in the middle east

A group from our church in Madison has been visiting us the last few days, and it's been great to be around friends and make new memories. The group consists of Chris and Becky Dolson, Rich and Martha Henderson, and Mike and Gail Anderson, all leaders at Blackhawk. They spent a week before coming to Jerusalem visiting different ministries that Blackhawk supports in Nairobi, Kenya and Amman, Jordan. Their time here with us was aimed at becoming acquainted with the political situation here in Israel/Palestine, particularly issues of social justice and human rights. We visited a Palestinian refugee camp in Ramallah, and met people whose lives have been destroyed by the conflict, but also others who still have hope and started a youth-community center. Tomorrow we're spending the day with some representatives of World Vision to visit some of their poverty relief and human rights advocacy projects in the West Bank; it should be very good.
All in all, it's been a wonderful time. You can check out their own blog on the trip by clicking here.