Country profiles

Snapshots of suffering

Photo: A young Palestinian boy cries amidst the rubble of his neighbourhood. Opportunity 21 is helping the Palestinian Bible Society to bring the hope of God’s Word to children like him. West Bank. Photo: Palestinian Bible Society (WBK02DJ-1)
Photo: A Palestinian child runs in front of an armoured vehicle – an all-too-familiar sight in the conflict-torn country. Opportunity 21 is helping the Palestinian Bible Society to bring the hope of God’s Word to thousands of children like this. West Bank. Photo: Palestinian Bible Society (WBK02DJ-2)
Images of destruction and suffering in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Opportunity 21 is helping the Palestinian Bible Society to reach out to children like these pictured above

In the midst of increasing violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, the Palestinian Bible Society, with help from O-21, is taking God’s Word into suffering communities

By Labib Madanat, Executive Secretary of the Palestinian Bible Society

JERUSALEM, Israel — The expansion of the ministry of the Palestinian Bible Society made possible through O-21 is enabling us to go deep into society and is bearing lots of fruit. Wherever we go with the Bible ministry, we find people already waiting for us; God, it seems, has gone before us. What we do is simply to obey him and be willing to serve. The stories overleaf illustrate how God’s Word is bringing hope to children surrounded by conflict, uniting Christians and providing a focal point for students searching for answers.

West Bank children hungry for peace

In February, we were invited by a faction of the Palestine Liberation Organisation to run a winter vacation Bible school, as part of the
O-21-funded project Bethlehem Bible Experience.

Every day our team drove to the town of Salfit, to the north of Jerusalem, between Ramallah and Nablus. The road we had to take was potentially dangerous: a few days before the start of our Bible program, a Christian Palestinian pharmacist travelling on that road was shot and killed.

Non-Christian backgrounds

Sixty children from five surrounding villages and all from non-Christian backgrounds took part. The venue was a school belonging to the Palestinian Ministry of Education (PME) and at the entrance was a big sign which read, ‘PME in co-operation with the Bible Society’.

The program was based mainly around Bible stories. During the singing time we taught the children a Christian song called ‘Peace to God’s people everywhere‘.

Shout

During the song the leader would name some Palestinian towns and the kids would sing – or shout! – the peace of God to them. Towards the end, many were begging the leader to repeat the song and include the names of their own tiny villages. They would shout with all their voice and heart: “The peace of God to Yitma! … Marda!… Hares!…Sawyeh!… Iskaka!” Their young hearts were thirsty for God’s peace.

When the Bible school ended, representatives from the five villages came and asked if the Bible Society was prepared to repeat the program for all the children in their villages.

Bethlehem project brings benefits to interconfessional relations

Last Christmas as part of its Bethlehem Bible Experience project, the Palestinian Bible Society distributed a package which included a booklet called God is our Shelter and Strength, a colouring book about Jesus and a specially-prepared ecumenical Christmas song book, to thousands of families in Bethlehem and the surrounding area.

Partnership

Following this, the priest in the Catholic church in Bet Sahur stood up at Sunday Mass and expressed to the whole congregation his appreciation for the Bible Society, emphasising the importance of our partnership together and his full confidence in our team and in all of our products and materials.

Change in attitude

In Bet Jala, some people from the Greek Orthodox Church had objected to the package and consulted some other Orthodox and even some Roman Catholic priests about it. The result was that they all gave the Bible Society their full support and recommendation. This has produced a change in attitude on the part of thousands of Orthodox Christians towards our ministry.

Bible Centre becomes part of student nightlife

The Living Stones Students’ Centre is a multi-media Bible resource centre and café for students and young people which opened in May 2000. A joint venture between the Palestinian Bible Society and the Bir Zeit Roman Catholic Church, it is funded through O-21.

Nowadays it is a second home for hundreds of students at Ramallah’s Bir Zeit University and every evening between 80 and 100 students drop in. Staffed by a volunteer team of Palestinian Christian university students, the Centre has proved to many that being Christian and Palestinian can go together. It has also played a valuable role in exposing young Muslims to the Bible, as a book and as a piece of culture. In the Centre they can also meet a team which lives by the Bible and serves them with love and respect.

Recently Living Stones began a community ministry by going to a nearby village and hosting a program for local children, and it has also taken part in a bookfair at Bir Zeit University. (SR 29/18 - 4/5.02) [PHOTOS]