Stories

From the eyes of a child…

The sound of excited chatting with the twinkling of the Christmas tree met me as I came in for the first day of camp. I saw my friend and so I rushed over to her to get my spot next to her. We were so excited for the Christmas camp to start!

We all started downstairs to go over rules and a talk about Jesus. Then we got to go to our first class I got to go to cooking where we got to use chocolate and cake and other things to create a Christmas treat! Then I went to dance and theater class where we practiced a play about the birth of Jesus. Then we had a class that helped us to memorize the story.

A cool thing happened too! When we were in dance class the teacher saw that one of my friends was really good. So, she got him a scholarship to a dance school for a whole year!

The last day we had a party at the end of the day and Santa came! As we left they gave us all a sheep that had stories and songs about Jesus recorded on it when you push it’s foot.

I was so happy! The camp was so much fun and I can’t wait until the next one. It was so much better than staying home and just sitting at home! I learned a lot about Jesus and the Christmas story that maybe next year I’ll be the one to tell it at home!

Stories

 

The smoky smell of burgers on the grill wafts through the door as tic-tic of knives on cutting boards, Christmas carols and chatter fill the background with sound.

 

 This isn’t the normal at the center, but today is a fun day.  We’ve set up a barbeque outside for the community to drop in. Decorated with balloons, you could walk through and see buns being cut and sauces being prepared.

 

Some are stopping in just for food and some coming to join the festivities. There is laughter and chatter, dancing all around as everyone enjoys the atmosphere of Christmas. With the questions about the future, the war, and troubles in the South of the country many are finding it a bit more difficult to get into the “Christmas Spirit”.

 

Our team goes between cooking, mingling, and serving food. It’s the first time we’ve had a party like this inviting the whole community. But there was one household that needed a delivery today. Eva and her sister were too old to come to the center for their burgers, so a couple of our team made a surprise visit. They don’t have electricity or generator. These two women never married and spent their life as tailors taking care of their mother.  They spend their evenings by candlelight chatting. Despite their circumstances they have a joy for life that we got to partake in that day.

 

We handed out almost 1,200 burgers and had many more conversations.

 

We want the community to know that we stand with them and that they have a place to come when they are overwhelmed or in need. Our goal is that our community center can really be a place of “community,” a place a rest and a place of peace. A place where those who come would know that when they leave, they feel like a weight has been lifted.  That those who come would know that there is something different about this place. That God is in this place.

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We had a story written by one of our staff summarizing the special christmas gift, but then this testimony came in and we felt like our beneficiaries’ words mean more than the story we can tell.  

December 13th, we received a message from a friend sent by one of our beneficiaries. The woman was telling our friend how Triumphant Mercy has stood by her side during hard times. 

She started the message thanking us for giving her kids school supplies like notebooks, pencils, calculators, even backpacks, in the beginning of the school year. 

Today, her husband passed by to pick up the food pack for Christmas. When he arrived home, he put the “Kishk” and “Kawarma” on the table. Both are traditional Lebanese foods.

“She asked him are you kidding? This is from Triumphant Mercy? Our son wanted Kawarma so bad and he has been begging for it for weeks. I honestly can’t afford it. My fridge is empty. I thank God for Triumphant Mercy, God be with you and encourage you to keep on going, God bless you abundantly,give you Grace, and keep your heart. While listening to God you know exactly what people need and you intervene to help. “

After listening to the lady’s voice message, we called her today to ask if we can visit her so we can hear more of her story, what she is facing and to see how we can help her further.  

The Lord knows best how to give His good gifts. He gave us the gift of His son and now we get to be the conduit for His giving now. We wish you a Merry Christmas full of joy in the gift that God has given us.

Stories

Marie hobbled in the door breathing heavily from the short walk, she was two hours early…

Medication has become so expensive, and the price continues to climb higher. Triumphant Mercy is helping to provide medication for over 200 people monthly. Many show up early for the distribution time since they have anxiety about getting their medication.  TM works to bring the most expensive of the medications for them. This is a huge burden lifted from the backs of those we help.

Many of the people we are helping are older individuals who can no longer work and who’s families are already struggling to make ends meet. With winter here the added expense of heating many are extra thankful for the relief that this program offers. They share with us their struggles and their thankfulness. Some even telling us that they feel like they don’t know what they would do if we were not able to help them.

 

Sometimes it’s not only about the medication, but these medications give us a chance to sit with people, to hear about their lives, their struggles and let them know that they are not alone. We are lifting heavy burdens from those who are feeling overwhelmed enabling them to see God working again in their lives.

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I stuff the rest of my breakfast in my mouth as I head toward the stairs, hearing my name being yelled for help from below. I weave my way past guys rearranging things and hear from behind me one of the staff tell a woman that we won’t begin until nine. She’s over half an hour early, and anxious to see the doctors since the price has increased so much to see one here.

 

From the moment we walked in the door today the set up began. We have the blessing of a team of seven doctors from the states who came to volunteer and so a last-minute clinic was set up for our beneficiaries. One of staff spent her Sunday evening sending out text messages to the neediest of those registered and they were already arriving by 8:15 am.

 

The rest of the day runs smoothly with only the occasional call for another translator.  People are continually filling the waiting area and making their way down to receive care. They move from the interview with our staff member who gets all the vital signs and information, then down to the consultation with the doctor. After the consultation they are offered prayer and then given medication and have a chance to see the physical therapist also. These doctors spent five days with us meeting over 400 patients between our centers in Beirut and in Zahle.

 

As people come back up the stairs, for many you can see the relief in their bodies and faces. Smiles where there were furrowed brows and shoulders more relaxed. They all say a thank you as they go out the door and some say this thank you with tears of relief filling their eyes.

 

And these moments are the reason we do it. To lift the burdens and be the healing hands to the hearts and bodies in the community.

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The cool air flows through the open door as Christmas music blasts out to the street. The crinkling of bags and candies being organized joins the twinkling of lights as they are tested before they go onto the tree. It’s a sensory overload. The preparations have started for Christmas.

 

400 bags are being loaded with candies and sweets for the children of each family. These bags will be added to our Christmas packages. 400 families will come and receive the packages a couple days before Christmas. These packages will have enough for the Christmas dinner for 10 people and include the most expensive parts of the meal like chicken.

 

Our team started the preparations last week and will continue through this week and next. Christmas is always a lot of work but the joy and relief on people’s faces as they receive the boxes, makes up for all the work. These families no longer need to ask how they will afford the Christmas meal. It’s a weight that has been lifted.

 

Each year we look forward to this time to give these gifts as we celebrate our greatest gift.

 

The gift that changed our lives, the world and why we do what we do. Christ.

Stories

 

We asked a few of our students to share about how TM has changed their lives. This is a story from one of our teenage girls Georgia who is 14 years old.

 

“Hello I am Georgia H and this is my small story.

In 2021 I was a teenager who didn’t care about nobody’s feelings. I used to say lots of hurtful words to people that I needed most. I didn’t pray nor care about God or His path I only cared about going out with my friends and having fun. When school started, I was a very noisy girl who annoyed all her teachers but still didn’t care. I almost got expelled from school and still did not care, until I joined my happy place TM Lebanon. Everything changed in a good way.

 I joined in July 11^th 2022 they taught me how to respect others and control my anger. And most importantly they taught me what God really is and what he can do and they never made me feel bad about myself. There’s always positive energy.

