My Hope

  I’m sorry we haven’t posted much lately.    We first encountered the flu and it hit every member of the family and then shortly after most of us were recovering from that 3  of us got a virus.    Pray that the last 2 (Maddie and Hannah) stay healthy and don’t get it.    I think we were more susceptible because our immune systems were down, but also because we it was a bug that our bodies haven’t built up immunities for as children so we felt completely wiped out.    Thankfully we’re almost back to normal (our health- still not our personalities).    As I was spending time praying and upset that I wasn’t out ‘doing’ ministry, God reminded me of Paul’s speech in Acts 17.     24  "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;    25  neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself g...

  I know what we’re doing isn’t normal or rational.     I’m aware that it doesn’t make sense to people back home any more than it makes sense to the people here.    Many people here though make assumptions about what we’re doing though as there are many non profit organizations working in the area providing humanitarian aid and Horizons also distributes food as money is given, though for Horizons it isn't the primary focus.    Yesterday we were visiting a woman we’ve seen on a number of occasions who has been very open to the Gospel and a neighbor came over to join us.    She appeared deep in thought but was looking in my direction, so I inquired what she was thinking about.    She replied that she wanted to know why I had come (to live here).    I get it.    While my Arabic has improved by leaps and bounds over the last year, I still struggle to keep up with a rate of normal conversation.    Let’s face...

  Christ mas quickly came and just recently went.  In Lebanon, two Christmas dates are celebrated as there is a large Armenian population.  Traditionally, they celebrate on the 12th day of Christmas (January 6th).   Tommy recently posed the question, like the Who's, would we still celebrate if we woke up to nothing on Christmas morning?  Is it Christmas without a ham and sweet potato casserole?  Is it Christmas without a platter of goodies?  Is it Christmas without caroling?  What about the gifts? What was your perspective this Christmas?   My perspective of things changed after moving from Beirut to the Beqaa.  I understood the protests and yet, I didn't.  What had been frustrations when the power went out daily at 10 am and 6 pm became heightened when we moved here, and I couldn't figure out when to run a load of laundry with a constant flow of power.  And running a heater at the same time as the washing machine is really iff...

  Here's a picture of our new town. Part of the mountain juts out from where I was standing and would block the view of our building, but we live outside of the town to the right. The protests here are continuing and there seems to be no sign of a new government forming anytime soon.  It's making things difficult economically for everyone and many people are losing their jobs or getting half pay. We talked to our director and told him that if we would be putting our children in danger by moving during this time, we would wait it out in Beirut.  But if it was only going to be difficult moving to a smaller town (because supplies won't reach them as quickly, the road there has been frequently closed during the protest, etc) we weren't trying to avoid troubles.   No one seemed to be worried about danger for us, just difficulties.  So, we have moved!   Just in the week here, we have seen some of the struggles they spoke of, all of the atm's in town have been out...

  Some of the events of the past two weeks have seemed surreal.  We have been heartbroken and confused at the treatment of our Kurdish allies.  I realize that some people have been surprised by our outspokenness about the current events on social media.  Let me share that the people who we have been ministering to for the past three and a half years are also friends with us online.  If we are silent as their families face this, what does that say to them?  We do not want to add to the division already in existence in America, but we feel we must be a voice for them (as many fear voicing their fears could jeopardize future citizenship).   We have told them again and again that God loves them, and we love them.  Those are not just empty words.  We truly do love them and our hearts ache for and with them.  What then does love look like when things become difficult?  How can that love be clear when we are now an ocean apart?  Later...

  The street we live on.   The atmosphere in our neighborhood changed today and I’m not sure what to do.    The government here is cracking down on Syrian workers in hopes they’ll return to Syria.    The majority of the Syrians here are illegally employed.    Most of the families in our neighborhood are refugees and some ran stores here.    We can help make sure some of the people we know have enough income to feed their families, but overall, it’s barely a dent in the bucket.    I don’t have the connections, language or know-how to change the politics of a country neither of us belong to, simply reside in.    Since I’m being blunt and honest, I have to admit, I feel guilty that my presence is welcome here even though I’m even more of a foreigner here than they are, but my citizenship affords privileges I didn’t earn.    I wonder if I even made an impact in the way people think about refugees in my own count...

  Learning language and culture has a way of keeping one humble.  If you struggle with pride, I highly recommend giving it a try.  The smartest person can quickly be reduced to a vocabulary on level with a toddler.   We knew we'd make some mistakes and thought we'd share so you could get a chuckle too.   Tommy started having a conversation in the elevator with a neighbor and they asked where he worked.  He shared that he works for the 'kersay'.  Seeing a puzzled look on his face he attempted to say it again more clearly.  Finally our neighbor asked if he could please just tell him in English and chuckled as Tommy told him he works for the church.  It was then that Tommy realized 'kersay' is an upholstered chair; 'keneesay' is church. I was having a conversation with a group of women from Horizons and thought I heard one of them say to the other 'Happy Birthday'.  While there is an Arabic phrase, many people just use English and sing the ...