2010 Holy Land Youth Mission
2010 Holy Land Youth Trip Returning Thursday, July 22
Bishop Munib Younan of the ELCJHL visited with the group.
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July 21 - From Julie Rowe, after leaving early, in thanksgiving for the gifted and strong young people we met, in our own group, in the ELCJHL, Israelis and Palestinians. Please pray for safe travels as the group begins their journey home in the middle of the night tonight.
Twas the night ‘fore departure and all through my head,
Danced visions of all that we’d seen and heard said;
Familiar old churches, mosaics and sites,
Old friends and new friends still fighting the fight,
But still home demolitions and checkpoints and walls
Urgently haunt us, a compelling call.
Humiliation and hopelessness echo aloud,
Yet so do the convictions of the young and the proud, 
Committed to change things, to set people free
To be steadfast and stay and to speak what they see.
Again and again we heard creative, non-violent ways
As the only path to justice and peace one distant day.
“Be mosquitoes, they’re small but they’re not powerless.”
"Refuse to be enemies, build bridges of trust.”
Develop your gifts and your dreams despite all,
And one day, together, we will bring down that wall.
But it’s not just the concrete 30-ft wall that must fall,
Fear and occupation are walls just as tall.
So keep dreaming and scheming and one day we will find
That breaking down walls takes the right state of mind.
It will take letting go of occupation and fear,
It will take a commitment to human values held dear. 
Equality, dignity, human rights must hold sway
No more can extremists and fear have their way.
It will take toned down rhetoric and opening hearts
No more kidnappings, rockets, but fresh new starts.
Brainstorming solutions to break through the stalemate
Building trust and making justice overcome the hate.
It will take speaking truth: occupation is sin,
No more land confiscation, walling people in.
Name the injustice, restrictions, unfairness
Break through the world’s stubborn lack of awareness.
So we pray for just peace in this blessed but bruised land,
We give thanks for friends met who are making their stand,
We will continue to walk with you all hand in hand,
'Til the river of justice rolls down through the land.
Traditional food, fellowship and singing were the order of the night Thursday at the Grotto in Beit Sahour with Pastor Imad Haddad and youth from his congregation.
Tuesday, July 20 - The kids are now in Haddad Village with the ELCJHL Youth Gathering up near Jenin. They are very full of experiences, emotions and struck by the contrast of this blessed but battered land. As Laura Heinrich put it in her blog: In Jerusalem we experienced the good, the bad, the ugly, the worst, the sad, the broken... They have been shocked at story after story of oppressive restrictions, but heartened by the hospitality and warmth of the Palestinian hosts. They are saddened by some hopelessness about the situation here, yet inspired by the many who have dreams and convictions of bringing justice and peace to their land. Stay tuned for more reflections when they return to internet connectivity and have time to process all they have experienced.
Sunday, July 18 - Worship with the Lutheran Church of Hope in Ramallah and Pastor Saliba Rishmawi, the ELCJHL youth pastor who organized our trip. Below is a favorite Arabic sung version of the Lord's Prayer and a look at their sanctuary, which is filled with stained glass windows. The one at the altar represents the River of Life in the New Jerusalem described in Revelations. Notice the dark patches on some of the windows. The birds build their nests there for shetler, a wonderful metaphor for how people feel about their churches here, that they are their refuge, strength and community. They recently remodeled their narthex and put in other stained glass windows (see pictures at our facebook page,
ELCA/ELCJHL Holy Land Youth Mission.