For the past week, I've been working on getting out the Shepherd Society's Easter newsletter. On Thursday, my boss decided that he wanted a picture of the staff in our newsletter, and so we got to have an impromptu PHOTO SHOOT! I'm really excited, because now you can see the Shepherd Society staff! The Bethlehem Bible College employs about 20 staff members, and probably around 20 faculty members. The Shepherd Society, the humanitarian branch of the College, has only four staff members, but what we lack in numbers, we make up for in awesome.
Alex is the director of the Shepherd Society, Dean of Students at Bethlehem Bible College, and pastor of the East Jerusalem Baptist Church. Alex has an absolutely incredible life story, and wrote the book Palestinian Memories, the second edition (which I was able to help edit!) was published in March. Alex's father (a hospital worker) was shot in the head and killed by Israeli snipers in 1948, afterwhich he was raised by a single mother along with his six other siblings. While he spent his childhood living in and around Jerusalem, the Israeli government revoked his citizenship after he left for college and refused to let him return to his family, and so for a time, he was a man without a citizenship, without a country. Now he is a U.S. citizen who has lived in Palestine on and off with his wife Brenda for the last few decades.
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| Our very serious, Palestinian style photo. Alex, George, Muna, and Me |
George is the deputy director of the Shepherd Society and is working toward his Masters in Counseling at nearby Bethlehem University. He coordinates the initial meetings with new families needing assistance, and does the best he can to help them cover things like medical costs, utility bills, and tuition payments. He got married a few years ago, and his wife packs him tea-time snacks for the 10:30am tea break. It's all sorts of adorable.
Muna is the Shepherd Society social worker. She does extensive follow-up with families and helps to make sure that we are best meeting their needs. She also runs the family to family sponsorship program, where a family in the West can sponsor a Palestinian family. Her daughter comes into the office on Fridays (since school here runs Monday-Thursday and 1/2 day Saturday) and is the spitting image of Muna. It's so crazy to see Muna's identical twin who is 8 years old.
Muna is the Shepherd Society social worker. She does extensive follow-up with families and helps to make sure that we are best meeting their needs. She also runs the family to family sponsorship program, where a family in the West can sponsor a Palestinian family. Her daughter comes into the office on Fridays (since school here runs Monday-Thursday and 1/2 day Saturday) and is the spitting image of Muna. It's so crazy to see Muna's identical twin who is 8 years old.
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| How we are normally, on very windy rooftops. |
Loving these pictures! :) looks like they are a blast to work with!
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