Year 1 in the record books

My first year at school has come to completion.  To celebrate our initial term together, the all of us at the New Horizons Center embarked on a special activity: a journey in the cable cars!  The boys and girls had never before imagined themselves suspended in the air, and we were all quite amused to see their nerves on edge as they drifted up from sea level to a mountain top.  It was a fitting conclusion to a challenging yet inspiring year.

The New Horizons Center experienced a number of setbacks with the children during the year.   Some left the program as they continued their nomadic heritage and traveled to other lands.  Others were sucked into the challenges of their communities and stopped attending the school.  It is heartbreaking to see these young lives lose a valuable opportunity and it is even harder to be unable to intervene.  Our comfort is in knowing that Christ’s hope which we shared with them over the past years is the hope that can reach them wherever life directs.

Despite the disappointments, there are many more reasons to celebrate a positive year.  The children made significant progress in their academics and behavior.  Exciting developments have taken shape in the program and new dynamics are being developed to help us better serve the communities. Most importantly, we've shared the joy of seeing young lives make personal decisions of faith.  

I must confess that I've done very little at the Center this year.  At least it feels this way.  My weekly trips have mainly consisted of taking care of a few administrative tasks, picking up small duties here and there, and sitting back and watching our great staff do what it does so well.  We've been blessed with a wonderful team of teachers; each one has taught me so much about ministry in this introductory year.  My understanding of the context has deepened and I've gained greater insight of the opportunities and challenges in front of us.  We have some ideas we hope to implement in the year ahead to make the program even more effective.

Although my mind has grown significantly over the course of the year at the New Horizons Center, it is my heart that has undergone the greatest change.  I confess that in my early weeks with the children it became quite apparent that I did not like them very much.  They were a challenge and I knew that I needed prayer that God would teach me to love.  Over the months a love has grown within me and I have come to see these lives with a softened heart. They truly are precious individuals with tremendous potential and courage.  Life has not been kind on them, but they possess a lively spirit that serves as great inspiration.  Their prayers have touched me deeply as I listened to them speak to God in a way that so sincere and authentic.  Each I have no doubt that it is God who is teaching these children, not us.  I look forward to a year ahead with new children, new strategies and new opportunities to take the center forward.  May God continue to direct us in his enduring faithfulness.

What's our Strategy?

“How do we respond to the greatest humanitarian crisis of the 21^st Century?”  That was the question in the back of our minds as staff from Kids Alive Lebanon sat down with our Global Director for two days of discussing our Five Year Strategic Plan.  The Strategic Plan meetings had a simple, yet not easy, objective: recognize where we currently are as a ministry, identify where we want to go, and explore the steps we can take to get there.  Even in ‘normal’ conditions this is a challenging process; nothing is ever straightforward or simple when it comes to serving at-risk children in any context.  The reality of the ongoing Syrian political crisis makes the challenges all the more daunting.

The three year bloody conflict in neighboring Syria has impacted Lebanon at nearly every political, social and economic level.  A real tragedy is that innocent children who are suffering the most.  The numbers are staggering: over 1 million official Syrian refugees in Lebanon (with many hundreds of thousands more unregistered), 2,500 new refugees registering with the UNHCR daily (over one person a minute!), and nearly a quarter of Lebanon’s population now consists of Syrian refugees.[i]  I live here and see the reality of this phenomenon daily yet I still cannot wrap my mind around the scale of the crisis.  Lebanon now has the highest concentration of refugees in the world!  Here’s a visual presentation of how much this situation is affecting the country:

It would be one thing if the Syrian refugee crisis were the lone urgent humanitarian situation we face.  Unfortunately Lebanon has a long history of chronically vulnerable communities that put many children at risk.  It is easy to understand why Syrian refugees have garnered so much global attention (and funding) but there are tens of thousands of pre-existing at-risk children who have only seen their situation worsen in the past three years.  We cannot abandon serving our current children in order to serve an emerging at-risk population.  We must expand our capacities. 

The question that was discussed by this small group from this small organization is “what do we do and how?”  Not surprisingly, we do not have a clear answer.  None of us understands the situation fully nor do we have an idea of what the future years could hold; each couple of months brings new developments that seem to add new dimensions to the problem.  None of us have the top-notch skills, training, expertise, and qualification to approach such a complicated situation with the kind of competency that this humanitarian crisis requires.  Finally, we certainly do not have the amount of resources (neither human nor material) to launch the scale of effort this ongoing disaster demands.  It feels like we are really out of our league on this one.  Personally, this is a feeling that can be overwhelming and even paralyzing; my enthusiasm to tackle the beast head-on can easily turn into feelings of confusion, frustration and despair.

