I got this anonymous message:

Hey Frank, I’m been following this blog(from a distance) for a while now and when I was a teenager I would listen to The Forum EVERY Sunday night. I see that recently you were in Bethlehem attending CatC. At the moment I am living in Bethlehem and volunteering for Musalaha. I hope that you take stories of this place and share them with New Zealand. New Zealand needs to be more aware of what is happening on the other side of the world. My generation needs to wake up and take action. Peace.

My response:

Hi Anon,

Thanks for your message. Yes, I was in Bethelehem and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. It was a wonderful place on so many levels.

I have developed a real respect for the work of Musalaha and appreciated the contribution of Salim and also Evan Thomas at the conference. Their ability to show unity even with their differences was an outstanding example of the character of Jesus being shown amongst his followers.

I’m hoping to build a relationship with Musalaha as I think the organisation has a lot to offer toward real hopes of peace in the region. I hope your time there is extremely rewarding and that others will be inspired by what you are doing.