It was a busy day for the team.  Our day began with a quick breakfast and an early morning ride to the Holy Child Program where we delivered toys, dolls, and soccer balls to children suffering from post-traumatic stress.  The children greeted us with Christmas songs and we sang songs to them in return beginning with one of Ali’s favorites: “Joy to the World”.  We also had quite a giggle singing “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”; the children just loved seeing us act silly!

The soccer balls were quite a hit as one of our team members said: “the kids LOVED these balls, you’d think they were gold!”  The children enjoyed themselves, we enjoyed our time with them, and Christ was glorified.  All in all, a great start to our day.

After Holy Child, we visited House of Hope: a center for children with mental and visual impairment.  We were blessed to be a part of House of Hope’s Christmas party with the children and their parents.  We again had a wonderful time seeing the joy on the children’s faces as we distributed gifts and candies.

Following Holy Child was a visit to Jamima: a center for children with severe cases of downs, autism, physical deformation and other mental disabilities.  We were encouraged by our meeting with Raed, a 26 year old Arab believer who began working at the center with a great deal of trepidation, but now is the center’s director saying with enthusiasm: “I will be here for the rest of my life, it is my passion.”  He said these words with love and conviction.  It was as we were transported to the first century to meet Peter and hear him say: “I will be feeding these sheep for my Lord until my God takes me home.”  It was a blessing to see the powerful healing faith of this believer in Bethlehem.

Last on our stop was the Frare school where we met a passionate young teacher who has committed herself to making sure each one of her students knows the love of Christ.  None of the children suffered from any disabilities but they were children in need.  We delivered warm winter clothes for them and were touched by their songs, their joy, and their inspring teacher.

In the late afternoon we returned to the Bible College for a lecture from Alex Awad before going to dinner with several of the students from the Bible College.  Many of these students have been with us in the past and we were honored to have them with us as our guests.  We also had quite a bit of fun listening to them sing along popular Arabic pop songs in the bus on the way back to the College.  It was one of those fun driving and singing experiences- just a Middle Eastern version of it. 

Now, it’s off to bed.  Tomorrow we will spend time in Jerusalem and will receive a lecture from Salim Munayer at Musalaha’s offices.  Musalaha is a ministry of reconciliation dedicated to bringing together Arab and Israeli believers to promote forgiveness, understanding and unity in Christ’s body here in the Holy Land.  What a day it will be for us. 

More to come tomorrow!  Pray for the people of this land.