Together for the Family - September 2021 Update
This video was sent to the May 2021 Outreach team that visited them in Lebanon.
Mrs. Izdihar Kassis, Executive Director for Together for the Family, shares these summer highlights of the ministry of Together for the Family (TFF) with Syrian refugees…
The Family Oasis
Twelve years passed and I never gave up on this dream: Together for the Family needs a permanent center for its various activities after all our years of renting land and putting up temporary structures. Perhaps it was more wishful thinking than even a dream! Who could afford to pay for a property? With the global crisis that the world is facing, who would think to help us buy a piece of land in Lebanon? Those who know me well will understand that I do not easily give up my dreams!
I shared my dream with several friends and, in June, sent an appeal to all our partners after we found an appropriate piece of land for an exceptional deal. One of our partners is a dear sister, Dr. Sharon Ayabe, who visited us a couple of times, coming all the way from Hawaii. In June Sharon’s sister, Cheryl suddenly passed away. Cheryl loved Jesus and others - especially children and families. In life, she was gentle and generous. Sharon and her dad experienced unending sorrow until the Lord lifted their heads and dried their tears with the idea of the Family Oasis! It would be a place for the expanded and consolidated ministry of Together for the Family where everyone who enters it would surely find comfort, love, peace, and a better future. They began giving and raising funds to purchase the land. The major bulk of funding for the purchase was raised by Sharon and her dad and others joined in as well. In no time the long-awaited dream became a reality!
With gratitude to God and thanks to His people, I am so excited to share with you that Together for the Family now owns a 40,000 square foot property in a very good, quiet location in the Beqaa Valley. Plans are underway to move to the new location by the end of this September.
Trauma Ministry
Our annual counseling camps for traumatized children and youth took place at the beginning of July and lasted for two weeks. We welcomed 25 boys at the first camp and 37 girls at the second. Our main theme focused on the verse: “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. They shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon” (Psalm 92:12-13). The emphasis was on the endurance of cedar trees as related to the endurance of us as human beings. You can’t imagine the mood of sadness yet hope and strength shared throughout those days!
A story that left a deep mark on me was about a 13-year-old boy named Ahmad. Ahmad, with tears in his eyes, mentioned how grateful he is for knowing Together for the Family. He was a small kid living with his family in Syria. He remembers playing with his cousins and siblings in the garden of their house. “I used to take care of the sheep and help my father milk the cows. I used to enjoy going on road trips with my family and smelling the beautiful air of Syria. But then came the days where I found myself walking through the streets of Syria with corpses and bullets all over. Little by little, I became aware of the fact that we moved to another country and started another life. I am hopeful that one day I will go back home and be able to hug my cousins and watch my kids play with their kids. It was very hard for me to accept the change, but as I had the chance to meet Together for the Family and as I became closer to Jesus, I decided to stay strong and learn carpentry to improve myself so that when I go back to Syria, I will create something nice,” he said.
Staff Retreat
We had a three-day retreat for our volunteers and staff where we discussed lots of important topics and shared our feelings, disappointments, and success throughout the past months. It was a relaxing time and very much needed after the many pressures that our staff and volunteers have endured. We were able to get a very good deal at a nice hotel nearby. Most of our staff had never been to such a venue and really appreciated being there. Siham, our baker and a refugee from Syria, said: “Being in this place makes me feel that Together for the Family values me and my work a great deal. I have never had such a feeling in my whole life.”
Each morning started with devotions which staff members took the lead in sharing. In one of the sessions a staff member, who came from a strict Muslim family, shared her testimony: “I am wearing my ‘hijab’ not because I like it or believe in it, but my family said they will accept my Christian faith if I keep my ‘hijab.’ I don't mind doing anything to keep my faith in Jesus Christ my savior.”
Read more about Together for the Family HERE.
THE NEED
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts totaling $20,000 to help TFF support programs that offer Syrian refugees hope and healing, as well as provide food and other basic material goods while nurturing a new identity for them as children of a loving God – whom they have not known before – who cares for them out of his abundant grace. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.