2022 is coming to an end as a person I have really changed thanks to TM Lebanon. I’m doing great in all my classes and I know how to respect others and control what I say. Remember if you put all you can do it.

 Thanks God.”

We at TM are so proud of Georgia and the progress and growth she has had during her time with us. We look forward to what she is dreaming for her future. 

Stories

The school year here at the Triumphant Mercy Zahle Community Center has gotten off to a fantastic start! There have been a lot of new and exciting changes that have come with the start of a new school year. During the summer break, we had to say goodbye to our founder and fearless leader of the past 10 years??, Ansa Christine. This was a shock to many as she decided to step down and pursue new endeavors. It was difficult to see her go as Ansa Christine had built the school from the ground up and has been with us through every change, challenge, and success. We owe so much to her years of service to the school. Despite the sad goodbye, the teachers were also excited and willing to embrace new leadership and move forward with the school. 

Smiles, laughter, and genuine excitement have echoed through the school these first few weeks. The teachers and students alike have all expressed how much they like the new look of the school. We gave the school a fresh coat of paint as well as cleaned and organized a lot!!!  At the start of the year, there has been a great sense of teamwork and open minds as we implemented new procedures in the school. It’s been amazing to see how willing and ready everyone was for these changes. As I walk through the school, I am always made aware of how much love and appreciation there is for the school. The excitement, anticipation, and joy we see on the students’ and teachers’ faces every day is contagious. They are so grateful to be in school and learning. Every day we have had to turn away parents who are trying to register their children. It’s so exciting to be a part of a community that is making a difference in so many families’ lives. We are all looking ahead toward a great school year filled with fun and learning!

-Bethany 

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One in the middle of the statue, another in a flower bed, another on the very tip of a tree branch and the clues were hidden. Over 100 questions are now scattered across the park awaiting the excited children. Our last day of camp was a treasure hunt. A couple of us staff had snuck out the door early to hide the clues ahead of the children.  

A few minutes later the bus is unloaded, and the teams are ready to go. The next couple hours were filled with running, racing and laughter as each team raced to finish the questions to reach the final question. After about 45 minutes there were cheers of success, and we had a winner and the day finished with happiness from the kids and a sense of satisfaction from the staff.

For the last five weeks there has been around 70 children coming every morning for games, stories, art, theater, and personal development and more classes. This camp was not only about having fun. They were meant to take something with them greater than just a toy or having fun.  They were meant to take a deeper understanding of themselves, God and life lessons with them that would serve them for more than just the summer but for their lives.

 

Below are some quotes from the kids about the camp:

 

To the question, “What did you learn?”

“Arts, teamwork and Patience” ~Aya age 6

“More about God and how I can forgive” ~Elio age 7

“Respecting the time, discipline and respecting the other person while they are talking” ~Emilio age 9

“I learned to think about my actions” ~Houssam age 9

“To respect and self- control” ~Georgia age 14

“Cooperating with friends and meeting new friends and how to collaborate” ~ Rime age 14

“Invention, acting and life lessons” ~ Dimitry age 12

We saw so much growth from so many kids. I think it’s fair to say mission accomplished. Small things they take away like this help these young people grow into better people and investing in the younger generation is investing in the future of Lebanon.

Stories

 

On May 27th, the grade 9 students were ready for their journey. They packed their bags and waited hours on the border between Lebanon and Syria. They were excited, and nervous as well. Their exams were starting the next day. Students were preparing for this day the whole year. Their parents as well. The last meeting with the parents showed how much they trust the school, teachers, and directors. They had confidence in us with the safety of their kids, especially the girls. The year has been a long journey for students, but by their perseverance, they were able to pursue their goals. Before leaving for Syria, students hugged their teachers and assured them they were ready for their exams, and that going will change their lives. They were an example to other classes, an encouragement for them to persevere in their focus on their goals.

Students from other classes were supporting their grade 9 friends, telling them they couldn’t wait to reach grade 9 to get a degree. Kids now talk about having a goal. Despite difficult life conditions, and a tough studying atmosphere, they are intent on getting an official degree from Syria and experiencing this journey. They are also working on additional skills through extracurricular activities such as sports, sewing, carpentry, computer, and painting, among others. These kids are working very hard to stay in school. They are afraid of being forced, by their family, to work and lose their opportunity.

One of the grade 6 students, Hatem (16 years old) had to fight for his education during this year. His parents wanted him to quit school to work and support his family. For a few weeks, he went to work. But he came back and caught up with everyone. As his teacher, I must say that his dedication and performance were great. His yearning for learning was obvious. At the beginning of the year, he didn’t participate with his friends but now he is the first to raise his hand to answer. Hatem and all the students at Beqaa Center are preparing for their final exams and looking forward for the upcoming years of education.

–Written by Pamela teacher at the School

Stories

The following is a letter from one of the ladies who has participated in our programs. She wanted to express her thanks and love and how Triumphant Mercy has blessed her.

 

*note that the following was translated from Arabic*

 

This special hour that I spend with the loved ones who are devoted to our Beloved Redeemer Jesus Christ.

 

I want to thank first the leader of this center, the servant of God, Mrs. Nouna, and her family, for establishing this social center.

 

Yes, it is the Triumphant Mercy Center whose first and last goal is human dignity and development for a better to be person, and this is what we need now in Lebanon. Triumphant Mercy Center played a big role in my life, my personality, my self-development and my self-confidence, which prompted me more and more to visit the center with strong eagerness and without hesitation. I miss them all, they are my second family. They are my psychological and spiritual comfort, and this is what I have longed for.

 

Allow me, even briefly, to go back to that special moment and describe to you how I reached Triumphant Mercy for the first time.

 

I received a call from the center for food pack distribution. Maral received me with a face full of mercy, love, and a gentle smile. The day I stepped into the center, I started to feel a change. Maral played a major role, psychologically and spiritually through the experiences that ravaged my life. I was telling her everything; I don’t know how and why I opened up to her. She used to hold me tight and pray with me. Her prayers were quickly answered. I encountered Jesus in lovely way and that made me, day after day, more and more confident in Him.

Maral handed me three opportunities upon my arrival: food, e-learning and spiritual encouragement.

 

Rime, the energetic, intelligent, and sweet girl, filled by the talents of the Holy Spirit, taught me computer lessons and technology. In my life I wanted to learn from these about these things, but my circumstances did not allow me. So here the Lord is allowing me at this special time to learn and acquire the art of writing, and I am now typing this letter to you! How beautiful this is.

I also had a dream to learn English, this is my special hour with my young blonde teacher, Miss Kelsey. I am working with her to acquire this language, so I am becoming, even in a simple way, able to speak, read and understand English, and now I am sure that I can do everything with the help of God. Everyone is thankful for this team, everyone who knocked on their door.

 

As for the classes upstairs, the voice of the Lord calls us through Nadine. She is the screaming voice in the wilderness and the bride of Christ. The virtuous women and I meet weekly to hear the word of God. We pray and the Holy Spirit makes us weep. We rejoice in the word of God. We are nourished spiritually. Spiritual blessings are poured upon us to strengthen us and make us strong in front of our difficulties and trials, especially at this point in our country. Lebanon is passing through hard times. Here I was strengthened personally and experienced the love of my beloved Jesus, that I was asking for from the bottom of my heart. It is a special hour for my spiritual and family life. At the end of the bible study, we go out with the peace of Jesus, happy and loving, assured that he would not leave us orphans, His Holy Spirit is with us to the end of eternity.

