According to the United Nations, four of five Lebanese people have become poor. It has led to the most significant migration out of the country since the 1975-1990 Civil War. Many middle-class families now struggle to pay for food and medicine.

Christmas celebration

But Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says the ministry is handing out Christmas baskets to 400 families. “No matter what happens around you, no matter the situation, His birth, the birth of Christ, is reason enough to celebrate. So we try to do anything we can to help. Yes, we cater to the physical needs of people. We have food to bring and sweets for the children. We do have to do this. But at the same time, we have a message to bring to people.”

TM Lebanon is also holding Christmas concerts open to the general public. It’s an effort to share the story of Jesus’ birth and His continuing work in the world.

After all, Jesus himself was born into a people in terrible economic straits, ruled mercilessly by cruel authorities.

Nuna says many people in Lebanon are curious about Christianity. “Why do you have joy? Why do you have hope? You have the opportunity to leave Lebanon, yet you’re here to stay and don’t want to leave. Why? And then when we tell them, and they see the joy in our lives, they ask questions.”

“It’s not just a theoretical message. It’s a message that says, ‘We are here for you.’”

This Christmas, pray for many Lebanese to find hope in Jesus.

Header photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon on Facebook. 

She says, “We headed off to Russia on the 8^th which was Russia’s Orthodox Easter when they were celebrating.”

The goal of this trip was to distribute “Baskets of Hope” to children in orphanages. Ever year, these baskets are filled with necessities, small gifts, treats, and a Bible. Along with the baskets, the children receive a letter from the person who sponsored the basket.

The team was hoping to be able to hold a camp within one of the orphanages as well, but they learned just before they arrived that they would not be able to. However, Mangione says, “We were still able to go and visit the orphanage and do a distribution and ended up doing a small camp at the church there in Ryazan.”

(Photo and header photo courtesy of SOAR International)

At the orphanages, the team was also able to share the Gospel through a puppet show. This time around, the puppet show centered on Jesus as the Good Shepherd who pursues even just one of His lost sheep until they are found.

After this presentation, the church team asked the kids a series of follow-up questions.

“The kids have an opportunity to answer what the story was about, what it means for us, how it relates to Jesus.”

Mangione says it’s fun to be able to see the kids taking in what they are hearing. But the children weren’t the only ones exposed to the Gospel message. Typically, the orphanage directors also get to hear. And this time, there was another special visitor sitting in:

“It was actually pretty amazing, the first distribution we went to, there was actually an Orthodox priest at the orphanage. And he ended staying and watching the presentation which was pretty cool. Sometimes the Orthodox priests don’t often stay around to participate in anything that the Baptist Evangelical will put together in Russia. And he did, and got along with us wonderfully and was incredibly kind. So that was very wonderful to see the Lord work in that.”

(Photo courtesy of SOAR International)

After the presentation, there’s time for games and then, finally, the baskets are handed out to each child.

Overall, the SOAR team was able to do three distributions. Because of how schedules worked out, their church partners completed a few more distributions this last Saturday.

“In between the distributions, we were able to do a small camp for the kids at church. It’s always fun to do a camp for the kids at church, as well. Yes, the kids have been exposed to Scripture. Every once in a while, we get a child who is a friend of a friend who doesn’t know God at all and doesn’t know Christ. And so, it’s a really fun opportunity to get to reach out and share the Gospel.”

The two-day camp SOAR helped their church partner run included Bible learning, English lessons, games, and crafts. Among the children were familiar faces and those they’ve never seen before.

Following up the Easter Trip with Prayer

Easter provides a unique openness to ministry. Mangione explains, “One interesting thing is that Easter is acknowledged by everybody in Russia. It is the biggest religious holiday in Russia. So, obviously they believe Jesus was alive, existed—they just don’t all have a personal relationship with Him.”

(Photo courtesy of SOAR International)

So much so is Easter a part of Russian tradition that many children in the orphanage would respond to “Christ is risen” with “He is risen indeed.” The same is true for the rest of society.

Mangione says it is beautiful to hear these words in Russian. But because it’s such a cultural thing, it should also cause us to be praying:

“Christs name is being proclaimed in Russia, and may we not stop our prayers. May we increase them.”

that that truth would sink deeply into the hearts of the people of Russia, within the children, within the orphanage worker’s hearts.”

Overall, the Gospel was presented in letters, Bibles, and the puppet show. And, the church SOAR works with visits these orphanages on a regular basis throughout the year.

“Be praying for these follow-up visits, that during that time, the kids can ask questions—but that you would pray for our Russia partners, that they would be given the words to say, the wisdom, and that they know how to answer these questions– know how to direct them to Christ. And that these kids would come to a saving knowledge of Christ.”

If you’d like to support some of the projects SOAR does throughout the year in Russia and beyond, click here.

