Some seeds for our short time in Bethlehem were sown last December when Keijo Mikkanen from Finland participated in a service for peace project at the International Centre in this special city. He befriended Sami who was a key worker at the centre and kept up with the friendship whilst in Finland.

Keijo and I were assigned to Palestine as Peace Ambassadors and it was because of his previous experience in the city and this friendship with Sami that we decided to take up our mission in Palestine rather than work inside Israel. We went to Tel Aviv to do some fundraising and get some experiences with both Jewish and Arab people. After a few days we felt that we should get going back to Jerusalem and prepare to go to the other side of the fence. I phoned the British Consulate in Jerusalem to tell them that I was going to Bethlehem and they asked for details of my next of kin. My heartbeat doubled as I prepared for my unknown fate.

As Keijo and I set off in a taxi I had to control the rate of my heartbeat as we drove towards Bethlehem, praying that Jesus and Heung Jin Nim would guarantee a safe passage. It didn’t take long and soon we were clambering up muddy slopes to get into another taxi, which would bring us to the accommodation prepared for us. Sami greeted us and we felt great and happy to be in our pioneer city. It was a wonderful feeling to be in Jesus’ birthplace, which had not yet been pioneered by our movement, although brothers and sisters had worked there in the past.

Rev. and Mrs Kwon-a 430 blessed couple-joined us the next day with the help of the same taxi driver who had helped us slip into the country. They left Jerusalem minutes after a suicide bomber had killed himself and at least ten others not far from where they had been. News of the bomb reached us soon. Sami warned us that there could soon be a curfew lasting a few days and there was a lot of uncertainty as to how the Israelis would retaliate. Undeterred by warnings, Keijo and I roamed around looking for bread. I am an insulin-dependent diabetic and needed injections and sufficient carbo-hydrates to sustain me in case the shops were forced to close.

We befriended young teenagers and many people as we walked around. The local population were all very curious to find out what brought us to their country which had almost been devoid of foreigners for some time. 5 men stood outside their house as we passed, three were brothers. I needed to phone my wife to reassure her that we were fine. I asked one brother where the nearest phone was and he asked me to follow him. He took me inside his house and told me to use his mobile. A few hours later this family invited us to breakfast in their house and pampered us in every way. We felt at home, safe and protected, despite knowledge of Israeli retaliation at any time. We visited this home quite a few times.

There was an eerie feeling as I tried to get some sleep on our second night. I heard noises at about 1-00am. After doing Hoon Dok Hae and our morning service we later learnt from people in the town that 4 tanks had entered the town that night and soldiers had blown up the family house of the suicide bomber. Acting spontaneously we asked a taxi driver to take us to the refugee camp the next day and he took us to the demolished house. A lot of villagers had gathered and children were all around the site. We interviewed a teacher who happened to be a friend of the family and speaking impeccable English he gave us the background story- another sad story of a young policeman having to use his meagre income to pay for brothers and sisters who were unemployed and whose father was too sick to work. I attempted to tell the teacher that there were many people in the world who were on the side of the Palestinians and that suicide bombings were not going to help their cause. Another man next to me was getting very emotional. They told me that soldiers had shot his son a few years earlier. I was beginning to feel very uncomfortable in this situation. We had to be a bridge between Israel and Palestine.

Rev Kwon, we were told, spoke almost no English, but fortunately for us he could speak some and was very keen to communicate and share and listen to us. We couldn’t speak Korean, however, and Mrs Kim was unable to communicate in English. Our unity, of course, was to be crucial if we were to succeed in our mission. Every morning we read True Father’s words, which we could download at the town, centre Internet café and we prayed together and a lot of the time we would all go out together and visit guests together. The locals were always interested in us and the few photos we had brought of our families proved very popular.

A few days into our pioneer time Keijo announced that he felt we should visit the mayor and immediately the four of us trouped off down the main Jerusalem Hebron road to his private house. We simply rang the bell, said hello, and were welcomed in. Our friendship with the mayor proved to be very important. We became very good friends and visited him on three occasions and took numerous photos. We spoke about the IIFWP and IIPC and our goals and basic beliefs. We mentioned that the Washington Times could be a very valuable tool in exposing the nightmares of Israeli occupation and the misery the ‘security fence’ was going to cause the Palestinian people. The mayor-Dr Hannah Nasser-mentioned a few times that his hope lay in ‘foreign intervention.’ Like many people we met, he told us that he nothing against Israel receiving American and foreign support, but he wished that his country could also receive some of their support at least. I could feel how little support the people of Bethlehem and of Palestine, in general, were receiving. They had been brand marked, collectively, as terrorists, although very few Palestinians were in reality terrorists and were being collectively punished.

