Hello Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from Bethlehem! Thank you for your prayers and good wishes
that sent me off as I flew out of SeaTac on Wednesday, May 8th! I'm
happy to say that the term "travel mercies" was certainly appropriate to
describe my experiences of flying, making connections, and the
encounters with people along the way. I stopped in London, for 36 hours
and traveled by train to the town of Wolverhampton where I met friends
from last year's time at the Bethlehem Bible College, Chris and
Catherine Horton. While there I attended a conference of the Church of
All Nations which they serve, and found definite renewal and spiritual
refreshment for my tired and rather thread-bare soul! I resumed my
travel from Heathrow airport on Sat. morning (early), and after a stop
in Cyprus, which British Air makes to change flight crews, landed in Tel
Aviv in the later afternoon. Getting through the customs and Israeli
passport control was remarkably easy this time with, only minimal
interrogation of the nature of my trip. I was a little surprised to find
that no buses or trains ran out of the airport on Saturdays because of
the Jewish Sabbath rules! (One of the many problems of religious
nationalism, whether Jewish, Muslim, or Christian, is that the rules of
the ruling group apply to everyone else in that society as well!)
Thankfully, I met another person needing to get into Jerusalem, a 45
minute trip, and we were able to barter for a taxi ride to share the
cost!

I found my way to the St. Thomas Guest House in East Jerusalem, near the
Old City, and had a quiet, restful sleep. Sunday morning brought a
beautiful sunrise over the skyline of Jerusalem. The ringing of church
bells and the calls to prayer of the minaret near my window, seemed to
say "Welcome back"! I found my way to the East Jerusalem International
Church, the congregation where I will be serving as an interim pastor
during June and much of July. The "welcome back" affirmations brought a
lot of smiles to my face! It was good. Their current pastor, Rev. Andrew
Bush, is also a teacher at the Bethlehem Bible College and serves as
Director of Peace and Justice Studies. He is retiring at the end of May
and returning home to his home in the USA. My work as an interim pastor
will be to help this small, but vital, group of Christ-followers heal
from some deep griefs, and rediscover their unique role in God's larger
purposes here. We will also focus together on their planning, finding,
and welcoming a new pastor. The screeching roar of F-15 and F-16 jets,
made in America, on their way to deliver bombs to the already devastated
populace of Gaza, was a grim reminder of the shadow of war under which
this small church exists to proclaim the Good News of the Prince of
PEACE. Oh what a crazy world we live in, right?

After church I traveled with the Bush's and 3 others to Bethlehem and
set up my room in the Bible College Guest House, where Doris and I
served as volunteer hosts last year.
Here I will continue to work on my Arabic skills, build relationships
for the East Jerusalem church, and attend the "Christ at the Checkpoint
Conference" beginning next week.

One of the most meaningful beginnings to my time here was the in
Jerusalem on the evening of May 12th that I was able to attend online.
It was sponsored by "Combatants for Peace" and "Holy Land Trust", two
groups that have had a remarkable witness of the possibility of peace
and hopefulness here as they bring together both Palestinians and
Israelis who have lost loved ones due to the military conflict. These
are folks who have gone through deep grief and mourning, and found in
their common sharing, that the real enemy here is not the "other" but it
is the reality of WAR itself! They oppose the insane cycles of violence
that are destroying the very fabric of society here, and give a vivid
testimony that there is another way. I would encourage you to check our
their websites and to view the video of their service on the following
link:

https://youtu.be/1GsxT_PXudo?si=WKJBdyKM11hZv-hC

Also, I invite you to follow along with me on the conference starting
next week, called "Christ at the Checkpoint"! It was the importance and
urgency of this conference, sponsored by Bethlehem Bible College, that
inspired me to come back here this spring. As in the past, I believe it
will be a powerful and prophetic gathering bringing the light of the
Gospel of Jesus to bear on the horrors of the current war of Israel on
Gaza, as well as other heartrending conflicts around the globe. You can
get more background on it by going online at:

https://christatthecheckpoint.bethbc.edu

The main sessions will all be live-streamed for free, both on the
website and on their FaceBook page. Some of today's best young
theologians, educators, and leaders from around the world will be
weighing in on these relevant concerns. I hope you can make time to
follow it also.

Again, thanks so much for your support, love, and prayers! I do want to
assure you that I feel very safe being here and am feeling healthy,
engaged, and joyous! May God bless and keep you there at home in Shalom
and Salaam, or whatever you want to call PEACE!

Much love,
Terry