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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
As we are nearing the end of 2022, Lebanon’s economy continues declining steadily with no hope of stability in sight for many Lebanese households. Many families with different challenges have been struggling to survive and make ends meet in their country for the third year in a row. Hundreds of Lebanese families, including members of churches, have been going through a rough and deteriorated financial situation. Yet amid these hard times, the Lord remains faithful to His people, the Church.
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.
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.
Lebanon’s economic crisis —considered by the World
Bank as one of the worst in the world in the past 150
years — left no aspect of society untouched. Below is a
quick snapshot of how different crises combined to reach
the current state of instability.