Students from Mar Elias University in Galilee, Israel,
the school begun by now Archbishop Elias Chacour, visited Wheaton
and the Chicago area on the weekend of July 14-16, 2006.
These 47 ambassadors of good will are studying this summer at
the University of Indianapolis (UINDY) as part of their partnership
requirements from Mar Elias University in the Holy Land to UINDY.
The students were hosted by families from First Presbyterian,
St. Matthew, and Christ Church for the weekend.
The trip was sponsored by the Olive Branch Chapter, Pilgrims
of Ibillin, the First Presbyterian Mission Committee, and made
possible thanks to the hard work of church members, staff, and
the host families. These students spend two months at the
University of Indianapolis, going through a double-class time
schedule to cram in the work. Although they are in the United
States, they are isolated in dormitories; they are there with
each other, but the regular students are gone for the summer.
The students enjoyed going to Chicago by train and seeing the
sites; but, what is far more important, through this short weekend
we let the students of Mar Elias see a different face of America.
In their homeland they see Americans as the enemy, providing the
weapons, helicopters, tanks, and support to the Israeli defense
force. When they left, they called us "The beautiful face
of America." What was accomplished by this weekend was changing
the world one student at a time. We helped to provide dignity
and hope for the 47 students that visited here.
Archbishop Chacour's schools are the only ones in Israel where
Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Druze learn side by side. Peace,
as Abuna Elias Chacour reminded us, will be built on the desktops
of children.
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