Desperation

While we were in Lebanon, we got to spend some time reaching out in ministry. Tommy and I went with a team to Horizon's newest ministry center. It didn't even have doors installed when we arrived but we still were going into the refugee camps to invite families to a service the following day. 

We split up into three groups, each with 20 vouchers for food. It was a drop in the bucket in meeting the needs, but it was all the space would hold. I was paired up with a Horizons teammate who could translate and off we went. 

 We were warmly welcomed into the first tent and began sharing a little. As we visited more and more people came in until the tent was overflowing. The original plan was to visit multiple tents passing out the vouchers but we didn't even have enough to give to the people in the first tent. Some of the people who didn't receive one became upset and it was difficult and heartbreaking to turn them away. 

 Empty handed, we were still welcomed into other tents and tried to share what we had in abundance- Christ's love. Some of the women teared up as we talked as I shared our loss and connected to the loss they've experienced. The losses are different, yet we understood each other's pain at the heart level. I asked what their husbands had done in Syria and explained how Tommy had dealt with death day in and out at a funeral home before realizing God was calling him to reach out and give life! 

I left wondering what would happen if there was a desperation for the Gospel as there had been for the food. How would things look if they truly had the bread of life that satisfies all hunger? I understand their desire to feed their children, but I also know a food handout is just a temporary short lasting fix. 

 The next week we returned to the same ministry center. This time there had been no vouchers, we just invited people to come for a service. We ran out of chairs. 

 A man came who had not been there the week before and he came expecting social services. He grew agitated asking where the doctors and food could be found. The leader shared that while there will be times they come to meet those needs, today they came to worship God and share about His love. The man chose to stay. 

 The message was in Arabic and I only got a very brief summary, but the story she shared was about Noah. This was chosen to begin the teaching process of showing how God has compassion and to begin the story set that will lead to Jesus. At the end of the service, he came up and thanked her for the message telling her they needed to hear more. 

He came desperate for care and he received it, just not in the way he'd imagined.

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