 

We are thankful for Triumphant Mercy, and I thank the Lord for all of you, wishing that this center will continue under the patronage of the Lord and pour out more blessings upon you.

 

One last word Congratulations to our Dekwaneh region, how much I wish that every region in my country will have such a center full of mercy, whose first and only goal is to help people with dignity and spread the word of God. I love you so much and surely Jesus loves you much more.

A.S

Stories

Trudging with my stuff I weave through the crowd, “excuse me Madame… sorry Monsier,” just to get through the door. It’s more than half an hour before registration starts, and there are at least 50 people waiting already. They are anxious to get their families registered. The parking is blocked and the staff who are usually inside preparing for the day, are outside arranging, and setting up early. We need to start because the people are blocking the street. The hum of people speaking continues for the next two hours as the morning students come in and most are assigned videos so that they can focus.

 

It’s introductions only for today. We take a bit of their story and a small amount of information, and each family will receive a visit to their home. For us it’s a way to double check information, but mostly to be able to sit and hear about their lives. We hear the pain and the hurt, the struggles, and the trails. We want to be a listening ear and a hopeful presence as we come. Many have no one to listen. They compare their problems to their neighbors and remain silent if their situation isn’t as bad. But with a tanking economy, their money locked in banks (if they have any) the need is great, whether or not they talk about it. Many go without electricity because they can’t pay the bills. Some of our regular students bring their phones each morning to charge.

 

As the need grows, we continue to open the doors to be a safe presence in the community. Some come to ask for help, some just want to sit and talk with us. Either way we are here to be a presence of Christ in the community. To remind them they are not forgotten and that there is and will be more for Lebanon.

 

Stories

We knew the snow was coming, we knew for days and everyone was on edge hoping it wouldn’t be as bad as they feared. Alas, it did snow and it snowed a lot, the most snow Lebanon has had in seven years. 

After a few days of being snowed in, I was finally able to make it to the camps to check on some of the teachers who live in the camps. What a sight! I can tell you honestly I will never look at snow the same way again. A group of women that I passed kept asking me to take pictures of the conditions saying “We want the world to see this. We want them to see what is happening here!” I saw men working together to shovel snow into wheelbarrows to transport it out of the camp. No snow plows come to the camps. 

The roads were piled high with snow! I had to traverse the large mountains of snow in the road just to get to one of the teacher’s houses. This teacher had asked me to lend her a pair of rubber boots so she could walk around her camp in the deep snow and sludge. She told me her kitchen had flooded and I could see that the snow was still piled high in her courtyard. There was no escape from the cold and the wet. Despite the snow, I saw many children running around without shoes. One teacher told me that she and her husband had to work all night on the roof of their tent shoveling snow to keep the roof from collapsing under the weight of the snow. Another teacher, a mother of 5 with newborn twins had her tent collapse on her entire family! They had to hurry to get the children and babies out and then propped up the tent with a plank of wood for reinforcement. The phrase I kept hearing was “I’m afraid of the snow”. I can now understand why. 

Now, three weeks on, much to everyone’s relief, the sun has finally come out, the snow has mostly melted and people are hopeful that the worst of the cold is behind them. However, the snow left damaged tents, and roads full of water and mud in its wake. All this amongst a broken economy with soaring prices. One teacher told me, “I can’t afford to feed my family. My money goes directly to bread and fuel and then it’s gone in a few days.” My children are cold and they don’t understand why we can’t use the heat. One teacher told me she and her three kids had to move back in with her mother because she couldn’t afford to buy fuel to heat her home. Recently there has been some relief with the donation of fuel vouchers. One teacher recently told me that the fuel vouchers were provided the same day she ran out of fuel and did not know how she was going to be able to buy more. The timing was perfect. People are grateful for whatever help they can get. Everyone is now looking toward spring, praying it will arrive soon. —Bethany 

If you would like to give to help buy gas to help a family heat their home in Zahle please head on over to our giving page or click here.

Stories

As I open the door the smell of fresh cut citrus hits me. I take a depth inhale of the sweet yet sour smell as I head into the bathroom. The guys in the back of our center in Ashrafieh are sending the oranges through the slicer so they can place them on the trays to be dehydrated. Rows and rows of orange slices are lined up and it will be about 12 hours before they are ready. After the 12 hours they come out looking almost like stained glass in the sun. Then they are packaged and ready to go to homes to be enjoyed as a healthy snack.

 

These dehydrated fruits will begin to work their way towards other nations and into markets and exhibitions across Lebanon. These aren’t just any dehydrated fruits these fruits are meant for more.

 

Okay it sounds a bit cheesy, but the point is that this is meant to continue to grow as a business and give jobs to Lebanese when many businesses are having to downsize or scale back. These fruits are working to open doors for some and provide a living wage in a weakened economy.

 

At Triumphant Mercy we don’t only desire to give help, but to empower. Giving someone work can help lift them. Maybe they learn a new skill, maybe they find a calling and a purpose greater than they thought or could dream in the current situation.

 

Dreaming breaks boundaries, and it pushes us towards who we were meant to be. We don’t normally dream best from our couches watching devastating and depressing news. We dream when we set our hands to something. Maybe it’s something small to begin with but it’s important to not despise the days of small beginnings.

 

Just as TM dreams we want to encourage those who dream around us to not stop at the small dream, but allow their dream to grow and be the change the nation needs.

If you’re interested in ordering our dehydrated fruits. Head on over to the instagram page (Click here for Heart Bites). Check it out, give us a follow or like and message to order some fruits! 

Stories

Mid English class there’s a knock that interrupts the quiet room and I go to the door to see what the man waiting needs. He’s there to pick up his medication. I grab the paper and the stack of medication and bring them out to him. He signs the paper and there is an exhale and his shoulders relax as he takes the medication and takes an extra minute to look me directly in the eyes and say, “thank you.” “Really, you don’t know how much this helps.”  

 

As the situation for medication continues to deteriorate many are bringing suitcases full of medication when they come into Lebanon and even traveling to get cancer medications. For the many who can’t afford to travel, or can no longer afford to buy the medication, they rely on NGOs like ours.  

 

Four months ago, TM began to register families for medications. When word got out that we had started doing medications we began to have people coming daily to ask if they also can register for medication. 

 

Being able to continue to provide and help families during this time gives them a place that lets them now they are not alone. Knowing you are not alone is key to continuing to move forward. With so much working against them we desire to have people know we are next to them and ready to do what we can to help them and give them hope to keep going.

 

 

Stories

Seven in the morning yawning and cold we are waiting for the fresh chicken to arrive.

 

Over the next three days chickens and cartons filled with beef, rice, oil, vegetables, fruit, and cakes will pass through our hands to 500 families just in time for Christmas dinner.

 

Each of these three mornings the team walks in clean and walks out covered with dirt from vegetables and with tired muscles from filling and giving out boxes.

 

“This box needs rice!” and “I need potatoes here” are shouted across the room as everyone works together to sure that each box is full and ready to be handed out. As the boxes are filled they begin to overflow out the door, as we don’t have room for everything inside.

The people start to arrive and the tent must go up. The rain is coming. We can’t stop there are too many boxes and the guys helping carry the baskets get the ‘short end of the stick’ as they go back and forth with baskets, in and out of the rain.

Many of these families are early anxious to be able to give their families a Christmas meal. Because of the economic situation in Lebanon and the dramatic decline in the currency most families cannot afford any chicken or meat in their diets. To be able to have chicken on Christmas is a special treat, and some have tears in their eyes as they receive their box.

On the Monday after Christmas as the team arrived there were over 100 messages on our hotline. They were messages of thankfulness and gratefulness from families that were able to celebrate because of our work.

 

During these tough times we want to be able to bring a light to Christmas just as we were brought the light of Christ.

 

 It was a dark time filled with uncertainty that Christ came as the light to bring hope. We in the same way want to bring His hope through bringing practical help. It starts one by one. Bringing practical help to the body, that allows us to speak the hope of the Savior to the soul. He is the hope that fills empty stomachs and empty souls. This is Christmas, the coming of hope, the coming of Christ.

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We all know that boys love hands on activities and challenges. Every Monday and Thursday, at TM’s carpentry workshop, boys have a special day where they can create things they enjoy and develop their skills.

Accompanied by an expert, they learn the basic steps of carpentry. They first learn to take and make measurements and finish having made complete tables and other crafts. Many of them have discovered a great hobby they did not know they would enjoy and can now express themselves and their struggles through these creations.

At the workshop, you would see a group of boys working hand in hand. Working like this brings them closer together and creates and strengthens friendships. You can feel the group spirit as they help each other and see their focus and their willingness to do and learn more.

With every item they make, their eyes light up and happiness flows. They feel proud of their achievements and eager to show off their handiwork.

For them, carpentry is not only a new skill to learn, but it shapes their personality and character. The workshop is a place for healing, friendships, and hope.

Pamela

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Happy, joyful, and loved

We are delighted to see the joy in the eyes of the kids’ at TM during Christmas time. During these bad times impacting people and enjoying these happy moments are precious. We can be a light in the dark days of the kids who received useful gifts and toys, to be able to live their childhood and feel loved.

God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to save us, and He became Emmanuel, God with us. It is our joy and blessing to bring God and his joy closer to these kids, and to show them the Father’s love.

Kids from different classes were gathered, listening to Christmas songs, and clapping with excitement… it was a beautiful day to share with them. Kids deserve happy times, so we stand by them and lead them into a better tomorrow.

-Pamela

Stories

The “ding” of different notes comes distantly from the room upstairs as the guitar students practice. Each taking their half an hour after their tutoring time to practice what they learned in class. Slowly we can start to hear songs make their way out of the mix of chords and the students can hear their dedication paying off. Requests to start to come Christmas love songs come from the teenagers as we near the holidays and the excitement grows as they hear songs they know coming from their own hands.

 

The newer class started only a couple weeks ago is the piano. The teacher sits with two students next to her and in different octaves practicing scales and short melodies. Then they rotate and the next two come and sit.

 

Music, like a new language builds new bridges in the mind and can communicate things we cannot say with words. The feelings and emotions that are held deep down. The ones we were created to express since we are made in the image of God.

Many times these things that need to be expressed, to keep moving forward with hope for a future. Music changes and music inspires. Remember how many times you’ve been in a dark place and were lifted by a song or just the sound of the music. It has power and a power that can deliver a message. As we work to raise up messengers of change a freedom, it’s another tool we can give them to move forward and dream for a future.

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Out of breath, running as fast as he can, Antoine made it just in time to catch the bus to the field. Every Tuesday we have our football (soccer) group. The group, in just five weeks has doubled in size with new kids showing up each week and jumping in before we even know their names. The van we have is jam packed and the staff are having to use their personal cars in order to get all the kids there.

 

After arriving they empty the bus that now looks like a “clown car” as the kids come out, and break into two groups by age. One group goes into the discussion and the other heads to the field first. The discussion group talks about real life subjects and stories from athletes who are believers and the obstacles they faced. Last week one of the students was given the responsibility to prepare a devotion for the group from the gospel of Luke. He spent four hours reading and when presenting he talked about how we love each other.  After the teaching and their friend sharing kids have time to discuss and talk about how these principles affect the way they play sports and how it affects their real lives. After an hour the two groups switch.

 

After a few weeks we’ve had more than one kid say to one of the teachers/coaches, “Can I talk to you alone?” These discussions give these teenagers a place other than just their families to express how they feel or share something they want help with changing. The trust and honor that these kids and teens have begun to put in the teachers allows the teachers to encourage this generation to dream bigger, not be afraid of hard work, have no fear to stand out. 

 

It’s those who “stand out” that are the changers of the world. These are the ones who have the audacity to challenge what is wrong in the world and then the hard work they learn makes them not give up when they hit roadblocks. This is the generation we are working to raise that will work to change the wrongs in front of them for a better world.

Stories

Even with a day off from work, they are here. The life coaching class is not one that we want to skip a week. This class is key to giving the power to make changes in their lives. Giving practical skills and new ways of thinking that move those who are stagnant into motion.

 

This week they are working on how to change the way we think about events. The life coach’s example? Rain.

What do YOU think about when you know that it’s raining?

 

Is it positive or negative? If it’s negative, how do we change it? Each person in the group shares how they think and how they came to have that idea of it. As they share and coach Gio brings around the discussion, you see the light come on and the idea hitting home. Not only is it hitting home but the examples they share are coming from their lives.

 

Realizing we have the power to change how we think about things is a key to moving forward. This gives a perspective that can move someone forward instead of being stuck.  This is the type of thinking that changes situations and lives. 

 

These ones who are in class are changers. They are taking seriously what they need to do to change their lives. These small changes, growing person by person, changes cities, and nations. These are those who refuse to give up. They will look at a challenge as an opportunity. These are those who will persevere and who will lead others into change and a new future for Lebanon.

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It’s nine o’ clock, and the first hour of English students are arriving. Usually, they are here a few minutes before nine and are waiting their turn to come in.

 

The soft click…click…click of typing and soft mumbling of sounding out a word is the hum of the room.  Each hour, a change in the people, disinfecting ensues along with new assignments. Different levels all in the same room learning not only from me and the programs but also from each other. Sometimes when someone asks me about a word another student answers before I get the chance, everyone working together to help each other learn and improve their skills.

 

Some hours are quiet and all that is heard is the hum of the A/C as they concentrate. Other hours like the conversation sections are full of fun and laughter. Idioms was on the list first for the advanced conversation class. The puzzled faces as I tested them to see if they could figure out what they mean before I told them. Interesting to find out that some of them exist in Arabic but are the exact opposite meaning!

 

Times are filling up as the (mostly) ladies tell their friends and fill the hours with groups of neighbors. The learning creates a comradery at the center and opens doors for other activities. The trust gained through learning transfers over to the women’s groups and the life coaching hours.

 

Trust is key to impacting lives and creating a community that will thrive. We want to build trust in real ways that improve and bring opportunities to those in the community while allowing us to open the hearts of those around us to hear that there is a hope and there is a future and that we believe it starts with individual finding out and walking in who they were meant to be.

— Kelsey 

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A sense of relief and graciousness from parents as they file through to pick up the backpacks. Excited kids waiting for their turn, peeking inside to find: notebooks, pencils, pens, a lunch container, toothpaste, soap, towel, a mask, toothbrush and a water bottle.

 

All of this is worth around 600,000 Lebanese Lira. For some this is more than they make in a month.

 

Usually, this time of year is an exciting time preparing for the coming school year. This year, for many it’s a scary time. Parents unsure if they can afford to pay school fees or to purchase the needed school supplies for this coming year.

 

There are many questions about how the school year will proceed. Will there be in school with Covid number rising still? There are also questions about electricity and whether students will be able to join online. If the children return to the building will there be gas or petrol for parent so drive them or a school bus to pick them up?  There are so many questions with no answers in sight.

 

 All these questions lead to more stress on families. For these families the issues collide, from finances for the supplies, COVID numbers, and not having WIFI to join online because of lack of electricity.

 

This is why, this year specifically, our cooperation with School in a Bag is so important. These school bags given out will take at least one of those stresses from families. Though, giving the “load” of the backpacks to the children, we are lightening the load for parents.

 

The bags cleared customs just in time to get to the kids as school is starting. It’s one of our goals to offer practical help that allows a burden to be lifted and a small piece of hope and a reminder that they are not alone.

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*NOTE* This article was originally posted on Missions Network News. You can read the original article here.

Lebanon (MNN) — Lebanon’s financial crisis could be one of the worst in the world since the 1800s, financial experts say. Learn more here.

Christian ministries in the country continue to provide food and other resources to those in need, but they also want to see healing in Lebanese society through sustainable growth.

Providing people jobs

Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “We have visited people who just say, ‘I don’t want your help, I want you to provide me a job.’ So many people have said this, so this is what we’re trying to do. I know we cannot do much. I know we cannot provide like 100,000 jobs. This is something a government can do, but we can start to do small things.”

Nuna says they place some people working with children, some working in the kitchen on dehydrated food, and others teaching soccer or dance. These are very small jobs, but they provide people with a little income.

Healing

They also provide community and outlets for creativity. Nuna says, “When you’re in a depression, you cannot be creative. So we have groups of people who do some trauma healing.”

As people work and share their lives together, Nuna says it’s a good opportunity to share the hope of Jesus. “It’s quite easy actually to share the Gospel, to share the hope of Jesus. We say there is a way to get out of what we are in. And this is Jesus. That’s very acceptable in people’s minds. They are just open for it all the time.”

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A couple hundred used water bottles and cardboard boxes sit in the corner of the center. Little do they know, what excitement they hold. It looks like a pile of trash, but this “trash” will become some very interesting things in the next few weeks. One of the kid’s favorite portions of our summer camp has been the experiments. From Lava lamps, mini water fountains to making balloon-powered cars this pile of plastic bottles is slowly dwindling as the numbers for the camp are growing. Also growing is an excited and a sense of creation. Right now, even as I write, there is a volcano being formed behind me. The teenager group “remodeling” it for the third time to make it look as realistic as possible before they do the explosion.

We started camp with a smaller group as some parents are still wary from Covid, but each week more kids come as kids hear from their neighbors about what’s happening in camp and ask their parents to register them. From experiments to cooking, crafts, dance, music and outdoor games each group gets their chance to experience a sense that they are creating something, a car that moves on it’s own, a beautiful card for a friend, a song or maybe even a waffle. Each day holds something new and each day they are waiting at the door when 9:00 am rolls around. Some showing up half an hour early to make sure they aren’t late.

Yesterday, one of our students who goes to an English-speaking school wrote us a thank you letter. Talking about his love for the teachers and the other kids and his excitement for the camp each day. Lebanon is suffering right now, and it needs creators. Those who look at what they have; something that looks like a pile of trash, and sees something new, something beautiful and something exciting. This is why we call them to create, God created, and we are made in His image, so we create also.

We want to instill in this next generation that creation mindset. One that may be handed one thing but from love, hard work and dedication they choose to redeem it and make it something beautiful.

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This article was originally published on Missions Network News you can go to the original story from here.

Syria (MNN) — Host countries of Syrian refugees are telling them it’s time to go home, but according to Nuna of Triumphant Mercy, home isn’t as safe as some might hope.

As some governments claim, some places in Syria are relatively safe, and some refugees are admittedly reluctant to return not because of safety but because of the economic stability they’ve found in their host countries.

However, “there’s also truth in the pressure and in the difficulties of some families to go backbecause of deserting the Army or because of the alliance against the government,” Nuna says. “If they proclaimed themselves against the government, going back to Syria after this government would be a bit difficult.”

This increased pressure is uprooting families and individuals who are already weary and battered. Nuna says these refugees may no longer live in fear of losing their lives, but they do face “the trauma of being arrested, the trauma of being taken prisoner, of being beaten, and of being forced into signing something or doing something that you don’t want to do.”

Thanks to their work with refugees, Triumphant Mercy sees the frontline of this discussion. They’re working to develop economic stability for refugees, but with official eyes on them, they’re doing their best to show that they care for both Syrians and Lebonese.

As the situation shifts, so too will their mission. “It’s not just me; it’s everybody now,” Nuna says. “Every NGO is doing that. They’re all shifting gears, they’re all going in a different direction. Even though we’ve been focusing on very much like on Syrian refugees who are here, we’re trying to differentiate between the Syrian refugees who are here to receive help, or just because it’s easier on them, or those who are really needing help and needing to be supported in Lebanon.”

For years, they’ve been working to help displaced refugees feel safe. “People started to feel that they can start a life, that they got out of the trauma,” Nuna says. Now, with new pressure from host countries, “the trauma’s back. Now they sleep not knowing if, at four in the morning, the camp will be surrounded by the military just coming to take people to prison.”

That being said, they’re still trying to guide refugees who are interested in returning home, telling them “We can help you even there, we can direct you somewhere, we can just give you some tips and points. But it’s better for you to actually go back home and start to build.”

In short, these are people who are looking for hope. They need something steady to hold on to in times of turmoil and a source of peace as their world shifts once again.

That’s what makes Triumphant Mercy so uniquely equipped to take on this challenge. “We’re a Christian agency before we’re a humanitarian agency, and we have a message and we have a desire to see God’s kingdom expand,” Nuna says.

“We believe that every person we see, we need to encourage, bring hope, show them a different view, and let them see that the hope is not gone, and everything is not black.”

This new pressure is proof that any sense of stability based on politics or the material world is can be taken away. That’s why Triumphant Mercy focuses “on the real issue, and the real issue is what do you have inside you and the real peace that they can have when they just give everything to Christ and you let him direct your life.”

Pray for Syrian refugees wrestling with the choice of whether or not to return home, and ask God to give Triumphant Mercy wisdom as they come alongside Lebanese and Syrians. You can learn more about Triumphant Mercy right here.

“People are suffering. People are traumatized. People don’t have a future. People don’t see a future, they can’t imagine a future,” Nuna says.

“If we join together, if we all have a goal in mind, we can actually do something, and I really want to encourage people to take a stand to just say ‘It’s not acceptable. We got used to it, but it’s unacceptable.’”

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This article was published by Mission Network News. You can read the story on their website by clicking here.

Lebanon (MNN) – The circumstances surrounding refugee camps don’t often breed hope. Yet, hope is exactly what Jo, an English teacher with Triumphant Mercy, brings to her students.

A Place of Waiting

Two years ago, Jo was in a season of waiting. She had come to a place in her life where she didn’t know what to do. She was ready for a big change, to do something for God, but didn’t know what.

She says, “And so I was just laying it all on the table and saying, okay if you want me to go somewhere and if you really lead this way, if you really can, then show me. And I heard Him say, ‘Wait.’”

