Come with me today to Beit Shemesh, a growing town between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which dates its history to ancient times. The name means House of the Sun and refers to the biblical event when the sun stood still for Joshua. It is a place where ancient and modern meet with one thing in common: it is inhabited by the children of Israel. Since the beginning of the modern State of Israel, Beit Shemesh has welcomed Jewish immigrants from all over the world, including large groups from Morocco, Ethiopia, Russia, Ukraine and even the United States.
It is a place that God has allowed Bridges for Peace to actively bless over the past 15 years. Two hundred and ten children on our Feed a Child program attend six schools in Beit Shemesh. Our home repair team has labored in many homes of its elderly residents. We have helped Holocaust survivors, and fifty families receive food from Bridges for Peace each month through our Adopt an Israeli Town program. We also help the schools upgrade their equipment.
Fifteen years ago the schools of Beit Shemesh were considered low achieving compared to the national average. Today, with the help of Bridges for Peace, its schools and students are high achieving. In the past, some children didn’t have school books. In Israel parents must pay for the books, and some families couldn’t afford to buy enough food. Books were therefore out of the question. How can you learn without books? Many families couldn’t afford the school lunch. How can you concentrate when you are hungry?
The children on the Feed a Child program receive a hot meal at lunch every school day. We provide their school books, workbooks, school supplies, uniforms and a new backpack each year. We pay for after-school enrichment programs and fees to go on all school outings. We even cover the cost of the high school trip to Poland for the March of the Living. We give them equality with their classmates. Bridges for Peace donors have responded and together we are giving these children a future hope. Each child needs two sponsors who will commit to pray for them and give US $65 monthly.
Many of the parents are immigrants who are struggling to make their way in their new country. We recently heard from the parents of Sam (aged 10), who is on our program.
“We would love to thank you for a wonderful program that helps us a lot. My husband and I spend our whole days working and we have absolutely no assistance from anywhere in Israel, because we do not have any relatives in this country. That is why your assistance is such a great help for us. Even in bad weather our son runs to school, because there a hot and fresh lunch and sports are waiting for him. It is so pleasant for us as parents to hear our child speaking about how happy he is with what you are doing. We want to thank you for helping with school supplies. The school bag that you presented and for all the school supplies that were in this bag, it helps us a lot financially. Thank you very much for birthday and holiday presents, Sam is very happy. Thank you for postcards, presents and letters from a very kind people from different corners of the world. Very proudly our son tells his friends how much he loves Bridges for Peace. On behalf of our whole family we want to thank you and to wish you further success in what you are doing.”
The School Year Has StartedSchool began in September and we committed to continue helping the 400 children in 4 towns (210 of them in Beit Shemesh), but we still need 138 sponsors. We are currently using reserve funds to make up the shortfall. We urgently need more sponsors so we don’t have to tell these children, parents and schools that we cannot continue to help. Our prayer is that we will receive many more sponsors so we can add more children and more schools to the program.
The Levine School is an elementary school in Beit Shemesh that urgently needs materials to paint and clean the building. This is the poorest school in Beit Shemesh; 80–90% of the students are from very poor families, and 75% of the students are Ethiopian. Their furniture is very old and rickety. They need new tables and chairs for the classrooms. I hope that we can help them. Even though we can’t sponsor all the needy children in Levine School, in this way we can give every child a better learning environment.
Our actions are meeting real needs for children and their families. At the same time, our love is changing the attitudes of the Jewish people in Beit Shemesh towards Christians. Jesus (Yeshua) said that we are to be the light of the world. He has allowed us to shine with His light in the town called the House of the Sun. Will you become a sponsor and send US $65 a month to meet the needs of a child? Or will you help us with your onetime gift to help the Levine School improve the atmosphere for the entire student body? Your gifts make a difference for the covenant people of God living in Beit Shemesh.
Blessings from Israel,
Rebecca J. Brimmer
International President and CEO
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