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The Nazareth Trust Autumn 2018
HEAL THE SICK TELL THEM, ‘ KINGDOM OF GOD NEAR TO YOU’ Luke 10:9
A word from our Chief Executive...
Since returning our head office to Edinburgh in summer 2017 we have been re-connecting with as many people around the world as possible who have had a personal link with the Nazareth Trust. Often our supporters’ connections go back to working or training at our hospital. Others joined our Trust family more recently, perhaps by volunteering with SERVE or by supporting our work through sponsored events here in Israel. It has been wonderful to hear so many personal stories that show a real heart for the people of Nazareth and the work of the Trust. I greatly enjoyed meeting many supporters at our Scottish parliamentary reception at Holyrood in May. We had the pleasure of celebrating our story so far and, together with our Medical Director Dr Fahed Hakim and Deputy CEO Waseem Dibbini, I was able to share the next chapter of our vision for the future. Part of that has already been turned into reality with work having started on the buildings for our new Stroke Unit at the hospital, so generously supported by your donations. We are very much looking forward to the positive impact this will have on our community in Nazareth. We have also been greatly encouraged after revealing plans for a new Discovery Centre at the Nazareth Village earlier this year. The project has already inspired a tremendous financial commitment from many visitors keen to leave a legacy in Jesus’ hometown.
While a significant part of my work in leading the Trust involves bringing our vision to existing and new supporters through meetings and talking to many influencers, I also wanted to do something practical that would inspire my personal network. I was delighted to take part in the Nazareth Challenge this March, cycling the Jordan Valley with a group of other determined participants. We were very grateful to all our Challenge participants and sponsors for the amazing amount we managed to raise in aid of the new Stroke Unit. Being an enthusiastic cyclist myself here in Israel, I have decided to get stuck in with planning our 2019 ride. I hope you might join me and those who have already signed up in March next year. For now I hope you enjoy reading the articles in this newsletter featuring stories and updates from all our different areas of work here in Nazareth. I would ask you to keep all our staff, their work and those whom we serve in your prayers.
Richard Mayhew
ETH R A Z THE NA GE 2018 EN L L A H C A huge thank you to all those who supported this year’s Nazareth Challenge. Our group of gritty cyclists and determined hikers took up the Challenge, while thousands of generous prayer givers and sponsors joined them in spirit. Their dedication has played a huge part in supporting the creation of Nazareth’s first Stroke Unit. Between them they’ve walked an incredible 675km and cycled over 3,700km, raising over £66,000. Our cyclists started their adventure in Petra, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and made their way up the Jordan Valley, staying in a Bedouin camp, taking in the incredible views from Mt Nebo and following the Jordan River before celebrating the event’s finish with our walkers in Nazareth. Our walkers followed a route known as the Jesus Trail which traces many of the significant places of Jesus’ life. Hiking up to 17km a day, they trekked through the stunning Zippori National Park, saw the sun rise over the Sea of Galilee and enjoyed the breathtaking views from the Mount of Beatitudes.
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Join us for an incredible 65km sponsored hike through the Holy Land. On this trek through beautiful terrain, you will have the experience of a lifetime retracing the steps of Jesus on this challenging hike from Nazareth to Cana, Arbel, Mount of Beatitudes and the Sea of Galilee. Although the majority of the Jesus Trail’s route remains the same for 2019, each year is quite unlike the last. Our amazing guide always introduces new aspects, and with different participants from all over the world, no walk is the same. Beginning the event with a trek from Nazareth to Cana, you’ll visit the traditional site of Jesus’ first miracle. The sweeping views of the Arbel Valley will blow you away and you’ve not even made it to the Mount of Beatitudes where you will watch the stunning sunrise over the Sea of Galilee. On the final day you’ll take a boat tour before joining the closing celebrations, which include a tour of the Nazareth Hospital and Nazareth Village.
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Be part of this sponsored cycle through Israel. Our five-day off-road cycle gives you the opportunity to see Israel like never before. Starting at the Mediterranean Sea, you’ll experience some of Israel’s most stunning landscapes as you cycle to the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee before the final climb to Nazareth. The Three Seas Challenge is brand new for 2019 and takes in some of the Middle East’s most spectacular cycle routes. Starting at the Mediterranean Sea, cycle along the Yarkon River before starting the climb towards the hills of Jerusalem. Upon reaching Jerusalem there’ll be the opportunity to tour the old city, including the Western Wall and the Garden Tomb. The route then makes its way to the Dead Sea, passing through Bethlehem where you’ll visit the Church of the Nativity. The day’s lunch spot is Mar Saba Monastery. Hanging off the edge of a cliff, this 5th century monastery is a very impressive sight. The remaining route includes cycling along the Jordan River where Jesus was baptised, a lunch stop with a Palestinian family, the Sea of Galilee, home to many of Jesus’ miracles and the final ride up to Nazareth for the event’s closing celebrations.
Providing care – no matter where
Dr Najib Nasrallah, the Head of ER and a paediatric specialist at our Nazareth Hospital, tells of an unexpected call upon his medical expertise while on holiday. In January 2018, my family and I went for a holiday to Budapest, as my son was interested in going there to study. Late one evening at dinner, I received a call from my friend and colleague at the Nazareth Hospital, Dr Fahed Hakim: could I do an ultrasound in Budapest for a sick Nazarene child? I laughed, as we often joke about how I do ultrasounds all the time and everywhere. But he was serious. He told me there was a child from Nazareth, in a Budapest ER, needing an urgent diagnostic ultrasound scan. But the hospital had no qualified doctor to perform this scan. The family had called Dr Fahed for advice. Fortunately, he knew I was on holiday in the same city. I remember getting up from the table and asking for the hospital’s address without even thinking. When I told my family and friends I had to go and check on a child in the ER, they were shocked: “What are you talking about! You’re on holiday! You work in the ER at Nazareth, not here!” I hurried to the hospital where I met the child and his family, who were surprised
to see a doctor from Nazareth. With the hospital’s permission I examined the child and performed the scan - he needed immediate surgery. Sharing my diagnosis with the family wasn’t easy. I had to tell them their child had to be operated on right away to prevent serious harm. But the family trusted me: “Dr Najib, do what must be done.” The child underwent succesful surgery that same night. The next day he already felt so much better. A month later I followed up with the family back home in Nazareth. It was a very emotional meeting and you could see the joy and gratitude on their faces. It was wonderful to see this lovely child so healthy and happy among his family. It was a blessing for me to be able to help someone in a desperate situation, realising that it’s not important where they come from or what their background is. My faith tells me it is the right thing to do if we truly love our neighbour. Offering that unconditional help also strengthens my belief that we must help all people who come to us in need – it’s following Christ’s example and teaching. My faith gives me the strength to do so again and again.
Hospital Stroke Unit update – we’re nearly there! Late last year we launched our ambitious appeal to fund the creation of Nazareth’s first dedicated Stroke Unit at our Hospital. Strokes are the third most common cause of death in Israel and timely diagnosis is vital to save lives and prevent lasting damage and disability. Without a dedicated Stroke Unit in Nazareth precious time is lost in sending patients on 30-minute ambulance journeys to another hospital for treatment. We are pleased to report that, with generous help from all our financial supporters and with faith in God’s provision, we have been able to start work in adapting and extending an existing area of the hospital to create the space for the new Stroke Unit. We are allocating two rooms for the hospitalisation of stroke patients in the medical ward as well as two rooms in the outpatient clinic, which is where the building works are taking place. Dr Saleem, one of the country’s leading neurologists and his team are already preparing for the opening of the Unit later this year by setting up processes and by selecting the new CT scanner for the imaging department.
The fundraising effort to make immediate stroke treatment in Nazareth a reality has been both local and international. A fundraising dinner in Nazareth raised one million Shekels (c. $270,000) thanks to the generosity of local business people. Our international fundraising appeals have raised over $100,000, including a fantastic total from our Nazareth Challenge event. We are so grateful for the generous giving by all our supporters to this project. We’re nearly there but we still need one final push so we can have all the equipment in place to open the new Stroke Unit before the end of this year. If you are able to help financially with this final push, please make a donation online or call us on 0131 225 9957.
Please pray for: • good progress of the building works and that inevitable delays will be kept to a minimum; • for funds still needed to complete the project to fall into place; • for Dr Saleem and his medical team.
Gideons International visit the Nazareth Hospital The Nazareth Hospital was blessed by a visit from Gideons International in June when they donated over 200 Arabic New Testaments with the Psalms together with English, Russian and Hebrew Bibles. Expressing his thanks for the generous gift of God’s Word, our CEO Richard Mayhew said, “We are grateful to Gideons International for these Bibles, which we pray will used by God to touch the lives of many of the thousands of people who visit our facilities as patients, family members, students, volunteers and tourists on a daily basis.” A few weeks after the delivery of these bibles our hospital chaplain, Pastor Suheil was in the chapel with Frank Kantor, our Spiritual Director. A man approached the chapel and asked to speak to the Chaplain. Pastor Suheil recounts: “He told me that his wife, who was in our surgical ward, had experienced a recurring dream of a man dressed in white approaching her and saying, ‘Come to me if you are anxious and weary and I will give you rest.’ Whilst she could not see his face, she heard his voice
clearly and was mystified as to what this meant. “She asked her husband to enquire from someone in the hospital about this dream and was directed to the chapel. I was able to share with him that these words were spoken by Jesus of Nazareth to his followers and read with him the verses in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus says, ‘Come to me all you who are weary and carrying heavy loads and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light’ (Matthew 11:28-30). “This opened a good conversation on the meaning of these words and how to respond to them and I was able to give him a copy of one of the Gideons’ Bibles to take with him to share these words with his wife.” Please keep this man, his wife and their family in your prayers as they continue to read the life-changing words of Jesus of Nazareth in their Bible.
Chaplaincy team bids farewell to dedicated volunteer The Nazareth Hospital Chaplaincy team recently bid an emotional good-bye to Stacy Green who had been a dedicated member of the volunteer team for many years. Her farewell was held at a traditional Bedouin restaurant, a great venue for joyful fellowship over a Taboun grill meal. Members of the chaplaincy team shared stories of Stacy’s friendship and prayer support in their personal lives as well as her love and compassion for the people of Nazareth. Commenting on Stacy’s imminent departure from Nazareth, Louisa, another
chaplaincy volunteer, said: “Stacy has been a great source of encouragement and blessing to me and my family, and to the patients, students and volunteers of the Nazareth Hospital and wider community. I pray God’s blessings of joy, peace and protection for Stacy and her family as they move on in God’s will and purpose for their lives.” Please continue to pray for the pastoral care ministry of the Nazareth Hospital as we visit patients and their families to offer a listening ear, prayer, encouragement and other emotional support.
Pray for: • Pastor Suheil as he provides leadership to the chaplaincy team; • each member of the team as they seek to minister God’s love and compassion to the patients and staff of the hospital; • additional volunteer chaplains to join the team (men in particular) to strengthen the pastoral care offered to patients and their families at our hospital; • wise and sensitive distribution of bibles and other Christian literature to people who are open to receiving them.
Where are they now?
When we welcome people to SERVE Nazareth, we always know that God is working in them, but what we don’t know is what He will do exactly and where that might take them. So, it is always interesting to see what our alumni are up to! Jordan Koslowsky came to Nazareth with a group from Trinity Western University in 2016. He spent time here with SERVE Nazareth and with Musalaha in Bethlehem, serving and experiencing life in the Middle East, with all of its complexities and challenges. Jordan recalls two events during his time here that really challenged and inspired him. On a trip to the Golan Heights, the immediacy of the Syrian humanitarian crisis touched his heart. It was so close, and affected so many, including children who became refugees or victims of the war. This shocked Jordan, who lived a life so far removed from these challenges. On his return, Jordan felt a call in his heart, but was uncertain as to what he should do. News stories from the region including shocking footage of a child pulled from the rubble in war-torn Syria, and another child washed up dead on
a beach, strengthened his resolve. With the support and encouragement of friends, he decided that he had to do something real to make a difference for refugees.
“It was so easy for me to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the refugee crisis, but my time volunteering showed me that there is hope even in the hardest situations. When I was unsure about whether I could do anything, it was hope that motivated me to act.”
In February 2017 TRAC was born, the Trinity Refugee Awareness Campaign. Using the symbol of a key, in acknowledgment of the loss of home that refugees suffer, Jordan sought to bring hope. He planned to raise enough support to give a refugee family the key to a new home.
He began working in partnership with other organisations to meet this very real need. Through fundraising events, merchandise and donations, they reached their target just a few months later and raised enough money to bring a refugee family from the Congo to their new home in Canada. The family of five arrived in Canada in August and TRAC are helping them settle in and make a new life for themselves.
“I knew that the Trinity community had tremendous potential to make
a difference, but God worked in incredible ways and the dream grew and expanded in ways I could never have imagined. It is amazing what can happen when people recognise the capacity they have to make a difference.�
Jordan’s story is inspiring, not just to us, but to so many people around him who are now involved personally and of course for those whose lives have been changed as a result. We pray that God will continue to guide and lead him and the work of TRAC.
Seeing God’s love at work
Dr Amal Khazin, Director of the Nazareth Academic School of Nursing reflects on a successful first half of 2018. The year so far has been extraordinary. We as staff saw the love of God at work. We finally received permission from the Higher Council of Education to cooperate with a neighbouring college, which allows us to offer a BA degree programme to our students – a goal we have been trying to achieve for the last seven years. This has been so important to us as the only Arab and only Christian school of nursing in the country. We already teach a diverse body of students and it often takes skill and patience to bring them together, to minimise their differences or any perceptions of feeling different. Now working with a larger organisation such as the college, our staff also needed to adjust to new ways of communicating. The challenge has not only been that our School of Nursing is much smaller than our partner, but that there is also a marked cultural difference between our
staff and the staff of Emek Israel College. Our staff have been ready and willing to learn and adjust, but I have also been very aware of their feelings of frustration and at times shaken confidence. However, the Nazareth Trust management has been wonderful in giving us all the support we need and keep us in continuous prayer, for which we are so grateful. I believe this support has been instrumental in our school being rated second among all nursing schools in the country, an award presented to us by the Minister of Health in a special ceremony in February. It reminded me again just how important it is in a situation of change and upheaval to keep praying for God’s blessing. Whatever the future may hold for the co-operative BA programme, I am sure that the Nazareth Academic School of Nursing will thrive if we ask God’s favour on it.
