Summer Updates

Evangeline
Aug 1
7 min read

Updated: Aug 4

Welcome friends and family! As usual, much happened during the summer season. This post highlights regional events and some of my ministry activities during May, June, and July 2025.

Not much time to read? Here’s a summary:

Israel and Iran, then the United States, traded missiles for 12 days in June. Many such missiles crossed Lebanon, lighting up the skies.
Starvation in Gaza has reached new levels of severity.
Bloodshed in post-Assad Syria continues. Mar Elias, a church on the outskirts of Damascus and a former church partner of MERATH, lost many members in a horrific suicide bombing. Sectarian fighting between Bedouin tribes and Druze groups in the southern regions have also killed many.
I ran summer camp for both Presbyterian churches and Youth for Christ.
There were several opportunities to work with youth adults across Thimar mission trainings, workshops for sports leaders, and a Christian coffee shop ministry.
I witnessed the baptisms of 11 new believers from Thimar’s church planting ministry, many of whom have recently lost families members in Syria.

Arabic word(s) of the month

'Habba habba', meaning "seed by seed'.

Ways to pray

Please join us in grieving with Syrian communities scarred by sectarian violence, most recently at Mar Elias Church and in the southern provinces.
Pray for mercy and immediate relief for families suffering malnutrition and desperation finding food in Gaza.
Praise for new believers coming to faith through youth and church planting ministries in Lebanon. May they find solid mentors and church communities to disciple them through these critical years.

Updates on Regional Conflicts

Families mourn during a memorial service at Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church on the outskirts of Damascus. Photo credit: Associated Press.

The Middle East held its breath for two weeks in June while Israel and Iran traded missiles. Many of such missiles could be seen from Lebanon as they arched their way to Israel, appearing like a strange meteor shower. As the United States struck targets in Iran we prayed even harder, fearing large scale repercussions. We praise God that, as of now, full out regional war appears to have been avoided. The IDF continues to strike southern Lebanon on a daily basis, and there are fears of a new resurgence in attacks on Israel by Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, malnutrition and outright starvation in Gaza have reached new levels. IPC, which is the gold standard of food security analysis used by humanitarian organizations like MERATH, projects that, if immediate action is not taken, half a million people will be at Stage 5/ ‘catastrophic’ levels of famine by September. This is the highest level of famine possible and characterized by wide scale starvation and death. Read the report here. The photos we are seeing are heart breaking – God have mercy.

We are hearing that the Israeli government may soon allow new humanitarian corridors and aid sites coordinated by the UN, rather than the highly controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. We pray for this.

Our hearts are also with our brothers and sisters in Syria. In late June a suicide bomber took the lives of over 25 members of Mar Elias (Saint Elijah) Orthodox Church while they gathered for mass. The mass included a special youth meeting, and as such many victims were young people. MERATH and CBM has a special relationship with the church as former partners in aid distribution through the Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB). We were quick to reach out to Father Elias Habib. Please join us in grieving with the community. Since the attack, the church has resumed services and ministries.

In July, further sectarian fighting erupted in Syria, this time between Bedouin tribes and Druze groups in the southern regions of Syria. The IDF once again resumed airstrikes on Syria, allegedly in support of the Druze victims. Many citizens have been killed, and more displaced. We pray that the Syrian government can control the situation and enforce a ceasefire while bringing justice to victims.

Crisis Response Update

Photo: E-card distribution at Coco’s Christian bookstore.

As I mentioned in my previous post, MERATH is coming to the end of distributing items specifically for crisis response but will continue to support the people we have built relationships with in the long term, primarily through basic food assistance.

I was lucky to tag along for a day with Coco, an incredible Brethern church leader who has been instrumental in distributing food aid made possible by CBM in partnership with Canadian Food Grains Bank. On this day, Coco’s team was distributing e-cards. E-cards are often preferred to cash or food boxes because they allow families to purchase food of their choice at local stores and can easily be re-charged each month.

Driving to the distribution site, I expected to photograph a formal “in and out” event. What I experienced instead was something more like a family reunion! Community members gather at Coco’s Christian bookstore which doubles as a meeting space. They rest on the couches for a cup of coffee while they wait for their turn to pick up a card. Coco is on welcome duty – personally greeting each family and explaining how the card works. Coco’s team has long relationships with many of the people, and there are lots of hugs and smiles.

Photo: A day spent with Rima. We visited her home and saw how she uses the food assistance e-card she receives from a CBM/CFGB supported church in Beirut.

