Going beyond our own eager predictions, Nazareth Village hit an all-time record in attendance in March, passing the 5300-visitor level during a one -month period for the first time in Village history! Thank God for such a challenging blessing! This spring, tour groups, churches, colleges, and others are coming from all around the world, mingling with the Muslim and Jewish children of Galilee on their class excursions. It is an amazing sight to see along our Parable Walk and in the Village homes, all bustling with activity.
 
    Last year’s military disruption had caused a sharp down-turn in visitors to the country, and the Ministry of Tourism suggested it would take up to nine months for a full return to normalcy. They were right! Before the end of the year there was a surprising influx of tourists in November, but the winter months were rather bleak until March; then all spring burst loose with busloads of visitors from all parts of the globe!
 
    “We have now welcomed people to Nazareth from over 65 countries,” said Shirley Roth, Executive Director of the Village.
“Groups from North America and England continue to be strong supporters but we are delighted to see so many others coming from Scandinavian countries—especially Finland, along with strong support from Holland, Germany, and France. One day there were 11 groups of visitors, representing eight different nationalities. Now what we need,” Roth added, “are more long-term volunteers to help with our work—office and internet communications, guiding tour groups, and helping in our gift shop.”
 
    Tourism for the whole country is sharply up this year, but Nazareth Village attributes much of its own visitor increase to the concerted efforts in communicating with more churches and tour operators worldwide, both through magazine advertising and also through the placement of stories, articles, and news releases in church journals and tourist literature. That is set to continue this year with a major release of new materials [see next article].  
    At the same time we are ever mindful that political uncertainties can still cause tourism to fade quickly. Join us in prayers for peace and stability.

Groans gave way to grins a few weeks ago when the delivery truck pulled up at Nazareth Village with dozens of cartons of new publications and promotional materials to be carted up to the second-floor workroom. Our printer had just shipped hundreds of thousands of brochures and pamphlets—plus 25,000 16-page booklets of beautifully illustrated parables which are part of the Bible Society of Israel co-publishing project we had been worked on for the last six months.
 
    Following on the co-publication release of The Nazareth Jesus Knew, with the story and photos of the Village colorfully featured, the Bible Society in Israel funded a subsidiary project, produced by Nazareth Village, that showcases the working farm and village through spectacular photographs to accompany selections of Bible verses of Jesus’ own words. The small 12-page booklets, In His Own Words, were produced in seven languages for free distribution to the thousands of visitors to the site, including for the Israeli school excursion groups, in Hebrew and Arabic versions.
 
    But a new series of Bible-story booklets, called Village Vignettes, was also launched—mainly of parables and stories whose contextual setting can be illustrated with photos from the Village, using our local staff in authentic costumes to play the parts. Already released are: The Woman at the Well, The Parable of the Tenants, The Parable of the Sower, The Prodigal Son, and The Good Samaritan. It is hoped that this series can be expanded widely, as additional publishing funds become available.
 
    Spanish language editions of the five titles are being readied for press now and will be available later this spring. The Village now has Bible verses along with visitor and school information in 16 languages! “And there are more language versions are in preparation,” reports general editor and project coordinator, Glenn Edward Witmer.
“We receive many expressions of surprise and delight from visitors when they discover a Nazareth Village informational flyer in their own language,” exclaims Shirley Roth, “and they always want to take copies home for their family and friends. It makes all the efforts we put into the project worthwhile .”
 
    Getting the word out is what we need, with everyone’s help to spread the word that Nazareth Village is a ‘must see’ visitor’s site in the Holy Land. Who better to do it than excited people who have been here!

For more information on volunteering, or about the Nazareth Village
co-publishing project with the Bible Society in Israel, write to the
Executive Director, Shirley Roth, at shirley@nazarethvillage.com.

Donations in support of these Village ministries are always welcomed.
For stories and photographs about the Nazareth Village ministry,
visit our website at www.nazarethvillage.com.