Jo explains that during that time God taught her about His love and what it looks like to trust Him. To teach her this lesson, she needed a season where only God knew her next steps.

A Time to Go

She became content in her waiting, then without warning, God began to show her what her future held. Jo says, “Suddenly on a random Sunday morning, I walked into Church and Nuna was there. The church there had been praying with her for some of the situations here, in the refugee camp, and she wanted to come and update them about what had been happening. And so, I just happened to hear her update and thought, ‘This has nothing to do with me. This is for sure not where I’m called.’”

Photos Courtesy of Triumphant Mercy

But it was. After praying, talking with people at Triumphant Mercy and visiting the Beqaa Valley, she knew where God was leading her.

“It was very much just a go. Okay then, well then I’ll obey and I’ll go and see where it takes me when I’m there. And now I’ve been here two years and I really feel the Lord’s leading to put things into place to stay for a longer time than I have. So, I’m here for the time being, but I have no idea what that will look like in the long-term.”

Bright Hope for a Dark Place. 

The call is clear to stay for now, but that doesn’t mean it is always easy. Triumphant Mercy is running informal schools for Syrian refugees in the Beqaa Valley. Many have seen very difficult things as they escaped with their families into Lebanon.

Yet, Jo senses God’s presence overcoming the dark situations.

“At one point, I felt like I had a picture when I was praying on some time out from being here, of this huge wall of darkness. And I felt like God asked me to come to this place that feels so close to this wall of darkness. But in recognition of who He is, I wouldn’t respond the way you would respond to the darkness. But I would respond the way I would respond to my dad who is God, and who is able, and who gives me joy and freedom and life.

“And so it was this picture of me dancing. And just the blindness when we look into His face to that wall of darkness and it’s not the same as denial, but it’s letting who He is conquer that sense of impossibility. And recognizing that the work is just 100% His.”

Help Bring Hope to the Beqaa

The battle to see God’s hope in dark places is real. Please pray for the teachers in the Beqaa as they seek to shine light into tough situations. Pray that the students learning in Jo’s classroom would see the source of her hope. Jo also asked that while praying for the conflict to end is good, people should pray for the students as individuals who have hopes, dreams and need the love of Christ.

If you want to learn more about Triumphant Mercy’s ministries or help support their continued work in refugee camps in the Beqaa, click here.

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This article is published by Missions Network News. You can read the article on their website by clicking here.

Lebanon (MNN) – Winter is expected: colder temperatures, snow, and ice.  A winter storm brings that plus a few additional surprises, surprises that aren’t welcome in the Syrian refugee camps in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, home to hundreds of thousands.

In the eight years since Syria crumbled into civil war, more than a million Syrians fled to neighboring Lebanon hoping to find safety. They found that, but they also discovered crippling poverty. For a while, the only ones helping were the Christians.

Triumphant Mercy-Lebanon’s (TM-Lebanon) Nuna says the ministry began in 2006 to help Lebanese who were fleeing Hezbollah. From that first step, TM-Lebanon has demonstrated the ability, time and again, to adapt quickly to changing realities on the way to building a stronger community. Yet, this ongoing humanitarian crisis tests their greatest strength.   TM-Lebanon started their responseto the refugee wave with emergency food packs, expanding into education centers, warehouses, community centers and into Syria.

Winter Storm Norma

(Image capture of Norma winter storm surge courtesy YtNature)

As recently as last fall, Syrians were being encouraged to go back,  and some were considering leaving or making plans to leave Lebanon.  Then, winter storm Norma hit, packing heavy rain and snow on Tuesday that turned streets in Lebanon into rivers of water and mud.  The UNHCR  says the storm seriously damaged 66 refugee camps and destroyed 15.

Nuna tells us, “All the refugees who are living under tents, or who are living in unfinished buildings were really severely hit by this storm, because it was really windy.  It’s very cold wind, with no real windows, no real shelter, and also, water coming into the tent because of the heavy water, the mud.  Many of the tents have mud inside.”  The storm was a setback for many refugee families.  “Some of the tents are like shacks, so the winter snow is heavy on the roof, and some of them had their roofs collapse on them, so they had to find refuge in neighboring tents and they had to rebuild, again.”

She says it’s like starting from scratch. Some of the flooded tents saw mud and water destroying what few possessions the refugees had: mattresses, bedding, clothing, food.  Some tents were completely submerged. “You feel helpless, in some cases, because how much can you help? How many roofs can you build?” Nuna goes on to say,  “All the resources they might have had when they came, maybe they’re completely gone. Kids are growing, they have new babies, families are growing, people are getting married and the resources are so little. What they’re building is really…a shack.”

A Forgotten Crisis

There’s just not enough food, clothing, and shelter. Getting donor support has been challenging because the crisis has fallen off the front page, but Nuna says while the refugee crisis has changed, it hasn’t gone away. “We have to remember that these people are growing in numbers and they’re growing in needs and even though much help has been given, it’s consumed and we have to rebuild again, now.”

Aside from the logistics of meeting emergency needs, there are spiritual needs that weigh heavily, too. Nuna and her staff take the time to listen to the stories of the Syrian refugees, to hear their  hopes,  of their lost dreams and what’s left of their future. As a result, “They know that we have the compassion of Christ that is compelling us to do something. Jesus says ‘when you see somebody who is hungry, you give him food; somebody who is in prison, you visit him.’ So, when you see somebody who has no shelter, you just do something about it. When you see somebody who has no clothes or shoes, you do something about it.”

Hope For A Future

(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy International)

When the refugees spy a Triumphant Mercy van, they see people coming to them, as Christians, opening their hands, extending a hand of help. It speaks volumes, explains Nuna, adding that she wants other believers to be praying, “That God would just have His way in the midst of misery, that He would be the hope of people and that He would just show them that they are precious in His eyes.”

One last thing:  they’re asking for financial help, but the team also needs revitalization. “Also pray that all the people who are working with the refugees, that we would have the human resource, the financial resource and the strength to continue (because it’s draining)….so, a renewed strength, a renewed vision.”

Renewed strength and vision are focal points, especially now that increasing demands face the ministry team. By the way, this weekend’s forecasts calls for more cold temperatures and rain.

 Header photo of Syrian Refugee Camp in December, courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon.

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Syria (MNN) – The UNHCR recently reported that up to 250,000 Syrian refugees are expected to return to their home country in 2019.

Returning to Syria

About 37,000 already returned in 2018 and in 2017, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported more than 600,000 Syrian refugees returned in the first seven months of that year.

According to the IOM report in 2017, 97 percent of people returned to their own homes that year. According to the recent report by the UNHCR, refugees are mainly traveling to the governorates of Deraa, Damascus, and Homs.

Reuters reports that there are still obstacles in refugees’ way, including documentation, property, and threats against those who deserted the army. There is also a great need to demine certain areas.

The war has generally settled in many parts of Syria, though the battle still rages in the north of the country.

As families feel safer and more confident, they are returning. But not everyone is ready to return.

Reluctance of Children

“We are starting to see them slowly, slowly, they’re feeling more and more safe, but the kids especially are not feeling the safety because they don’t know,” Triumphant Mercy International’sKelsey says.

“You can’t logically explain things to a four-year-old who two years ago remembers waking up in the middle of the night to a huge sound and mom and dad rushing them away.”

