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We didn’t just go there to see what beauty these lands have to offer but to see what trials they both face for peace. 

By Joe Rodrigues

The conference and study tour was very overwhelming, with an extraordinary amount of information.

We didn’t just go there to see what beauty these lands have to offer but to see what trials they both face for peace. Marlin and Sally Vis, the trip leaders, were awesome at teaching me the stories of the Bible. Marlin is able to put all the stories in place and I was able to put myself in those shoes. To be in the Holy Land (Israel and Palestine) was an experience of feeling that I was where the Son of Man has been. Everything I saw I tried to touch, to feel what Jesus felt. My emotions were piling up inside me trying to take it all in. We visited an enormous amount of places. But one of my favourites was En Gedi. It was so serene—water flowing within the desert.

Struggles for the Palestinian people: The people have little or no freedom due to Israeli laws. Many Palestinian people die from the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Just 2 percent are Christians and the number keeps dropping. In Gaza 95 percent of the water is unfit to drink due to the use of fertilizers and human waste. Life is very hard for them in Palestine, with 30 to 35 percent of men unemployed. The barrier wall that Israel put up makes them feel like prisoners in their own land. Those are just some of what is going on for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Palestine. Palestine has a very friendly culture. The people are very warm and their hospitality is great and they are a very close-knit people, totally opposite of our Western society. What was awesome to see is that they are willing to share their story of life and their testimony with God.

Struggles for the Israeli people: Israel has an approximate population of 8 million; 75 percent are Jewish, 20 percent are Arabs, and 4 percent are considered others. Still to this day they fear what happened a little over 70 years ago, which gives them a major trust issue. For them, the barrier wall is about protection, continuing a long history of kings putting up walls for defense. So when we see them put these walls up should we be shocked or should we have expected it? They are also very generous in their hospitality and culture. What can we do to help?

Let’s be proactive for both Israel and Palestine—they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s pray for them and support their needs, to promote peace. For sure we need to stop taking the media’s information and just going with that, because it is usually a one-sided story. Know the facts and stay involved.

Joe Rodrigues is a member of Faith Reformed Church in Kingsville, Ontario. Along with John and Margaret Kapteyn, he was part of an RCA group visiting the Holy Land to determine what our role may be in the RCA Peace Project. To see how you can support this project, click on Peace Project at www.reformed-church.com.