Ramallah Trip

Ramallah Partnership Blog

last updated, July 11, 2009 .

The Pastor's blog is also posted at www.lionshope.wordpress.com

View pictures on the pastor's Facebook <here>

Read about previous trips by clicking <HERE>

God is doing greater work than we ever imagined in Ramallah.For the past four years, our church has bonded with the one in Ramallah. This summer we send another group. This one of nine (Jay, Kelle, Marty, Scott, Jessica, Pat, Joe, Bill, and Brenda) will conduct a week-long Bible Camp at the Ramallah Local Church with about 70 children.

Pastor Jay Abernathy and Steve Jenkins were in Ramallah in May 2008 with a team from Buckner to examine the possiblity working with the at-risk children of the West Bank.

In 2007, FBC Palestine sent a team to work alongside the Ramallh Local Church in a Bible Camp for local children.

In 2006, Pastor Jay Abernathy and Breck Quarles went to examine our beginning partnership in Ramallah with our Palestinian Christian brethren.

(Entries are in reverse calender order. Most recent entries and trips are at the top.)

I leave a light on in my house when I know I’ll be coming back home at night. It just feels better not to return to a dark house. The church in Ramallah reminds me of the light that is left on in the house.

Many people don’t know that until 1967, Ramallah was a predominantly Christian city. Since the occcupation of the West Bank, the number of believers in Jesus has decreased. Though it has dimmed a bit, the light of faith in this city is still on. Thanks to the work of this church it is even getting brighter.

The work of the Bible Camp was very successful. Our team has worked long, hard days. They rose early, worked long, slept little, accomplished much. Each group (Bible Study, Recreation, and Crafts) found ways to engage the children and present the gospel. One measure of the good work were the six children that came to the church for the first time tonight because of Bible Camp.

Another bright spot I saw tonight was the large number of young people at the worship tonight. It was a vibrant time with joyous singing and (slightly biased) good preaching. After it was over, I visited with some of the friends I’ve made on previous visits here. I also met some new people. One young man shared with me that he a rather new Christian and was visiting from Canada. Ramallah was his family’s home and was here seeing his sisters. He said he had asked around town for a church and was directed to the Ramallah Local Church. He came tonight and loved it. It says something good about the light shining from this church that he could find it in this town. He said he would be back Sunday, so I’ll see him again.

Today (July 8) we had our third day of Bible Camp in Ramallah. It’s hard work teaching Bible stories and songs, playings games, and leading craft time through translators, but the team from FBC Palestine is great. They’ve been getting up early and staying up late, working like a fine machine. Of course the Ramallah Local Church volunteers are what makes our hard work go so smoothly. Dina who oversees the program and the young people who translate are what makes our preparation connect with the children. They are good enough to do this without us, so we feel like we’re stepping in alongside them to take something good to great.

Today’s teaching was about Zaccheaus. Since I lead the recreation time, I can only take it so deep, but the kids (especially the oldes group) understood well the core teaching: If you are a selfish, rotten person, you will wind up alone. Like Zacchaeus, when Jesus comes into your life, you will change for the good. (It is a simple, true lesson and good to use in the West Bank because Jericho is in the West Bank.)

We’ve been let in a gate here in Ramallah. Literally at the border and into the Ramalah church property. Figuratively we’ve been let into the hearts of the children. I noticed how much warmer they were around us today. Maybe on our first day of Bible Camp they were on guard. Today, they opened up more.

The older children got into the lesson. The little children laughed and cuddled more. Especially the boys. They loved to play rough with Pat, Joe, and me (definitely earned the Aleve today.) I think by Friday we’re all going to be very attached to one another.

Tonight some of our team travelled out of the West Bank to worship with the Baptist church in Ramla. This is the one that our congregation contributed toward a couple of years ago. That contribution helped them get a new door literally and figuratively. Two years ago, they moved into a facility on the main street of Ramla. With a lot of hard work, a run down flat became a beautiful place of worship. Last year I gave them a cross from our church. When I arrived tonight, I found they had placed it prominantly behind the pulpit. It was my blessing to preach to them once more. This congregation has a door of opportunity now in Ramla with their new visibility. They already have a base of young families and children, and are ready and willing to reach more. Perhaps some team could come and do a Bible Camp to help them reach out to more children.

Today we had our first day of “Bible Camp”. This is the main reason we came. It’s not that Ramallah Local Church needed us to put on a children’s outreach ministry (i.e. Vacation Bible School), they had already run just fine on their own for two weeks before we arrived. Certainly, we are making a huge difference and the FBC Palestine team is prepared. What is happening is what we came here for – children are being loved in Jesus’ name.

We have three teams of three persons each leading Bible Study/Song, Crafts, and Recreation. Today was the first day for our part and it went really, really well. We had over fifty energetic kids from kindergarten to 6th grade. Everyone worked hard from 8:30 until 1pm. (I believe they are all ready to begin again at 8:30 in the morning.)