Trauma has marred adults and children who have fled the Syrian crises. According to a 2018 report by The Conversation, 45 percent of refugee children suffer from PTSD.

Many have started abusing drugs and alcohol and depression is very high among them. Suicide and self-harm rates have also risen.

Organizations have held trauma counseling in order to help heal adults and children.

“Throughout the whole thing, there has been NGOs who have been inputting into and people that NGOs like Triumphant Mercy can refer kids to, especially kids who have extreme cases,” Kelsey says.

Now, as extreme cases have been addressed, Kelsey says there is evidence of trauma among children, including misbehavior in classes and not being able to control themselves.

Healing before Returning

Right now, Triumphant Mercy’s aim is to help kids heal by the time they return to their home country and learn how they can process through trauma.

“We’re realizing we have to send them back whole and healthy because we can send them back educated, but if they can’t be whole, healthy human beings, they can’t create a good, healthy community,” Kelsey says.

In fact, there are concerns that if children do not heal emotionally, it may lead to a new path of terrorism as they try to fill the void of pain.

In Triumphant Mercy classrooms, teachers are demonstrating to children how they can be open and share about how they feel.

“The first thing we start with is just talking about emotions especially within Middle Eastern, Syrian culture, emotion isn’t really explained by parents. It’s not really emphasized. In fact, it’s actually overlooked and often, parenting is through shame because of the … honor shame culture. Often, we’ll find kids who just don’t know how to express it.”

Kelsey says during a class, she asked a male translator to share about a time he was afraid. Before he could start, a boy kept insisting that men are not afraid.

“There is this expectation on them to put on the front of, ‘we can do it. We’re going to make it happen. We’re not afraid. We’re just going to go.’”

Yet, after fleeing the terror of violence in their home country and finding safety, children are once again faced with the fear of returning.

(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy International)

Kelsey says two kids from a class are preparing to return to Syria, but the children do not want to return.

“They were afraid because when they left, this family specifically, we knew they left because bombs were being dropped on the home next to theirs.”

Healing in Prayer

The process of healing and sharing emotions is important for children so they know how to deal with trauma as they return.

Triumphant Mercy workers have been directing children to prayer to heal.

“Primarily, you let the kids drive the conversation a bit, let them answer the questions, let them ask the questions and then you separate yourself as an individual. ‘When I feel uncomfortable, when I’m afraid, I will pray to God.’”

As families return, pray for safety and complete healing.

Also, pray for Triumphant Mercy as they shift their focus of work to be more Syria-based. Support their work financially here.

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This Article originally posted by Missions News Network’s website. If you would like to read the article on the original site please click here.

Syria (MNN) – Syrian refugees are starting to return to their home country, which is changing outreach and ministry programs and the community of different areas.

Returning to Syria

“With international changes, also the [Lebanese] government pressures and even the international pressure for seeing [refugees] to go back home, we can feel it not only in the camps, but everywhere we go,” says Nuna, Triumphant Mercy International’s Director.

Nuna says she’s met young children working at shops in Beirut and asked them why they’re were not in school.

Human Right Watch reports there are 1.5 million school-aged Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan. Half of them do not have access to formal education.

Many refugee children face barriers to enrolling in schools in their host countries because of child labor, language difficulties, and requirements such as identification registration with the government.

However, Triumphant Mercy is seeing families and children who are not able to attend school in Lebanon returning to their home countries.

Nuna notes Triumphant Mercy’s community center in Beirut has already said goodbye to children who have returned to their homes.

“It’s not a mass-exodus, but it’s more on a personal [scale], just a few at a time. But, it started. The migration back started.”

A Shift of Efforts

With the change of the atmosphere and community, comes the responsibility of adapting ministry efforts.

“We cannot keep ministering the same way,” Nuna says. But, “we can keep testifying the same way. So, we keep [sharing] Christian testimony. Now, we’re trying to think of ways that are accelerating our impact so that when they go back to Syria, that something would be stuck in their minds and in their hearts about Christ.”

Along with ministry efforts, Nuna says the schools will also need to transition. Their goal is to see the number of students decrease in places like Lebanon and increase in Syria.

Triumphant Mercy knows it is important for students, and even for children who haven’t attended school, to have a safe and healing place they can go to on a regular basis as they return to their home country and start resettling.

“So many people have missed years of school in Syria, [and] so many kids are going back. They were not with us. They were not schooled. They will need a transition. They will need to come to a place where they can start to come back on a level where they can actually enter the public school. So, we have lots of work to do there.”

Triumphant Mercy is beginning to tell teachers in Lebanon how they can prepare kids as they return.

For instance, in their schools, they’re holding mid-year and quarterly exams and giving students certificates for each term completed, proving how far they’ve come in their level of education.

Triumphant Mercy is starting a school in Damascus where children can restart and continue their education. Through it, they hope to bring educational, spiritual, and emotional healing.

Challenges in Returning

Nuna says one of the challenges is knowing how to help refugees return.

She also says there is need for mental preparation due to “psychological trauma that was there because of what they experience in Syria needs to be worked on so they will not have fear anymore to go back. That’s now the challenge for us. It’s not anymore how to accommodate them to come. It’s more like to prepare them psychologically to go back,” Nuna says.

“This is now our role, I think, in the next season – prepare them psychologically and emotionally to go back home and at the same time, having them know that we are already there. So, that helps them know that at least [they] have somebody there who can help [in Syria].”

Another challenge Triumphant Mercy has been faced with both in Lebanon and will continue facing  is working with a generation that has ultimately been forced to raise themselves –in all respects, a fatherless generation.

Nuna says parents have been focused on finding resources, finances, and security, so they haven’t been able to raise their children.

Though the war in certain areas of Syria has died down, the scars of it have been left on this generation, and they haven’t had strong parental figures to guide them, showing them right from wrong.

Drug abuse, smoking, and alcohol use are all growing among kids, especially in refugee camps.

“This is not usual in Islamic regions. Alcohol is prohibited, but yet, now, you can just see alcohol everywhere, even inside Syria in the Islamic areas,” Nuna says.

Get Involved

(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy International)

As refugees continue returning to Syria, pray they will remember who Christ is, pray they will choose to follow Him and share His Word with the neighbors back home. Pray for the fatherless generation to see that God is the ultimate Father who will always be there for them.

Pray also for the rebuilding of Syria and that organizations will help financially and with building resources.

Finally, pray for Triumphant Mercy’s school and for civilians’ safety. Nuna says the war is slowing down, but a battle is coming to the north of Syria.

“They’re getting ready. They’re moving all the troops there and we can see that the battle is going to start. Whether they would come into Lebanon or not, I don’t know.”

Encourage refugees in your area and financially support Triumphant Mercy’s work here.

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This article was written a reporter Tom Orde who came to visit us here in Lebanon. And It is originally published on Medium.com Here you can read in it’s original form. 

 

Tom Orde reports from Lebanon where many refugees have sought safety from the horrors of civil war

A horse rears up on its hind legs and its rider brandishes a sword with a snarl on his face.

He’s a martyr decorating one of the countless banners dotted around the city.

Black flags with white Arabic script line the dusty street like bunting. It’s late October, humid and pushing 30c.

After a few minutes of waiting it’s safe to go inside.

Two blinking toddlers sit opposite me, gibbering and jabbing at each other. They are refugees from Syria.

The house we’re in is in the Fanar neighbourhood of Beirut. It’s a two-room building with hard concrete floors like a factory and the windows shuttered closed. There’s a TV, a sofa and a few recent family photos. Spartan.

