Concerns are growing that Israel could soon turn its military focus from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah enclaves in southern Lebanon and beyond.

In Beirut, Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “People are afraid; people are full of doom and gloom. It’s a really high, tangible tension.”

Last month, Lebanon’s caretaker government shared a disaster preparedness plan and called upon nonprofits to “be ready.”

Medication has become so expensive, and the price continues to climb higher. Triumphant Mercy is helping to provide medication for over 200 people monthly.
(Photo, caption courtesy of TM Lebanon)

“We’re getting ready from all sides, both as a team planning and also on the ground with emergency food, blankets, [and] mattresses in case something happens,” Nuna says.

Believers need to process their own grief before they can help others.

“My team still needs some healing since we have tragedy after tragedy [in Lebanon.] Some of them are still under the trauma,” Nuna says.

“We really need to take care of each other at this time.”

Pray Gospel workers will find comfort and healing in Jesus as they walk through past hurts. Pray TM Lebanon’s team grows closer through the process.

“Pray for the team, especially those in churches and Christian NGOs, that they [can] respond in a way that shows Christ and is not just a humanitarian response,” Nuna requests.

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Header image depicts the Hezbollah flag flying behind a tank. (Wikimedia Commons)

“People are afraid; people are full of doom and gloom. The media is feeding us the possibilities of wars, bombs, and being stranded in the country; even schools have been talking about the possibility of going online in case things happen,” Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says.

“The government contacted many NGOs [to] ask if we’re ready for whatever is going to happen; if we’re ready to join forces together to work.”

Representative photo depicting food aid.
(Photo courtesy of TM Lebanon)

British journalist Dominic Waghorn warned of a long war yesterday, saying that the Israel-Hamas war could continue for “a number of weeks if not months.”

The Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah joined the fray six weeks ago when it began attacking Israeli settlements on the border to show solidarity with Hamas. Ongoing clashes have uprooted between 40,000 and 60,000 people, who are now taking shelter wherever they can in Lebanon.

“We’re not directly involved yet with displaced people, except for the small group coming to our region,” Nuna clarifies.

“Most of them (the displaced people) are still in the Tyre region. We’re waiting to see what will happen, but we’re getting ready.”

TM Lebanon is preparing emergency supplies and food aid, and “We’re training the team [in] spiritual first aid,” Nuna says.

“When tragedy happens, most people would say, ‘Where’s God?’ or ‘Why did God allow this?’ If we’re not ready, then these questions will go unanswered.”

Find ways to help here. Most importantly, pray. Ask the Lord to give believers wisdom as they meet pressing needs in the name of Jesus.

“We have assumptions of what people need and are asking for; sometimes, it’s totally different,” Nuna says.

Header and story images courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon.

(Photo courtesy UNHCR)

International (MNN) — 200,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan were told by text message last week that their food rations were being cut.

The United Nations’ World Food Program sent the message as a last resort when no major donors stepped forward to fund the program further.

As startling as that is, it’s not much better anywhere else. In just 8 months, more than 350,000 refugees have crossed into Europe. More than half of Syria’s population has fled their homes or been killed since the crisis began 4 years ago. The countries receiving them are cash-strapped.

Tasos Ioannidis with AMG International says, ”Some countries have talked about closing borders so that they [the refugees] would not be able to continue and enter their territory. They’re concerned about the economic cost from the refugees and also a fear that somehow the refugees that are coming in are going to be a problem for their local communities.”

The numbers are overwhelming, adds Ioannidis. “One report says that there are 4 million of them on the Turkish coast waiting their turn to cross over. Every day there are more than 3000-4000 that are coming into Greece.”

Without a plan, the crisis has rapidly developed into a humanitarian emergency with thousands of people stranded at various transit points and borders from Greece to Hungary. “They are hoping to be processed as quickly as possible. Their goal is to travel from the Greek Islands to Athens and then head north to the border with Skopje (Macedonia), and then continue on to northern Europe, reach Germany, go to all the different Northern European countries.”

The European Union is being forced to respond. They’re now calling for mandatory refugee quotas in an effort to cope with the hundreds of thousands fleeing war in the Middle East and North Africa. 28 bloc countries are being asked to split up, assist, and take in 160,000 refugees across the EU.

(Photo courtesy AMG International)

Yet in the midst of overwhelming tragedy, in God’s economy, an unprecedented opportunity for hope is emerging. ”We are trying to provide basic material to those who are suffering,” says Ioannidis. “We are partnering with others in the small Greek evangelical community, and we are providing basic food supplies. We are able to provide a couple of days’ worth of supplies to people who are traveling.”

Why only a couple of days’ worth of supplies? Ioannidis responds, “They are carrying them as they are walking or traveling north. That’s all they can take with them, so we try to provide basic food, then provide basic medical care.” An AMG medical van takes basic medical care to the refugees at the northern border of Greece when they can’t come in for help. “They provide supplies, water, basic food, and basic medical supplies so that these people can survive.”

(Photo courtesy AMG International)

The journey is a hard one. Hope can make it endurable for one more day. Ioannidis says their team is open about the reason why they’re there. “We have the opportunity to very tangibly, very practically share with the people that are going through that they are being helped because there are people who love them in the name of Christ, and that plants the seed.“

From there, it’s a matter of prayer. “We don’t know how God is going to use the seed that is sown, in this manner, by providing tangible help, but we’re praying as they continue their way, that the seed that is planted will be cultivated and bear fruit through further contact as they continue their journey.”

For that matter, he adds, “Pray for the workers that are serving every day because this is an emotionally-draining activity, so we need to be praying for more volunteers and for those who volunteer that the Lord will be using them. We need to be praying for the refugees that God will be working in their heart.”