Comments from Musalaha

Study Tour Participants

Steve Openshaw, Bolton, UK - St. Peter’s Church

People have had their eyes opened to some of the wonderful things the Lord is doing in Israel and the Palestinian Authority through ministries and individuals. The trip was also a spiritual journey for some of the people who came along. I am sure this trip will make a long lasting impact on the people who came along – as did the last one.

Mary Pandiani, Chapel Hill Presbyterian, WA, USA

From walking the streets of Bethlehem to sitting in a Messianic Jewish service, we were given a taste of two worlds.  Through Musalaha’s eyes, we began to grasp the necessity for a bridge between these two worlds. From Refugee camps and settlements to guards and police and the Holocaust and Al Nakba, the conflict seems overwhelming. A simplistic answer trivializes the extent of probing damage. Yet, in the midst of it all, Christ’s message of reconciliation brings hope. In fact, it is the only answer. Musalaha provides the opportunity to face the pain and suffering of all those involved: Jews, Christians, Muslims, Palestinians, Israelis. And at the same time, lifts up the covenant given to followers of Jesus Christ – we are to reconcile to one another as Christ has reconciled us to himself. 

Sheri Blackmon, Oak Park, CA, USA

Most American Christians who visit the Holy Land never get to meet Palestinian Christians and thus miss an important part of what Israel has to offer its visitors. We spent a week getting to know Jewish and Palestinian Christians at a camp for 9-12 year old children. After the camp, we toured the country for a week. Part of it was a traditional tour of the biblical sites, but the last few days were completely unconventional. We stayed in Bethlehem which is surrounded by an imposing security barrier, enjoying the wonderful hospitality of Bethlehem Bible College. There we experienced many eye-opening moments of lectures and tours. Walking through the long corridors of the border on our way to catch the bus to Jerusalem at the end of a work day as the Palestinian workers returned from their day’s work in Jerusalem struck me. I learned about their constant reality of separation from their Jewish neighbors, security checks and their unequal treatment in terms of rights and resource distribution, namely water. Seeing the way the land is being carved up to provide more room for Jewish settlers and to keep bitter enemies apart was a site one can only appreciate visually. Hearing about the difficulties that the Christians on both sides of the issue face on a daily basis and witnessing their courage and conviction inspired me. Most of all, I realized that to American Christians, the Christians in Palestine are often invisible and that I want to do what little I can to change that.

 

Chuck Orrestad, CISF Group

This trip was eye-opening, enlightening and provided information that perhaps is accessible in some books, but is so much more powerful when we are all away and isolated from our home contexts hearing it “live.” Obviously, that same “separation” that is so powerful on your desert encounters offers the same advantage to visitors who can really focus on the material.

 

The “heavier” part of our agenda the intellectual, theological (land), emotional….was powerful. Going to the Galilee on the back end was just right. The quiet drive north allowed us all to rest and start processing some of what we’d heard, and we all embraced the “rest” that is so much an element of life around the lake. The Galilee has a peace and quiet about it that was much more powerful in contrast because of our days in a busy urban environment with a “breakneck” educational program that was stretching our minds.

Lance Brown, Chapel Hill Presbyterian, WA, USA

I so deeply appreciate all Musalaha did to make this a life changing experience – and the personal investment you made yourself to unravel the very complex ball of yarn in my head and in my heart. I have a deep desire for this to be more than just a profound life experience that enables me to read the newspaper differently.

 

Brigitte Germany, Phillipus Dienst Group

A young man’s life transformed during a Musalaha desert encounter as he went from being somebody who threw stones to someone who realized, that a peaceful answer is much more necessary than violence touched us deeply and we realized that such changes could only happen through the grace of Jesus Christ.

 

John Nitta, EV Free Fullerton, CA, USA

Training at Musalaha was great and well-thought through. The students enjoyed their time with Salim and were encouraged to hear his heart. The overall consensus was that his lectures prepared the students well in understanding the conflict.