Every year, SOAR International takes advantage of the cultural recognition of this holiday to share the Gospel story. They work alongside local churches to minister to children in orphanages or those who come from difficult backgrounds.

This year, SOAR is aiming to collect enough sponsors for 2,500 “Baskets of Hope.” These baskets are not your traditional Easter baskets filled with chocolate bunnies and eggs—although there may be some snacks. Like their name says, the baskets are given out with intent to give hope.

Joanna Mangione of SOAR explains how this Easter-focused project comes together from sponsorship to distribution:

(Photo courtesy of SOAR International).

“An individual will sponsor it. We will process that sponsorship here, recording it. And then, from there, then the financial support is sent to the churches overseas. The churches then go shopping for everything that’s required to be inside of the baskets. So, hygiene items and school supplies—maybe some socks, gloves, hat, some toys, some snacks, anything they are in need of specifically.”

Each basket (or bag when a basket is not available) is stuffed with the items specifically needed in each area, a letter from the church or sponsor, and a Bible.

A team from SOAR will be meeting up with churches in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Ryazan to help with the final preparations and the distribution of the Baskets of Hope.

“And once they get to the orphanage, the kids come into the room, they do a presentation, usually a puppet show which is usually a story of Christ. So for Easter, it’s probably surrounding the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And then there is a short time of question and answer.”

Since a lot of these kids have been visited by the churches before, there is usually a quiz time to refresh on what they’ve learned in the past. Then, there will be a game, and finally, the baskets are distributed.

A Bible is given to every child who either does not have one or is older and needs one better suited for their reading and comprehension level. If they’ve gotten a Bible before and it still suits their age-level, the church will instead give them a supplemental book—a devotional or book that will help them engage in deeper study of the Bible.

“That’s how we’ve been balancing it so they don’t just have a stack of Bibles, but that they’re getting additional truths that they can read alongside the Bible to help them understand it that much better,” Mangione explains.

Along with the Gospel presentation, the Bible, and the games, there’s another way these children might hear about Jesus through the Baskets of Hope. It’s through the letters from sponsors like you. These letters, Mangione reminds us, are held precious by the children. It helps them know they are loved and cared for. And, on the back, it includes the Gospel message.

(Photo courtesy SOAR International via Facebook)

If you’d like to sponsor a stocking, please consider writing a letter, too. You can email SOAR with your letter and they will make sure to send the letter along to the child. You can find their email and contact information, here.

March 31^st is the final day to sponsor a basket for this year.

To sponsor a basket, Bible, or both, click here.

And either way, please pray.

“Our prayer is that this would be more than just some gifts to make them happy—that they would really take to heart the story of the Gospel on the backside of their letter—that when they hear the puppet show, that when they interact with us, that they’re going to see more than just a good time. That they are going to see and feel the love of God.”

Also, pray for the orphanage directors who will also be exposed to the Gospel during this time. Ask God to prepare their hearts for this message.

Joanna Mangione of SOAR says, “We’re looking for churches who are willing to promote the project within their church. And then, of course, individuals and churches who would be willing to sponsor the baskets as well.”

These baskets (or gift bags) are filled with gifts for children in Russia and include a Bible. When the baskets are distributed, the Gospel is shared through a short presentation.

In this way, the project is very similar to their “Stuff a Stocking” project. It’s targeted towards children in need who don’t often receive such gifts of kindness. However, this distribution takes place on a much more significant holiday in Russian Culture. Mangione says that Easter, which in the Orthodox calendar takes place on April 8, is the biggest religious holiday.

“Easter is already acknowledged as a religious holiday where Christmas isn’t always acknowledged in that way. It is—but it’s not nearly as big of a deal. Easter is. And so, their mindset is already on Christ. You’ll hear even some non-Christians say the phrases in Russian: ‘He is risen. He is risen, indeed.’

(Photo courtesy of SOAR International).

“It’s very religious and because of that, we love the opportunity to distribute gifts during this time because their hearts are kind of already a little prepped.”

There’s just a couple of months left to get everything together. Sponsoring a basket alone is $35. To provide a Bible, it costs $5. These baskets also provide a chance for you to write a letter to a child in need and let them know they are loved.

If you’d like to sponsor a Bible, a basket, or both, click here.

Bringing a smile to their faces

Mangione says these thoughtful Easter baskets serve a couple of purposes:

“One of our first instincts is to bring a smile to their face because a lot of these kids don’t have a whole lot of joy. They don’t have a whole lot of hope for the future. So, obviously, that is our initial instinct is to bring that joy, and then to direct them to acknowledging– that joy comes from the Lord. And, this love and these gifts, they’re ultimately from the Lord.”

