Shirin, Jasmine, and I wish our American friends a "Happy Thanksgiving" tomorrow and hope you'll enjoy this online e-card (it may take some time to load).

Jasmine went back to school Saturday, and my early arrival was a sign that I was a bit anxious to pick her up. While waiting for the bell to signal the end of the day and then see a flood of girls leaving school, I was cautiously approached by a boy who looked to be pre-teen (he was 12).

"Hi... how are you?" he spoke in 'local' English. I responded back in Arabic, and then he asked if I were Muslim. When I told him 'no' with a passion of certainty, he looked puzzled. What followed was one of the most unusual experiences I've encountered since being here: he eagerly tried to convert me to Islam and, I must say, he was well versed in the 'how-to' of objections.

Once I realized where we were going, I looked into his eyes with a penetrating gaze so as to intercede for his precious soul as we continued to talk and wondered how many children his age have 'fallen' to this kind of peer pressure; naturally, it made me look at my own culture and want to pray more for our Christian school children. "Father, give them the boldness of this little boy," I began and then a four-letter word popped into my head: ACLU.

Pray with me that my American brothers and sisters would exercise their "freedom of religion" while they still can.

Speaking of which, do you remember the boycott of Kmart back in the mid-eighties? It turned out to be quite effective, and it looks like another boycott is in order. See the American Family Association page for more information.

I think Sears will need to be included in this, too, since Kmart allegedly bought them in an $11 billion merger. (Sources: Fox or CNN or Reuters)

My beloved birth state of West Virginia had an "Acts 1:8" emphasis at their recent state meeting!  I'm sure the West Virginians receiving the Wednesday Weekly will undoubtedly associate this emphasis with the focus of the International Prayer Center of Jerusalem. Coming to the Prayer Garden is where you begin to pray Acts 1:8 into existence, and you're praying around the world from the center of the world. And as you've heard me say: "I'll meet you at the airport!"

Some of you have asked about the impact of Yasser Arafat's death on our life, and the closest I can tell is in relation to the alleged upcoming January 9 elections; hopefully, this story will tell you more (plus there is more at the end of this page). 

I saw the website from one of the restaurants I frequent and thought you might enjoy a cyber visit.  If you visit the menu, please be aware that the prices are in local currency. The exchange rate in US dollars is roughly 4.50 to a dollar; in other words, an item selling for "10.00" would cost ~$2.22 and, no, it's not a McDonald's double cheeseburger <g>.

Finally, just for fun, I thought you'd enjoy this story.

Please feel free to recommend the 'Wednesday Weekly' to other like-minded intercessors in your circle of friends. Invite them either to send me an email at scoterry31684-subscribe@topica.com or to subscribe at our Wednesday Weekly website.

Matthew 24:14

* Be sure to sign up for the Wednesday Weekly.

+ Last Wednesday Shirin, Jasmine, and a co-worker went to the Lazarus Home for Girls, and you joined them in praying for a date to plan a Christmas party for the girls and staff there. You also prayed for opportunities to share God's word with the girls that were present... Shirin thanks you for praying and says they were able to wish the Muslim house mothers and girls a happy Eid (holiday). They prayed and read scripture with the director as they laid all the difficulties at the Lord's feet. Jasmine was able to play and have fun with the girls that did not go to relatives for the Eid. The Christmas party was planned for December 17th.

+ You prayed for Scott as he juggled several "standing" appointments waiting for things/people to assist with the development of the International Prayer Center of Jerusalem (IPCJ)... I'm beginning to feel like Job in the sense that "bad things keep happening" although I'm trying not to keep score. A wretched mood is prevailing, and we're kicking it out day by day; naturally, your fervent, pointed intercession is deeply appreciated!

+ Jasmine had received a few extra days off from school (surprise!), so the three of us needed intercession on this, uh, change of plans... we used that extra time to give Jasmine more of what she enjoys: lessons from her "Jasmine Elementary" A Beka homeschool material. While she enjoys writing three-letter words in cursive and then in print she *loves* numbers and counting. I think we'll have an avid reader within two to three months

<T H I S  W E E K><

<>< Pray with us that the progress at the Prayer Center will bring honor to God and further His Kingdom.

<>< God has given us another year to share the true meaning of Christmas with the girls and staff at the Lazarus Home for Girls. Please pray with us as we prepare for a Christ-centered Christmas party.

