It Takes an Army

 Yesterday we realized it takes an army of Peacemakers to bring God’s reconciliation to the world, and they all look different.

We started our day with Mahmoud Subuh, a Palestinian who runs the Yafa Cultural Center in the Balata refuge camp. A world so far from our own that it was an experience that none of us will forget.

The Balata refuge camp a quarter square kilometer (about 100 acres), located in the West bank was started by the United Nations in 1950 as a temporary home for 5,000 Palestinian refugees forced from their homes after World War II. Sixty six years later 30,000 Palestinians live in the same space.

What does it look like when you have no land  and no money? In Balata 60-70 people share a house. Privacy does not exist.

The overcrowding and lack of resources lead to no space at all –no playgrounds, no parks.

How does care look when there is 1 medical clinic, 2 doctors, 10 nurses and 1 dentist for all 30,000 people? Or education when there are 40-45 kids in a class, 50% illiteracy and 35% skip class and drop out? What happens when 70% of the population is under the age of 29 and the unemployment rate 61%? What’s scary is that people are behind these numbers. People just like you and me.

What do you do when your home, your business, your history, your life and your identity are all taken from you?

The years of despair and anger, frustration and fear have turned into something far more frightening. According to Mahmoud, people simply don’t care. They don’t believe in anything; not faith, not family, not a future. In the years of negotiations and conversations, in the Arab world as well as the international community, the Palestinians have always been left out of the equation.

They are the forgotten. Isn’t that who Jesus came for? The lost, the least, the forgotten? I guess it’s our mission too.                               

Mahmoud said, “what we need is rights and justice and real peace for everyone.” What’s real peace? Basic human rights and a real chance for life. That’s just what Mahmoud does through the Yafa Cultural Center. Through great personal sacrifice and risk to his family, he brings together youth giving them someone who cares about them as well as a place to belong. He reminds them that they’re not forgotten.

From there we headed to the Taybeh Brewery, close to Ramallah. In the midst of oppression and poverty sat a successful brewery, the only one in the West Bank. This Brewery and it’s success  represents hope and a future for Palestine.  Their mission is to produce premium high quality hand crafted beer that contributes to the Palestinian economy, widens an international market presence and elevates tourism. Light in the darkness. Remarkable in this story is that the master brewer, Madees Khoury,  is the first female brewer in Palestine, breaking through not only political barriers for Palestinians but the barriers for women as well. Madees is part of the army of Peacemakers.

Late afternoon, in the city of Taybeh, we all got to experience the ultimate act of peace, as we partook in Communion together. We stood on top of the ruins of a Byzantine Church, overlooking what  was known as Ephraim and we broke bread and shared in the cup  of reconciliation. Singing and praying together we experienced a holy moment as the church bells rang in the distance.

Our day ended with an incredible experience with a Palestinian Christian couple, Manar and Milad. Manar and Milad run the House of Hope, a place that’s mission is to achieve freedom, independence and justice by increasing cultural awareness of Palestinian children youth and women under occupation. The highlight was an evening with our new Palestinian friends at their home. What an eye opener to witness the dance amongst the Table contingency. Where we thought Matt would excel, we were sorely disappointed. While Jordan won the vote for best effort, Ryan lead the way with his “sassy hips”. Amongst the conversation and laughter,  the music and dancing, the separation wall, standing 20 feet tall, in their backyard couldn’t be ignored; a continual reminder of the everyday reality of our friends lives. Despite the restrictions on their lives they continue on in the army of peace.

At the end of the day the question we asked ourselves is what does it mean to be part of the army of peace?

Love and prayers to you all -Debbie