The Holy Land

Here at last!

2008-05-30T03:43:00.001-07:00

Friends and family! I made it! After some minor problems with the airlines... but thats to be expected. Bethlehem is beautiful, I am staying in a small municipality called Beit Sahur within Bethlehem. Weather is extremely hott and I have been wearing pants because that is what is the cultural norm. Arabic has been a trip! I have general greetings down, a friend who is staying in the apartment with me is Arabic so he has been helping. As far as prayer concerns go, general welfare and safety is a biggie. Jewish and Arabic relations is also a huge deal. As I begin to study the conflict and be amongst Palestinians learning of this problem is both mind boggling and frustrating. Its a giant mess over here and without a clear cut line of truth. I will update a little more when I have some more time!!

The Problem.

2008-03-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

The region of The West Bank and Gaza Israel is in both social and economical distress. These regions are Palestinian states within the land of Israel. Due to complicated social politics these states are walled in with military checkpoints going in and out. Due to these checkpoints the economical climate of the area has severely dropped due to low traffic and tourism. 43% of the Palestinian population is under the age of 15. Because their parents usually don't have jobs and basic recreational outlets aren't available these kids are bored and forced to roam the streets. Often times the riots and activist demonstrations are led by bored teens. The Goal of Paidia Int. Development is to stimulate these kids with solid extra curricular activities and social skills. The grounds have areas with astro-turf for sports, climbing wall, playground, parks etc. My goal this summer as a volunteer for Paidia is to help finish building bathrooms for the park, work in the day camps during the week with the kids and finaly as a way of raising funds for Paidia, I will lead Monastic tours into caves in the desert. This is plenty of work for the summer and are things I have a passion for. I am a musician and march drumcorps, I love drumming. I think this is one thing that gives kids passion. This summer I when I was on tour, I developed a relationship a major drum manufacturer, through this I was given my plan. I look forward to working with Paidia this summer in all the areas above, but would also love to launch the middle East's first marching ensemble! Dynasty Corp. (the drum manufacturer) has this same type of program in Africa and it has spun into 34 field bands with over 3600 kids involved. THIS IS MY VISION. Give these kids hope through activity, music, and constructive learning! This of course is going to cost money for materials shipping, and of course my living costs for 4 months as well. I am trying to raise $20,000 to get this program off the ground. All donations can be made to Paidia, you may check them out at their website paidev.org. My name is Kris Rolls and you can get ahold me on my cell at 616-893-3408. Or email Kristopher_l_Rolls@cornerstone.edu. Thank you so much for your time. God bless. Shalom.

Kris Rolls

Pictures of My Mission.

2008-03-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of campers, and the surrounding area. Some of them are before we finished some of the construction on the turf and fields. There is still more work to be done, and programs to establish such as my proposed music program!!! Thanks for checking it out! God Bless, and Shalom.
One of the many campers.
Overview snapshot of the grounds, with climbing wall in the background.
The climbing wall with Bethlehem in the background.

Shot of the playground and surounding area.
Astro turf being installed.
Finished product of climbing wall and Turf.

Triangle activity teaching teamwork.
Tents and bathroom area

Camper activity
Another camp shot before finished turf.

Kids on a hike in the foothills. This is close to the area I will be leading Monastic Tours.

this is a camp pic during construction, as you can see no turf.

This is a picture of a camper during last summer.