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Building Unity in the Beqaa
In this spirit of unity, 20 different churches and ministry institutions from the Beqaa Valley gathered in July to learn, exchange, and evaluate best practices for sustainable development.
The Lord’s Fingerprints
Six months following the Beirut Explosion, ABTS has helped a number of families to get back onto their feet. Despite the hardships, the Lord is still working through this calamity.
ABTS: A Shelter from the Storm
For many displaced victims of the August 4th Beirut Blast, the Lord has been using ABTS as a shelter. Injured, traumatized, and having lost everything, these people had no idea where they were being sent, just that they were going to a place that would host them.
Housing the Homeless: ABTS Welcomes 70 Displaced Persons
With the Beirut explosion leaving approximately 300,000 people homeless, ABTS decided to open its arms and its residences to those in need. Upon hearing the shocking news, ABTS staff and partners jumped into action to repaint, remodel, and fix up their student dorms to house those whose homes were destroyed.
BBS
BBS AND THE SMART PROGRAM: Handmade Crafts Exhibition
Just before the Christmas break, Beirut Baptist School (BBS) hosted an exhibition for handmade crafts. It was prepared by the students of the SMART Program that is dedicated to preparing students with learning differences and special needs for the opportunities and challenges of everyday life.
Where Are BBS Grads Now? The Stories of Three LSESD Teammates
From four years old until senior high school graduation, Daniella Daou (Partner Relations Officer at LSESD) walked through the doors of Beirut Baptist School every school day. BBS wasn’t the only ministry that filled her childhood memories.
We Pray For Calmer Seas
As Beirut Baptist School (BBS) steps into a new academic year, dichotomous feelings of excitement and anxiety encompass our staff.
Your Family, Wherever You Go
On July 6th, Beirut Baptist School celebrated the senior graduation of 64 students! It was a joyous night, not just for the students, but the whole community. To reach this commencement stage, these students faced above average challenges.
BCYM
A Long-Awaited Harvest: BCYM Summer Recap
Ministry work is often like gardening. You till the soil, plant seeds, faithfully water, but mostly you watch and hope for fruit. Then, all at once, when the weather is finally right, the garden seems to explode with new life.
Ordinary People, Extraordinary God
Georgette Issa has been in a wheelchair since the age of one. For her, leaving the house is a tough and pricey task. Not only must she pay for rides, but she has to check if there is electricity, so she can use the elevator to move in her wheelchair.
From Avoidance to Trust: Catholics & Evangelicals
On May 2, BCYM (Baptist Children and Youth Ministry) led a children’s event for over 170 youth! Invited by MIDADE Maghdouche and Abouna Chady, our team had the privilege to spend the day singing hymns, sharing Bible stories, crafting, and enjoying lunch with the community.
A Successful Return to Kids’ Camps After a Two-Year Interruption
Planning a kids’ camp in restricted health conditions was no small challenge. However, with the heartfelt calling of our partner, First Baptist Church Alexandria, a new hope arose.
DMAH
Joy in the Journey: DMAH’s Event for Young Girls
The internet is a sea of information, some credible and others misleading. Parents find themselves hiding from taboo topics, in a way to shield their daughters from an overload of information.
Remembering an LSESD Founder: Reverend Boulos Haddad
The year was 1996. After a shift in mission focus from organizations abroad, it seemed certain that some Baptist ministries would have to close their doors. The land and the offices where LSESD now stands, where countless hours and relationships were built, might all disappear too.
Creating Room for Dialogue
DMAH has been focusing this past year on creating a crucial space for people to interact with the rich content of their locally written and translated resources, whether through online platforms, interactive book launches or fellowship-oriented events.
You Can’t Hide the Church in Lebanon
“It was a joy to get to know those brothers, it was a privilege, considering especially the difficulty that they face and pastoring in an environment with so many people leaving the country,” said Folmar, “Pastoral ministry is hard enough as it is, but to be pastoring in this kind of environment, I really respect those men.”
