweet moment for us.

The last location, Holy Child Program is a center for children suffering from post-traumatic stress.  This was the only center we have delivered toys to.   We saw the school’s small garden designed to teach children about mathematics, farming, and fiscal responsibility.  The school was wonderful – even though I was handily beat at ping-pong by one of the teens who showed me the now fully assembled ping-pong table BCP provided a year ago.  Ego slightly bruised, we nonetheless had a wonderful time opening gifts and playing with the children.

Well, it’s is now 11:30pm here.  I am hoping to ge to bed early as it has been a long day.  Blessings to you all! More to come tomorrow!

Tomorrow is our first gift delivery day!  Today, however, was spent worshipping at a church in Jerusalem in the morning before driving to see the site of the Dead Sea scrolls, having lunch with the Iowa Medical Team, then visiting the Dead Sea itself (where the BCP team had the opportunity to experience the incredible buoyancy the salt concentration in the Dead Sea provides).

In the evening we had dinner with Palestinian believers before returning to the Bethlehem Bible College to discuss the locations we will be delivering gifts to throughout the day tomorrow.

There were so many sights and sounds that it is difficult to describe them individually, but let me (Ali) try to give you an idea.  All around us today were reminders of surreal proximity of the paradoxical or dichotomous.  One example was standing not too far outside the walls of the old city of Jerusalem and seeing a group of twenty-somethings riding segway personal transports on the way to the old city (if you don’t know what  segway is, look here.)  In other places we saw the juxtaposition of war and calm.  At the Dead Sea for example, we saw beach cabanas not too far from the old abandoned ruins of Jordanian army outposts.  Ever present and most palpable, however, were the reminders of the proximity of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.  One such reminder came for me personally while I was on the roof of the Bethlehem Bible College with my camera to take some pictures of Bethlehem at night when all of a sudden a nearby mosque began with the Muslim call to prayer.  Not too long after, another mosque made the call to prayer.  Just a few seconds later yet another mosque did as well. Click on the video below to experience it with me.)

This land is indeed a strange land full of the old and the new, of history and cultures, and of differing beliefs.  One cannot, and is not, allowed to forget this.

I very much wish I could write you more, but it is now after midnight and he team is long asleep.  I must rest as well.  Blessings to you all!  The team is excited about tomorrow and I look forward to giving you the day’s report.

Greetings from Bethlehem!

It has been quite the harrowing day.  We arrived early this morning in Tel Aviv, but unfortunately, I (Ali) was taken aside for questioning/investigation at the airport.  While not ideal, this allowed Jennifer to sleep in the holding area as she was not able to do so on the plane for our son Nabeel did not allow her to put him down.

After being released, Ali & Jenni went straight to Jerusalem to meet with Rod, Jill, Shayla and Mikayla.  We started by visiting the Mount of Olives then headed to Gesthemane,  Bethesda, theChurch of the Holy Sepulcher (among others) before returning to the Bible College.

We are simply exhausted and were falling asleep on the way to Bethlehem.  But all is well.  We are here and are looking forward to our gift delivery days.

The team is off to the Dead Sea tomorrow.  For now, here’s a photo of us at the Garden of Gesthemane.  Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes!

Dear friends,

Members of the BCP team will be enroute tomorrow morning; Jennifer, Nabeel, and I will leave Friday morning.  We are ready, more than ready!

But, you ask: where are we?  I can barely contain my joy as I answer this question!   In my last message, we were able to deliver 125 gifts.  Today, I am happy, thrilled in fact,  to tell you  we currently have the capability of delivering 385 gifts!  385 gifts!!!  This means 6+ centers can now receive gifts because of your help.  Thank you!

We’re ready to go, but there is still a lot to do as we just gave the go-ahead to two locations to begin the process of choosing gifts for the children.  Communications between us and our partners are at fever pitch.  Yes, there is a lot to do, but this is a good challenge – the kind of challenge we are thrilled to meet.  Please pray for Jenni as she works to coordinate the project and finalize the logistics.

Please also pray for the team enroute tomorrow.  Pray for traveling mercies and an easy flight.  Please also pray for our time on the ground.  Those of you who have been on BCP know the pace of the project is not for the faint of heart.  Please pray for the health of all our team members and for us to be effective in carrying out our purpose.

A quick note on communications moving forward: if you are following me on facebook,  BCP’s facebook page, or my twitter account, you will be getting real-time updates, images, and maybe a video or two as we move about.  I will also be blogging nightly with a recap of each day’s events.

Finally, all I can say in closing is: Wow!!  God is awesome, and we are grateful for the friends He has given us to do His work.  Thank you once more!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

It is almost hard to believe, but just a few days stand between us and BCP 2011.  A lot is happening with arrangements and coordination with our partners these days: emails, and phone calls, are going back and forth daily as all the i’s are being dotted and the t’s are being crossed.  Jenni and I, along with our almost 9 month old son Nabeel will be departing for Bethlehem on December 2nd (which, by the way, is our 11 year Anniversary!  Also, Nabeel will be 9 months old on December 6th while we are on the ground!)  In addition, four other team members will be joining us from Iowa, but will be arriving a day before the Florida team.  Please pray for traveling mercies.

As for status, here’s where we are: we are currently able to deliver 125 gifts.  This would allow us to deliver gifts to two centers for children with special needs, a kindergarten at a refugee camp, and a school for children suffering from post-traumatic stress.  There are 3 more locations we would like to be able to deliver to, but to do so we would need to at least double the number of gifts we are currently able to deliver.  We continue to pray with joy and thanksgiving for what God has already done with faithful anticipation of what He will do!  The hands and feet are ready and we will go as far as He allows us to go!

