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Tuesdays are a healing day at the Triumphant Mercy Community Center in Beirut. Kids and moms from the school have therapy classes but at the same time a safe place for the women of the community is created. The women come in to the smell of the fresh za’atar maanaesh and hot tea. They are settling in to speak about their lives. Each week there is a therapeutic theme.

This week they are talking about problems and giftings. Most refugees are used to sharing their problems with NGOs. But this week the class leader will be focusing on how their own God-given giftings can help them solve their own problems.  Each woman sits with an empty sheet of paper in front of them. It is folded in half on the first half they are told to  write out a problem they have. Then on the other side of the paper, they are instructed to write out gifitings that they have. They are then told to unfold the paper so before them they are looking, not only, at their problems but they are looking at their God given giftings that will enable them to conquer these problems. This sprung conversation and seedlings of hope that they had been given a way to address their problems, instead of feeling helpless and hopeless to overcome them.

During sharing time one woman gave an example of how she used her giftings to continue to bring both money and food for her family by selling things she made to close the gap between what they had and what was needed for her family.

Another week there was an opening up of women to speak about their home lives and generational issues. Women talked about how their mothers were mistreated by their fathers and their mother-in-laws and how the problems continued to them. They mourned what they didn’t see and were able to share candidly, woman to woman how this affected them and what they want for the future and for their daughters. Helping to break the cycle of “this is how it is” and show their children better lives.

Last week as two women left they made a comment to the teacher that this was one of the places and times they could come and speak freely and express themselves openly, The center is to them not only a place to get things and receive help, but a safe place, a place of refuge.