On my way down from Jerusalem to Jericho  I saw a lot of tents out in the desert. When I say tents, I mean quite a few in an area together. I learned the people around these tents were Bedouins. The Bedouins have been in the area from the time of Abraham and they have stayed there. They have always lived in tents. They are sophisticated now as they have water brought in and they use generators for their villages. They are nomads and when the weather gets cold in the north, they move south. Yes, they pack up their donkeys and camels with their tents and belongings, and set up camp elsewhere. Usually, it is the same place they camped the year before.

They still tend goats and many times we would see the children walking behind a herd of goats as they moved them down the street. There was an empty field across from the Jesus House and the goats would go there and and scrounge for food.

While it is true they have generators for electricity so they can watch their television, they still cook over an open wood fire. They enjoy living in their tents and, when the Israeli government tried to give them houses, they wouldn’t live in them.

I want to point out they are neither Palestinians or Jews, but they still need Jesus as their Savior. Several of the Bedouin women came to the Jesus House on Saturday for our Bible Study. Their needs are no different than that of any other woman. They are not very cultured and they have not attended school. Bedouins don’t believe in school because they believe to live their life, school is a waste of time.

When they came, we prayed for them for the needs they presented to us. We became friends with several Bedouin ladies. Later I will tell you about a couple of my Bedouin friends. I love having Bedouins among my list of friends.

Still enjoying differences,
Jan