During the afternoon of October 11, 2025, more than 90 friends of Nazareth Project gathered at the River Exchange in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania to enjoy a fish fry and raise funds for the Nancy Martin Memorial Scholarship Fund. Nancy Martin was a nurse educator who spent nearly two decades of her life in Nazareth, Israel along with her husband, Dr. Bob Martin. 

Nancy and Bob had three assignments as medical missionaries serving in a variety of roles with the Nazareth Hospital and the Nazareth School of Nursing. During their last term (1987-1995), Dr. Nancy’s focus was on strengthening the School of Nursing academically and achieving accreditation with the Ministry of Education for its RN diploma program. Nancy Martin’s work laid the groundwork for the Arab Christian school’s baccalaureate degree program. 

Bob Martin, who was the husband of the late Nancy Martin, and their daughter, Karen Gish, hosted the event at their property overlooking the Susquehanna River. 

Local fisherman and friend of Bob Martin, Tom Knaub, initiated the fish fry and the Nazareth Project, Inc (NPI) sponsored the event. In recent years, Tom and Bob served together with a local community organization in York County, Pennsylvania. They both are active Christians and share a love of serving others. 

After Tom heard about the scholarship fund named for Nancy, he committed himself to raise funds to provide more scholarships. Prior to a fishing trip to Alaska this summer with his grandson, Tom told Bob that he wanted to donate his catch of Alaskan halibut to raise money for the Nancy Martin fund that was created after her death in 2019. 

After enjoying lively conversation around tables over a meal of catfish, mac and cheese, baked beans, salads and desserts; we heard brief presentations by Tom, Bob, Karen and her brother, Dr. Craig Martin, a physician in Kentucky. 

Tom told us fishing stories, noting that the catfish that we were eating was caught in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay. He shared the story of how he and his grandson, Thomas, had caught a halibut that weighed 103 pounds. “At first Thomas thought something had snagged because the line was so heavy,” Tom said. But, after working for 30 minutes, they landed the huge fish! Tom added, “Fishing in Alaska was great fun and it was especially exciting to know that the cleaned and frozen fish would raise money for nursing student scholarships in Nazareth.” 

Karen told us that her mother loved fishing. “My mom would be very happy to know that we are having a fish fry in her honor tonight.” Karen spoke about Nancy’s love of the people with whom she worked in Nazareth. “Achieving the results that she accomplished at the school gave her great Joy.” 

Craig expressed appreciation for those attending and for the many supporters of the fund named for his mother. He noted the importance of supporting the scholarship program. “The scholarships are given with love and are a real blessing for the students.” 

Bob acknowledged the great joy he was experiencing at the fish fry visiting with friends old and new, “The most important thing that I have to say this evening is to express gratitude and thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness and provisions over the past 60 years since Nancy and I began serving at the Nazareth Hospital. It is amazing to see how He has blessed the development of the Hospital and Nursing School over the years.” 

Bob continued: “I also wish to thank all of you who have made this delightful event possible even on a rainy evening, and for your generous support of the Nancy Martin Memorial Scholarship Fund for student nurses in Nazareth.” 

Bob ended the evening program with a prayer of blessing for the Nazareth School of Nursing and the nursing students. He also prayed that the pending ceasefire would bring a just and lasting peace to Israel and Gaza. Many attendees took a 1-2 pound portion of frozen Alaskan halibut home with them. 

The scholarship fund, created in 2019, is today an invested endowment with Everence Financial. Prior to the fish fry event, the fund had a balance of $265,000. Earlier, $40,000 had been distributed to the School of Nursing. Contributions are still coming in; however, the fish fry proceeds are estimated to be $30,000 – $35,000. 

A former NPI board member, David Hiebert, gave a significant boost to the fundraising when he announced a matching pledge of $10,000. The pledge propelled additional gifts and donors more than doubled David’s gift. 

Today under the leadership of the current director, Dr. Salam Hadid, the Nazareth Academic School of Nursing continues to expand and has the goal of reaching a student body of 450 students. The student body of the school is primarily Arab Israeli with 75% female students and 25% male students. The student’s religious affiliation is about 70% Muslim, 30% Christian and several Druze students. 

The school has two academic tracks for nursing students: a traditional BA in Nursing degree and a conversion option. In the latter, students with a BA degree in another field study nursing intensively to obtain their BA in Nursing. 

The School of Nursing was founded in 1924. Next month, the school will hold its centenary celebration. Postponed due to the Gaza war, the ceremony will highlight expanded facilities for students. Thanks to your support, Nazareth Project was able to obtain $1.15 million in USAID funding to equip the school and fund new classrooms and clinical skills labs.