HOLY LAND - Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
15/06/05 - As Christians emigrate in droves, others stay to minister to the poor and needy
The Church in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, has seen a quiet but potentially fatal haemorrhaging of believers since 1948 when it was 90% Christian. The population is now only 40% Christian, mostly as a result of emigration. In the last five years alone, 1,600 families left the area, explained Pastor Nihad, of the Shepherd’s Society, Bethlehem.
As the church in this land slowly dies, Nawal, mother of five, explains why so many Christians are leaving this West Bank town:
“I would love for my children to be able to stay in this land, their home, but there is no education for them here, no employment, no opportunities, no life of any sort. They have all gone abroad to live and bring up their families.
Pastor Nihad, of the Shepherd’s Society in Bethlehem, says it was not always like this:
“Bethlehem used to be prosperous, but now 76% of the population are unemployed with zero income and no state benefits; they are totally reliant on humanitarian organisations.
“We are dependant on three sources of income: tourism, people going outside the area to work and local businesses exporting their goods. However, since the uprising in 1999, tourists have stopped coming, so most restaurants and souvenir shops have gone out of business. The borders have also been closed, so people can’t travel outside the area to work and local businesses can’t market their products beyond this small area.”
“There is little or no investment into the area, and schools, hospitals and public services are woefully under-funded.
“One friend of ours had to bring her father into hospital with a stroke. They didn’t even have sheets for the bed: she had to supply them from home. And doctors are under-paid, under-funded and under-qualified.”
As we wandered about the streets of this most famous of West Bank towns, I wondered if the writer of ‘O Little town of Bethlehem’ ever imagined just how still Bethlehem would one day lie. Nowadays, the shops are boarded up as a quiet depression hangs over the town and groups of men hang around the street desperately praying for work or a miracle. The now uncommon sight of a group of tourists brings a flurry of excitement to the few sellers peddling wares to foreign visitors.
I am partly glad that Christ’s birthplace is no longer plagued by the hustle and bargaining for religious trinkets and tourist tat. However, the local reports of poverty and the resulting family tensions are heartbreaking. Parents with no food in the cupboards to feed their children, people confined to their bedrooms for lack of medicine, babies dying because parents can’t get them through the checkpoints to hospital – I know that the Jesus who entered our world in this place feels and cries for each one.
Pastor Nihad describes the home visit that prompted him to set up the Shepherd’s Society, to help meet some of these needs:
“At the end of 1999, I visited a widow’s house with five children and I could see that her children weren’t being fed properly. I asked what was going on and she told me that she had no food in her house. At first I didn’t believe her, because I had been brought up here and have never known poverty like this. However, I was shocked to look inside her cupboards and fridge to see that they were indeed empty and to be in a house where the children went to bed hungry every night.”
“The scale of the problem was like trying to feed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, but in the last five years, God has enabled us to provide for 10,000 cases of need.
The Shepherd’s Society now provides support in five main areas: meal coupons, job creation, provision of basic medical needs, paying school tuition and subsidising electricity and water bills.
Nihad is one of a faithful band of Christians who are letting the light of Jesus shine in the dark streets of Bethlehem. As his wife Salwa says, “This country is very dark, and the light from a single candle is not very bright. But if you bring many candles together they make a bright light.”
Nawal, whose five children have all emigrated to America, is a faithful prayer warrior who has sacrificed a life abroad with her children in order to obey the call of God to stay in the Holy Land and as an intercessor.
Nawal says, “Jesus is teaching me how to be sensitive and to hear when he is calling me to pray. When he calls, I have to drop everything and go and pray. Sometimes I pray for an hour and sometimes for the whole night. It is so exciting to see how God is answering!”
Nawal has seen her neighbours receive healing of body and mind, as well as giving their lives to Jesus. Nawal also described incidences of divine protection and intervention in the life of her family: “Every day I wake up and I declare Jesus is the Lord of the Middle East, and we are now seeing many more people from different backgrounds turn to Jesus as Lord.”
Others, such as Shireen, have also given up opportunities elsewhere in order to stay in the Holy Land and serve the people there. Shireen received a Master’s degree in Educational Administration in America and returned to Bethlehem only to say goodbye to her family and pursue a career in the West. However, when she heard about the work of Beit al-Liqa, a charity that reaches out to children suffering from lack of education and any kind of normal life, she felt God was calling her to stay and help reach the children of Bethlehem. As the Lord reaches these children, the aim of Beit al-Liqa is that they grow up to be a generation of peacemakers who know and honour God. Beit al-Liqa runs daycare services, kindergartens, kids’ camps and clubs, and teenage drop-in centres.
Much of Bethlehem’s population are traumatised from many years of violence and intimidation. Women and children are particularly badly affected. Salwa Salman explains, “The women need someone to listen to them and they need love; so I give them that, but I cannot tell you that I love you if I don’t have the love of God in my heart.
“It is not easy, but the Lord is the one who comforts us through our troubles.”
Pastor Musa and his family have an open invitation to work in America, but they too have chosen to stay. As well as pastoring a local church, he has opened a counselling centre to bring hope and healing to those who have been traumatised during the years of conflict.
Bishara Awad, also educated in America, returned to Bethlehem and founded Bethlehem Bible College 25 years ago, starting off with a gift of just £10.00. More than 20 students now graduate from Bethlehem Bible College every year, all of whom are committed to staying in the Holy Land and providing much needed spiritual leadership and hope for this war-torn land.
Bethlehem Bible College, and the Shepherd’s Society are just some of the projects being supported by Open Doors to see the Church in the land of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection strengthened and resourced to be a light for the lost.
For more information, contact Open Doors on 01993 885400, email info@opendoorsuk.org or log on to www.opendoorsuk.org
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Open Doors strengthens persecuted Christians in over 45 countries across the world by
1. Training Church leaders and Christian workers
2. Supplying Bibles, hymnals, Sunday School materials and other Christian literature
3. Providing livelihood training and self-help opportunities
4. Visiting, comforting and encouraging those who are suffering
5. Raising awareness of the difficulties persecuted Christians face and mobilising prayer for them throughout the western world.
For other articles/press releases on the Persecuted Church, go to:
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/articles/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/releases/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org/media_photos/world_watch_list_pics/html/index.htm