Hushed by the two women sat on either side of them the children now sit staring and curious. Iman and Munira are aunt and niece respectively.

They came to Lebanon several years ago and are originally from the Damascan suburb of Ghouta.

A UN report in June described the five-year siege of eastern Ghouta as “barbaric and medieval, amounting to war crimes, and crimes against humanity”.

After leaving Ghouta the family lived in an area of ISIS-held territory where even the young children were forced to cover themselves completely.

I am accompanying Vican and Maral, from an organisation called Triumphant Mercy (TM) on a home visit.

It was founded in 2006 to support Lebanese civilians affected by the Israel–Hezbollah war.

In a true case of turning the other cheek, they started helping Syrian refugees in 2013 despite the lengthy Syrian invasion and occupation of Lebanon from 1976 to 2005.

The women talk and Vican translates for me.

Iman, now 28, suffered severe postnatal depression after having triplets at the age of 14. To escape the Syrian conflict, she and her family made the dangerous mountain crossing to Lebanon. She tells us her brothers are stuck in Idlib where the war still rages.

Here in Lebanon, Iman’s 13-year-old son earns about $2.5 dollars a day doing manual jobs and can’t afford to take days off.

Her husband struggles to find work with a slipped disc and serious back problems. The women have no option but to stay at home and look after their children.

Based out of a community centre, TM makes weekly home visits as a way to maintain regular contact with refugee families stuck at home and to show that there are people there to support them and adapt to life in Lebanon.

This is the third year of contact with Iman who sends her children to the centre.

Set up in 2016, the centre is a hub for the surrounding areas and supports over 1,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugee families.

It offers classes in English, Arabic, maths, art and IT for children aged between 6 and 12 who are unable to access government or UN school provision.

There are opportunities for vocational training and adult education as well as food assistance, rent assistance and monthly clothes distributions.

But they also offer psycho-social (counselling) classes to help those affected by the war process what they have been through and to live a normal life or childhood.

Making our way to the next home our mini-bus jolts along the steep and winding Beirut roads. We pass military checkpoints of machine guns, razor wire, and armoured vehicles.

Lebanese history is complex, to say the least, and demographically the country is a mix of Shia, Sunni, Druze, various sects of Christianity and a sizeable Armenian minority.

The country’s 15-year civil war may have ended almost three decades ago but interfaith tensions still persist to this day.

With a population of just over 4 million people, Lebanon hosts over a million Syrians. This is on top of 450,000 Palestinian refugees already registered with United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are 5,637,050 externally placed Syrian refugees, 8,000 of whom have resettled in the UK.

We make our way up cracked concrete steps and again enter spartan settings where we meet two sisters-in-law. Raida and Hadisha.

We’re offered plastic garden chairs while our hosts sit on mildewy cushions on the floor.

There’s a TV and nothing else.

In total two families live in the house. Raida has two children. One girl and a boy. Hadisha has a girl and a baby on the way. Two of the children attend the TM community centre.

The boy said: “I have three friends at school and I would like to go to Syria someday.”

Raida complains her husband can’t find enough work and is only able to find three days of work a week.

Hadisha suffers from stomach problems and is in her fifth month of pregnancy. She is especially worried as they don’t have money for the hospital fees.

Her brother had cancer but could not afford treatment in Lebanon, by the time he returned to Syria it was too late. He died aged 23.

The two families feel isolated because they don’t know their neighbours. Regardless, Raida says: “It’s better to come to Lebanon. In Lebanon there is UN safety. In Syria, there is nothing [security] especially in the villages.”

So many refugees have gone through horrific experiences during the Syrian conflict and the harsh reality is that despite their circumstances and past traumas these families are the ‘lucky ones’.

Stories

This is Mahmoud, he is from Syria, near Aleppo. He is 11 years old and wants to be an engineer when he grows up. He has seven siblings, his two older brothers work already and sometimes he want to be a “man” and work also, but his family wants him to stay in school to get a good education. He likes English and inventing class.

Mahmoud and kids like him with big dreams, have been dealt hard times. Their desire to learn and excitement about the future is why Triumphant Mercy wants to help them fulfill those dreams, by making sure until they return home, that they will not be left behind in the realm of education.

Stories

In the valley, the schools have been back for four weeks now. We often reshuffle the classes at the start of the new school year, as the children learn at different speeds and sometimes miss parts of school during the year for a number of reasons. The new school year gives a good opportunity to try classes in different combinations, to make sure every child has the best ‘fit’ of level, teacher and classmates that they can. It can therefore take a while for everyone to get settled in! One teacher recently commented on that journey, ‘At the beginning, it was a little hard. The children have been in school before, but they have never been in one class together, so that was new for them. But now, everything is very good.’ The children were very excited to be back. In the first weeks, we talked a bit about their summer breaks, and what they had enjoyed. Lots talked about the summer bible camp – ‘Being here in school with you!’ – as their favourite part, and others talked about the school trips at the end of last year. They loved swimming. A few children had been to the sea with their families during the summer too or had visited relatives, and some had been to weddings. All of them were really happy to be back at school. When he was asked, Ahmad* from Grade 10 said, ‘The worst part about summer was that it was boring. The best part was coming back to school.’ The impact on the rest of the camp is remarkable, too. One mother told us, ‘In the summer, the children were crazy because there was nothing to do. I am very happy that they are back at school!’

Stories

The women have never been happier since the sewing program has started in Zahle camp. Its something they all relate to as they work with their hands and it gives them security, courage and self esteem to show the world that ” I can take care of myself and my family” by providing for them.

Stories

Today starts the new school year at the Triumphant Mercy Center in Beirut. We are excited to see new faces and some that were with us during our summer camps. We have 38 children ages 4-5 registered for out small children’s program and 47 children registered for ages 6-14 for the older children’s school. We look forward to seeing the kids grow and learn throughout the year and the changes we will see in the kids and in the community.

Stories

Yesterday at the community center in Beirut we gave away over 150 boxes of food to Lebanese families in need. The Bible Society of Lebanon provided the boxes and we made sure they got to those who needed them most. It was great day seeing the joy and thankfulness on people’s faces and enjoy being with them as they came to pick up their boxes.

Stories

This last weekend we held a marriage seminar in Syria. It was a chance for couples who had been focusing on just doing the necessary things during the war, to reconnect with each other and look again to their marriages. One of the things that was an outward sign of them falling again in love with each other was a new spark in romance and romantic acts between couples. It was a blessing to see so many looking again to the person they fell in love with a desire to serve them and love them well.

Stories

Last Thursday at the Triumphant Mercy Camp near Zahle, we had the privilege of being able to host a team of Doctors from America. They came to do basic medical check ups and help any who were in need. We had those from the Triumphant Mercy camp and some from neighboring camps. Over all the doctors were able to see over 125 people through the day. It was such a blessing to have them come and we know that many were helped by their willingness to serve.  

Stories

At the Triumphant Mercy center in Beirut we were blessed to be able to bring around 80 children together for a five week long summer camp. The children listened to stories, learned songs and plays. They also had outings to the park and one time even to get ice cream. On our last day we partied it out and danced the morning away.  We are sad to see it end but we know that the camp has been impactful for many of them. We look forward to more times like these and are looking forward to the upcoming two week camp in Zahle. Watch part of our party here