In order to protect our missionaries in the field, most of our work in this region will not be shared through the website.
Mountain Movers International is actively engaged in Iraq, Jordan, and Israel
MMI partnerships help Holy Land Christian minority survive
Much of the Western media spin on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict portrays the source of conflict as a centuries-old religious clash between Jews and Muslims fighting over coveted, limited turf which for each is "holy land."
Missing in this oversimplified equation is another reality: that of indigenous Christian Arabs, a minority with ties to the region dating back uninterrupted to the first century. Whether Palestinians living in the West Bank, or Arab Israelis (Arabs living in Israeli citizenship), these Christians are an integral part of the Israeli/Palestinian social structure.
Sadly, in recent years with the region's shattered economy and escalating violence, Palestinian Christians have been leaving the Holy Land in record numbers. When Israel was founded in 1948 there were close to half a million Christians living in the region. In just the past two years, the Christian population has dropped from 80,000 to 60,000. While Christians comprised 20 percent of the Holy Land's population just fifty years ago, today they comprise less than two percent.
The drop in the Christian population is due primarily to the region's shattered economy and escalating violence. The economy is such that nearly one in five Israelis lives below the poverty line of less than $2 per day. In the West Bank and Gaza the situation is even more extreme with 70 percent of the population living in poverty. For parents concerned about their children's future, the temptation to emigrate for a better life is strong.
The steep and rapid decline has observers worried that unless things change soon, the Holy Land could become a museum without any living Christian presence in a very short time. That fear has prompted Palestinian church leaders to put out an urgent dual appeal: imploring Arab Christians, on the one hand, not to abandon the Holy Land that is their birthright; and urging Christian communities around the world to come to the aid of the Palestinian brothers and sisters in faith.
Mountain Movers in Israel
Andrea Warren and Dawn Richardson, Mountain Movers in Israel
UpsideDown (Makloubeh) Ministries was started by two Americans (see right). Andrea Warren has a Masters in Divinity and an M.A. in World Religions; Dawn Richardson has an M.A. in Religion and an M.A. in Counseling, with an M.A. in Middle Eastern Cultures & Religion in progress. They work out of Bethlehem, on the West Bank focusing on economic development among Palestinian refugees.
Business Based Support
- Teaching English as a foreign language
- Export/Import business
- 50-bed tourist hostel
- Collaborative partners: Holy Land Tours
Related Efforts / Export/Import Business
- Business helps Palestinian Christians whose livelihood is threatened by their conversion
- MMI volunteers are adding sanitation to Christian Housing Settlement built by Orthodox and Roman Catholic organizations
Dawn Richardson
Dawn Richardson spent August 2006 - September 2009 in Israel, primarily living in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. She did ministry in a mental hospital; led a drama program for kids from refugee camps; was youth leader to new young believers; co-led a worship/prayer watch for Bethlehem in Jerusalem; sold handmade coin purses for Palestinian women (search youtube for "Bethlehem Coin Purse Project"); and experienced many miracles: including many healings and many decisions to follow Jesus. While there she also studied at Jerusalem University College. She is four classes from completing an M.A. in Middle Eastern Cultures and Religion. She also has an M.A. in Counseling & an M.A. in Religion.
Presently, Dawn is back in the U.S., living in Redding, California and attending Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (www.ibethel.org). She doesn't know how long she will be in Redding, however she does feel called to proclaim Christ to the nations through her spiritual gifts of prophecy, teaching, and healing. Dawn looks forward to bringing the energy and light God has blessed her with through Christ to the darkest places of the world.
