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Lebanon: Bible Society makes the most of a cease-fire

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LEBANON — Two weeks ago (August 20 – 25), as a fragile cease-fire held, staff of the Bible Society in Lebanon offered thanks to God and quickly distributed as many relief packages as they could to the devastated villages of south Lebanon. Mike Bassous, General Secretary of the Society, kept a diary of the week’s work…

Sunday

It is now almost a week since the cease-fire came into effect. Last night, there was a serious breach of the ‘peace’ as Israeli commandos, deployed by helicopters near the ancient Roman city of Baalback, deep in the Bekaa valley, conducted some undisclosed manoeuvres. Fortunately, the situation did not get any worse and Christians went to church this morning to worship God and thank him for the first peaceful Sunday of the past few weeks.

Monday

Since most of the displaced families are attempting to return to their home villages, our team load the two vans with relief packages and head to south Lebanon to distribute them in the devastated communities. The mixed residents, Muslims and Christians, welcome the team warmly. Our staff go from door to door distributing the relief packages in Izzeh, Khzeiz, and the surrounding villages. It is a very encouraging field trip indeed. The Bible Society is among the first Christian charities to visit these people.

Tuesday

The roads into south Lebanon are now being cleared, new, temporary bridges are being installed over the rivers and more and more displaced families are heading back to their villages. However, with the exception of a daily flight between Beirut and Amman [Jordan], the siege by sea and air is still in force. Rumours of a petrol shortage are causing people to panic again; in spite of official affirmations that the supply is sufficient, they are forming queues in front of petrol stations.Our team manages to distribute a van full of relief packages in Sidon.

Wednesday

Our weekly staff devotions this morning includes a sharing of testimonies and stories of our ‘Relief and Scriptures’ distribution. Our Christian resource center, Books for Life, has distributed more than 100 packages through its members, which has prompted many new people to become members! About 50 children visit our Bible World exhibition today as part of the camp activity organised for them by a partner agency. Their excited noise fills the Bible Society Center!

Thursday

Today is scheduled for the preparation of new relief packages. About 15 staff members are joined by six volunteers and together they form an assembly line in our warehouse, packing rice, lentils and sugar into separate bags, and colouring books, crayons, a New Testament and three Scripture Portions into another. The bags, together with a blanket, medicines and several items of food, go into boxes – 500 in all, each carrying the Bible Society’s name. The work is tedious and takes about six hours to complete in Lebanon’s hot summer weather.

Friday

Today we make a new distribution trip to the south of the country. About 100 boxes are distributed in Tyre, through the Maronite and Greek-Catholic (Melkite) dioceses of Tyre. The two bishops are surprised to see us reach the ancient city and are very appreciative of our efforts. Crossing the Litani River to get to Tyre is a challenge, as all the bridges connecting Lebanon to its southern region have been blown up. This part of the country has suffered immensely: the city of Tyre will be the hub of our ‘Relief and Scriptures’ program for the next few weeks.

Story courtesy United Bible Societies, LATEST NEWS # 367, September 6, 2006
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Story posted on Wednesday, September 6th, 2006 and is filed under United Bible Societies, ABS Stories. | No Comments »

Young Christians take the Scriptures throughout Libreville

GABON — “It is clear that many people are thirsting to receive God’s Word”. This is the conclusion reached by the Rev Georges Thierry Mabiala Tchibinda, General Secretary of the Bible Society in Gabon, only days after the Society launched its Bible Marathon 2006. Through a team of committed young Christians working throughout Libreville, the Society plans to meet at least part of this need.

The Bible Marathon, the second of its kind organised by the Bible Society, was launched at Bible House on July 25. It began with a training session for around 20 young people from local churches at which they were introduced to the Bible Society’s work, its various products and its distribution methods. They were then sent out across the city to take the Scriptures into homes and public places such as hospitals and offices. Guided by the vision One Bible, One Person, they will continue this ministry until September 9, meeting each morning for prayer and returning each evening to report to Bible Society staff on what they have achieved during the day.

