Lebanon #9: Stitching
The brand new door was ajar and awaiting our arrival (the old door had been blown away by the August 4 explosion in the port). We caught a glimpse of a picture of Jesus on the wall within and noticed a sign on the door. It announced that tailoring services could be found here, and soon we would meet that tailor/seamstress Jacqueline, who lived here with her special needs sister, Lodi.
We had come here with partners from the Synod who work for the Compassion Protestant Society, the Synod’s diaconal arm. I had met Joyce Sakr over Zoom but this was my first encounter with CPS’s new executive director, Fadi Riachi. Both combined caring and competence in equal measures, and as we walked the street where the nearby blast had crumbled building facades and left a “carpet” of glass inches thick upon which to drive, I was grateful that Outreach had joined with this ministry, within days of the explosion, to provide resources for more needy families to begin repairs in their humble homes.
As we squeezed into the sisters' tiny home, these diminutive sisters found a place for each of their guests to perch and then told us a bit of their story. Lodi had been in the apartment when the explosion occurred, as glass shattered into the small rooms and door frames burst into pieces, but Jacqueline was in the elevator which went dark and dropped a number of feet. As they recalled the event, all these months later, you could tell that it had been a terrifying experience — but they were adamant in their assertions that God had surely preserved them.
They were proud to show us the rest of their flat: a compact kitchen, chock-a-block with food items and dishes, a minuscule bathroom (closet?) behind a bi-fold door, and their bedroom (they share a bunk bed and I wondered which one of these not-so-spry ladies has to clamor up the ladder, which leans against back frame, to get on the top).
The bedroom doubles as Jacqueline’s workspace. She showed us how a rough sheet of plywood is placed over a small table for laying out fabric. Hanging from the walls around her ancient sewing machine were garments in process, including a clerical robe for a local priest. Their hardscrabble lives are still being put back together: clothing is stacked on a tiny balcony outside and early repairs, done by sloppy workers, are being redone.
We gave them a small cross and gathered them in tight hugs as we prayed. As I left, I lifted my own prayer to our God who is able “to make all things new.” He is the Great Tailor, who can stitch back together the lives of these two faithful sisters. And may He also do it for this broken and battered country, as well...
by Marilyn Borst, for the team