<>< Join us in praying for Jasmine's Christmas play. She will be singing a solo and needs extra pray to help her remember her lines.

>< Pray for the peoples of Europe. >

CALENDAR UPDATES

<If you're not receiving our bimonthly snail-mail newsletter, let us know so we can send it to you!><

17-18, Pray for Jasmine to have opportunities to share her faith with teachers.

* Jasmine has begun praying for her teachers during our bedtime Bible story/Quiet Time.

19-20, Pray for Akram’s salvation.

* No news yet, so keep praying with me!

21-22, Pray for our improvement in speaking Arabic.

* We can't say we had any major breakthroughs today, but it is comforting to know you're praying for us. Jasmine, however, continues to astound us with her language acquisition. She even asked us, "When are you going to bring a baby?" (almost a word for word translation from Arabic <g> - hope she's not speaking Arabic from English).

23, May Scott’s US family fall in love with Jesus.

* Your ongoing intercession is ever so appreciated!

* The Full Meaning of Arafat's Funeral and National Movement

by Rami G. Khoury (a Lebanese Perspective)

Excerpt: "The prevalent American-Israeli view is that Arafat's death might provide an opening for a resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, if the Palestinians learn the mistakes of Arafat's diplomatic life and change their ways. The rest of the world is less callous, and more able to recognise that Arafat the person was not the main issue. The main issue in the eyes of the world, rather, is how to reconcile two parallel, equal and simultaneous national rights, for the Palestinians and the Israelis. Arafat's lifelong struggle was part of a bigger and older movement; he was the last man alive in the world who led a national movement whose origins can be traced to the age of colonialism in the late 19th century."

Read the Full Article: http://www.middleeastwindow.com/article1077.html

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* Arafat and the Mirage of Peace

by Samia Khoury (a Palestinian Perspective)

Excerpt: "Soon after the [U.S. presidential] elections, it was officially announced that the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, had died. Of course I spent all night listening to commentaries on his struggle and on the "missed opportunities, and failure to deliver a state to his people." Not once did I hear a comment pointing a finger at Israel for not implementing United Nations resolutions or for not abiding by the Oslo Accords. Never was it mentioned that despite all the concessions that Arafat made to accommodate for peace, including the amendment of the PLO charter, Israel continued with its oppressive measures of confiscating more land and of building more colonies in violation of the Oslo Accords.

"Arafat is an obstacle to peace" was the buzzword. As long as Israel thought so, then its master's voice--the U.S. administration--was bound to see it that way. And so this myth, just like all Israeli myths (the first one having been "a land without people for a people without land"), took root in the ground of politics and became the "de-facto" understanding despite all the Palestinian explanation about "Ehud Barak's generous offer.

"Prior to that point, Palestinians had already relinquished their right to 78% of historic Palestine for the creation of the State of Israel. The "generous offer" from Barak called on the Palestinians to relinquish a further 30% of the remaining 22% of the land. That certainly was no generous offer, but because the Israeli and the American media played a big role in making that platter of peace look so sumptuous-- when it was only a platter of pieces and crumbs--Arafat had to pay the price for the rest of his lonely and marginalized life. To add insult to injury, Arafat was blamed for all the "terrorism" in the Occupied Territories, when the state terrorism of Israel was justified in the name of security. It was that latter form of terrorism which was the root cause of the violence in the Occupied Territories, which erupted  after 37 years of military occupation, when Palestinians had nothing more to lose."

Read the Full Article: http://www.middleeastwindow.com/article1082html

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* About the Dead

By Rami Elhanan (an Israeli Perspective)

Excerpt: Yasser Arafat was a politician, not a saint. He was not free of mistakes, on the contrary. Still, this is a far cry from including him in the exclusive club of the worst twentieth century tyrants and monsters, together with Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Bin Laden; describing him as an "arch-murderer," isolating him in his Ramallah headquarters, humiliating him in front of his people and the whole world; spreading all these eagerly-embraced false myths such as "The exposure of Arafat's true face" or the genius formulation that "We have nobody to talk to" and therefore "We have nothing to talk about" from which it logically follows that we need make no concessions. . . It was all aimed at proving that we have no partner, that it was not possible to rely on him and much better to wait for his much-worse successor (then again there would be no partner, and nobody to talk to, and the political conflict would become a religious one, and then the threat of peace and concessions would really recede forever ? since everybody knows that religions don't compromise with each other. . .). ?