04/21/02 Jerusalem, Israel
Greetings
I thought to briefly testify of some of the things that have happened to us in our living situation
at the "Al-Arab" hostel here in Jerusalem's Arab Quarter. There is one particular Muslim man who
stays there, who was very worried about us at first. I think that he was paranoid that we were out
to somehow harm muslims, as it seemed strange that Americans would come to Israel to stay at such
an inexpensive youth hostel. He accussed us of many things, but I think that we have just tried to
be consistently nice to him, and have prayed for him. At first he kept saying how he didn't believe
us that we weren't Jewish, and that he had a bad feeling about us, etc. Well, to the Glory of God,
I can testify that things have completely turned around with him! It seems that it has been so
thorough, to the point that he stated yesterday something to the effect of he thinks we are good people,
and that he has a good feeling about us! I think it only goes to prove that Love and a consistent
testimony of charity is a very powerful weapon (by His grace).
We have also seen several opportunities arise to share our faith with those staying at the hostel. There
is a young man from Japan, who has been travelling the world for some 2 1/2 years now. Also, a German
man, who is a bit older, who talks with us sometimes about the Bible, and has been kind to us.
It is interesting, because, what seemed so unique about this place at first now is normal everyday life
for us. I have some pictures linked here which might give you an idea of what
we see daily here. I did not take them myself, but found them on other people's websites.
For the record, our friend Paul (who started this trip with us) is in Cairo, Egypt, staying with a
Christian brother there. I think that he will join us here soon, and we are waiting for further
contact with him.