The Children of Palestine

Today we met with the Minister of Interior of the Palestine National Authority to consider ways Buckner might be of service to the children in this region. We also met with the Director of Interior Affairs along with the Buckner Delegation. Later that morning we met with the Deputy Mayor of the City of Ramallah and his staff to ask the same question of ministry opportunities in this 500 year old city.

Pastor Munir Kakish arranged these meetings. He is a pastor of two churches and director of a children’s group home here in Ramallah and has been serving in this place for over 30 years.

We also met with an independent consultant who described the needs of the Palestinian people in terms “soul maintenance.” She described the dynamics of people who live in confinement in the West Bank. She pointed to the need to maintain the soul of the people and the community with attention to issues such as coping mechanisms, domestic violence, hope-seeking efforts, and a host of community programs that would add hope to the people who live here.

I am certain that we have ministries that mirror this kind of context, at least in some ways. One program comes to mind at the Wynnewood apartment complex in Dallas. Johnny Flowers runs a Buckner ministry that offers a wide array of services that bring hope to that community. However, redemptive hope lies only in the person of Jesus Christ. We offer hope to families who participate in our family place programs across Texas but lasting hope only comes through a personal relationship with Christ.

So do we propose telling the gospel or doing the gospel among the children of Palestine? Yes! We do both. We come here to do the Micah Mandate: To act justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly before our God. To act justly is to pull the weeds of injustice wherever we have influence and opportunity. To love mercy is to do deeds that demonstrate the love of God in practical ways. This earns us the right to tell about the good news of salvation among people who want to know the reason of our coming. To walk humbly before our God is to plant seeds with the way we live and the words that match our testimony.

We are working hard each day to listen, to ask questions, to consider possibilities, to pray for resources, to think creatively, to think about what it means to live in confinement, and to consider ways we can offer hope to the souls of children and families who live here in this very hard place.

Pray for us as we sort through all we are learning. Pray for wisdom to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

Comments

[Charlie Johnson]

Brother Albert, I am much heartened by your mission to help the people of that much-troubled region of our global village. Buckner will help incarnate the love of Christ from American people to Palestinian people-- a needed example of love and care in a divided land. Your willingness to affirm your commonality and connection with Arabic-speaking people, particularly during this tense time, is a powerful witness! Lord bless and guide you.

[Albert Reyes]

Thanks Bro. Charlie. Great to hear from you. The whole trip has been an education for me. I have felt safe and welcomed warmly by our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Holy Lands. In somem ways I have felt at home among the Palestinian people. The culture, worship, food, and some language has made me feel like I am south Texas again. I will say more about this next week.