The day is finally here! The team will be departing for Bethelem shorty. Please pray for traveling mercies and specifically for us to have an easy time with Israeli security. Last year, we spent five hours in questioning. It was an exhausting time (especially after a long flight). Pray for God to ease our passage. We are excited and ready…Can’t wait to see what God has in store.

Last time we wrote, we promised to tell you about our new initiative: Prints of Peace. We had hope to write about this a week or so ago, but some unexpected circumstances prevented us from doing so.

So, what is Prints of Peace? In short, it is a picture exchange. Children from the US have created Christmas-themed artwork to send to Bethlehem. We will be decorating a classroom in Bethlehem and returning with artwork to decorate a classroom here in the States. This is our first year with this new initiative, we hope to expand it next year.

We will keep you updated through the blog and Twitter. Please keep us in your prayers. The best is yet to come!

Gift Update & Praise
12 days ago, we wrote asking you to help us deliver gifts to 375 children.  You responded, and with your help, we were able to raise all the funds we needed!  Praise God, thank you!

Although we reached our goal, we have three last minute requests.  If you recall, the last time we wrote, we were looking into the cost of heating the Dheisheh refugee camp’s kindergarden during the winter.  We did the research, the cost to do so is $600.  This will help us buy heaters and sufficient fuel for the winter.  We also received a request to purchase food for the Al-Basma School for Special Needs Children (the estimate is $200).

We would also like to make a contribution to the Bethlehem Bible College’s Shepherd Society to help provide for needy families in Bethlehem.  If you’d like to help us, there is still time for you to contribute (we will have information below on how).

Keeping up with the team
We leave for Bethlehem in less than two weeks!  You can keep track of the team while we are on the ground by following us on twitter (follow @bcProject) or by clicking the “live feed” button on our website.  We will be sending short updates to our live page and twitter frequently.  We will also be writing a nightly blog/email with a recap of each day until we leave for Nazareth and the Galilee (at which point we will not have internet access for blog entries).

We are still hoping to be able to update videos and photos to the site as we travel.  Time is short and we are on the edge of being overwhelmed with all that needs be done before we leave.  This may not get done, but we will see what we can do.  Please pray for Ali, Jenni, and the team- there is a lot to do!

Something New
Tomorrow, we will update you on a new initiative this year:  “Prints of Peace”.  Those of you who follow our fanpage on facebook have seen a little preview of it.  If not, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow!

How you can help:
If you’d like to help, you can give online using this link or by sending your donation to:

The Bethlehem Christmas Project
PO Box 914
Oakland, FL 34760

Dear Friends, 

Please disregard our earlier post (which we have since deleted).  We encountered a problem with our software and the message you received was an earlier draft of the corrected message below.

 —

 Many of you wrote-in with responses to my post earlier today.  Thank you for your willingness to help and to those of you who have already given.

 I am providing the information below in response to requests for instructions on how to give.

 You can give online using your credit card, or paypal account, by visiting our <a href=”http://bethlehemchristmasproject.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=34″>donations page.</a>  Please note: we use paypal to process credit card payments but you do not need to have a paypal account to give.

 You can also give by sending a check made to the “Bethlehem Christmas Project” to the following address:

 The Bethlehem Christmas Project
PO Box 914
Oakland FL 34760

We will keep you updated on our progress and promise to let you know when we have reached or goal.

Many thanks again!

Dear Friends,

Our December gift delivery team is in the final preparations phase and will be en route to Bethlehem in just over three weeks.  We will be on the ground from December 4^th through the 13^th and now is the time of year when we are hard at work, with our friends from The Bethlehem Bible College, to determine how many gifts we can provide.  I’m writing you today to ask for your help in delivering gifts to 375 children.

I must say, asking for donations is the most humbling part of my job and the one I like the least.  I am asking you for what you worked hard for, and I know what I’m asking you for is personal and can be used to bless you and your family.  I never forget this.  However, I must ask because we can’t deliver Christmas gifts without your help.

Last year, in addition to the orphanage, schools for special-needs children, and the school for children suffering from post-traumatic stress that we provide for annually, we also visited a kindergarten at a refugee camp to deliver educational games and toys.  The school wasn’t a location we planned to visit but we were able to do so because we received last-minute funds.

The three-room school was, and continues to be, so impoverished that the staff barely has the means to pay for heat.  Most days, the children have to endure the cold.

I’m not one to cry, but I was crying the day we visited and so were several members of our team.  The wood was splintered on the tables the children had to use for schoolwork and the shelves and closets were bare.  So bare, in fact, we thought perhaps someone had tried to tug at our heart strings by hiding supplies and books prior to our arrival.

With this in mind, we arranged for one of our partners to visit the school unannounced a few weeks after we left and, indeed, the school was as poor as we thought.  So, we’d like to go back and do what we can.

In talking with the school, the teachers said the children could use winter coats for the cold days.   We’d like to provide the coats and have a Christmas party for the children.  We’re also looking into the cost of heating the school during the winter.

