Christian Mission 2 Gaza

August 16, 2010

Dear Friends,

Greetings to you from Amman.

I want to thank you very much my dear brothers and sisters for standing with us in your prayers, encouragement and support. To be honest with you, without you, we would not be able to accomplish what we have.

As I told you in an earlier email, I went to Gaza this time through Egypt, because I could not get permission to travel through Israel. It was a very long journey, between 14 and 18 hours each way. But it was worth it. It was a great blessing and honor to serve my people in Gaza.

I was privileged to lead a special one-day women's event, attended by 60 women. For three Sundays, I preached and taught at Gaza Baptist Church, and throughout the weeks, conducted home bible studies, visited families, and counseled church leaders.

While food is available in Gaza, it is very expensive, and few can afford to buy it due to the siege and high unemployment. So we were blessed to be able to distribute food and medicine to the poor, thanks to your gifts through Christian Mission to Gaza. Last year alone, CMG spent about $35,000 to help poor families in Gaza.

The focus of my teaching and preaching was how we already have been accepted in Christ. And I reminded people who have lost their hope about the very real hope we have in Him. As Palestinians, we have experienced and continue to experience rejection and disappointment, probably more than any other ethnic group under the sun--at checkpoints and borders, in our own homes and neighborhoods. We are not treated as human beings, created in God's image. We are treated according to the identity documents we carry in our pockets.

But the rejection is not only from the Israelis. As Palestinian Christians, we are often rejected by our own people, as Christians are throughout the Middle East. It is no wonder that so many Christians have emigrated to the West. For example, 60 years ago, we had 25 million Christians in the Middle East. Today, only 12.5 million remain.

The good news, however, is how we have been accepted in Christ by faith through his grace. Now, we need to accept and receive one another as Christ received us, in spite of our differences (see Romans 14-15).

We cannot live without hope and material support in Gaza, where the siege and the oppression of the endless Occupation continue day after day, year after year. Our hope and faith are in the living Lord who promised that he will come back again.

The new semester at Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary (JETS) begins on August 16, and I will be teaching the Gospel of John. At the same time, I will be helping a church of Iraqi refugees in Amman. In October, I will take two weeks off to return to Gaza.

As I said before, nothing of any value will be accomplished without your prayers. Our greatest prayer needs are:

• For protection of the Christians in Gaza
• To be able to preach the Good News and provide desperately needed relief to our community in Gaza
• For the work among the Iraqi refugees in Amman
• That God would anoint my teaching at JETS
• For the October mission trip to Gaza
• For my wife, Suhad, as she begins to teach at the Christian school in Amman
• For our daughters, Joyce and Jolene, as they enter KG level at the Baptist school in Amman
• For my sister, Renee, in Gaza, who has Muscular Dystrophy.

If you would like to support our ministry and the work of CMG, please click here to view our support page and contact information.

Thank you again for standing with us. Please let us hear from you. We love you.

Gratefully,

Hanna, Suhad, Joyce and Jolene