We Are Living the Dream

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June 4, 2019

By Ed Grudier

After spending several hours with about 40 Syrians in a home Bible study, Kathy and I were driving along with Pastor M. He has served in Lebanon for over 25 years and was telling us about all the opportunities that he and his church have had to serve Syrian refugees in both practical and spiritual ways.

His excitement was growing as he talked about all the open doors that they’ve encountered to share the gospel with Muslims—something that far exceeded what he could ever have imagined. He finally burst out with, “We are living a dream!”

It was a joy for the members of the Focus for Four (FF4) team to share in this dream during our trip to Lebanon in April.  We were able to attend two church services and two Bible studies where dozens of Syrian refugees were regular attenders. About half were followers of Christ who came from Muslim backgrounds, and the rest were Muslims who regularly attended these services—they are open to hearing teaching from the Bible and observing believers worshipping God.

We served in a school where 150 elementary-aged children are being taught about Jesus, memorizing Scripture, and singing praise songs every school day. We visited refugee camps, where we had opportunities to share the hope that lives within us with people who have suffered unimaginable horrors for many years.

God is at work in the Middle East drawing many Muslims to Himself. Let’s rejoice that God is giving us the privilege to be part of this great work He is doing!

Come and hear more details of what the FF4 missions team experienced by signing up to attend the FF4 luncheon on June 30. Also prayerfully consider going on next year’s FF4 trip—where you can experience “living a dream!”

“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17).

Read more reflections from the Lebanon trip on our trip page.