Yet in the midst of it all there is hope.  Every problem that is too heavy for our own hands is but a feather in the hands of God.  Every place where we are weak and unable, He is strong and His grace is sufficient.  Most importantly, every battle that is wearing down our hearts, perplexing our mind and draining our spirit, He has already won!  We are not called to save the world.  That is God’s job and, by the work of Jesus Christ, He does it perfectly well.  We are called to simply be His vessels, His aroma, and His children of light.  God is doing something here that is bigger than any of us; He will have His way in the end.  These strategic plans are less about deciding what we want to do or become and more about discovering what God is inviting us to be a part of.  Our success will not be determined on the number of children we care for, the performance of our programs, or the expansions of our services.  Our success will be determined by our faithfulness to the Lord.  If we can be faithful in all things, starting with the smallest, there is no underestimating what God can do through us.  Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)  God will always be our best strategy!

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[i] All statistics from the article Million Syria refugees registered in Lebanon – UN, BBC World News, April 3, 2014. Access article at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26864485

A Fun Outing

For many months I have been promising the children of the New Horizons Center a trip to Dar El Awlad.  Since Christmas they had been pestering me about when we would make the hike from their homes near Sidon to our site in Mansourieh.  It was easy to delay the event with the explanation that we’ll wait until the spring and the better chances of good weather, but they didn't always agree with the logic.  They were itching for an outing! The outing finally happened on the eve of our Easter/Spring break; anticipation could not have been held back any longer.

The boys and girls were dressed in their finest and eager to go when I picked them up in the morning, and the excitement stayed with them all day until I dropped them off in the evening.  During their visit they participated in baking, painting, performing at a school assembly, playing and simply hanging out in a new environment.  It was special to see the DEA staff and boys welcome the boys and girls, and I know I’ll have to work hard to make the next outing even better.  

 Staff member Sara prepared a baking activity

 Ruth led the children through a painting activity

 Each class shared a special song during the school assembly (though some tried to hide behind their classmates!)

Developing a Beautiful Thing

A wonderful little development years in the making has recently reached a milestone.  My cousin’s wife Zayoun always had a natural touch as a beautician.  Ladies in the community would often come to her before wedding or engagement celebrations to receive some make-up or hair work, and she gained quite a reputation for her skill.  My mother noticed this and recognized that there was potential for a small business, so she began hunting outlets, thrift stores and personal contacts in the U.S. to gather a collection of cosmetics to be sent to Lebanon.  I remember returning from my 2010 U.S. visit with a fair number of pounds of Mary Kay and other products in my suitcases.  These supplies were enough to get Zayoun going with a little home-business, and from time to time her house was transformed into the neighborhood beauty salon. 

The success of this understudy encouraged Zayoun to take her skills more seriously and pursue formal training.  With the support of her husband, Sami, and my parents, she enrolled at a technical institute in a nearby city and began working towards an official certificate.  This qualification would allow Zayoun to expand her services and do bridal make-up, which is another level of skill, prestige and profit potential.   It’s one of the few cases of anyone from the community receiving advanced formal education/training, and she did it all while balancing the demands of home. (During her time as a student she and her husband had their third child, who they named Becky!)  After a lot of work Zayoun had her certificate in hand.  The next step was the biggest: opening a beauty salon.

Again, with support from Sami and my parents, work began this past fall to build a salon above Zayoun’s home.  It took a number of months to finalize the project and the financial investment was significant, but there was always a lot of excitement and good-will about the venture.  The huge milestone was reached last week when a small gathering was organized to mark the official opening of Salon Zayoun!

In the field of international development there is a model called assets-based community development (ABCD).  ABCD approaches poverty alleviation by looking at the assets (skills, resources, etc…) available within a community and working in partnership with locals to design and execute projects.  One of the advantages of ABCD is that it focuses on a community’s offerings rather than needs, thus leading to programs that are high in sustainability and low on dependency.  Many times development processes are extremely sophisticated with extensive amounts of time, money and expertise invested into applying the best practices.  Sometimes, however, development just happens.  There was no strategy, theory or analysis for Zayoun’s situation.  It was simply a matter coming alongside people to see a goal achieved.  I personally had a good feeling about the venture when,  shortly after receiving her initial cosmetic supply, Zayoun informed me that we do not need to send any more.  The income from the start-up supply was allowing her to buy her own make-up.  That’s a good indicator that things are starting on the right track.