After the distribution, my MERATH colleague and I joined Coco to visit Rima, one of the recipients, on a trip to her house and to the local store where she uses her e-card. Rima has four adult children, two of whom have severe disabilities. Bernard (32) and Cynthia (27) are non-verbal and have extremely limited mobility, using their arms to move around the floor. Both require around-the-clock care. Just months ago, Rima’s beloved husband, and the main bread winner for the family, passed away suddenly.

Coco’s team have been constant companions in the months since. Rima describes the e-cards she receives from the church as ‘lifesavers’ allowing her to buy high-protein food and other specialty food needed for her children with disabilities. MERATH has also been able to step in and provide some of the adult diapers Bernard and Cynthia require.

It's truly a marvel to see Coco work. She moved fluidly from consoling Rima in shared tears and prayer to playing with Bernard and Cynthia on the floor to speaking encouraging words to Rima’s youngest son (24), now tasked with supporting the family. The whole family loves Coco’s visits, but none more so than Bernard. Bernard’s face broke into a huge grin as he successfully obtained not two but THREE hugs from his friend Coco. These joyful photos have become regulars on my desktop.

Summer Camp

Photo 1: Khalil teaches campers about the mighty mantis shrimp in a devotion about our unique abilities and purpose. Photo 2: Face paint before team challenges. Photo 3: Chin puppets at the Talent Show.

Summer in Lebanon is the season for humidity, mangos, fresh figs, and… summer camps!

I once again coordinated activities for a 4 day children’s camp run by the Evangelical Synod (Lebanon’s Presbyterian denomination and Khalil’s employer). We welcomed 40 kids aged 7-12. Just fantastic kiddos; my heart is full.

Photo: YFC camps

I was also incredibly lucky to volunteer for Youth for Christ (YFC) Lebanon’s high school camp. These teen camps are widely considered the best in Lebanon, and I asked to tag along to learn about what they do. YFC did not disappoint. Their staff run a tight ship using wildly creative games, speakers, discussion times, and worship to encourage youth to encounter Christ. It was a blast! I was tasked with running ‘messy games’: an epic affair involving gallons of water, 15 jugs of soap, 20 bags of dirt, 100 sticks of gum and buckets of leftover food. My highlight, however, was leading a discussion group of 10 legendary, deep-thinking teenage girls. (See photo at the top of the post)

Young Adult Ministries

Photo: Brain Body Smarts training for sports leaders. A fist wrapped around the thumb serves as a model of the brain’s development through childhood.

My summer has also been happily filled with encounters with young adults. I continue to support Thimar’s mission training retreats for young people, this time joining ABTS’ Bassem Melki for a deep dive into self- leadership. I’ll tell anyone who will listen, Bassem is the coolest. Beyond serving as an assistant professor at ABTS and coordinating the non-formal training programs, he is working tirelessly to promote peace in the Middle East, starting with interchurch relations. It’s tough but essential work.

In July I led a Brain Body Smarts training for a group of young leaders for Ready Set Go Lebanon, a sport and discipleship ministry. Check out their website – they do great stuff.

Photo: Team building games at Living Room's community nights. (photo 1) Here I am explaining rules for flinging cheetos at your teammate's face.

On the topic of very cool ministries, I’m loving helping out with events at Living Room. It's a coffee shop, event space, and Christian outreach mission in a trendy part of Beirut. I got connected with them in October (during the mass bombings) when they were organizing soup kitchen volunteers. I run monthly community nights during which I get strangers to connect by playing silly games I picked up at youth group in the early 2000’s.

Fundraising Update

I am grateful to say that I am past the halfway mark (56%) towards my yearly fundraising goal. If my monthly donors continue until the end of the year, I look to be just $8,304 short of my goal by December. Thank you again for your faithful partnership and prayers!

Ending Thought: Baptism Sunday

I have mentioned in earlier posts that, CBM, via Thimar, supports a remarkable church ministry in a non-Christian community well known for its resistance to the church’s presence. In the last decade a member of that community came to Christ and began a church, which since has grown rapidly despite heavy persecution. Thimar’s role is to support that budding church with theological training, conferences, and added help for family, youth, and children’s ministries. Because of our connection to CBM, Khalil and I were invited to attend a baptism service for 11 new believers.

Baptism services are always my favorite, but this one had a special significance. The pastor shared that many of these new believers had family members recently killed in sectarian fighting. Most had experienced persecution for their new faith, even at the hands of family members. Yet here they were, stepping into the water with tears of joy streaming down their faces. Life in rebellion against death.

“Habba habba.”

Seed by seed the church is built, from such a fragile start, yet not even the gates of hell will prevail against it. Praise God.

Salam,

Evie