Within the first five days, the young Christians had distributed 331 full Bibles, along with 137 New Testaments and 57 other Scripture products, a reflection of the warm response they received. At the city’s hospital, for example, a doctor reported that “the patients are spending most of their time reading the Bible. Their faces display great joy and hope.” This doctor has now bought a Bible for himself.

Following this encouraging start, the Bible Society aims to distribute 6,000 Scripture products, as long as sufficient stocks are available. As well as boosting sales during a quiet time of year, the Bible Marathon will serve to encourage the young participants on their journey of faith and give them confidence to explain God’s Word to others.

“We are very encouraged by the testimonies we have received so far,” says Mr Tchibinda. “May God be praised for the impact that the Bible is having on people’s lives.”

Story courtesy United Bible Societies: LATEST NEWS # 365, August 21, 2006.

Story posted on Friday, September 1st, 2006 and is filed under United Bible Societies, ABS Stories. | 1 Comment »

A diary from Lebanon

LEBANON — Last week (August 13 – 18), as the United Nations-brokered cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel took hold, giving breathing space to Beirut after a month of fighting, Mike Bassous, General Secretary of the Bible Society in Lebanon, kept a diary of life in the war-torn city…

Sunday

As the date of the cease-fire approaches, Beirut’s suburbs have their worst day of bombing in the current conflict. In the afternoon the noise of the air strikes makes us all jump from our seats: these are new sounds with earthquake effects, roaring for a few seconds then exploding in an unbelievable shaking power. It is hard to believe that any cease-fire is possible after all this. We will see what happens tomorrow at 8 a.m., when it is supposed to take effect.

Monday

After a long and noisy night, the bombing continues until a few minutes before 8 a.m. Then suddenly, just like magic, a miracle happens: it all stops. In the office, the staff prayer meeting concentrates on a lasting ceasefire. This is followed by a tour of our Bible World exhibition for a few displaced boys. The excitement of these boys almost makes us forget what we – and they – have been through in the past month.

Tuesday

An official holiday in celebration of the Feast of Assumption. All the Bible Society staff stay at home today, watching and waiting for a possible collapse of the cease-fire. Two encouraging scenes fill our television screens: thousands of refugees heading back to their villages amid destruction and blown up roads, prompting hope that the cease-fire will last longer than expected; and Catholic Mass is celebrated under the auspices of Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, special envoy of Pope Benedict XVI – a clear indication that the Church is strong in its faith.

Wednesday

After morning prayers, all the staff gather in the warehouse to pack another 500 relief boxes for delivery to various displaced families in Beirut. The cease-fire seems to be holding and more displaced people are heading back to their villages in the south to look at whatever is left of their homes. Many villages are still inaccessible because of Israeli army occupation. It is estimated that 25,000 homes have been destroyed, leaving a few hundred thousand homeless.

Thursday

After being kept out of south Lebanon for more than 30 years, the Lebanese army starts its deployment of 15,000 troops in the area. This is good news and will spread stability on the southern border. Our staff teams go out to distribute relief packages around Beirut. With special permission, a team is able to distribute boxes to the displaced families whose children are being treated at the St. Jude Children’s Cancer Center. These families have suffered the tragedy of war on top of their children’s health problems.

Friday

Fuel and petrol supplies have been allowed into the country and two commercial flights land at Beirut International Airport. These are signs indicating that the siege by air, land and sea is slowly loosening up. Our teams go to south Lebanon, to Jezzine and Sidon, to distribute the relief packages, while Bible World hosts more children still displaced in Beirut. After five days, we can truly witness that this cease-fire is a miracle from God. We give thanks for the many who are lifting up this country and its people in their prayers. (511 words – LEBANON.23.08.06)

Story courtesy United Bible Societies, LATEST NEWS # 366, August 23, 2006
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Story posted on Friday, August 25th, 2006 and is filed under United Bible Societies, ABS Stories. | No Comments »