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May 29, 2002
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Bethlehem, the birth place of our Savior! I do
hope and pray that this finds all of you well and in the spirit
of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ!
Yesterday morning I was out walking our dog at about 7:00 when
I thought I heard the rumble of tanks. I was surprised. I thought
that we had finished for a while with the re-occupation of Bethlehem.
I ran back to the house in order to see what has now become the
re-re-occupation of Bethlehem. We counted thirty troop carriers
within the span of an hour and a half.
Last night at about 9:15, I counted five large Sherman tanks
entering. This is only the count from what entered through the
main check-point of Bethlehem, tanks and troop carriers were also
reported entering Beit Sahour, Beit Jala, and Al-Khader, the neighboring
towns. What has surprised me more than this latest military action
by Israel is that it is just now being reported on the major European
and U.S. news networks. We are all hoping that this latest incursion
will not last for longer than a few days. We are once again under
24-hour house curfew, though we have now gotten used to this phenomenon.
Right before the end of the last incursion I had the chance to
leave Bethlehem, so I used the chance to get to Egypt. I left
Hala and the boys and took a flight to Cairo the following day,
arriving there on May 9. I had a very productive trip; was able
to shore up support for the Joining Hands program and will be
having a group meeting upon my return to Cairo. There are now
four organizations committed to Joining Hands in Egypt, and I
have hope that three more will join the network soon. In individual
meetings with the organizations, brainstorming was a big part
of the meeting and a productive one. There is already a great
project idea emerging that would engage and benefit many.
I then left Egypt on May 16 and flew to Amman where Hala and
the boys were waiting for me at the airport. Two days after the
Israeli army left Bethlehem, Hala received permission to travel
to Amman to her sister’s so that she and the boys could have
a change of scenery. All told, we had been confined to the house
for 38 days. The time out of Bethlehem did Hala and the boys a
world of good. They returned to Bethlehem Friday the 24th. I had
arrived back here in Bethlehem a few days before to get some work
done. We are thankful at least to be together for this latest
incursion.
Here in Palestine I have not been able to meet outside of the
telephone lines with those interested in the Joining Hands program.
However, we are hoping to meet as soon as the army leaves and
gives us freedom to move around.
We have, however, begun the planning of a Web page for the program
for Egypt and Palestine. It will include information on the organizations
involved in the Joining Hands network and will also serve as a
source of information on the program in general and the work being
accomplished. Added to this, we would also like to make the page
a source of information for educational purposes about the Middle
East. I pray that by adding to the growing alternative information
sources out there, we may be able to shed some new opinions on
the situation in the Middle East to those who are often trapped
in by traditional news sources, not by fault of their own.
I will sign off here with some very important words that have
come to mean much to me during these crazy times.
UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is
going to get better. It’s not.
This quote is taken from one of Nadiim and Adeeb’s favorite
Dr. Seuss books. If you are not familiar with the story of the
Lorax, I suggest to all to become familiar with it. It is a wonderful
story that talks about just how much we all must work together
to improve any given situation, and that the changes that need
to happen must start with someone. (At least that is what I get
from it.) We give thanks to our Lord that we are able to be in
the position to make a difference in whatever way we can. We also
give thanks to all of those who are praying for us and our mission
work. The concern that has been shown for us and the prayers being
lifted up in our names "means a whole awful lot."
Blessings & Peace,
Chris, Hala, Nadiim and Adeeb
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