MERATH
A Picture of Heaven: Christmas with INSAAF
On a bright Saturday in December, children from 15 different nations gathered in a small room in Beirut for a Christmas party. Jingle bells in Arabic played in the background and the children showed up in their very best – dresses, bows, and bright colors.
When Education Becomes a Luxury
“There is nothing more left from life other than seeing our kids studying, reaching places, and seeing them happy. That’s our dream,” said Fawaz.
Building Unity in the Beqaa
In this spirit of unity, 20 different churches and ministry institutions from the Beqaa Valley gathered in July to learn, exchange, and evaluate best practices for sustainable development.
“Sometimes We Don’t Have Food at Home”
On an early Monday morning in Anjar’s MERATH-supported church-based learning center, young Mazen came in with his classmates for a SKILD-facilitated session on psychosocial support. As part of a series on social emotional learning, that day’s lesson was on positively handling negative emotions.
SKILD
The Joy of Seeing Them Celebrated
Inside the hall of Saydet El Inaya church in Maghdouche, many families of children and adults with special needs and learning difficulties began to gather. Yet there was one family who caught my attention.
Ideal and Beyond
“I am very excited to be at NDU. I will definitely do well on my first semester… Whatever [tests] Mrs. Lama gives me, I will do my best to get a perfect score…
I will do public speaking just like the TED Talks, so I am super excited to be at this university.”
“Sometimes We Don’t Have Food at Home”
On an early Monday morning in Anjar’s MERATH-supported church-based learning center, young Mazen came in with his classmates for a SKILD-facilitated session on psychosocial support. As part of a series on social emotional learning, that day’s lesson was on positively handling negative emotions.
Royalty in God’s Eyes: Night to Shine 2022
Every year in February, Night to Shine sweeps the world, bringing prom to individuals with special needs. It’s a joyful night to remind them that they are royalty in God’s eyes. With the support of the Tim Tebow Foundation, over 600 global sites hosted more than 100,000 individuals with special needs to illustrate God’s love for them.
Devotions
From a Spectator Church to a Priesthood of All Believers
Instead of being overcome by despair, we realized that, in the same way Christ entered the darkness of our fallen world as “the light of men”, we need to be the light within the tunnel for those around us for “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
Poetry: Light in the Tunnel
But there is light – light in the tunnel! Followers of Jesus Christ are in the tunnel: Keeping the Beirut Baptist School and SKILD going and growing!
A Hymn of Faith: “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow”
This song was recorded on August 4, 2020 – the morning before the Beirut blast. Like the song says, we “don’t know about what will come tomorrow”,but our God does. There are many things we don’t understand, but we can trust in the One who holds our hand.
Are You Okay? We’re Focused On Him.
Faith grows in pain. We learn to surrender to Him when we feel helpless. We then fix our eyes on Him, and we plant a seed of hope.
Updates
Appeal: Sustaining Light on Campus
Lebanon has been living at the mercy of power cuts by the state provider and rationing of private generators due to fuel shortages. Public electricity is only available between 0 and 2 hours a day, while diesel has been in short supply and at a very high cost.
Exodus: The Existential Threat Facing Christians in the Middle East
Driven by increasingly desperate living circumstances and no visible resolution in the near future, a significant number of Lebanese have been forced to seek a sense of normalcy abroad.
Where Does Our Help Come from?
Lebanon has been enduring a severe and prolonged economic depression, and it is hard to imagine that the situation could still get worse. Yet it does, every single day, and an even bigger storm is coming.
8 Months Later
It’s been eight months since the August Port Explosion and what has Lebanon seen change since then? LSESD’s COO, Wissam Nasrallah, shares with us his thoughts on Lebanon and the direction that it is headed in.
Annual Reports
Impact Report 2021-2022
We trust that God is in control, so whatever work He begins – He will finish. Nothing we do is in vain. In times like these, our communities desperately need a Church that demonstrates the unwavering and practical love of Christ.
Impact Report – Oct 2020 to Oct 2021
Impact Report 2019-2020
The fiscal year 2019-2020 was an exceptional year for both Lebanon and LSESD. Find out more in LSESD’s 2019-2020 Annual Report.