Dearest Friends,
Joy!
I am in Lebanon and this gives me joy! It is such a sweet delight to be with my friends and hear how the Father has lovingly cared for them in so many difficult places as they have served the children. Their work with the Syrian refugees is surely a delight to our King!
For me, these stories are a blessing, but so heartbreaking! Yesterday, I saw pictures of Syrian refugees lined up at the border. They were carrying all they could on their backs or in their hands. It was so little of what was left of their former lives. You could see the desperation and exhaustion on their faces. The eyes of one little girl haunted me. In her face, I saw all the children’s hurt.
I also watched a video my puppet team had made about the children that come to their shows. They asked an important question: “What does it take to make a child smile?” As I saw the faces of the children at the shows, I saw that they had the answer. I heard so much laughter! Hold them in your prayers!
Sorrow!
Sorrow helps us to see joy. This is a place where these 2 friends are the constants of life. Wonderfully, children come to faith and discover joy. In the same day, a believer gives up his life for Jesus and though he tastes joy, his friends know sorrow. There is great sorrow here as there is so much loss, but always Jesus offers hope.
My friends and I are working together to provide a place for refugee children to receive an education, but more importantly, it is a place where they can find hope. His name is Jesus! My friends Mahfood and Georgiana are sad that others do not see the children. At Christmas, their small house fellowship found a way to sacrificially provide all of the refugee children they serve with the gifts they dreamed about. A little boy wanted a plane, one a truck, and a little girl wanted a doll. One wanted shoes and some wanted clothes because they were cold. Childhood is the first casualty of war.
Often the children ask my friends the same question. They want to know why they love them so much? My friends always have the same answer. They tell them that God has put this love in their hearts.
Love!
Please help me show these children the love of Jesus. Again the center is short of money for food. We can be a blessing. The children have very little food and the 2 meals a week that these children are receiving at the center are a big gift. Please help me. It costs $160 a day to feed 135 children a meal. They receive so much more because each meal comes with the wonderful stories of Jesus. Thursday, they fed only 2 classes because they were out of funds. We have an immediate need. Please pray and help these children whom others do not see.
In Jesus, Linda