Dear Heart for Lebanon friends and partners,
Unless one is an architect or a civil engineer, it is hard to get excited during a construction site visit. Bricks and mortar have no appeal in themselves. If well and skillfully used, they form beautiful architectural forms; and that’s it. Excitement only comes when that shape, this structural form, becomes useful and meets the intended use it is being built for.
Excitement is built when one sees beyond a cement skeleton and begins dreaming about this place being filled with people, being used for ministry, and becoming a place where hope is being restored. This is exactly what happened today while I spent the morning with our site engineer and our construction firm representative. Together, we were discussing how we can speed up the construction work in order to provide space to host the Worship Gathering at our site beginning July 1, 2018. This is 15 months ahead of the anticipated completion date of the entire building, set for September 30, 2019. This is exciting!
Friends, God has blessed us tremendously. The trusted relationships built among the refugee population in the Bekaa Valley has resulted in many individuals attending our various Bible Study groups. From those groups a new Worship Gathering has formed in Zahleh. Men and women of all ages meeting together, every Sunday, in order to proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior. This is the second Worship Gathering we have launched after the one we have in Southern Lebanon. The number in attendance has significantly grown and space is no longer adequate at the current location. For that reason, and for security concerns as well, we made the strategic decision to complete a section of our Hope Ministry Center in the Bekaa much sooner than originally planned. Construction workers are working around the clock to get the warehouse, the distribution center, the coffee shop, and the fellowship hall all finished and ready to use by July 1 of this year. This is exciting.
Such a strategic decision could not happen without your generous investment in our ministry; both on the operation side and the Hope Ministry Center side. Because of your partnership with us, and because of your generous and continuous support, we are half-way through in funding for our building project. We are grateful for your partnership and for your prayers on our behalf. By faith, we look forward to celebrating together the completion of this project. We have set Sunday October 27, 2019 as the dedication day. A day we worship together and we give God all the glory and honor He deserves. This is exciting!
Between now and October 27, 2019 I invite you to pray with us for: 1) a safe construction work environment, 2) for the remaining 2 million dollars needed in order to complete the project, 3) for work to remain on schedule, 4) and for the Hope Ministry Center to begin hosting the Worship Gathering and the distribution of food packages by July 1.
Visiting the construction site today got me all excited. Our building is starting to take shape. This is nice. But what is great about it, is that soon, our center will hold worship services. This center will be a place where hope is restored. A place for worship – a refugee church. AND THIS IS EXCITING!
