Syria Situation Report from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/pda/syria-situation-report022412/

On the Mediterranean Sea

General update...

I have now been in Lebanon for over a month and I just want to give everyone a practical update about how I am and what my days are like.  As far as the work goes, honestly, the first month has been a bit scattered. I have been between two different organizations, meeting many new people, being assigned many different odd jobs, trying to understand the politics of working in organizations that are reliant on donations, often from European countries, and mostly asking God how I can be most useful in this time and place.  Now I understand more than I did a month ago, but I still have a lot to learn and will need more time to really settle in to my work.  However, I must say that I am most thankful that not a day goes by without some little adventure and many new things learned. 

In my free time I go running or walking by the sea which is about a ten minute walk from my place. I read on the long bus rides across Beirut.  For those of you who always want to know what I’m reading, the current book is “Dr. Zhivago” and I’m liking it a lot.  I’m picking up lots of new Arabic words here and there and thinking about signing up for a class though the thought of adding something like that to my schedule now is a bit overwhelming.  We’ll see.  I’m also trying to spend time with my grandparents every week.  They live in a suburb of Beirut called “Sabtieh” and usually I spend one or two nights a week at their place.  I enjoy the constant smell of Jedo’s hookah and watching Turkish soap operas with my Teta.  Also enjoying my old friends from the year I studied abroad in Lebanon and meeting new people as well.  I have settled into my place well and really love my room and my quiet time though I miss my little brother, Elie, walking into my room all the time.  Yes, I miss Elie, that is the biggest problem in Lebanon!

Honestly, this is a crazy place as everyone who has been here knows.  The smell in Beirut is awful, the bus drivers stop to get themselves coffee and cigarettes while the passengers sit waiting in the bus and you find bombed out buildings crumbling next to brand new hotels.  I never get bored here.  And sometimes at just the right time of day, the sun floods in between the cracks of those buildings and a warm fresh wind blows in off the sea and I can understand why people still want to come back after all its done to them.

I have found an English-speaking church called “All Saints” which I can walk to and I enjoy going to sing familiar hymns and hear the message.  In everything I do, whether it is in work or church or relationships, my goal is to know more about God’s love and share it with other people.  Please pray that in whatever I do, my heart is bound to this commandment.  And continue in your prayers for Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, peace in the Middle East, in all the world, in all our hearts…it will come.

Pity the Nation

by Lebanese poet, Khalil Gibran...

Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave,
eats a bread it does not harvest,
and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.

Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero,
and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.

Pity a nation that despises a passion in its dream,
yet submits in its awakening.

Pity the nation that raises not its voice
save when it walks in a funeral,
boasts not except among its ruins,
and will rebel not save when its neck is laid
between the sword and the block.

Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox,
whose philosopher is a juggler,
and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.

Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpeting,
and farewells him with hooting,
only to welcome another with trumpeting again.

Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years
and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into into fragments,
each fragment deeming itself a nation

Distribution of food portions and diapers with Heart for Lebanon

Iraqi Women's Bible Study

Psalm 111

Praise the Lord! 

I will praise the Lord with my whole heart.

In the assembly of the upright

And in the congregation.

The works of the Lord are great,

Studied by all who have pleasure in them.

His work is honorable and glorious,

And His righteousness endures forever.

He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.

He has given food to those who fear Him;

He will ever be mindful of His covenant.

He has declared to His people the power of His works.

In giving them the heritage of the nations.

The works of His hands are verity and justice;

All His precepts are sure.

They stand fast forever and ever,

And are done in truth and uprightness.

He has sent redemption to His people;

He has commanded His covenant forever;

Holy and awesome is His name.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.

His praise endures forever.

Today, the gathering opened with a reading of Psalm 111.  The Iraqi women’s Bible study group meets every Monday morning.  The Bible studies are led by staff from an organization called Heart for Lebanon which I mentioned in an earlier post about the organizations that I am working with.  The women’s group meets every Monday morning but only gathers at the Our Lady Dispensary twice a month while on the other two Mondays, the group meets in one of the ladies’ homes.  I have felt so blessed to have the chance to participate in these gatherings.  As we read and discuss the Bible, share in joy and pain as the body of Christ and pray over it with overflowing eyes and hearts, I feel a deep spirit moving through the room.  As a woman excitedly calls out the name of the next hymn she would like us to sing and the room fills with a loud joyful call to our Lord, my heart begins to tremble in awe of God’s enduring presence.  After prayer and hymns, we moved on to read and discuss the following verse:

1 Thessalonians 5

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.  For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.  And they shall not escape.  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief.  You are all sons of light and sons of the day.  We are not of the night nor of darkness.  Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.  For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.  Be at peace among yourselves.

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.  See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Syria's hope?