The Ramallah church volunteers love these children and it shows. The older teenagers that worked with us and translated were gifted. I wish you could know the young man that helped Pat, Joe, and me with Recreation. Hanna (sp?) is a Junior in High School, first in his class, but has spiritual hunger and evangelistic gifts beyond his years. What moved me was his genuine grief that the Palestinian people were surrounded by so much evidence in the Holy Land of God’s work, yet they didn’t embrace the faith. (Here’s where I got convicted about how much we take for granted a church on every corner back home.)

We had a home-cooked meal at the church (some kind of rice and meat) and returned to the Kakish’s house about 2:30. After a brief rest, we went to Bethlehem for a quick visit to the Church of the Nativity. I drove again (this is another story). As it was late in the day, there were no tourists and we had the place to ourselves except for a few others. This structure is built over the site where, it is believed, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Down under the church is a little grotto that is a moving place to visit. Is it exactly where it happened? I can’t say with certainty, but that matters not. My belief that the incarnation happened is what matters. My Savior humbly became a child to complete a task no man could do.

While at the Church of the Nativity, a monk asked me if we wanted to go “upstairs”. That is where the entry to the Tomb of the Innocents is. It is an excavated deep cistern/dried up well where it is believed the bodies of the children killed by Herod where thrown by the soldiers. Of course, I said, “yes.” The monk simply handed Kelle a key and pointed us to the steps. That meant we were actually going to get to go open the gate ourselves and go down into the tomb. We were very grateful and humbled by the experience. As I climbed the stone steps back up out of the tomb, I was deeply moved. So many children, so many grieving mothers. The scale of humankind’s cruelty and oppression has left terrible scars on our history. What made me sadder is that I am conducting a Bible Camp in a place where oppression still exists, and it is the children that suffer the most.

I hope our acts of love and the message of salvation move the hearts of these children.

All told, great day in worship in Ramallah. Usually, the worship ends with lunch at home. Here, it was just getting ramped up.

We had the opportunity to take a quick trip to Jerusalem after morning church. (The preceding sentence isn’t one I usually type.) We would go see the Pool of Bethesda and walk the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Everyone seemed excited to go. Sound exciting? It gets better. Pastor Kakish had work to do, so since we had two vans and only one driver (Sharon Kakish), he asked me to drive the other van to Jerusalem. I got to drive from Ramallah to Jerusalem and back! Way cool fun for me. A real prayer trip for my passengers. Anyway, it made today’s journey far from usual for me. I had a blast driving in this traffic. Really!

Everyone (including me) had a moving moment or two in Jerusalem. Kelle said, “It’s so busy here, I can see why Mary and Joseph were worried about Jesus being lost and alone in this crowd.” Marty evoked a sentiment when he noticed the monk turn some ladies away from a shrine because they had on shorts. “They may have saved a long time for this trip, yet had their hopes crushed by a ‘gatekeeper,’” he said. I enjoyed listening to the way God moved each heart a different way. I’m so glad I’m not in a tradition-bound faith that dictates the moving of the Holy Spirit in hearts. I believe our people were so free to be open to God’s message to them today (all day).

That makes me have unusually high expectations for tomorrow as Bible Camp begins.

It's Independence Day back home. We are thankful for freedom that allows us to travel and preach the word around the world. Thank you familes and friends and church who are praying for us as we travel.

After 18 hours of flying, we arrived in Tel Aviv only 30 minutes late, and all our luggage made it just fine. That is a great praise with which to start our work. The Kakish's faithfully met us at the Tel Aviv airport, loaded us into their two vans and we set off for the church. We found or places to stay in the orphanage or Kakish house and set off to eat supper, Ramallah style. That meant a little walking and enjoying the vibrant nightlife of this city and eating "schawarmas" a kind of roast beef submarine sandwich. We topped that off with some native desserts and headed back home. By that time, it was late and we are ready to rest.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we'll worship with the Ramallah Local Church and bring them our greeting from FBCP. That's about it for now as our group is adjusting to the time change and the power of this experience.

We are loading the bus at FBCP now. In less than 24 hours we'll be at our destination. We ask for your prayers now and through the week. Pictures and entries will start tomorrow!

One week remains until our team of nine from FBCP (Jay, Kelle, Marty, Scott, Jessica, Pat, Joe, Bill, and Brenda) leave. We take off on Friday, July 3 and return July 15. While we are gone, we will work with our Christian brethren in Ramallah to conduct a Bible Camp for over 60 children. We need prayers and finanical support. Information on this journey will be posted on this webpage, Pastor Jay Abernathy's facebook page, and a blog site.

July 6 - First Day of Bible Camp and Bethlehem

July 5 - Sunday Worship, and Journey to Jerusalam

following pics are from July 4-5 - arrival