The Bible Society participated in the Antelias Book  Fair - Lebanon, organized by the Antelias Cultural  Movement, from March 6 -16, 2003. It was a busy  time  for all Bible Society staff as they prepared the  stock items for this book fair, which was and still is  one  of the best exhibitions held in Lebanon. The   Bible  Society's participation in this book fair dates  back to around two decades; it has become a  pleasant  tradition to be there!

The book fair was officially opened on the 6th of March by the Minister of Education, Mr. Ghassan Salameh, who toured the exhibition center and stopped briefly at each book stand. His visit was accompanied by the media, who, in turn, interviewed most of the publishers present at the exhibition. Bible Society took advantage of this media exposure to promote Bible World in addition to the various Scriptures available. This was evident when many people called the Bible Society Center requesting information about Bible World after the various television stations aired the interviews. We thank God for this opportunity.

 In the next ten days, Bible Society staff had their hands full, serving the thousands of visitors who passed through the book fair; it was almost impossible to walk into the Bible Society stand during peak hours. Many schools arranged morning visitations for their students, which was an opportunity to promote the Children Bibles and Scriptures.

 This year's book fair also featured the first-time usage of the Point of Sale system - a computerized system that issues printed invoices for Bible Society  customers in a matter of seconds. The POS system assisted in providing up-to-date reports, served as a stock-replenishment indicator, and helped in achieving accuracy in code numbers, selling prices, discounts and reporting the Bible Society's diversified stock items.

 By the end of the busy ten days, the result was a 38% increase in sales compared to last year's. More than 1,600 Scriptural publications were distributed during these ten days. But the striking conclusion was the sharp increase in Bible and New Testament sales, which had gone up by 56% and 86% respectively! This was a clear indicator that people were thirsty for the Word of God, and still are!

 Although the sales during this book fair had retreated in the previous years, it has clearly regained this year due to a combination of several factors, such as the sales offers, Bible Society staff's motivation to achieve the set target, and many other minor influences, such as the war in Iraq. The sales offers of some of the slow moving items contributed a lot to the increased distribution; the effort and willingness of the staff was another key to the success; but most importantly, what was achieved was an answer to the many who have prayed for this exhibition. God gave us the strength and the opportunity to serve Him again through this exhibition. God blessed us enormously and we thank Him for that!