International Ministries

Serving Amid Crisis

August 9, 2006 Journal by Dan Chetti
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It's been more than twenty days since war broke out between Hezbollah and Israel. Last week was relatively quiet in and around Beirut. Most of the fighting is centered in the South of the country. Tyre, Sidon, Qana, and Nazareth the towns where Jesus ministered centuries back have now become infamous for death and destruction. Many Lebanese believe Qana is the place cited in John: 2 where Jesus performed the first miracle of turning water into wine. The Israeli bombing on Sunday morning killed 55 people, and 37 of them were children. Lament for Qana as the water has been turned into blood. Violence and wars never produced lasting Peace; as our Lord said, "those who live by the sword die by the sword" (Matthew 26). This is a message for Hezbollah as well as Israel.

Most businesses in Beirut are still closed, or working just for a few hours. With the result many Lebanese are not receiving full wages and life has become tough. It's been particularly hard on migrant workers, maids who are imported, and Sudanese refugees. One of the reasons why many of these poor folks are refusing to be evacuated is because, either their employees are withholding their passports (which is a common practice here) or, they are owed so much back pay they can never imagine returning home without that money.

Friday 28 July: Took my car for repairs. The garage is owned by a Maronite Catholic (George). One of his mechanics is Orthodox, and the other Shia (Hassan). The owner has a summer home in the mountains, in his ancestral village. As usual, at the height of summer most Lebanese try to escape the heat in the plains, move up to their ancestral homes in the mountains. When the bombs started falling on Hassan's neighborhood Dahia, George evacuated an entire exited family of Hassan (about 20 people) and put them up in his empty apartment in Achrafieh, a Christian District not being hit by Israelis. Such acts of kindness and solidarity are commonly seen between the various religious groups in Lebanon. There are many Muslims, mostly Shia, who are now living and moving freely in Christian districts. In many ways I see greater unity among all the Lebanese (Muslim, Christian, Druze: a total of 18 different factions) since the onset of war with Israel. This is a very good sign for a fractured nation like Lebanon. But the longer the war goes on, greater are the chances of rupture of old wounds. Many Lebanese feel Israel will be only too happy to see Lebanon disintegrate into a civil war. Arabs say Israel survives best when it is in a state of war and siege. That's been the history of Israel for the past 60 years.

I made some calls to Church members who are unable to come to Mansourieh to worship. These are mostly older Lebanese. I prayed over the phone and assured them we had not forgotten them. We delivered food parcels to 2 families, which we got from our Seminary. (Our Mission, International Ministries made a large donation to our Seminary towards the relief of people hit by war)

Saturday 29 July: A young Druze convert (Jamila, not her name) came to spend a day in our home. She is going through particularly bad patch with debilitating arthritis, and going through a messy divorce. She enjoys spending time with Sarah. Her best therapy is cooking, which she does with great abandon in our home! We have had great Lebanese meals lately! Made some telephone calls to members who are far flung and not able to attend on Sundays. They are mostly elderly.

Sunday 30th July: Had a great worship service and had about 30 people (with kids) attend the service. We met at our lawn for pot luck lunch. "Meetin & eatin" are something we do well as Baptists but in these troubled times meeting around the Word and sharing around the table is all the more appreciated. Towards the end we had two surprise guests. Our neighbor friend, a Jordanian believer married to a Swede, working for the Arabic Christian Television station Sat 7, decided to return to Lebanon. The Canadian Embassy is running a ferry service (just for 7 days we were told?) between Cyprus and port of Juneh (Christian port of town). He was already out the country when the war broke, but felt he must return to do some freelance work. He was accompanied by George---a news reportor from Pat Robertson's T.V. station 700 Club. George used our computer to dispatch/download/uplink some dispatches. He is planning on going down to Sidon and further south next day!

Sunday night I received a note from Cyprus from a friend. She was part of the Emergency Assessment Team from regional office of World Vision. She wanted me and a few others who are still in Lebanon to send names of churches and individuals who are willing, able, to directly channel funds and help those who are displaced by war.

Monday 31st July: attended the prayer vigil in our chapel. There were some Muslims, who are staying in our seminary attending. I think they are enjoying the music and singing. Muslim worship in Mosque does not have any singing. Arabic Christian hymns and worship songs with good tunes and deep spiritual meaning must stir their hearts.

Tuesday August 1st: Spoke to our daughter Rachel in Oregon. She is sometimes down other times normal. In just one day her entire life turned upside down with friends scattered to distant corners, separated from family. She wants so much to return to Lebanon to complete her final year in High School. It is such a blessing she has 3 wonderful cousins to hang around with and keep her occupied. Sarah's friend who normally accompanies her on her prison ministry, suddenly decided to leave for Germany. She was scheduled to travel middle of August, but she may have been persuaded by her embassy. Today Sarah and I need to locate the Catholic convent where the women prisoners are being housed in the Mountains to the North.

Please Pray: