Lebanon #11: Strength and Courage
Strength and Courage
Lois Andrews, for the team
First Presbyterian Church, San Diego, CA
Our team number dwindled today but our weary bodies, buoyed by lifted spirits, remained committed to visiting more of the ministries supported by The Outreach Foundation. We were challenged once again by the strength and courage of two heroines of the Church. The stories of their ministries in Beirut and Hammana represent endless energy, required a dream and a vision for what God can do, and hearts filled with love for the vulnerable and those in great need of care and compassion.
We began our morning with Rev. Linda Macktaby, newly ordained servant of God, and Director of both the Home of Hope and the Blessed School, two ministries of the Lebanese Evangelical Society, joyfully supported by The Outreach Foundation. We met with Linda at the Blessed School, currently empty of students due to their summer recess.
The Home of Hope has 22 students who reside at the home full-time. They have been placed there by court order, coming from emotionally destructive environments filled with abuse, neglect, and brokenness. Linda accepts them with open arms, many without identity papers or documents for enrolling them in a school. Her goal for each of them, aged 7 to 17, is to give them life skills that have been sorely missed in their childhood, and prepare them to leave Home of Hope with skills and knowledge that will give them honest income and opportunity for a successful adult life. Most importantly, Linda and her staff show them the love of Christ and work very hard at drawing their hearts to Jesus.
Linda’s ongoing challenge is to update the old facility, which was once a hospital with multiple floors, but now needs to be made a real home for kids. In addition, the government stopped giving the home any funds several years ago, due to the economic crisis in all government departments. It has left her now in desperate need of funds to pay her staff and provide food for the children.
The Blessed School began more than a hundred years ago as a school for the blind by Elizabeth Thompson, a British missionary. It now serves 78 younger and older adults who have significant autism, mental disabilities, Down syndrome, and blindness. Once again, Linda and her staff are teaching them job skills and sending them out to real jobs, preparing them to live independently to the greatest extent that they can, and providing a safe place where they are loved and believed in. Only a small number reside at the facility.
The Outreach Foundation made a significant contribution to Blessed School in order to repair the damage incurred in the Port of Beirut blast of 2020.
There are many challenges the school faces in these difficult times in Lebanon. A lack of funding from the government and inflated costs of everything has made the opening of the school at risk this year. The price of gasoline has made bussing impossible and kept some kids from coming. Much-needed medications are not affordable to the kids and most are very difficult to find. As at Home of Hope, staff goes without proper salary, and programs have been cut.
We left Blessed School so impressed by the commitment and unaltered compassion being shown to the students of these two institutions in these worst of times. They deserve our prayers and support for their investment in these broken lives and the power of God to change the dire circumstances.
We then moved to another heroine of the faith making a difference in the lives of the elderly, another vulnerable group. Saana Koreh is the director of the Hamlin Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, nestled in the gorgeous green hills overlooking the LaMartin Valley. This facility was founded by Dr. Merry Eddy in 1908 to address eye issues but quickly became a tuberculosis sanitorium. It now is home to 34 elderly residents who are sweetly and competently cared for by a committed and loving staff.
Saana related to us the difficulties of the COVID times at the facility. Between January and April 2021, 80% of the staff and residents experienced some degree of the virus. Yet through this tough time, the staff never quit working, and everyone pushed themselves to make it through. This is the notable history of Hamlin – from the tough and courageous Dr. Eddy, never complaining nor anxious for the early trials of treating patients, to the resilient spirit and “can-do” attitude of dear Saana today.
Our team was treated to a lovely afternoon of refreshment and coffee under the trees with a soft breeze as we listened to Saana’s challenges in maintaining the facility in these economically difficult times. The “Hamlin spirit” keeps going in whatever the circumstances are – fees dropping from $1,600 per month to $430, difficulty in finding staff, everyone discouraged by the constant bad news, and waning hope for a solution.
Our hearts were burdened for these precious sisters doing a great thing in the most challenging of circumstances, as all of Lebanon struggles with the effects of drastic inflation, salary cuts, and unpredictable futures. We stand with them, thanking God for their fortitude, their unfailing love of those they serve, and beg for God’s mercy on this troubled land.