When I attended the conference on trauma a couple weeks ago, we began the conference by going around the group and sharing a symbol of trauma.  At the end of the conference we each shared a symbol of hope in our lives.  The group of attendees was a mix of Lebanese and Syrians.  One of the Syrians, a Christian man from the Syrian Orthodox church in Damascus, shared a poster of Assad, the president of Syria and shared that he hopes he will regain control of Syria because that is the hope for the safety of Christians.  I always find it interesting to hear personal perspectives about the situation because we are getting many mixed messages in the news about which is the "good" or "bad" side.  After sharing our symbols of hope, we each placed them together on the table.  Above, I have attached a picture of the table and you can find the picture of Assad.

Don't stop praying for Syria...

Everyday, I have the freedom to safely travel to work, the grocery store, to my friend's home or just out for a walk by the sea.  I am living in Lebanon, perhaps only a one-hour drive to Syria's border, and still, because my daily life is so comfortable, I am easily consumed by it and forget to think about and pray for my neighbors as I should.  The following is an e-mail that I got this morning from a friend of my family whose family is in Syria.  Please read this personal account of one family's situation and remember that there are too many more.  Remember Syria and our Christian brothers and sisters every time you pray and I will try to do the same.

 

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). 

 

Dear friends,

 

Hope you are doing well.

 

My mother, sister and her family live in the hot area of Homs district in a predominant Christian area called “the Christian Valley.” They are less than 2 miles from the famous Crusaders castle, Krak des Chevaliers (https://sn2prd0202.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=b7jGPaMRREmDWuQ3ZGVA3AdYtTM6uM4I8KN7a3MDtT0Nuu6nykp_YJ2g5v0EOZVXJLJgF_DN8ds.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fKrak_des_Chevaliers)

 

I was on the phone this morning with my mom and sister. I am sad to tell you that Jihadists armed groups have controlled the Krak des Chevaliers now. They are also issuing calls for Jihad from the mosque next to the Krak. I also just heard from the news that three police men from the town police station were slaughtered. All three police men are Muslims. I asked mom, sister and her family to come to Lebanon, but they insist of staying at home. People in the area are so worried and children are so scared. Your prayers are much appreciated. Thank you.

 

The last three days have seen unprecedented violence in Syria. Militant groups are using all means to force the UN security Council to intervene and it seems that the one way to do that is by raising up the level of bloodshed and chaos in Syria.

 

LORD, have mercy!

 

With best regards,

Yours truly,

Leaders of the "Arab Spring" arrest Egyptian comic for insulting Islam...again the oppressed become the oppressors in the cycle of ignorance and violence

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Feb-02/161948-adel-imam-sentenced-for-insulting-islam.ashx#axzz1lJLV9DWE

Winter Carpet and Blanket Distribution for Iraqis at the Our Lady Dispensary

Iraqi Women's Bible Study

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.  If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed for the spirit of glory and of God rests on you.  If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.  However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”      -1 Peter 4: 12-16

This morning I gathered with the Iraqi women’s Bible study group.  The subject was the verse above.  The Bible study was in Arabic, of course, so there were many words that I didn’t know, but I was able to follow and take some notes.  The message of this passage was very interesting to discuss in a room full of refugees, especially when many of them have been or directly know someone who has been persecuted because of their Christian faith.  When the leader asked for prayer requests, one of the women shared the story of a man who passed away last week.  Both of his sons were kidnapped in Iraq.  One of them was returned but the other is still missing and no one knows where he is or what has happened to him.  This missing son has six children.  They described that this man passed away from the stress of what is happening to his family.  Please join us in keeping this family in your prayers, especially now pray that the missing son will be returned to safety with his family.  The other prayer request, which is shared by all Iraqi refugees, is for the United Nations to approve them for immigration to the United States or other European countries.  Whenever someone receives the news that they have been approved, they come excitedly to the center to tell everyone and they are met with applause and congratulations.   

In discussing the scripture above, we focused on the truth that God uses Peter to both warn and prepare Christians for the troubles and persecutions that will come.  He doesn’t tell us that everything will be great and easy for us as Christians.  He tells us and those earliest Christians, in the same breath, that there will be difficult times.  We must reflect on this and prepare our hearts and our faith so that it will endure trials.  We also discussed that it is okay for us to cry and have sadness when we experience tragedies and difficult times just as Jesus wept.  However, the blessing of being a Christian is that through all circumstances, people from the outside should be able to see the joy and strength of a heart that belongs to God.  Above all, from this Bible study, I took the message that as Christians we must not turn our backs on God and lose faith when we go through difficult times because that is when we most need the strength of the Lord and the gift of faith and peace and hope is a most beautiful miracle in our lives.