"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" 
(Romans 15:13).

Dear ,

It is the beginning of spring in the Holy Land.  The almond trees are blooming and their fragrance fills the air.   We are filled with great hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, upon whose wisdom and grace we depend.

In this issue, I am especially proud to mention my beautiful wife, Madleine, as she shares her heart and vision in a special interview.  You will also hear a bit about BBC's new Peace Studies program, some of the programming that our media department is engaged in and my recent trip to Canada to speak at a Missions Conference. 

Great things are happening at BBC.  There is a wonderful air of friendship and excitement among the students, staff/faculty and volunteers and we feel His love in our midst.  Thank you for your prayers for us and please especially keep us in prayer for the upcoming Christ at the Checkpoint conference, which is due to start in early March.

In His faithful love,

Rev. Dr. Jack Sara - President
I hope Madleine Sara won't mind if I refer to her as a spiritual dynamo.  After arriving at BBC, it only took a short time for me to see what a unique person she is:  a woman serving side by side in ministry with her husband is rare anywhere, and all the more unusual in a strong patriarchial society.  Madleine is all too aware of this.  Her vision is to see a generation of spiritually-empowered Palestinian women serving in leadership capacities in their local churches and communities. She is the founder and leader of a local woman's ministry, "A Pot in His Hands," as well as a Christian counselor, co-producer and host of several television broadcasts, teacher at BBC and a mother of three children. As the wife of Dr. Jack Sara, president of BBC, she is also the midst of obtaining her Doctor of Ministry via distance education with George Fox University. 

Schoolchildren in Palestine face a health challenge that one would not expect: extreme back pain and scoliosis from carrying very heavy books bags as they walk to and from school. It is common in Palestine to see a six-year-old student carrying a five-kilo bag on his small back and heading all the way from his house to school.


Out of everyone at BBC, Rev. Jack Sara travels overseas the most. At least once every two months, our President has to leave the college and his family to share our mission and work in the kingdom of God with others. His hard work has brought many great changes since he was given the leadership of the college in 2013.

In September of 2015, BBC launched its Master of Peace program, one of the first of its kind in the Arabic-speaking world.  The college has gathered an outstanding cast of world-renowned experts in the fields of peacemaking and reconciliation who have been leading intense two-week sessions on topics beginning with Strategic Nonviolence Activism (Dr. Mubarak Awad) to the most recent class of Peace and International Law with Dr. Jonathan Kuttab.  This last class was open to the public and as a volunteer at BBC, I decided to take it.  It was a lot of work-as a Master's level class should be-but I was not disappointed.  What better place to study peacemaking than in the birthplace of the Prince of Peace and the site of one of the world's most bitter conflicts? 

Visiting the Holy Land? Consider yourself invited to stay with us at Bethlehem Bible College`s Guest House, where you will experience genuine Palestinian hospitality and connect with local Christians. You will come as a guest, but you will leave as family!
 
If you have stayed with us in the past and had a memorable time, please feel free to share about your positive experience on TripAdvisor. 

 
STAY CONNECTED: