Help us support these orphans!
100% of Proceeds go straight to
A Child’s Hope Foundation:
Lifting Orphans from Surviving to Thriving
Christmas in Bethlehem. The ancient dream: a cold, clear night made brilliant by a glorious star, the smell of incense, shepherds and wise men falling to their knees in adoration of the sweet baby, the incarnation of perfect love.
-- Lucinda Franks, in Seize the Moment (19 April 2011,) p.23
Why are we are doing this?
Dear Friends,
We wanted to introduce you to Mohammed Alshiabat, a friend of ours from Bethlehem, Palestine. Mohammed and his family have called the land around Bethlehem “home” for over a thousand years. In a land full of holy sites, what the earth yields has special meaning. Mohammed understands that better than most.
Tim was introduced to Mohammed by his parents who were serving at the BYU Jerusalem Center more than eight years ago.. Paul met Mohammed when introduced to him several years ago by Tim. Since that time, both Tim and Paul have had opportunities to share a meal with Mohammed, his wife and his children at their home in Bethlehem. During a recent trip to Bethlehem, it was discovered that Mohammed serves several orphanages in and around Bethlehem – even while Mohammed at times has needed help himself. He performs this service without thought for how it might affect him and his family. He does it because he is good. Mohammed provides for his family in large part through sales of olive wood sculptures, made from Bethlehem wood. Like his family for over a thousand years, the land provides for Mohammed and his people.
For several years, we have been buying olive wood nativity pieces from Mohammed to give to our clients here in the United State as Christmas gifts. As beautiful as these pieces are, the lives that they help to maintain are even more so. With the economic disruption that occasioned the pandemic, we have becomes more concerned for our friend Mohammed, his family and the families of the artisan carvers who create the olive wood nativity pieces. In the end, we wanted to do more to help the carvers since they can’t sell their pieces to tourists until the quarantine lifts and tourism resumes.
Being members of the board for A Child’s Hope Foundation, we felt that the sale of these wonderful works of art would make a perfect pairing with the spirit of giving we all feel around Christmastime. In addition to our relationship with Mohammed, ACHF has begun to work directly with orphanages in the area around Bethlehem, orphanages introduced to us by Mohammed.
Our hope in offering these nativity sets for sale is to help these wonderful olive wood artisans and their families, while simultaneously assisting the work of caring for vulnerable children throughout the world, including those in Bethlehem. For this reason, we chose to buy nativity sets from Mohammed and his friends and to donate 100% of the profits to A Child’s Hope Foundation, which sends 100% of these funds directly to the projects that most benefit orphanages and the children who live there. In other words, this is much more than a mere purchase-- it’s an investment and a gift that benefits wood carvers, orphans and your family!
Craftsmanship developed over centuries
Made by hand by the 7 or 8 carvers Mohammed sells for, these nativity sets are truly something special. According to Mahmoud Hawari, director of the Palestinian Museum in the West Bank, olive wood carving has been a livelihood for Holy Land Christians in Bethlehem since the fourth century A.D., the Byzantine period.
“This art form goes back millennia and its traditions have been developed over the centuries,” Hawari said. “It is part of the Palestine national heritage and also important from an economic point of view.”
Mohammed’s family has lived in and around Bethlehem for over a thousand years. Born and raised Muslim, he became of member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 20 years ago. He is now the President of the Bethlehem branch, which poses problems for his ability to succeed as a carver. As you might imagine, Muslims don’t want to do business with him because he is a Christian, and Christians won’t work with him because they don’t believe he’s a true Christian.
Despite these issues, he serves faithfully and provides for his family as best he can. Needless to say, the current political climate in the area makes it very difficult for him to do so…
Trouble in Bethlehem
Today, a heavily guarded 22 foot wall surrounds Bethlehem so that the government can control who goes in and out. This wall is so heavily guarded, in fact, that one Relief Society President was shot at when she attempted to cross the wall to get to church!
Because the Israeli government can shut the border down whenever they want to, it’s not easy for citizens of Bethlehem to make a living-- even when times are good! The COVID-19 pandemic led the government to shut down all tourism in the area, forcing Mohammed to rely solely on exporting carvings to other countries.
Moved with compassion for other disadvantaged Christian wood carvers, Mohammed is working with us to ship as many nativity sets as possible to the U.S., in the hopes that their sale will benefit orphans and carvers at the same time. All of the items we’re offering here have been carved by Christians in the Bethlehem area.
Education happens within the context of a larger community. Our approach extends beyond the school to help ensure students have the necessary support to do their best learning.
Why These Nativities?
Having a long-standing relationship with us, Mohammed shared about his struggles as well as the struggles of his peers. We’ve been ordering from Mohammed for years, but we felt inspired to buy considerably more this year in the hopes that this fundraiser would help our friend weather these challenging times.
The items you’ll see here are made of 100% olive wood from the Bethlehem region. The wood is over 100 years old, which is only one of the many reasons why an olive wood nativity set could become a priceless, precious heirloom for your family to share.
Compared to other, more commonly used wood, olive wood is more durable, less porous, stronger and more beautiful. It is also relatively scarce as most olive trees are grown as a fruit crop and not as a source of wood.
If you’ve ever visited an olive grove, you’d have likely seen trees that were kept small with regular pruning. In comparison, trees grown in tree farms are bred to grow fast and large so as to produce large amounts of wood. Some craftsmen sell nativity sets that are made by pressing green wood hydraulic press molds. These may look decent, but will typically crack as they dry.
High-quality olive wood carvings, on the other hand, are dried in advance and carved by hand. As a result, they are much more durable and no one carving is exactly like the other. The carver works meticulously on one specific figure at a time, often using an identical figure as a model, taking care to focus on each exquisite detail. For these reasons and more, olive wood nativity sets are incredibly valuable. Some of the larger, more ornate sets have been known to sell for up to $20,000!
Today, for just $449, you could invest in a family heirloom that will, no doubt, serve as a cherished reminder of the Savior each Christmas for generations to come. Not only will your purchase today be a special gift for your family, but it will also help us spread the spirit of the season to those who need it most. If you buy a nativity set as part of this fundraiser, you’ll be helping Mohammed, the families of the carvers he works with, and the orphans served by A Child’s Hope Foundation.
For this and so many more reasons, we believe that these custom-made nativity sets will be the greatest gift you can give this Christmas. We hope you’ll love yours as much as we love ours.
Sincerely, Tim and Paul
Contact
Feel free to contact us with any questions.