Another team member updates

January 11, 2010 Monday
Today I found to be a little disturbing. We got up early to visit with a Jewish man who is living in a settlement.(pictured here) Just like the ones you hear about on the news. These settlements have everything they need; like a hospital, running water, electricity, a good road system, a supply of food, and protection. They have green grass, beautiful homes with everything in it’s place and looking good. The settlements are built on the high places, or on the tops of the hills. They really are well cared for, and do not lack. The Jewish man whose home we visited, is a respected member within his settlement. He knows his bible really well, and loves to discuss or debate with anyone who has an interest. He feels a certain kinship with Christians and feels we are closely related. He has a passion inside him, he is excited, he loves God.
After the settlement, we visited a village not far from the settlement.(pic of two kids) The village is much more poor and has a harder time just getting by. They are not liked by their neighbors, the settlement. The settlements are encroaching closer and closer to the villages every year, while the villages are not allowed to expand. The electricity is supplied for 3 hours in the early evening by generator which is run by one of the families in the village. They supply their own gas. But if you look, there are power lines that run up to the village and just stop, you can see the ends of the wires. That brings us to water. The village has dug a cistern, but it hasn’t been approved, so it has an order to be demolished. I really don’t know what this village will do for water when this happens because it rarely rains here. Protection. Well, the Israeli army tries to provide protection for the school children as they walk to school. But sometimes the army is late or something else happens and the kids are left without. They are harassed by the settlers and witness violence. The village shepherds get attacked while tending their flocks, often ending up in the hospital. Christian Peace Keeper Teams - CPT, try to help keep the peace. They escort kids to school or intervene as witnesses when there is violence. The village people do not want to provoke the settlers by using violence themselves, so the villagers use a non-violent approach to resistnthe violence. There is soooo much more that could and needs to be said about this very disturbing and complicated issue that is taking place here in Israel. I hope to help provide water pumps to refugee camps and the villages, provided God opens the doors for this to be accomplished. Consider these issues with an open heart, maybe God will use you to help provide an answer. - Shawn Leonard