Bible Society determined to reach needy people in the West Bank

Young people reading the Scriptures received from the Palestinian Bible Society as part of its Living Hope program. West Bank. Photo: Palestinian Bible Society (WBK02PC-1)

JERUSALEM, Israel — Extremely tight security in the West Bank has left many people in great physical need, lacking food and other basic necessities. For Palestinian Christians, the strict curfews have also created spiritual needs, as they have been left cut off from the wider Christian community. Some food aid has been made available, but, according to the Palestinian Bible Society, no consideration has been given to people’s “deep spiritual hunger.”

The Bible Society’s Living Hope program is seeking to meet the spiritual needs of Palestinian Christians specifically and of Palestinian children in general through initiatives including the distribution of special packages of Scripture materials. At considerable personal risk, the Bible Society team has been able to visit Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jenin, Qaryout and Zababdeh, often travelling for many hours to find back roads which have not been blocked by Israeli soldiers.

Carried

On arrival at Bethlehem after a complicated journey, the volunteers found it impossible to actually drive into the city. They therefore carried the consignment of 4,000 Jesus Our Living Hope packages, along with 1,000 Bibles and 2,000 New Testaments, into the city, where the material was received with great excitement by Christians from many different denominations. It was also possible to establish a Living Hope distribution base in the currently unfinished building where the Bethlehem Bible Experience project is located.

Father Militios of the Greek Orthodox church in Ramallah requested 2,000 Living Hope packages. Food aid has been plentiful in this city, but spiritual needs have not been met.

This is also the case in the villages of Jalameh, Burqein and Kurf Klil, near Jenin. These villages are home to around 70 Christian families who are very isolated and received the Living Hope material “like fresh water in the desert.” Each family was also given a comprehensive Christian resource pack in response to fears that lack of contact with the wider Christian community is having a negative impact on the children.

Links

In Qaryout, near Nablus, the Living Hope team has been focusing on outreach activities with children and has established positive links with the village school, including supplying the Portion God is our Shelter and Strength to staff.

Children were also the focus of the visit to Zababdeh, a village south of Jenin. The team took five hours to reach this village with material including Scripture Portions and children’s story books, several times encountering armed soldiers. Nevertheless, around 300 children waited patiently in the school playground for three hours and greeted the team very enthusiastically on its arrival. “Joy was unspeakable” as “words of encouragement and lots of love flooded the lives of hundreds of isolated Christians.”

For Labib Madanat, the Society’s Executive Secretary, the Living Hope program is the expression of a desire to “reach people in person and to give them of ourselves as we give them the Scripture materials which carry the message of life and hope in Jesus.” (WR 372/32 - 11.02)