April 2007
Is the Resurrected Lord revisiting Tyre?
Last February, on one of my visits with Presbyterian churches
in Lebanon, I went with the Rev. Adeeb Awad of the National Evangelical
(Presbyterian) Synod of Syria and Lebanon to visit the Presbyterian
church in the biblical city of Tyre, in south Lebanon.
Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Tyre, south Lebanon.
Tyre, the southernmost Lebanese city, which was visited by our
Lord Jesus Christ, has always been an important city in the history
of the Middle East. Now the city is again a focal point in the
geopolitical strategies of the Middle East. Its inhabitants—95
percent Shiite—are a major force in the unending armed and
ideological struggle between the Arabs and Israel. Tyre is especially
important because of its location near the Lebanese-Israeli border.
This gives the city an ideological charge; they’re ever
expecting the unknown.
Tyre has two Palestinian refugee camps, both of them established
in 1948. One had 3,000 refugees and the other 1,600. Both locations
were too small to accommodate more refugees. Nowadays, the number
in both approaches 100,000 people. People in these camps live
way below the line of poverty, even wretchedness! Health conditions
are drastic, and malnutrition is common; while other parts of
the city “feast sumptuously,” the traditional churches
shut their ears and eyes and “pass by on the other side.”
For many long years the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in the
city heeded not the call of duty—partly because of the explosive
situation in south Lebanon, partly because the church was without
a pastor. About five years ago, the Lord burdened the hearts of
the young pastor George Ghanem, his graceful young wife Monitta,
parents of a baby boy, Adeeb, and a teenage daughter, Amal. The
Lord called them to proclaim God’s love to the city.
The Presbytery Church in Tyre, which faces the Mediterranean
Sea, has responded to God's call to provide comfort to refugees
and outcasts.
They quickly put the church and the pastor’s house in order,
making them acceptable to sleep, live, and worship in. God was
preparing the way through the prayers and supplications of one
lonely beauty, the young Zizi. Zizi was a convert from one of
the revival campaigns in Beirut several years ago. The Lord kept
the side of Zizi, fed her, and carried her in His bosom, until
the day she met George and Monitta, and ever since then they have
formed a team with a very clear and vocal goal—proclaim
the love of God through Christ to the whole city.
They wanted that church to be a place where all the outcasts
in the camps could find comfort, food, clothes, medicine, help,
encouragement, hope, and above all the good news. They asked people
for used clothes, used shoes, leftovers—anything was acceptable.
Believers in sister churches started feeling the urge to give
from their unwanted stuff; some gave money to buy medicine and
powdered milk for the babies and children. Soon the church became
a haven for the poor, outcasts, marginalized, and refugees. Next
to the church was a bank that found the view of the church too
shabby, so guess what? They volunteered to repair the whole church
and gave it a completely new look. A Shiite organization volunteered
to turn the space between the church and the pastor’s house
into a beautiful salon for reading and studying and fellowshipping.
Now there are several meetings held inside the camps—prayers,
Bible studies, and visitations.
Children on Palm Sunday at the Presbyterian Church of Tyre.
Any time of the day or night, you can visit the church and meet
the people who are making one of the most beautiful manifestations
of koinonia. No sooner does Zizi, who works at the UN, finish
her working day than she hurries to the church. She, George, and
Monitta dedicate a portion of their pay to the needs of that flock.
They say they want to be a testimony to all in love, hope, and
the giving of the self, in the footsteps of the Master. If asked,
they would humbly answer, please pray that the power of God may
be made perfect in our weaknesses, that He may revisit us in our
city, and that His Peace may be complete, spread, and dwell in
our region.
We all need to be visited by the Resurrected Lord, especially
the people in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine/Israel, and other Middle
Eastern countries who have lost the hope and the joy of the resurrection.
All need to be reassured of the resurrection and the hope it gives.
Pray with us that the power of the resurrection change their war
into peace and their suffering into joy and hope, and that they
experience a resurrection in their lives and in their countries.
To God be the glory!
Nuhad Tomeh
Beriut, Lebanon
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
166 |
