On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2015, Michal, a practicing Christian, and Sondos, a practicing Muslim, launched their blog, “Miss Understanding” and enjoyed over 800 visitors from over 40 countries in the first three days alone. Through their blog, Michal and Sondos share narratives about their friendship and peacemaking collaboration with the hope that others will be inspired with a real-life example to follow. With all the tension rising between religions around the world, they wish to do their part in changing that, one friendship at a time. Some of their peacemaking projects include organizing “2 Faiths 1 Friendship” Friendship Mixers, hosting intensive trainings to debunk myths surrounding their faiths, and writing and speaking to audiences about their journey to seek God’s purpose in their lives through peace-building work. Their prayer is for God to use them to see Muslims and Christians worldwide to reach out to each other in love.
Sondos was born in Damascus, Syria and raised in Southern California. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She is currently working toward an M.Div. in Chaplaincy at Claremont School of Theology/Bayan. Sondos is passionate about learning in all areas of life but especially about the Quran; volunteering for service projects, non-profits, and schools; and spending time with her husband, son, and daughter. A (quietly) proud introvert, she enjoys drinking a well-crafted cup of coffee, finding beauty in the mundane, and wandering the aisles at Costco (books! samples!).
Michal was born in Eilat, Israel, but was raised in Holland where her parents started a church. Since 2005 she has made the US her home and is currently working on a PhD in Muslim-Christian Relations. She’s been on staff at a few different churches and non-profits focused on outreach initiatives.
She loves writing, reading, Bible study, travel, film-making, learning about different cultures, but most of all making a difference in the field of Muslim-Christian peacemaking.
Date: Tuesday, April 26th, 2016
Time: 6:30 PM- 8:30 PM
Venue: Pacifica Institute, Orange County
18022 Cowan, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92614