Dar al Amal boys



 Dar al Amal is a juvenile home in Ramallah for boys.  Some are there because they have dropped out of school and gotten into trouble.  Others are there because of severe family problems.  but for whatever reason, Dar al Amal is a place they can begin to get their life back together.  for the last three years we have been connecting with these boys,  enjoying barbecues, and discussions with them.  

This month we did something more ambitious. In order to give the boys a break in the hot summer months we brought them out to Living Stones from Ramallah.  We had a discussion with them, enjoyed a good meal, then took all the gang swimming in a pool in Bir Zeit.   After the meal we walked with the boys down some back roads behind the village to the pool.  I asked one of their supervisors if there was any chance they would try to run away.  He said there was no chance.  The boys are taught to look out for each other and encourage each other in the right direction.  Indeed we had no problem at all.

Outside the pool there were some very hot little kids who looked like they really wanted a swim, but they had to be satisfied with playing around on their donkeys!

What made this day special is that it was funded in large part by retirees from a retirement center in Pennsylvania who had heard about the boys and wanted to help.  when I shared this with the boys it really made them happy that someone cares for them.

The Presence of God Is not Political

Praying at the Western Wall

Walking up the ramp onto the Temple Mount, as it is known to Jews, or the Aqsa as it is known to Muslims, there are numerous signs in English, Arabic and Hebrew reminding visitors that they are entering a sacred space and so should conduct themselves appropriately.  No short pants, no food,  no pets. 

There is a glaring omission in this list - No Hate!

Jews pray at the the Western Wall, the wall which supports the large open area above it where the Dome of the Rock is now located, and the Jewish Temple formerly stood. 

Muslim prays on the Temple Mount area and specifically in the Al Aqsa mosque. 

Muslims believe that Muhammad ascended to heaven on his mystical journey from this area.  Jews believe that Abraham offered up Issac on the Temple Mount. 



Reading the Qur'an at the Al Aqsa mosque


What separates these two places of worship is more than armed guards and a few meters.  Hatred between these fervently religious communities is the invisible wall that divides.

In the past clashes have broken out between the two praying peoples  with Palestinians throwing stones and Israeli helicopter gunships opening fire on Muslim crowds on the Temple Mount.

In the true presence of God hate cannot survive.

Gettin' Happy!

In the Beitin Muhayim Haya, or Life Camp the girls used the snack breaks to do debka, the folk dance of the Palestinian people.

The Living Stones Team

A great team.  Imad, Nisreen, Manal, and Ahmad. The soccer balls were donated by a brother in the States who donated the bag of change he had been saving for years. Thanks Jimmy!

Beitin is Biblical Bethel

Beitin is a beautiful village. Just outside of Ramallah, it is on top of a hill.   It has a special beauty.  Something about its plowed fields, olive orchards, pomegranate trees, takes you back to an earlier day.

Beitin Summer Camp on the West Bank

Summer activities have started for Living Stones with the first day of summer day camp in the village of Beitin. Beitin is the biblical Bethel - where Abraham 'saw the Lord.'  This camp is specifically for older teenage girls - all of whom are Muslim.

It was an unusually peaceful and easy day - aided by a very helpful team of four Italian young people from the Baptist church in Trento, Italy!

Children Demonstrate

Today I observed  a student led demonstration in the center of Ramallah in the Manara circle. The kids were demonstrating for the Palestinian government to make it a law that children stay in school until they finish high school Often parents take their kids out of school by 6th grade to work. The students want it to be illegal for parents to do this. 

What a difference!  Ten years ago students were more likely to be burning the flag of Israel in this circle.  There is a change in tone in Palestine to the better.  Many signs are pointing towards the building of a constructive, healthy society.  On one side of the circle I noticed an overhead screen that posted via scrolling text the latest quotes fromt the Palestinian Stock Exchange.