Ibrahim Interview from Heart for Lebanon on Vimeo.
Tormented between a dysfunctional family and war in his homeland, Ibrahim is a living example of how kids pay the highest price for war and also problems at home. Ibrahim is one of four boys and three girls who were forced to flee Edlib in Syria and take refuge in the south of Lebanon.
“My parents were always busy fighting and they didn’t care to send us to school”. So, Ibrahim was growing up with no education, conflict at home and in his homeland, with no hope for a better future.
This is when the sports camp team at Heart for Lebanon met Ibrahim through another boy who was attending the soccer trainings each week. It was obvious to the Team that this kid had a lot of anger, bitterness, and rage. Ibrahim had many questions and he wanted to know why these terrible things were happening in his life. The team spent long hours after the football training sessions to answer Ibrahim’s questions and encourage him to give Jesus a chance.
One day, with no education and no job, Ibrahim felt extremely hopeless. He decided he wanted to end his life. He thought the best way to do that would be to join the Syrian army and ask to be in the frontline to fight so he would be killed. After he set his mind to do this, he ran away from his parents and returned to Syria and joined the army.
The only person he told about his plan, after he got to Syria, was his sports coach at Heart for Lebanon who was concerned but at least happy to know where Ibrahim was. The coach talked to him, prayed for him, and tried to convince him to change his mind and come back to Lebanon.
After three months of prayer and many conversations, Ibrahim decided that he wanted to give God a chance to work in his life. Nothing was working out in Syria and he began to believe in Jesus. So, Ibrahim returned to Lebanon even though life was still hard. He began to find joy in playing with the football team again. And he became a regular attendant of the south Worship Gathering every Sunday. He is now a strong Believer and trusts that God will never leave him.
“I have discovered that my case is not this catastrophic, and I also found out that I have a talent and gifting in sports that I can use to become better, and I thank God and my football coach who helped me see my value.”