In our three weeks we met a lot of people in a very natural way. Most of them were very happy to be able to share about their difficult situation as an occupied country. They spoke of their children not being able to see even the sea. They spoke of even being strip-searched as they made their ways to their university outside Bethlehem. We met four nuns from St Bridget’s Convent who told us of their experience being locked in their convent, together with Palestinian soldiers who had sought refuge from Israeli soldiers. Everybody had his or her story to tell. Once they had shared their story we were able to talk about the vision and work of IIFWP and IIPC. We often used the flyer showing pictures of the peace rally in Jerusalem last December and wherever we travelled bus drivers or taxi drivers or passengers we happened to be sitting next to all got their copy of the flyer.

In one shop Keijo met a tailor and through him we were introduced to St Mary’s Orthodox Church. At the church one Sunday morning we met a bishop, who had met three Archbishops of Canterbury and had only recently received a letter from the British queen commending him for his work. Like many in his church he spoke Aramaic-Jesus’ native tongue the same day we were invited home by a wonderful Christian family from the same church. This particular friendship was to prove invaluable to our work in Bethlehem. So often we were showered with food, warmth, and hospitality and throughout our stay were greeted constantly with ‘welcome.’

We had hoped to be able to work at the university, but were told by a senior lecturer that outside groups were not able to work there. I was angry to see communist posters just inside the university gates! For about a week after that we chose one of the university’s coffee shops as a venue for ‘natural witnessing’ while eating lunch. I was amazed to see Rev Kwon, with a very small command of English captivating his audience of mainly young Muslim women. It was clear to us, though, that it would be difficult to introduce them to the concept of international marriage. We tried in general to witness to families as the family unit was very strong, as we felt that if a son or daughter became interested in our teaching or organizations, it would be best to get the blessing of the whole family.

One important religious leader was both pastor of the Lutheran Church and responsible for the International Centre, funded by Finland to the tune of $5,000,000. He listened very carefully to what we had to say. He had been arrested by the occupying forces and only with the help of Finland was freed. In one corner of his office you could still see bullet holes.

We also managed to meet an Imam in a refugee camp. We had some beautiful experiences with young Palestinian children as we waited for him to arrive. I will never forget these experiences looking at the basically happy expressions in their beautiful brown eyes.

As our three weeks slowly, but surely neared its end we decided to hold two gatherings in the home of the Christian family from the Orthodox Church. They so often told us that their home was our home. We invited a lot of older people to the first night and although many of them didn’t come I counted 10 members from this one family alone. We sang, we dined, we chatted, we gave some deeper insights into our teachings and we made a toast to peace with coca cola containing holy wine. The following night was for our younger guests. They warmed up quickly and soon all were dancing, including Rev Kwon doing a Korean dance. They, too, drank holy coca cola. Sami whom Keijo had met last year also came and he was very impressed with what we had achieved in such a short time. Personally I think he was moved at the sight of young people dancing and enjoying themselves whilst the country was experiencing difficult times. The mayor had also told us that he would never forget us.

Throughout our short time we wrote positive reports to various headquarters and brothers and sisters to encourage them to come to Bethlehem for a short time. We knew that many were on the list to come and we hoped to allay their fears and general apprehensions about coming to an occupied country. We tried hard to build a small foundation upon which they could stand and we prepared our guests to receive those who would follow. They eagerly await news of their arrival.

We worked hard, I believe. We complemented each other well and each of us had different strengths. Although we are preparing to fly home now, we hope to be able to help this almost forgotten country from the distance and maybe through our presence in the country again in the not-too-distant future.

Keijo had met a young Moslem from quite a rough background. I had my doubts about him. Muhammed told us he had a friend who had permission to drive taxis directly to Jerusalem and he arranged for us to be taken back to Jerusalem with our entire luggage. How to get home was the next problem with all out photos and video films, evidence of how wonderful this city was and how peace-loving, warm and friendly they were too. It had been an unforgettable time.

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