We can look at Salon Zayoun in verious terms of success.  One is the economic benefits.  A family has now expanded its source of income and created a more stable financial situation.  The community has its first salon for women; therefore, the local economy will be strengthened as money remains within the community.  We could look at it as a testament for education.  Zayoun lives in a community of around 800 people, of which only five individuals have achieved a grade nine education.  Many people think that they have one chance at school, and when it’s lost, it’s lost forever.  Now we have an example of someone in her 30’s with a family of her own going back to school to continue her education and build her future.  Salon Zayoun could also be seen as a breakthrough in women’s empowerment.  While cultural tradition may limit women to a role in the house, Zayoun and Sami have demonstrated how the home can become a vibrant place of business, innovation and asset utilization.

All these takeaways are on base, but I personally see something more simple and sincere.  Salon Zayoun is a testimony of a family who believed in a little dream just enough to make it happen.  It is an example of what can happen when a few people (mainly my mother) make someone else’s dream their own and put a little bit of action into their belief.  Ultimately, Salon Zayoun is evidence that good things are happening in this little community of people that I dearly love.  The fact that I can play a very, very small role in it all is a great personal pleasure.  Life is not about being part of the biggest or the best; it is about the precious and the sincere.  Beauty salons are by their nature concerned with the pursuit of beauty, Salon Zayoun just happens to go deeper than skin.

The Grand Opening of Salon Zayoun

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

A first look a the nearly-completed salong

Shadowing the Shepherds

As a member of the Abu Jabal Bedouin tribe I come from a heritage of shepherds.  Generations of my ancestors moved nomadically throughout the region herding their flocks of sheep and goats, and significant amounts of Bedouin culture has been built on the backs of these animals and their traditionally mobile living.  It’s a narrative that has changed drastically in the past century.  Under the restrictions of nation-state borders, urbanization and government policies, nomadic peoples in the Middle East have widely adjusted to a life of settlement. My Abu Jabal relatives now have permanent homes and modern jobs, but the Bedouin identity remains.  It’s this identity that I have been taking time and effort to explore.

I am currently taking a masters course on Cultures of the Middle East and North Africa and my term paper has required me to conduct a cultural study on a particular ethnographic group.  For many reasons it made a lot of sense to examine the Abu Jabal tribe, and particularly the shepherds.  While much has changed for the Abu Jabal community, there remains a remnant of families continuing the traditional occupation of shepherding.  With notepad, pen, and shepherding stick in hand I set out to capture the Shepherd in his own words, actions and work environment.

Shepherding is a phenomenal practice; one of the oldest occupations in history. In the Biblical narrative of Genesis we read that Adam and Eve’s son Cain was a “tiller of the ground” and their other Abel “a keeper of sheep.”  While farming has been transformed throughout human history with advancements of technology and technique, shepherding has remarkably endured in a near-original form.  Today in Lebanon we can find shepherds leading their flocks throughout the lands just as shepherds have done for many thousands of years.  It’s a reminder that in the midst of monumental change, some things look very similar today to the way they did in ancient times. The goal of my project is to explore how occupation shapes the identity of a certain group of shepherds in their particular context.

In addition to interviews, a significant portion of my field research has consisted of participation; for a very brief period I have attempted to become a shepherd.  Even before this project I had a desire to shadow my relatives as they go out shepherding.  It’s part of my heritage (my father was a shepherd) and throughout the scriptures we see spiritual reference after reference to this specific occupation.  With motivations both educational and personal, I set out to walk in the shepherd’s shoes.

I won’t give you all my analysis of the experience (I’m still working away at the paper) but shepherding is a wonderful and fascinating activity.  I joined a group of shepherds of various ages/experiences and listened to them share about their motivations, joys, challenges, and hopes of being a shepherd.  I also heard a lot of yelps, whistles, clicks and grunts, all of which make up a sophisticated language between the shepherd and his animals.  There are commands for going, coming, waiting and even drinking.  The many hours a shepherd spends with his flock each day are full of interaction as they jointly navigate the hazards of their environment in search of pasture.  The main dangers are not products of nature, however, but products of urbanization.  Rapid development, human encroachment, highways zipping with speeding cars, and mounting pollution are some of the many factors placing great pressure on the shepherds in Lebanon.  They are enduring, but I wonder how many days remain for this endangered workforce.  Like the Cowboys of the American West, I fear the shepherds of Lebanon are on their way to a place of memory and lore. 

