Hope for Syrian Students - June 2022 Update
Kab Elias students sing welcome songs
Lebanon
They will know we are Christians by our love…
After two years of a shutdown, begun by protests over government corruption and then continued because of the pandemic, it gave me much joy to see two of the four reopened schools for refugee children on my recent trip to Lebanon!
On the outskirts of the large city of Zahle is the small village of Kab Elias. The National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon has had a small church and a school there for over 100 years. To reach them, you have to climb more than a hundred steps (yes, I once counted). Years ago, the Synod built a new “state-of-the-art school” down below “that is easy to reach” (and the church meets there, too). But the climb upwards is worth the effort, because it is in that old building where Hope can be found in one of the schools for Syrian refugee children opened by the Synod in the midst of the Syrian war.
From its beginning, six years ago, Ramak Abboud has guided this ministry with love and compassion and dedication despite enormous challenges. I return, again and again, to enter this haven of Hope and be touched, for a moment, by these bright little lives whose future is uncertain but whose present circumstances are interrupted by the grace and care of Ramak and her dedicated team of angel-teachers.
Continuing south to Tyre, I was very happy to be able to make a return visit to another of the schools for refugee children. This one is in the Synod’s small church in Tyre which has a stunning view of the Mediterranean across the street. Now overseen by the Compassion Protestant Society of the Synod, the school’s local director is my long-time friend Nadia Tanios who is also the wife of Rev. Rabih Taleb, pastor of the Presbyterian Church (even further south) in Aalm ech Shab. Nadia and her team will soon restart ministries with the families of the students, as well, such as literacy and job training.
Ramak and Nadia have much in common. Both are natives of Syria (Ramak from Mhardeh and Nadia from Homs) so they have deep compassion for the children (and their families) who are under their care. Both are mothers and are married to pastors of the Synod. Both radiate the love of Christ and mirror His compassion for “the least of these.” To be in their presence is to stand, however briefly, on holy ground…
Joyfully,
Marilyn Borst, Associate Director for Partnership Development
Read more about Hope for Syrian Students HERE.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts to support the mission and ministry of Hope for Syrian Students. All gifts of any size are welcomed to help educate Syrian children and young people. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.