Most Palestinians are of course Muslim but many are Christian (Roman Catholics, Armenians, Coptic, Ethiopian Orthodox, Maronite, Anglican, Lutheran and Baptist). The Arab-Israeli problem has caused suffering all around but Palestinian Christians are particularly hard hit. The newsletter below is from a brother whom I met at Fuller Seminary, where we both studied. I remember him saying the roof of the little evangelical church he pastored, had been blown off several times. After Hamas won the election in Gaza, 2006, Christians were put under increasing pressure from the Muslim side. As the book, Between Two Fires: the Untold Story of Palestinian Christians (Jack Kinkaid and Ron Bracken) explains, Christians are caught in the middle. He later left Gaza for the safety of his wife and two daughters and relocated in Jordan, but regularly returns to give counsel, comfort and desperately-needed supplies. His e-mail describes the suffering of Christians and asks for our prayers and financial support.
Dear Friends,
Early on Wednesday morning, October 19, I left Amman for Gaza via Egypt, arriving late that evening. You cannot imagine the relentless stress suffered by church leaders in a small, crowded area like Gaza
(140 square miles). They are isolated from the rest of the world, surrounded by 1.7 million (not Christians), ruled by Hamas, and oppressed by the extremists and the even more radical Salafists. Every day, they battle depression and hopelessness.
My first visit on Thursday was with a couple, students of mine at Bethlehem Bible College, who lead a home bible study. For hours, we talked about the unique ministry challenges they face and sought God together to find ways to serve better and to reach out to the territory’s tiny Christian community.
I counseled another leader who has been stumbling and became isolated from the ministry. By God’s grace, he and his wife are once again leading worship in home bible study. On another occasion, I spent a very productive time supporting and encouraging the couple who leads worship in the church.
There is much sickness in Gaza, a lot of it caused by the stress of daily life in addition to the diseases and infirmities that we all face. I visited a family who just lost their father to cancer. He was only 52 years old and had been a classmate of mine growing up in Gaza. I shared some memories with them about their dear father; we read the Scriptures together and thanked God for His comfort.
In another home, I ministered to a mother who is struggling to overcome pancreatic cancer. And at the hospital, I praised God for saving a man who had a brain clot. He is a physician and a member of Gaza
Baptist Church.
But the number one disease in the Gaza Strip is worry. So this was my main topic when I shared in home bible studies and when I spoke to the teachers at the Lighthouse School and with other church leaders,
beside Preaching & teaching in the church in two Sundays.
One day, I walked into a pharmacy and my heart nearly broke as the owner, who is a good friend, broke down crying uncontrollably the moment she saw me. She could not believe that I was actually there. She was able to share the oppression and pain she is suffering and later told me how the Lord used my visit to comfort and strengthen her.
Poverty is great in Gaza and unemployment is still very high. But thanks to God’s grace and the generosity of friends like you, I was able to help twenty-seven families—Christian and non-Christian—with food and medicine. Most of these families live in the Deir El Balah refugee camp (nearly 20,000 people packed into 39 acres). Each package included olive oil, orn oil, different kinds of beans, rice, sugar, and other supplies; worth bout US$60(we bought the food from Gaza).
God willing, my next visit will be in January. At that ime, I hope also to teach a course on the Gospel of John through the Gaza xtension of the Bethlehem Bible College.
Please pray for:
- The people I isited, that the Lord will continue to heal, encourage, and comfort.
- Those we elped with relief work, that God would multiply the “loaves and fishes.”
- My sister, ho had blood clot in her leg and continues to need costly medical attention at
home. - A desperately-needed scond car.
- My upcoming January visit.
Thank you very much for your prayers and partnership and for standing with us in these increasingly difficult days. If the Lord put in your heart to partner with us, Please let me know.
