April 5, 2004
My day of quiet time, sitting at Mohammad’s yesterday and praying was a good thing. I regrouped and ready to get back in the mix today. But things went pretty smooth, thank God! No Dati showed up, the guys played chess (a given) as usual, and a couple of plainclothes men stopped by.
The two cops wanted to give us heads-up about what was going down on the 8th and the 14th. They suggested that we keep a low profile until this whole thing blows over. They also suggested that we remove the name of God from the windows, but agreed with us when we told them why we placed It there.
30 to 50 demonstrators on the 8th and 200 to 300 on the 14th They have a list of about 14 Believers homes. They have permission to demonstrate in the heart of town, in front of our houses, but not at the storefront!
Later on, after the cops left Lura and Susan got busy getting ready for our Seder meal (last supper) which was to begin at 6 p.m.
A lamb was slaughtered this mourning, and roasted for this special event.
April 6, 2004
Another quiet day! No Dati problems, chess as usual, and a meeting with a lawyer friend of ours.
Our lawyer friend initiated the meeting. He wanted to inform us: 1. About the 8th and 14th (which we already knew about). 2. That up to two people can legally demonstrate in front of a house without a permit. 3. That the Dati have filed a false charges against me, saying that I beat-up a 17 yr old student that day in front of my house.
April 7, 2004
Another quiet day! No Dati problems. I used the green little ‘blackboard’ to announce a chess match between the town of Ofakim and Arad. Ofakim is a little town about 25 km west of Beersheva. Ofakim is a town that hasn’t heard the Gospel…yet!
The chess match is scheduled for tomorrow, the 8th at 3 p.m.
Edwin Beckford
(4/04)