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 [Bergton,
Virginia] Since my last
update, I've been given a new place of assignment -- Tonga.
I don't know much about it yet, but I'm excited about serving
the community in the South Pacific. I'll be leaving in a couple
of weeks, so I guess I'll have to start packing -- and cleaning
up the mess I have left around mom's house. I'll continue
to update this site with frequent information about life in
the Kingdom of Tonga.
I hope
your Christmas was fantastic! It was my first Christmas home
in three years, and it was so great to spend it with my family.
(If you can't be in Bethlehem for Christmas, it sure is nice
to be home.) I especially liked opening gifts with my niece
and nephews. I'm not sure if Casey (age 4) or I had the most
fun. It was nice to get together with relatives on both sides
of the family.
But of
course it was impossible to celebrate Christmas without my
thoughts going back to my friends in the community around
Bethlehem. More
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The
tragic news of the many victims of the tsunami in the
Indian Ocean has been on my mind a lot. I sure don't
have answers as to why these things happen, but I'd
like to try to do something to support the devasted
communities that survive. Our church has an excellent
program for assisting the people in need. One hundred
percent of your gift goes to relief and recovery efforts.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief has a website
that can receive your donations:
http://www.methodistrelief.org
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Fact :
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Intifada
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Palestinian
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Israeli
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Children
Killed
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480
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104
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67%
of Palestinian children live below the poverty line.
38%
of Palestinian children are anemic.
23%
of Palestinian students and 36% of teachers
are unable to get to school on any given day.
(from
UNICEF, printed in Ha'aretz, Dec 1, 2003)
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Israeli
Municipal Policies
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(Palestinian)
East Jerusalem
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(Israeli)
West Jerusalem
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Swimming
Pools
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0
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36
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Playgrounds
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2
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1,451
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(from JCSER Fact Sheet on Municipal Services, 2002)
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 Beautiful
and historic Palestine is my current place of assignment.
I live and serve in the West Bank. My service includes working
for peace and humanitarian organizations. I focus on enabling
and empowering the local community -- sharing technology skills,
teaching classes, developing websites, and documenting life
here. I'll try to post things in Bethlehem that are not
being covered in the international news. Daily life in Palestine
(for both me and Palestinians), routines, problems, work,
fun, friends, etc. I just tell it like I see it. Feel
free to share or copy any material from this site.
Peace, Bob
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Join
My Mailing List: "The
best newsgroup on the Internet!" -- Bob's Mom
Receive
regular news updates from Bethlehem. But not too much -- usually
a couple a month.
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...serve
one another in love... Galatians 5:13
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New Address
to be added soon
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Home
Peace in
the Middle East!
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