This article was imported from our previous website, which many have broken some of the content. We apologize in advance for any strange formatting or broken links you may find.
Our morning started as most Lebanese mornings start. We enjoyed breakfast, consisting of sliced tomatoes within an array of cheeses from fresh mozzarella to goat cheese or Parmesan cheese, alongside cured olives with apricot jam to spread over a toasted flatbread cut into the shapes of pizza slices.
The team gathered around to share a moment of prayer before we loaded into the people mover van prepared for our morning rush hour traffic in Lebanese-style. Driving conditions here are only described as an organized chaotic symphony of random turns, brakes, merging, honking and the occasional hand gestures, allowing for maneuvers that would be considered illegal and immediately ticketed in the United States.
We took the time for prayer in our morning commute to dedicate the day toward the purpose of the Lord and whatever His will is for us. We prayed for the speakers and the children in the schools we would be visiting. We safely arrived on campus around 9am and met a very welcoming staff. The plan was to share a short sermon at chapel, break for 15 minutes, meet one more class for 20 minutes to share our testimonies and then wrap up around 11 o'clock.
The Lord had better plans for us.
As we finished up our first break, we were told three teachers were unable to make it to class today, and with the eager involvement of the campus principal, we were offered to meet and share with the affected students for the duration of all these teachers' class time. We just went from chatting in total for around an hour to being provided 9 class sessions.
At the wisdom of the YFC director, he decided to use this time to conduct a "dare to ask" session. These kids were given the opportunity to ask anything: Who is God? Are aliens real? What is sin? Anything.
First question out of the gate: Who is Satan? Some of the other questions: What happens on judgment day? Is suicide a sin? Is God really real and how do I know? And they didn't get any easier as the session continued. These were sharp kids! They had specific questions, and everyone was glued to us as we answered.
I could feel the Holy Spirit in the room and see Jesus leaning on the back wall filled with joy as we glorified the Father. That was the first of three. The YFC director said that this never happens. Mostly they would only be able to meet with one class, and if they came back another time it would probably be again with the same class. Being able to meet with these many classes and have these many sessions was the fingerprint of YHWH.
My personal favorite was meeting with the students 1 on 12-20 during their class breaks and lunch recesses. They had endless questions about America, and politics, and sports, and life in the States, and how many states I've visited, and college, and career, my family and what my favorite food is. The guys, ages 16-18 shared where they were from and their views on western ideals. I was bombarded with a barrage of questions and conversations relating to the various topics.
Each class had their own personalities and their own takes on what was concerning them. I enjoyed the many handshakes and warm smiles from the crowd of children showing their appreciation for our time and inputs. I pray these kids will be the light and the instruments God uses to be the movement in this community.
There is so much more detail to share, but if I shared it all, this would turn into a chapter book for day-three in Lebanon. A few things the kids wanted me to make sure my church knows about in Lebanon: they are not terrorists, they are not all Muslims, they have many followers of Christ, they have horrible beaches, they have the BEST food, crazy traffic, they enjoy sports like futbol and basketball, they know English very well, and they want more people to come visit them and get to know them.
During our team debrief, it was encouraging to hear so many positive perspectives from the day. Today became more evident to how incredible the Lord was guiding our path.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Being thousands of miles away from home, friends, family and having no internet access, or if we do, it's extremely slow! It's 14-50kbs for the techy people, and it will nearly load The Well website but you can forget going on Facebook. So we all missed our local community.
But how beautiful is this? The hosting family from YFC prepared us a full dinner without instruction to what is included in our traditional meal, but it was obvious to how heartfelt and generous this meal was presented. I can't describe the tastes and beauty of this meal. It was incredible! It had the turkey and mashed potatoes, but after that it deviated to a Lebanese high-end dinner.
Ultimately I just have to express the impact of how hospitable and gracious this dinner appeared to us. After a very long day, we had much to be thankful for. Glory be to the Lord Almighty!
