BIG POWERS PLAY ON A LITTLE BOARD

Whilst there is stuff going on all across our Area at the moment – camps, teams, festivals, routine meetings and work – I know that the thoughts of most of us are with our staff in Lebanon and with the young people and families that they minister to. Many are praying, so the following, which came in from John Sagherian (our National Director) on Wednesday, will help to inform your prayers. Feel free to share this with your church and any prayer groups you are involved in.

“26 July 2006The 15th day of the war on Lebanon...The last day of our scheduled camp – right now we would be praising God for all the new Christians – for now we’ve only postponed the camp, not canceled it...The last day of evacuating Americans from Lebanon ...And still no sight of a cease fire!It’s been relatively quiet where we live, yet yesterday as a group of our volunteers were meeting in our center to plan how we can do something for the refugees, Israel bombed the southern suburbs, again. We jumped, windows rattled, car alarms went off; I wonder what it does to people much closer.Over the weekend Israel bombed four telecommunications relay stations for TV and the cellular phone system. One of them where a technician was killed, is located right next to a conference center which lost all its windows and its doors were blown out. Was it only a few weeks ago that YFC staff were there? We led some sessions in a leadership training weekend sponsored by World Vision. There is a good chance that Israel will cut off all TV, telephone and internet communications.Also, over the weekend, the Israelis bombed more bridges. The highest bridge in the Middle East just completed last year is on the road from Beirut to the Beqaa valley in the east. It’s a beautiful construction that we were proud of and which helped make our trip faster to the school where Scott has a club and we both do assemblies. Last week they bombed it and made it useless. This weekend they hit it again, and again, until one side fell into the valley. Why? Did the pilots need target practice?It is reported that there are 700,000 displaced people (out of our population of 4 million). Refugees who have escaped their homes in the suburbs of Beirut or the south of the country have fled further into Beirut or up into the mountains. They are being put up in schools, underground parking lots, breaking into empty apartments, wherever they can find space. The humanitarian problems are only just beginning. High humidity, tension, fear and boredom are not a good combination. Our staff want to do something for some of the young people in some of these shelters. Our contacts in some of these places forbid us to talk about Christ – they’re Shiites. May they see Christ in us, our attitudes, our smiles.The fighting is intense in the south of the country so it’s been relatively quiet where we live. We suspect though that there may be some kind of agreement until the evacuation of thousands has been completed. The death count in Lebanon is at 410, most of them civilians. Our seas are polluted because of the oil from the electricity power plant that was bombed south of Beirut. Hizbullah continues to send their rockets into Israel and neither side is inclined to stop. Lebanon continues to burn, and is on a steep slippery slope to economic ruin. Today’s Beirut daily, “The Daily Star” had as it’s headline, “Light at the End of the Tunnel?” The question mark at the end is the most significant part of the headline. We heard that Israel is getting a new supply of what they term smart bombs, I guess so far we’ve been hit by stupid ones!People are scared. Streets empty by mid-afternoon. Canned food is disappearing from supermarket shelves, prices are slowly climbing and some medicine is hard to find. For many it’s the unknown that is unnerving. We are preparing based on our experience of the war of the 80’s. Things are different this time. You could shelter in the basement or heavily sandbag a room. F-16 fighter jets do the kind of damage that keeps people from heading for the basement. It would be like going to the basement at the beginning of an earthquake. I hate that little kids are going through this. I hate that teenagers have had confirmed some of the hopelessness for their future here. And yet, God is sovereign and in control. On Monday 15 people from our church gathered in our home to pray, for the leaders, for Lebanon, for ourselves, our feelings, thoughts. Everybody was so blessed we’re getting together again on Thursday. “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock in whom I take refuge.” (Psalm 18: 1,2) So please pray with us:
1. Continue to thank God for our safety, for the continued possibility to communicate by phone and internet, for water and electricity;
2. For all the leaders involved. As I said before may they make peace and justice their priority;
3. For the thousands of refugees. May they be comforted, not be filled with hatred and bitterness;
4. For the Christians, the churches. May we be able to reach out to the refugees with tangible expressions of God’s love;
5. For the southern Christian village of Rmeish. It’s cut off from everybody, it’s 5,000 population has quadrupled by refugees from neighboring Muslim villages, and they have little water and very little food left. Maher from our staff comes from Rmeish and last year YFC volunteers went down there on a Project Serve and painted the homes of three very poor families;
6. For the group going to the States to attend DCLA. Seven of the 10 teenagers are still here and with Scott and Karen they need to leave for Damascus to fly out of there; one is in Jordan, another in Dubai and a third in Holland. Since it was originally a group fare, the orders and new arrangements need to come out of United Airlines headquarters in Chicago (know anyone there?)
Thank you for your prayers for Jay. It has helped him focus on his responsibilities with N. Ireland YFC. He says it’s going very well.In His palm,John, Nancy and Thia”