Student leads on International Nurses Day International Nurses Day is on 12th May, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. Each nursing school in Israel worked on a special project to mark the day and celebrate the profession. Dr Amal was particularly encouraged by the leadership shown by one of her students. I always talk to our students about the necessity of showing empathy to other people and especially to patients. Loai, one of our students, pictured here looking after a dialysis patient in our hospital, is very empathetic. He is in the class committee and has a great ability to relate to all students in his class, whether they are Christian, Muslim or Jewish.
speech in front of all the students that day, Loai voiced great appreciation for the teachers, the administrative staff and his fellow students. He talked about the crucial qualities that nurses should always embody, such as listening, showing respect and compassion and regarding the patients as equal participants in their treatment.
Loai worked very hard on preparing the school for International Nurses Day, and stayed up into the early hours of the night preparing decorations and a speech for the celebration. In his
It is wonderful to see him setting such a great example to his fellow students. He really shows leadership characteristics and I expect and pray for a prosperous future for him.
Easter Outreach at Nazareth Village Nazareth Village was delighted to have more than 3,000 people join us this year for a special three-day Easter programme. Using our unique setting, we recounted many of the events in the final week leading up to Jesus’ Passion. To help engage our community in Nazareth, we partnered with several local outreach ministries so children could enjoy a special Easter-themed puppet show, create crafts and take home free colouring books of the Easter story. Visitors also enjoyed authentic food in our first-century dining hall.
Our Easter events provided an amazing opportunity for local Christians from all denominations to bring their families to visualize the story they all know so well; but it also created a welcoming environment where they could invite their non-Christian friends and neighbours to explore the life of Jesus and open doors
for further conversation. Entry to the village was free to remove any barriers for those interested in joining us. We were delighted when, unexpectedly, a bus full of Muslim children came to the event on the first day. This year’s Easter re-enactment from the events of Palm Sunday through to Jesus’ resurrection was further enriched by the generous voluntary participation of two talented artists. Mervat Ashqar, a wonderful Christian singer touched many hearts with Easter songs and hymns, and Rami Saliba, a local actor and committed
Christian, shouldered the difficult task of portraying Jesus. We received positive feedback from many of our guests. Some were delighted and amazed after they saw the covered body of Jesus put into the tomb, to then see him re-appear, resurrected and dressed in a gleaming white robe, from a different direction! Many were deeply moved by hearing Jesus speak some of his final words from the cross and before his Ascension in Arabic, their heart’s language.
Il-Masikh kam! ~ kha-kan kam! Christ is risen! ~ He is risen indeed!
A new place of Discovery for Nazareth Village
The Nazareth Village has seen amazing growth and blessing over the past years, with over 93,000 visitors in 2017. In 2018, this pattern has continued with a third increase in the first six months over the same period last year. We thank God for this tremendous fruit to the hard labours of our staff, but we also believe that he is telling us that now is the time to “Enlarge the place of your tent... do not hold back...� (Isaiah 54:2).
Earlier this year we began fundraising for a new Discovery Center: a tremendous project of faith for the Village and the Trust as a whole. Trusting God will supply all of our needs abundantly, we have designed a brand new building that will enable us to welcome even more visitors each year – with a wider entry hall and additional bus parking that will greatly enhance our visitors’ experience. Crucially, the new centre will allow us to start new initiatives and expand our outreach to our local communities. While prayerfully considering how to go about funding such an expansive project,
we felt led to offer each of our visitors a chance to partner with us, enabling them to leave a legacy for future generations in the hometown of Jesus. For a gift of $120.00 (or more), visitors can purchase a stone that will be installed in the new building. On that stone, they can have their name engraved or a dedication of their choice, such as a memorial to a loved one. We also hope that not just visitors but the many friends of the Nazareth Trust will partner with us to make this vision a reality. Would you prayerfully consider dedicating a stone of your own?
For more information about the project, and to donate online, please visit: www.nazarethvillage.com/discovery
The Nazareth Trust 6 Hill Street Edinburgh EH2 3JZ
Tel: +44 (0)131 225 9957 info@nazarethtrust.org www.nazarethtrust.org
The Nazareth Trust is a registered Scottish charity no. SC032510 and a company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland no. SC225661 The Nazareth Trust is dedicated to empowering the people of Nazareth and beyond, to advance well-being across all communities and borders, irrespective of faith, political persuasion or tradition.