Secondly, she says of the children they serve, “They’re the next generation. They’re the ones who, once they’re graduated and leave the orphanage, they’re going to meet more people. And if we can share the Gospel and give the hope of the Gospel to kids when they’re still young or when they’re in the home and give them a hope for the future, that they can go out then and say, ‘I have hope.’”

Given the dismal situation many orphans have come out of, the mention of hope will no doubt draw more questions from people.

“Our hope is that this project is merely a pebble that will turn into a ripple effect throughout the country,” Mangione says.

Looking ahead into 2018

There are more ways you can walk alongside SOAR in ministry this year. First of all, you can pray for them.

(Photo courtesy of SOAR International).

One of the biggest prayer requests they have right now is that God would lead the right people to join their team in Alaska. They are a small team and could use some extra hands for the day-to-day tasks.

You can also pray that God would give them wisdom and guidance as they prepare for projects like “Baskets of Hope.”

You can also help financially. Again, if you’d like to sponsor a basket, click here. The deadline for sponsorship this year is March 31. You can also check out other projects to support here. If you’d like to contribute to the general fund or support a SOAR worker, click here.

Finally, you can serve with SOAR in a couple of ways.

“If you feel called to mission work in Alaska and Russia, please reach out to us. We’d love to talk to us about opportunities. So that’s our biggest request as that does affect our day-to-day with a smaller team.”

And if you enjoy sewing, consider stepping up now to help SOAR prepare for their Christmas ministry.  “You can start sewing now. So, one stocking a week or a month, and by the time you hit Christmas, we’ll be set to go with a whole bunch of stockings that we can definitely use once we’re over there.”

For any further questions contact the SOAR team here.

“We are incredibly blessed and encouraged by how much God has kind of lifted us up, even as a small team, and allowed us to do so much.”

SOAR International Ministries sent a team to Russia that teamed up with churches last week to help provide Easter Baskets to orphaned children and children in need.

SOAR's Greg Mangione reports from Moscow. "We've had a great week traveling between eight different orphanages from areas about 200 kilometers southeast of Moscow to the regions around St. Petersburg."

According to Mangione, Easter and Christmas are popular religious holidays in Russia. SOAR uses those opportunities to partner with Russian churches to send gifts, as well as the Gospel. He says it's a much more spiritually sensitive time, and orphanage workers are more open to allowing churches into their facilities.

"We've given out about 650-700 gifts baskets to very happy orphans," says Mangione. More will be handed out this week. "Our director will be traveling here to hand out about another 350 in the southern part of Russia, in areas of Sochi and other areas down there."

The baskets are filled with gifts and God's Word. Funding is needed to help prepare SOAR for their work at Christmas. SOAR collects the money and sends it to Russian churches; they purchase the baskets, gifts, and Bibles, and the church distributes them. This process enables churches to help fuel the local economy.

The Baskets of Hope outreach is more than a project, says Mangione. "It often serves as a way to open the doors to a local church and a local orphanage, add to their credibility, and add to one of the tools that the local church can use as they try to reach out to their people."

Prayer is an important part of this outreach. "Pray that the Lord would really touch of the hearts of the children that were impacted by this project."

If you'd like to support the work of Soar International, click here.

According to SOAR's Greg Mangione, Easter is a popular religious holiday. "In Russia, Easter is celebrated or recognized much the same way as we (in the west) recognize Christmas."

Because of that, Mangione says, "People are very open to hearing the Gospel and open to coming to church. It's a much more spiritually sensitive time."

SOAR International Ministries is responding by reaching out to kids by sending Easter Baskets of Hope to at-risk children. "Last year, we were able to do about 1,000 baskets. This year we'd like to see about 1,500. We've only got about 100-150 baskets, but being that we have a little over a month to go, there's still plenty of time for you to get involved."

The baskets are filled with gifts and God's Word. $35 fills a basket with gifts, and $5 provides a Bible. SOAR collects the money and sends it to Russian churches; they purchase the baskets, gifts, and Bibles, and the church distributes them. Mangione says, "That helps fuel the local economy. That helps get the Russian people–the Russian church–involved so that this is as much a Russian project as it is an American project."

Mangione says the Baskets of Hope outreach is more than a project. "It often serves as a way to open the doors to a local church and a local orphanage, add to their credibility and add to one of the tools that the local church can use as they try to reach out to their people."

It has succeeded. Churches are getting more opportunities to reach out: not just to orphaned kids, but also to orphanage workers. Mangione is asking you to pray for them. "It can often be a thankless job with a lot of challenges. But they get encouraged when they see their kids being reached out to. It also gets them a little bit curious. 'Who are these people bringing in these gifts? Why are they giving gifts? What does it say?' It often pulls the teachers and orphanage directors into the project, too."

If you'd like to contribute to Baskets of Hope, click here.