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ABTS
Learning from a Distance: the ABTS Online Program
In the current world of social distancing, we are more than ever called to be the salt and light to others around us. Starting April 8th, we at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) will begin to provide online classes for our current residential students so they can complete their training from the safety of their homes.
Family to Gather
Having been encouraged by a friend to attend, on Saturday, January 11th Rana set off for the Family to Gather event that was taking place at the ABTS Moore Conference Center that day. Hoping to find support in the midst of the political and economic crisis happening in Lebanon and keep her family strong despite all of the uncertainty and anxiety it produced, she brought her husband, nursery-aged son, and 8-year-old daughter along with her. What happened for her family there, however, was beyond what she could have hoped for.
When Tempted to Flee, Stand
Wave after wave of violence has threatened to extinguish the light of Christ in Iraq as the country has been vacated of over two thirds of its Christian population since the early 2000s. And yet, at least one pastor and his congregation can be highlighted as having stood firm in the face of the temptation to flee and chosen to shine as bright lights in the impending darkness.
Is There Hope?
After two weeks of mass demonstrations, road closures and a resigned Prime Minister, the fate of Lebanon hangs in the balance as the country faces the unknown.
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 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.
From Broken Homes to a Home of Hope
Sara went from one broken home to another until one day she filed a complaint with the police and was given the chance to move to a new sort of home: a Home of Hope.
Finding Jesus, the Healer
“From pain grew peace and love.” These are the words of 20-year-old Nour, a recent graduate of Home of Hope, a shelter for former Street Kids. Join us as she tells her story of how she met Jesus, the Healer during her time at Home of Hope.
BCYM Christmas in a Box
The Countdown to Christmas has begun at BCYM. Our team and volunteers have been busy printing, buying, packing and putting the final touches on the Christmas Camp in a Box just in time to distribute to over 1,000 special children across Lebanon.
DMAH
The Enduring Legacy of the Bustani-Van Dyck Arabic Bible
Since it was first published more than 150 years ago in 1865, the Bustani-Van Dyck Arabic Bible has been the most popular, authoritative, and enduring Bible in the Arabic language.
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.
MERATH
Surely He is With Us Always
God knows it has gotten dark in Syria and Lebanon recently. And only God knows if it will still get darker, to what degree, and for how long. But one thing is sure: it will never get as dark as the day God’s only begotten Son died on the cross on our behalf.
Meet Sahar: Showing the Hand of God
My name is Sahar. I am the program coordinator and case manager of a project that supports and empowers women at my church here in Syria. As a project that advocates against gender-based violence, our main goal is to raise awareness among women concerning their rights and the several types of gender-based violence, as well as reintegrating the women suffering from gender-based violence into the social tapestry by providing psychological support.
Update on Syria: Through Him Who Gives Us Strength
All through the month of February, multiple earthquakes and aftershocks hit Turkey and Syria, killing, injuring, and displacing tens of thousands of people in the middle of a winter storm.
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.
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
Christians in the Middle East
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a Christian in the Lebanon? In this video, Daniella Daou, SKILD’s Partner Relations Coordinator, tells us what it is like to be a Christian in the midst of a unique and diverse consociational system.
Empowering the Powerless
In this video, Betty Maarari, coordinator of SKILD’s Parent2Parent support group, shares with listeners about the importance of protecting the powerless and of giving honor to the weaker parts, since we are all a part of one body.
We Are the Children of Hope
Pastor Joseph Kazzi shares about the power of the resurrection and its effect on the disciples. As a result of Christ’s resurrection we can be children of hope.
Reflections for the Lenten Season
In this video, our partner on the ground, Joe Bridi, shares his reflections on the Lenten season with us. He asks us important questions about how we are living our lives and how we are investing in our relationships with God and others.
Updates
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.
Light that Shines in the Darkness
It is hard to believe that the ongoing Syrian civil war started 10 years ago. This is an anniversary we all wish we did not have to commemorate. As the situation for families affected by the war keeps on getting darker, God’s light keeps on shining ever brighter through the relief ministry of our partner churches.
Op-Ed: A Time for Truth, A Time for Hope
In a world where we are bombarded with contradictory information and conspiracy theories are mainstream, Pilate’s question to Jesus, “What is Truth?” is more important now than ever.
On A Journey Of Hope
Thank you for the generosity you have shown over the last two weeks in partnering with us to strengthen the witness of the Church in the midst of the crisis in Beirut. Here's an update on LSESD's response: 40+ families are being provided with temporary housing in the ABTS residences along with...