A bequest which opened
the Society’s eyes
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The staff of
the Lebanon Bible Society were surprised
and delighted recently when a lady rang to inform them that her late
mother had bequeathed the money remaining in her bank account when she
died to the Bible Society. Although the money was not a huge amount
(about US$500), the complete story came as something of a revelation
to them.
“In the Middle East, there are few pension
plans to help the elderly so they usually end up dependent on their
children for support in retirement,” explained Mike Bassous, the Society’s
Deputy General Secretary.
“If they have managed to accumulate wealth
during their working years, they usually leave their children everything.
Writing wills and leaving legacies has not been common in this part
of the world until now.”
The woman, Josephine Shehadeh, a Christian
and a church elder, had heard of and had prayed for the Bible Society
during the last few years of her life. According to her daughter, she
remembered all the stories she heard about Bible distribution and left
clear instructions that the balance of her bank account should go to
support the work.
“This has opened our eyes to new opportunities,”
said Mr Bassous. “Legacies have been on our minds for quite some time
now, but we couldn’t come up with a working formula to fit the mentality
of our community. Mrs Shehadeh has proved us wrong! We thank God for her
dedicated life, her love for the Bible, and for offering us this new possibility
in supporting the Bible cause.” (WR 368/5 - 6.02)
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