MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Syrian refugee children sit on mattresses at an abandoned school where food and shelter are provided by a local charity in Wadi Khaled area, northern Lebanon. (Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)

Christian Aid Mission – “You’ve read about the politics of the Syria/Lebanon situation in the news and media, and now here is your report from a ministry leader working among the Syrian refugees and muslim host families in Lebanon.

‘There are many Syrian refugees in Lebanon escaping from the turmoil in their home country. I can understand why our government will not want to share what is really happening in northern Lebanon.

I have been involved in the relief ministry among the Syrian refugees with a group of local believers since the first of June 2011. We are still involved in ministering to the Syrian refugees. We are also supporting the Lebanese families who are hosting the refugees, since they are also facing a difficult economic situation due to the border closing with Syria.

The numbers of refugees has varied since the problems started in Syria. The official estimates were from 5,000 to 7,000 refugees. When we started to minister among them, we could identify around 1,600 Syrian families located in 16 villages.

As we were distributing Bibles, food and clothing, many Syrian men returned to their homes in Syria since they felt that the danger had ceased and they needed to make an income to support their families. When conditions grew worse again, they wanted to return to Lebanon but the Syrian troops had already closed the borders. Many of those who returned to Syria could not get back into Lebanon when the fighting started up again, and consequently many women and children are separated from their husbands/fathers.

We have hundreds of families to help. They live in a difficult situation because even the men who stayed in Lebanon cannot find work in northern Lebanon, and the Lebanese host families have very limited resources to support them.

The most essential need in these days is the ability to support the Syrian refugees and the Lebanese host families during the winter season. It is very cold these days in northern Lebanon. Most of these people do not have enough winter clothes, blankets, or carpets.

We are the only ministry supporting the Lebanese host families, as well as the Syrians. Now that the border with Syria is closed, the Lebanese host families are in a bad economic situation because these families had lived on an income from smuggling fuel, food items, and other things out of Syria and selling them in Lebanon for a higher price.

Some of the Syrian refugees are staying with Christian families, but the majority of the villages on the border are Sunni Muslim, thus most of the refugee families are living with Muslim Sunnis. This gives us wide open doors to reach both the Lebanese Muslim host families and the Syrian refugees who are living with them.’

Prayer requests:

1. Pray for these hurting people, as their loved ones have been killed and most of their homes and belongings are gone. We are helping the refugee families with clothing ($6 each), a couple of blankets ($2 each), and a carpet for sleeping ($6 each).

2. Pray for the children who are no longer in school. They cannot go to schools in Lebanon because the local schools have no place for them, and they don’t have the money to pay for the tuition fees, books, and stationery.

3. Pray that the people who accepted the gospel message will remain in the faith and grow as they follow Jesus. Pray that more people will receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. For our evangelistic outreach, presently we need 1,000 New Testaments ($4 each), 300 Bibles ($8.50 each), audio resources (MP3 Bibles in Arabic – these have been provided), and 500 picture Bibles for children ($7 each).

4. Pray for the local believers in the northern part of Lebanon who are serving the refugees and sacrificing their time and money. Their efforts often prevent them from their normal means of making a living. We have two local believers involved full-time in this ministry. They need $500/month for the next several months to offset what they would normally be earning.

5. Pray for jobs for the Christian refugees. Some of those who fled from Syria are believers who were being persecuted. As Scripture states, when one member suffers, we all suffer with them. The believers who are fleeing Syria have left everything behind. At best, most will only be able to find menial labor in Lebanon. There is a role for us in taking care of these brothers and sisters who are in need.

6. Pray for the women and children whose husband/fathers have been killed or are still in Syria. Pray that we will know how to show them the love of Christ.

7. Pray that the Holy Spirit will draw thousands of Syrian refugees and Lebanese to Christ. We know God is sovereign. We know He cares for Muslims. We observe countries in the Middle East going through great upheaval. We do not yet see many Muslims turning to Christ. But maybe the long turmoil in Syria is God’s way of beginning to bring this about. Could it be that the refugees from Syria will be what God uses to break open the heart of Islam? If so, we are helping those who are on the frontlines.'”

To help provide relief for Syrian refugees fleeing into northern Lebanon, visit Christian Aid Mission’s website here.