On the 22nd of June 2012 Sabeel organized a Pentecostal picnic to a public park near Jerusalem. This community event absorbed over eighty participants from all different ages and generations. It started with a tour around the Park which is founded over the ruins of three Palestinian depopulated villages since 1967: Yalo, Emmuas (Imwas) and Beit Nuba. Forty-five years ago the people of these villages were forced out of their homes, lands and work by the Israeli army. However, instead of allowing the people of these destroyed and ruined villages to return, Israel decided to turn these villages into a public park, by asking for donations from its Canadian Jewish lobby, and that is how the name Canada Park came to existence.
Rev. Naim recounted the history of the villages in a walking tour through the depopulated village of Emmaus, mentioned in Luke 24 as the village where Jesus met two of his disciples after his resurrection. The participants were clearly able to see the village telling its story through the ruins of the homes, the wells that are still full of fresh spring and rain water, and the few wheat crops that were never harvested by the farmers who used to grow them, still growing after 45 years waiting to be collected. The cactus plants that used to create a natural fence for each Palestinian village were still there.
The participants then shared together a light dinner, a hotdog sandwich and some salads that they brought to share. The program ended with them gathering in a circle singing hymns with Al-rajah musical band, praying and hoping that the people of these villages will one day be able to come back again to their lands and homes.