Even so, this research was not a time to despair a cultural death but to celebrate a heritage.  It was also a chance to enter into one of the most interactive Bible studies experiences I could ever conceive.  The scriptures are full of lessons, stories, metaphors, and poetry rooted in shepherding.  Many faith heroes, including Jacob, Moses, and David, forged much of their life experiences and character while living as shepherds. From Psalms 23 to Luke 15 to John 10, we see God consistently referencing the experience of the shepherd to communicate his heart for his people.  The days I spent researching an ethnographical study were in fact opportunities of profound reflection and worship.  I watched with great intrigue as the shepherds care for their sheep with daily work and effort.  How wonderful to know that I have a Shepherd who cares so much that he would lay down his own life for mine. (John 10:11)  I’m not sure what kind of academic results this project will produce, but the personal impact has been very much worthwhile.  Not only have I had the privilege of engaging in a fascinating topic of study, but I engaged with a special group of people carrying out an honest and admirable occupation.  I hope my shepherding days are not over, and I wish with all my heart that the future generations of Abu Jabal shepherds aren’t either.

When the sheep are happy, the shepherds are happy

Orchestrating the flocks

Navigating its unique type of wilderness

The next generation of shepherds?

Bike Ride, Don't Divide

A couple of weeks ago on a Friday evening a few boys and I participated in an excellent event in Beirut.  A local bike rental company offered up its services for open-invite charity ride.  For a few dollars (all of which went to a local food distribution charity) participants got a fine bike, helmet and over two hours of organized riding through Beirut.  We went as a group over 450 riders, making our way through the streets to different stops in the city. 

Beirut has been known for its deathly explosions these days, but this event defied the fear and reservation many have about the city.  Some people may want to use destruction and death as a means to some undefined end, but many more want to simply live in a society of stability and respect.  For one evening, a form of stability and respect went to the streets. 

It was a great atmosphere.  Everyone was courteous and kind to one another. Each organizer and participant was mindful to make it a positive experience for all involved, including the bystanders who were surprised by the sight of hundreds of bikers rolling by.  It was casual, carefree, and most certainly uplifting.

There’s a certain energy about being part of a big group and participating in something together.  It swells an exciting spirit within us.  We’re seen in the last few years how gathering masses can bring about sweeping changes, for better or for worse.  I felt the potential force of a mass, a mob!, as I rode alongside hundreds of others through Beirut’s streets.  We dominated the spaces we passed through as traffic yielded to our force.  There was part of me wanted a cause, a common purpose to rally this group of strangers together to form a single unit.  Then I realized that we were participating for a cause: strangers being together.  The goal was not to advance anything in particular, but rather to share an experience together.  I have no idea who the other 450 riders were.   I don’t know their religion, political affiliations, nationalities, or social status.  But I do know that we shared an experience.  In the midst of a situation that threatens people to divide, a brief moment of peopling uniting can be a powerful symbol.  Maybe we all just need the opportunity to spend time on bikes together.

The Student Side of Me

The month nearly passed by without a single blog post, and I blame it on school.  Graduate School to be precise.  For the past year and a half I have been working on a Masters in Religion in Middle Eastern and North African Studies (MRel) through the Institute of Middle East Studies at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.  In short, the program looks at the many dynamics of the region (history, politics, culture, religion, etc…) and examines how people of faith can develop the theology and practices to approach this unique context in a meaningful way.  So far it has been a very rich experience that is giving me tremendous insight into my professional and personal presence in Lebanon.  

The MRel consists of four modules and a capstone final project.  Each module involves 20 weeks of online study and two weeks of residency study in Lebanon at the middle of the term.  The current module is Middle East and North African Cultures and I just completed a very intense 12 days of residency training.  We spent a lot of time looking at culture from a social science perspective and investigating matters of personal and group identity, topics of missiology, and specific cultures in the region.

For me it was a very fast and hard exposure to the technical field of the Social Sciences (sociology, anthropology, cultural and ethnic studies, etc…).  We spent a significant time learning about and applying ethnographic research with all it methodologies and techniques.  The highlight was a weekend home-stay with a Druze family in the Chouf Mountains.  It was a real laboratory of examining culture while making some inspiring human connections.  Despite a life spent bouncing across culture lines, these lessons and exercises greatly enhanced my observation and interpretation of culture.  It’s like I acquired a sharper pair of glasses to view the environments and people around me.  I had been watching culture on VHS but now I’m enjoying it in BluRay! Not only is such a study significant to my work at Dar El Awlad and my many cross-cultural personal relationships (including my marriage!), but the subject matter leads me to examine my own identity, social roles, and personal dimensions.  The MRel is continuing to be very much a curriculum for self-discovery and awareness.

Despite the amount of time, readings, lectures, outings and discussions at these residencies, I often feel like we barely get past the surface of the topics we examine.  There is so much depth to all these matters and they play out so distinctly in each specific context and individual.  It has been satisfying to apply what I am learning to the contexts where I am.  I can’t guarantee that it is making me more effective at what I do, but I can say that it is helping me on a great personal journey of recognizing the challenges of this world, celebrating the opportunities around us, and becoming more and more comfortable with God’s greatness and my smallness in it all.