Middle East (MNN) ― Lebanon is shelling militant Islamists who are thought to be hiding in Tripoli's refugee camps. It's the country's worst fighting in 17 years. The target area is Nahr al-Bared, now shrouded in thick smoke and home to ferocious gunbattles between soldiers and Fatah al-Islam--a group accused of links to Al-Qaeda and Syrian intelligence services.
Meanwhile, neighboring Israel is pounding Gaza. The Israeli Air Force continued its airstrikes in Gaza over the last few days, targeting suspected terrorists and members of militant Islamic Jihadist groups. The violence is escalating with answering Palestinian rocket attacks.
Both countries claim they're fighting terrorism that refuses to be contained. There are fears that it won't take much more provocation for a civil war.
E3 Partners' Tom Doyle says the whole area is a tinderbox situation. "Traditionally, when Israel plays a weaker role, a more passive role, things seem to erupt in the region. Most people were saying with Lebanon, it was just a matter of time."
Doyle says they don't have work directly in the region because of the instability. The EvangeCube is being used regularly in the church as an evangelistic tool. Young people in Muslim countries are becoming frustrated with Islam. Sixty percent of people are under the age of 30 in these areas. As the church reaches more people, there are hopes that the Gospel will transform lives.
However, there are still many needs. Doyle explains that "many of the people, because of the danger, have been in and out of jobs. The financial resources have been really, really slim. We've had pastors asking if believers around the world would just pray for them to be able to carry on the work of the ministry because things are so limited there."
In the past, Doyle has shared that Christians who've lived there for decades say have "never seen so many Muslims and even Jew responding to the Gospel like they are right now." Click here if you can help sponsor EvangeCubes and church partners.
