Articles
After a Month
Name, Telephone number, tell me how to get to your home…
Time after time this is our script. Taking the information then visiting house after house. The devastation seems unending but we are not only bringing new windows but new hope to the people whose spirits and houses exploded on August 4th. Where others are coming promising and promising we are fixing quickly and efficiently. Because of the generosity of those who wanted to help directly after the explosion the finances were available to hire 50 skilled workers who are working relentlessly to bring the glass and put homes back together. Their hard work has allowed us to help over 450 families make their houses safe again and ensure they will be dry when the soon coming rain begins.
We are welcomed into homes to see broken windows and help bring a peace and presence to also broken souls. If you’ve been following what has been happening in Lebanon you will know that from a revolution, to incredible economic problems to lock downs exacerbating the economic crisis and then on top of everything the explosion. The beauty is, even after all of this there is still the gracious sense of generosity from the people. Even people we are not able to help insist on trying to serve us coffee, tea, soda, juice or cold water. Many times bringing it even when we say how many houses we need to go to. Some even just insisting we come inside, “just for a minute” to cool down in the air conditioning and speak with them.
Also along with the fixing of windows we are helping to repair hearts and souls. We are in the third week of meeting for breakfast and crisis debriefing sessions with families in the area. The first week most of what we heard was pain, anger and panic about the situation in the nation, all exasperated by the explosion. Now we are hearing the beginnings of hope again. They are seeing their own strength to pick up again and again. War after war has been fought in this nation, but there is a people here that refuse to give up and give in.
The image of the mythical bird, the phoenix that has been brought to the mind of many, it never dies but each time is just reborn to rise again from the ashes. Together we will see the tenacious Lebanese people rise again from the ashes and begin to grow as they choose again to rise from the ashes to become the beauty and strength that the phoenix represents.
