When one sets out for five days for a desert encounter with Musalaha there is always a deep sense of apprehension of what will unfold. For Salim and Evan this was certainly true as the bus pulled away from Jerusalem at the beginning of our long journey to Wadi Rum, in the heart of the Jordanian southern desert. We were still licking our wounds from the aborted trip to the Sinai during the Passover/ Easter period and now once again we were crossing a border with all the political implications of our sensitive region. Our group as always was complex, consisting of 27 participants from the Israeli heartland, the Galilee and Haifa, from Jerusalem and the West Bank.

This in itself might not seem so strange except that within this small diverse group we had people whose mother tongue was Arabic or Hebrew or Russian or English with no language common to all. Even our passports spoke of complexity; Israeli (both Jewish and Arabic), Palestinian (for the West Bankers) and Jordanian (for those Palestinian brothers living in East Jerusalem.) As such, once again we were faced with the reality of separate border crossings - the Palestinians at the Allenby Bridge and the rest of us at Aquaba in the south.

Such was the political context for one of the most blessed of our desert journeys. Our Jordanian host, Abu Rami received us graciously into his newly constructed Bedouin encampment complete with showers and sit-down toilets! We couldn’t believe our eyes at the relative luxury set in this extraordinarily harsh and beautiful place. Salim and Evan realised too that this kind of comfort only made it more difficult to break down the social barriers so necessary for the Holy Spirit to do his work in our hearts. Nevertheless, morale was very high as we were treated to the best of desert hospitality and settled down for the night on full stomachs, having spent some time in getting-to-know-one-another games as part of our orientation.

The next day we were up with the flies (oops! sunrise) and out for a full day on the camels - this time one per person. This of course gave no excuse for the faint-hearted to swap positions to give sore bottoms a rest and the rhythm and heat of the day began their work on us all. By the time we reached camp the showers and mattresses looked wonderful, but after only after a brief respite we sent everybody off into the wilderness with water and Bibles to be alone until sunset. Salim had already begun to introduce the motif of the desert in relation to the Scriptures and this unique environment was beginning to have its effect.

People were very quiet as we gathered after supper to worship and share. Being the season of Succot (Feast of Booths) we also had the benefit of a full moon over the desert, which provided such beautiful light effects as it reflected off the cliffs and wadis.

The next day was also an early rise to meet the challenge of a full day on open-back jeeps, exploring the desert. We stopped for shade and refreshment and to deepen our connection to the desert motifs (the desert as a place of sanctuary, a place to seek God.) After two days together despite minimal previous connection, a number of people began to take risks and enter into sensitive subjects of discussion. Fuelled by the mid-afternoon sun the discussions began to get heated and many felt it was time to move on. This was just the opportunity we were waiting for - engineered by the Lord - and we sent everybody off in groups of five to listen to the stories and pray for one another.

Hanna shared her story with us and our hearts wept at her bitter-sweet testimony. She had come to Israel over 30 years ago from an ultra-orthodox Jewish background, married into the community and began to raise a family. Her own spiritual hunger led her to Yeshua the Messiah and as she began to share her excitement with her husband, "baptism of fire" began. Over the ensuing years she would be dragged through the Rabbinic courts, lose her marriage, children and community and even suffer the indignity of overnight imprisonment. Despite enormous pain she remained faithful to her new faith, her Jewish identity and her nation.

In another group, "Mahmoud," a young ex-Muslim serving in the security services of the Palestinian Authority shared his story of finding Yeshua. This young man infused us with his joy and enthusiasm.

Leor and Nassim were to discover one another and through their desert encounter, begin a process of heart change. Leor is a young Israeli Bible college student and Nassim (a Palestinian) is a project manager for a large Christian organization based in Jerusalem. He grew up in the West Bank and has lived many years outside the Holy Land. Despite their initial rather "hot" interaction, and their many differences they requested to room together when we came out of the desert to Aquaba for our last night. They had stepped towards each other in response to the Lord’s challenge.

After a feast of spit-roasted lamb, we gathered to worship under the light of a large desert moon (Wadi Rum is known as the valley of the moon.) We read from Philippians 2:1-11 and then began to serve one another from the Table of the Lord as is our tradition in Musalaha. In this way we grasped the reality of Paul’s words.

The next day found us back in civilisation in the Jordanian seaport of Aqaba to enjoy the comforts of our hotel and the joy swimming in the Red Sea. The evening meal at the hotel offered Salim and Evan a bit of a challenge when quite unexpectedly a live show began, complete with belly dancer in traditional garb. Taking about 20 seconds for a high degree of excitement to show itself among our young men, Salim quickly reassured everyone that this was not planned! To the glory of God we ushered everyone out to the hotel rooftop to be greeted by a magnificent view across to Eilat and northward to Moab and the Arava valley. The rest of the evening was spent in spontaneous sharing and blessing one another as the Lord restored our focus on Him.

This sense of blessing and rightness continued the next morning - our last before the border crossing and return to our respective communities. Dan, an Israeli brother shared a beautiful devotional word and led us into a time of prayer. This time the emphasis was on the blessing of our communities and we took it in turn to stand in representational groups and be blessed. This provided a moving finale before our as-always prolonged goodbyes. Once again God had invested a large portion of His grace among a few local Believers to accomplish his goal to break down the barrier of the dividing wall.