Articles
Looking After Trees
We’ve been back at school in Zahle for four weeks now. The atmosphere right now is enthusiasm and relief! The summer holidays feel especially long for these families: our teachers tell me that having their kids at home, unoccupied, all day was tough going. There aren’t many safe spaces for play and trips out are rare.
The kids are visibly excited to be back, and more focused than before the holidays. We asked some of our English classes to tell us about something that happened in their summer. Best bits included football with friends, going swimming and falling in love. One girl’s father returned from working far away from the family – her smile was huge! Most of the time, they say, was boring. Lots of sitting at home, some time playing with friends. They’re glad to be back.
We’re aware as we work with them that these kids are like plants removed from the soil. Their lives lack so many of the conditions that support growth, and they can only survive so long like this. One of my highlights last term was teaching a couple of beginner classes the phrase, ‘My school’. You can say that, you know. This place is yours. There was a lot of pride and ownership in being reminded of that, and it made for some fun classes together.
We are only ever a temporary solution. We believe – and see – that being in a place of safety for this time is vital, but we are like a small plant pot for growing trees. We provide some good soil for this time, but, left in a small pot, the tree will never thrive. This is not what we dream for them.
This year, one key focus will be ensuring that the kids who are with us – at every level of ability – are as well prepared as possible to return to school in Syria.
We dream of sending back young saplings who have been well served by their time with us.
We dream that they would go strengthened, with some resilience and good resources that will help them to grow deep roots and to stretch up high, to repopulate places that have been deserted or destroyed with their beauty, passion, fruit and life.
We hope and pray that they can reintegrate, and that their families would be equipped with fresh courage for the journey, and for the hard work of rebuilding that awaits.
We pray for a place ready to receive them – for safety from violence and an amnesty from harsh consequences to their absence, especially for those men who have left military service or avoided it altogether.
We long, more than ever, for these gospel seeds that have been scattered to take root and bring radical transformation to these places, families, and individual lives. Let’s be clear: These things, if they happen, will be a miracle. But we pray to a God who makes life from dust. We live life by His grace, and we believe that we are led by Him to pray for even more than we could ask or imagine.
