When we read the news, we are often left without context to discern and understand what’s really happening on the ground. We are committed to helping you to pray with understanding as we collect personal testimonies from ministry partners around the Middle East. The following update from a friend and colleague in Lebanon will hopefully assist you to pray for God’s purpose for the nation of Lebanon as it comes out of the current conflict.
The news are reporting about more than a million displaced people in Lebanon as a result of the war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Over one million people (nearly a fifth of the whole population of Lebanon) is not just a number. In reality each victim has a father, a mother, a husband or a wife, children etc… We are talking about one million people displaced, so let’s reflect on the fact that each one has lost a home, a family member, their business, their memories and practically their whole life. Are we talking about the pain and trauma they’re going through? How not to let these people become just numbers?
” What we are going through is a time of complete chaos when the war is not our war. Many people don’t realize that Hezbollah is not Lebanon and Lebanon is not Hezbollah. Many of the displaced have nothing to do with Hezbollah and in fact many Christians had to flee the Christian villages they were living in…What helps me with my struggle is actually talking to people as each story hits home. I heard the story of a father who pitched a tent with his 4 year old boy pretending to be on vacation so that the child doesn’t deal with the trauma of being homeless. I heard another story of a lady who has 4 children under 8 and who spent 3 days on the road to arrive to the shelter…
And I can tell story after story”, – shares a leader of a Christian Lebanese NGO that we are partnering with.
TM ministry focuses on serving the people of Lebanon, through providing critical aid, education, vocational training, spiritual and psychosocial services support and livelihoods.
At this critical time, TM ministry rose to support those who have come into their areas. With the help of many volunteers, they are cooking between 400 and 500 meals a day to feed the displaced. They are providing mattresses, blankets and pillows, drinking water containers and various hygiene items.
The TM team started to set up cooking units in some of the shelters so people can start cooking for themselves; a burner, a propane bottle and 2 big pots that can serve to cook 150 meals each were delivered to centres with enough raw material to cook for a week. The cooking supplies are delivered to the shelters every week.
The shelters are mainly public schools that have opened their doors to host more people than their capacity can allow. The shelters have no access to water and no showers which is a huge problem as many skin diseases can erupt.
Another big concern is education; since public schools are occupied by the displaced, kids cannot go to schools anymore and UNICEF has estimated that 400,000 kids have been displaced from the South with no access to education.
With a non-functioning government, people rely heavily on non profits. TM has started to rehearse the problem and look for ways to help some of the kids not lose their year.
How can you pray?
Pray for harvest and salvation to come and that a new Lebanon will come out of this tribulation. A Lebanon that is free from Iran’s grips.
Pray for TM team and all those who share Hope with the people of Lebanon, to be encouraged and strengthened as they minister the needy and the hopeless in this hour.
If you’d like to support the TM ministry, please contact us directly at crossroadsmeconference@gmail.com and we will make sure to connect you.