Situated on the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon is surrounded by Syria, Israel, and Jordan. We are in a land frequently mentioned in the Bible. King David built his house from Cedar trees from this area. We are a one hour drive away from the towns of Tyre and Sidon, which Jesus mentions in Matthew 11:21.
This is the only country in the Middle East with religious freedom. As a result, many people come here to learn Arabic and prepare for mission work in the surrounding closed countries. Sixty percent of the population are Muslim and 36% are Christian. Catholics make up 21% and Protestants 1% of the population.
In this small country of 6 million people, an estimated one-third of the population is refugees from Syria who have come within the last 8 years. Especially in Beirut, the capital, there are many immigrants from Armenia, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
In this diverse culture, we were pleasantly surprised to almost fit in. This is the first country where several of my teammates (the ones with darker hair) were asked, “How many years have you lived here?” For some reason though, my blond hair gives me away. The moment I step onto streets, I am bombarded with offers of a taxi. Regardless of the fact that I just stepped off a bus!
There are also many people of Armenian descent who have lived here since the Armenian genocide in 1915. They still call themselves Armenian and fly their country’s flag. The region our ministry site is in is call “Little Armenia”. We have been to several churches where 4th and 5th generation Armenians still hold services in the Armenian language, not Arabic. In this Christian enclave, you wouldn’t know you are in a majority Muslim country—all the people here are at least nominally Christian, and many people wearing cross necklaces and carrying rosaries with them.
The ministry we are partnering with works with Syrian refugees. We have helped at an elementary school in Beirut for refugee children. The staff explained to us that the public school system here is unreliable and private schools are too expensive for refugees, so it is nearly impossible for refugee kids to get a decent education. They are an openly Christian school offering education to a majority Muslim people group. Many kids come to Christ and bring their families to faith. The school is able to accept these kids from desperately poor families by offering people in the States the opportunity to sponsor each child on a monthly basis. They can even write letters to their sponsor kid. Let me know if you are interested in sponsoring a child at this school, and I can send you more information!
We have also gotten to go to villages to visit refugees still living in temporary shelters. We have helped at programs for children of Syrian refugees who were born here, and have never had access to a school.
My favorite ministry has been doing house visits. We go with someone from the ministry who is familiar with the refugee family, and hear their life stories. We then share Bible stories or answer questions they have about Jesus. These families are mostly Muslims, but have been to Bible studies, children programs, or church services. Our hosts explained to us that they are careful not to argue about religions. They simply share the love of Jesus and what He has done for them.
Here’s my team, Ohana, and one of the other teams, Hanifi, at our ministry site.
Lebanese national bread. They say it is shaped like a purse. It is filled with cheese, meat, or vegetables.
Please pray for:
The Syrian refugees here who still live in destitute poverty with little access to healthcare or education.
The ministry we are working with this month, who are making a huge impact in the life of these refugees.
My team and squad as we spend 8 more days here and then fly to Jordan, our last month of the Race.