As we approach, we very much hope you will pray for us.  We are praying for:

1) Favor as we arrive at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.    We are often questioned, at times for several hours, by Israeli security.  Jenni and I are praying for a safe trip and an easy entry.

2) The team’s safety.  As I’ve written in the past, there are several developments we are closely monitoring that can lead to an outbreak of violence.  Please pray for peace while we are there, but also for peace to prevail before and after us.

3)  Please pray for our partners on the ground who are working hard to coordinate with the centers we will be serving.  There is a lot to do!

4) Finally, please pray with us as we continue to raise support for BCP.

God bless you all!  More to come soon; we’ve just received the article about BCP from Relevant Media’s Neue Magazine.  We have the article, but the online link from the magazine is not available as yet.  We’ll send it as soon as it is.

Finally, to support BCP, please visit our donations page at this link.

Happy Thanksgiving once more!  We are grateful for you.

Happy, happy, Thanksgiving dear friends!  We hope you have a blessed day with friends, family, and loved ones as you give thanks to God.

We are grateful today for all the support you’ve given us.  Since our last update, you have helped us almost double the number of children we are able to reach.  We now have enough funds to reach almost 120 children!  Thank you for your recent gifts!

8 days from now, we will be enroute to Bethlehem.  While on the ground we will be updating you daily on the team’s status and progress.  I (Ali) will also be updating twitter, Google+ and facebook in real-time throughout the days.  If you’re already following any of those accounts there’s nothing extra you’ll need to do.

Finally, we continue to seek your support as we prepare to leave for Bethlehem.  We are able to reach 120 children, but there are children we may be forced to turn away.  If we only return to the centers we have reached in the past, we will be able to deliver 200 gifts, but there are other locations we would love to reach.  We are praying we can deliver 300 gifts and hope you will consider supporting us and the children we serve!

God bless you and thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support.   Jenni and I are grateful for you and look forward to telling you about what God is doing in Israel and Palestine.

Happy thanksgiving!

Dear friends,

Our departure date of December 2nd is drawing near.  Jenni and I, along with the BCP board of directors, are grateful for all the support you have given us.  Many of you have written, or called, us with encouragement and supported us financially.  Thank you!  Your letters, emails, and phone calls propel us forward.

I am writing you today with an update of where we stand.  We have some good news and some challenges as we often do as we prepare to leave.

The good news: Jennifer and I have raised the support necessary for us to go to Bethlehem.  Our tickets are purchased and we are ready to go.  Thank you!  One hurdle has been crossed thanks to your support.

The challenges:  First,  Jenni is struggling with all the last minute arrangements that have to take place for the project to come together.  There just is a lot to do: many emails and phone calls need to occur in the next week or so and she needs your prayers and encouragement.  Please remember her in prayer and pray for God to give her the strength she needs as she serves as a mother and educator for our four children, as well as, the coordinator for BCP.

Another challenge is we are still in need of your support to purchase gifts.  As it stands we have enough funds to deliver gifts to 67 children.  We are hoping to raise all our support by next Monday 11/28 as we need to make determinations about which children receive, or don’t receive, gifts.

We are told by our partners on the ground that there are 193 children at the centers we are to deliver to.  This means, we still have a need to raise $3,150. We also have additional centers we can deliver to if the funds are available.

If you have been considering contributing to gift purchasing, we very much hope you will consider contributing by 11/28 in order for us to have time to finalize arrangements.

Please know we do not take asking you for your support lightly and we are very grateful for your support and prayers of BCP.

If you’d like to contribute, you can send your tax deductible gift electronically by visiting our donations link here.

You can also contribute by sending a check to:

The Middle East Peace Initiative
PO Box 914
Oakland, FL 34760

22 Days to go.  That’s right, we will be on the ground on December 2nd- just 22 days from now, and there is so much to do between now and then.  This is the time when the pressure is on and the details of the project become almost overwhelming.

Flights, transportation, tour guides, coordination with the centers, making sure our wills are updated, ensuring our children are cared for while we are in Israel and Palestine, fundraising phone calls, letters and emails, and accounting- it’s just a lot to do.  A LOT.  But, God is good and we will march on.

Nonetheless, please pray for us.  Not only are we praying for the project to come together, but we’re also praying for peace.  A lot is happening in the region and while we have always been safe, there is always the potential an outbreak of violence.  Recently the Palestinians asked for statehood in the UN and Israel responded by witholding tax revenues (which now look to soon be released), militants in Gaza fired rockets at Israelis, Israel has announced the construction and expansion of settlements displacing Palestinians in East Jerusalem.  There remain concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and Israel is ever concerned about security.

Any one of these issues alone holds the potential for an outbreak of violence.  Please pray for peace and for the body of believers to be encouraged during this time.

In good news, BCP will be getting some media coverage in the December issue of Neue Magazine (http://www.neuemagazine.com/).  Look for that soon -we’ll be sure to send an update once the issue hits.  We’re looking forward to telling the BCP story and to seeing others get involved.

Finally, we are counting our pennies and still need your help.  We still have a long way to go but we are confident God will bring everything together.  Please consider helping us deliver christmas gifts by donating today.  For $25, you can deliver a Christmas gift to a child $750 can deliver gifts to all the children in one of the locations we visit.

You can help by either:

Visting our donations page found at this link
or
Sending a check to:

The Middle East Peace Initiative
PO Box 914
Oakland, FL 34760