It will soon be nine months since the violence erupted in our region. The air is thick with despair and hearts continue to harden. People of this region are placing a guarded hope in the current cease-fire.

Recently, in an encouraging visit with a foreign church leader, he told us of a meeting with his government officials where they discussed the situation in the Middle East. The officials expressed their surprise that Musalaha has continued functioning in times like these, when many peace efforts have suspended their programs. For many Israelis and Palestinians, motivation for reconciliation has been choked by the increasing mistrust and hate between them. When asked how Musalaha has been able to continue working, the church leader was able to share about the spiritual dimension and Biblical foundations of this ministry. For it is only through Him that we are able to continue building bridges, and work together to show our communities the love and peace our Messiah alone can bring. This has also been possible because of the support and encouragement that we receive from you and many others around the world. We are sincerely grateful for your prayers and to the Father for his guidance and provision.

This newsletter includes the following articles, as a testimony of God’s sovereignty and as a continued request for your prayers for the ministry of Musalaha:

- In a recent e-mail prayer update, Musalaha sent the article ‘Who hates more? Who is more evil?’ written by the director. The article discusses the presence of blame, hatred, violence and revenge in our current conflict. We have included the article in this newsletter for those who do not receive our e-mails.

- Two Desert Encounters, which took place in April, and the follow-up activities that have taken place since.

Future Activities:

- Songbook

- Youth Follow-up

- Director Salim J. Munayer will visit Chicago in September, and the West Coast (U.S,) in November. Any who are interested in meeting with Salim at that time, please contact him at Musalaha.