In addition to this school, we also added a center for abandoned children and a facility to care for severely handicapped children last year.  We do not want to abandon a deliver location once we’ve visited once so please, if you can, help us.  As of today, we still need to raise $4400.  Every little bit you contribute helps bring us closer to our goal.

Let’s see what God does.  We’re looking forward to what He has in store!

Please pray for our fundraising efforts and  for our team to be encouraged and protected (spiritually and physically) before we leave and during the project.  Please also pray for God to provide us with divine appointments to share his love, justice, and mercy.

Finally, we praise God for returning the medical team home safe and sound.  The team was able to care for over 500 patients during their time in Bethlehem!  They were a blessing to Bethlehem and its people and we are grateful for the team’s hard work and diligence.

The Medical team sends its greetings from Bethlehem!  Today was the first day of seeing patients for the team.  It was a hectic day and it is estimated nearly 200 people came to receive medical care.  What a blessing!

After a full day, the team returned to the Bible College for dinner and is eagerly awaiting tomorrow.  The following are the team’s prayer requests, please pray with them for:

1.  Divine appointments to share Christ’s love.
2.  Availability of translators.  More translators are needed for the team to be able to communicate with patients in Arabic throughout the week.  Please contact us if you are in Bethlehem and are willing to help.
3.  For God to be glorified in every action, thought and word of the team.

Blessings to you all!

Today was a busy day for the team.  The team spent the morning at the House of Bread Church near Manger Square in Bethlehem with Pastor Issa Zoughbi.  After church, the team had the opportunity to visit the  Herodium and Shepherd’s Field before enjoying a meal at “The Tent” (a popular restaurant in Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem).

Later on, the team pulled together to sort and organize the medications in preparation for the first day of medical services tomorrow.  Please continue for the team’s encouragement and for many to come to receive medical care.

While the medical team is on the ground, the gift delivery team continues to prepare for December.  The team  has a conference call scheduled this week to discuss the progress of  preparations.  Please pray for this team as they put all the pieces together.

We pray you will consider giving to help us raise the funds necessary to deliver gifts to 375 children this year.  We have raised almost half the funds already but we still need about $6,000 to reach our goal. God will provide, He always has!

Thank you for your prayers!  The Medical team is safe and sound in Bethlehem.  One team member was questioned by Israeli security for about an hour, but no other delays were encountered.  Praise God!

As you read this,  the BCP Medical team (a group comprised of BCP 2008 Alumni and a dedicated team of professionals)  is on its way to the West Bank.  We are eagerly anticipating what God has in store for them and the people they touch.  The team left yesterday and will soon be in Tel Aviv then Bethlehem.  Please remember the team in prayer between now and their return next Saturday.

Pray for their safety and ease of passage as they travel.  Also, pray also for them to be led entirely by the Holy Spirit, so they will be sensitive to the divine appointments God has ordained for them

There have been advertisements on television in the West Bank about the medical care the team will be providing- the word is out!  Pray those who need medical attention will hear and come to receive the care they need.

It is an exciting time of year for us as we get to witness God’s work!  We will keep you updated on the progress of this team and the Gift delivery team departing for Bethlehem in December.

Our friends and partners,

BCP is now in the midst of preparing the two teams that will be serving in Bethlehem this year.  Our Medical team is in the final preparations phase and will be leaving this Friday.  Our Gift Delivery team will be in Bethlehem in December.

As we prepare, we are closely monitoring an increase in tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.  The news in the past few weeks has been filled with reports of clashes at the Temple Mount and there remains an uncertainty about the future.  Please pray for peace to prevail and for the protection of all those who find themselves caught in this most recent conflagration.

Please also pray for the protection and encouragement of our teams.  Tensions may be rising but our teams are ready and waiting to serve.  We are looking forward to following in obedience to our call and will do what we have been called to do.  Please pray with us.  It is an encouragement to know we have your prayers and that an army waging peace is behind us.

In addition to your prayers, we also need your financial support.  We pray you will consider giving to support the efforts of the two teams.  The Medical team members are still working to raise their support and the number of children our Gift Delivery team will be able to reach remains a mystery.  Please support us.  We have an opportunity to serve and to bring God’s love to the most vulnerable of those in need.  We can’t do it without you.

You can give online using this link or by sending your donation to:

The Bethlehem Christmas Project
PO Box 914
Oakland, FL 34760.

When you donate, please indicate if your donation is for the Medical or Gift delivery team.

Finally, please contact us with any questions you may have about the the teams’ preparations, the developing situation at the Temple Mount,  or BCP’s plans for this year.  We realize many of you have friends and loved ones who will soon be enroute to Bethlehem.  We are here to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

We’re writing today with a prayer request from our medical team preparing to visit Bethlehem in November.  The team recently submitted the credentials of the doctors to the Ministry of Health for approval; these documents must be approved before the physicians will be allowed to treat patients.

Please pray for the applications to be approved as soon as possible.  Please also continue to pray many will come to the Bethlehem Bible College to receive treatment.

Finally, please feel open to contact us with questions you might have about the medical and gift delivery teams.  We love to hear from you!