BibleLands has been at work in Israel and the Occupied Territories, Lebanon and Egypt for more than 150 years, working with indigenous partners to help ease the suffering of impoverished communities.
In Israel and the Occupied Territories in particular, that work continues in the face of daily acts of terrorism, military action, curfews, travel restrictions and perpetual shortages of the most basic necessities.
BibleLands' Chief Executive, Nigel Edward-Few, shared some of his thoughts on the situation in the Holy Land and the part we can all play to help.
CT: BibleLands' slogan is 'Healing and Hope'. Yet it would be easy not to have hope in the Holy Land. Where do you draw that hope from?
NEF: The hope comes from our partners. They are the people doing the work and delivering the Christian hope in the countries where they are working. Our job is to help them do that by providing the resources, the encouragement through partnership and prayer, and the gifts of generous people.
We provide the physical resources and the prayers to support them and the people on the ground are the ones who actually deliver hope to those who may not have any hope. Particularly those who are disabled or who have special needs or are on the breadline, or those like Suhaila (the executive director of the Christian Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza), who are really struggling in the midst of such difficult circumstances.
Gaza is such a terrible place at the moment because of all that is happening to it and within it, with the factions and the struggles between Hamas and the Israelis. It is just an awful place to live if you don't have resources and you don't have hope. But the hospital that she is director of provides that hope.
