See what they're saying about the ELCJHL Libraries Project...

One by one by one by one new English-language Library books are adding up to amazing things at our ELCJHL Schools!

As of today, more than 300 English-language books have made their way to our ELCJHL Schools in the West Bank, and another 200 books have been purchased and are waiting at Wartburg Theological Seminary until they can be brought over!

We wanted to share just a few of the pictures and stories from our students here, as well as from those of you who have sent us notes and photos.

Books here! Books there! Books, books everywhere!

Your stories and ours!

Recently, we talked with the Grade 9 class at Dar al-Kalima Evangelical Lutheran School in Bethlehem, and asked them what they thought about their new English-language library books:

"Thank you for donating books! This is a very good way to learn English well." - Taleen
"I would like to have more books about teenagers in our library." - Raza
"My favorite book is I Robot because it talks about what robots can do, and if they can help people."Nuran
"I love to read because it makes my English better!" - Nuran
"I would like to have more books in our library about American History. Thank you for donating books!" - Saleh
"I like the English language and I love to read so much!" - Carol
"I would like to read more books about action and comedy in our library." - Ramiz
"My favorite book is Matilda because it is so exciting and lovely." - Mariam
"I love to read because I want to improve my English and learn new vocabulary. May in the future, I will write some books." - Jane
"My favorite book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I like this book because when I read it was so excited to see what was going to happen next, and it is so easy to understand. J. K. Rowling is a genius writer." - Tamar

My Mom shared our home for the last year and a half as she sank deeper and deeper into the grasp of Alzheimer's. It was a very special time for all of us. Her favorite book has always been the Bible. When she died last month, we knew immediately that we wanted her memorials to go to the ELCJHL Libraries Project. It is a project full of so much hope and joy and promise and that is exactly what death and resurrection are for us! - Kathryn & Breck McHan (more than $1,000 in memorials, they asked that the teacher's most needed books be purchased first)

Dear Children of Palestine - [Pygmalion] has always been our favorite book and we hope you like it, too! - Stuart and Marilu Thomas (gave a 30-book classroom set of "Pygmalion")

Greetings from Anna, Illinois where right now it is 36 degrees F and bright and sunny!
I have just ordered three books for you and want to share why I picked these books.

"The Ramona Collection, Vol. 1" I chose this book because it is what my youngest son loved to read. He read the stories aloud to me as we would travel in the car. (It was almost the only time I could get him to read!)
"The Lion & the Mouse" I chose this book because it was one of my favorite stories growing up. When I traveled to India, they had pictures of this story on the wall, and were amazed that I could tell them the story! It was a great bonding experience!
"Dr. Seuss's ABCs" This book was chosen because the schools here are celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday this week, and just yesterday I went to a Kindergarten class and read a couple of his books!

I hope you enjoy these stories!
Salaam - Pastor Kathy Montira (ELCA)

Contact Us

Have your own photos and stories to share? Interested in more information or ideas in how you can get involved? Email us at communication@elcjhl.org!