I wanted to share a short story from a Palestinian man that I met last night.
Yohanna hadn't always been a believer in Jesus. Even though he was born into a Christian family, he became an active atheist, trying to conform Muslim and Christian university students. But God met him one night in his apartment and changed his heart and mind.
Palestinian people live under a different set of rules and many struggle with feeling inferior to Israelis.I've been discovering that this feeling is embedded into the lives of the people. One past rule stated that Israeli Defense soldiers had the right to shoot at the feet of any Palestinian that they thought were endangering their lives or were trying to flee.
One night, as Yohanna rushed through Damascus Gate in the old city of Jerusalem, he prayed for protection as he neared some soldiers. He had just finished printing Arabic bulletins and was in a hurry to get to his destination. One of the soldiers motioned for him to approach the soldiers. He knew that things would turn out bad for him if he didn't obey the command. So he turned, quickly headed towards the soldiers, unzipping his jacket and placed his hands inside. Both parties were startled when the scene turned to soldiers with guns pointed at Yohanna's head. With his hands placed on his heart, Yohanna said to the soldiers, "I love you." Surprised, the soldiers stated that they wished all Palestinians were like him. Yohanna responded that he wished all soldiers were like himself as well. Yohanna then had the opportunity to share the love of Christ to these men.
One story of so many.....
I can't blog about my school without recognizing the 'shababs' that venture into our back lot for a game a football (soccer). About 3:30 these boys begin playing one of the most entertaining games I've ever seen. I find myself distracted from cleaning, grading, lesson planning all the activities that keep me tied to school when I just want to put my feet up. I can't help but observe the deep friendships that these kids have with one another. Last year, one of the goalies was a boy who played from an electric wheelchair. There seemed to be no difference between him and the other boys. This year, I've noticed the same boy, slowly defending his position in the middle of the field, exercising the ability to use his legs. Our back lot is really an embarrassment of a football field, but its a world of deep friendship that I can't help enjoying watching.
