The Christian children of Syria are suffering, not only those facing jihadists, but those that are in deep poverty in Lebanon. What happened? The programs I began in the Middle East were designed not only to help the beleaguered Christians materially but most importantly — spiritually.
There were no large Christmas for Refugees events this year with hundreds of children celebrating the birth of our Lord except in Syria and Nigeria. The events may have been toned down, but they were still about Jesus. Instead of games and song, children received special gifts.
The election: A loss? Social Conservatives made big gains in Congress / At least 15 NEW pro-life women elected to Congress under Nancy Pelosi / Christmas for Refugees program begins in Lebanon and other areas / Farm we sponsored for the Nigerian orphanage really produced this year!
Because of COVID-19, more Christmas events held this year in Lebanon for children than in the rest of the Middle East because the events will be smaller. In most instances children will walk through one at a time indoors, but because of local rules, some will be held outdoors.
Increase in number of children to participate in Christmas for Refugees / Program changes include package of Christian books and workbooks / Matching gift challenge not yet met – Our walk is by faith not sight / Turkey – our NATO ally – commits atrocities and persecutes Christians
With all the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic this Christmas season, it was apparent that changes had to be made to our traditional Christmas programs. Here are the new guidelines for the 2020 Christmas for Refugees program.
Christmas for Refugees donations to be doubled by gift challenge fund / Christmas for Refugees needs the support of social media this year / The crisis for Christians in Lebanon / We are funding food programs there / More young Christian girls kidnapped and forced to marry Muslim men
We pledged to help feed 60 Christian families in Lebanon after the explosion in Beirut earlier this year. Many of these families are refugees fleeing persecution in Syria. Having passed our goal, we can feed even more families with your help!
Last month I reported on Maria Shahbaz, a 14-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan who was abducted and forced to “marry” a Muslim man. This is not an isolated case! Huma Younus is another Christian Pakistani girl who was kidnapped, forcefully converted to Islam and then made to marry her abductor this year.
Our Christmas events normally range between 100 and 700 kids in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, and Bethlehem. But this year the Covid-19 situation will force me to arrange for smaller and therefore many more events. This will bring up the cost… can we do it?