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I received this email from a friend who is in Lebanon.  He attended Seminary with Janice, our daughter and I'm leaving his name off the email for his safety.



Dear Friends;



Please remember us in prayer at this critical time in Lebanon. The Hezbollah made a surprise attack on Israeli soldiers on the South Lebanon, killing around 7 Israeli soldiers and taking two hostages as bargaining chips for the release of 4000 Lebanese in Israeli prisons. We found a house to rent in Hasbaya and were planning on moving there next week. We are still in our apartment in Beirut from where we have a view of Beirut and the airport. It was a bit frightening to have been awakened on Wednesday morning to the sound of Anti-Aircraft guns shelling the Beirut skies. We jumped to the windows to hear explosions and smoke rising from the Beirut Airport as Israeli planes bombed the major runways. This kind of reaction from Israel to Hezbollah attacks has never happened during my time in Lebanon. I was planning on a trip to Hasbaya on Wednesday but canceled going until Thursday. It was providential that I didn't go because many roads on bridges on my route to the south were bombed by Israeli planes that day. I could have even observed towns being bombed by Israel that were on my route there as well. The road I take passes towns only 1 Kilometer from an Israeli settlement that can be seen from the car window.



Please pray for the safety of our friends in Hasbaya and South Lebanon. Eli and Shona Barakat, fellow missionaries are living and serving in Hasbaya.  A missionary couple from Scotland is visiting with them and has been stuck there because of the siege that Israel has created making movement difficult from South Lebanon to Beirut. The bombing of runways of the Beirut Airport and highways accessing Syria has left people stranded in Beirut without any flights or ways of leaving.



By noon Thursday about 30 Lebanese has been killed in the air raids and a large number of them are women and children. Israel has continued bombing different areas of Lebanon, but it has been fairly quiet in Beirut with only the sporadic sound of Israeli plans flying over and the explosions in the distance. We are all at home waiting to see what will become of this situation. The Hezbollah have reacted back by sending rockets and hitting different settlements in Northern Israel and killing many. This will only stir them up all the more to retaliate with brutal force killing many more Lebanese people. We are expecting that they will attack the Hizbollah districts of Beirut tonight which are less than 1 Kilometer from our house.



Please pray for our safety.



Yours in Christ

Oh Jesus, You know what's going on over there, the chaos, the hurt, i can't imagine; but You know it.  You not only know it, but You're also there in the midst of them waiting to give comfort and peace in the chaos to those who ask of it. God I just pray your protection over these people who love You, who are doing Your work and what You have asked them to do. i pray they will trust You and listen for Your still voice in words of comfort. Jesus where they are at right now, just a hedge of protection, Lord. And for the people who are from Scotland, I just pray that they will just find their way back home safetly, that You will direct their paths and You will give them guidance and peace throughout this awful situation that they are in.  I pray all of this in the Prince of Peace, my Mighty Gods name, Amen.

Amen to Candice's prayer.

Yes, Amen to Candice's prayer. 

We are truly living in dangerous times, the very end of the end times.  Wars and rumors of wars........God, please protect those who name ehe name of Jesus as Lord during these trying times.  And another amen to Candice's eloquent prayer.

And I will say "Amen" to Candice's prayer.

This sentence in the above letter is certainly chilling...

QuoteWe are expecting that they will attack the Hizbollah districts of Beirut tonight which are less than 1 Kilometer from our house.

Pat, I did get chill bumps when I read that.  We sit in our "safe" houses, comfortable and well-fed, watching things like this on our TVs, and it isn't real to us.  These folks are living in the REALITY of war.........with no end in sight.  Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Safe in the Lebanon Mts

Update:


Dear Friends;

Thursday Night at 10:30 we fled Beirut to stay at the Naba Safa Girls Orphanage and Conference Center in the Druze Mts. We learned that they bombed the road to Damascus just 1 hour after we passed through it. Israel is destroying the infrastructure of the country. Electricity, airport, bridges, roads, etc. It is now difficult to get to Damascus. There is no way out of the country.

However, we are safe here at Naba Safa. We are just waiting it out to see what will transpire. There is not much else we can do.  

Safe in Him

xxxx and Family

The words of a chorus we used to sing ... long ago ... come to mind:
"The Lord knows the way through the wilderness
All I have to do is follow ...
Strength for today is mine all the way
And all that I need for tomorrow
The Lord knows the way through the wilderness
All I have to do is follow."

I am, and have been, praying for all His children in harm's way.  God knows exactly where each one is and will always be there to comfort and guide....And protect!

This is a terrible situation and appears to have worsened today.  I heard a Lebanese Christian woman, who had to flee Lebanon 30 years ago, comment on the radio yesterday that this unrest is the result of the Islamist terrorists and not the general poplulation of the country.

I've read all your notes, prayers etc.  My heart has been heavy for those in Lebanon!

I've heard nothing further from Mike.  I just pray that they've found a place of safety.

I will be praying for him.  I hope you hear an update from him soon!

Sara

An update from Mike and family:


Hi Friends;



As you know we left Beirut to Naba Safa in the Shouf Mts to escape the noise and danger of bombing. We stayed for 3 days listening to Israeli Aircraft fly overhead continually to Beirut to drop their bombs. On Sunday we had to return to our house in Beirut to pack our bags to leave the country. I was nervous returning to our house. We heard bombing around us as and what made us jump out of our seats was the frightening sound of Jets flying low breaking the sound barrier shaking our house. Praise God we discovered that Sunday was declared a ceasefire to discuss a solution to end the war. Monday morning we awoke to discover it didn't work. We were packing our packs when we saw from our balcony part of an Israeli Jet 500 meters from us make a loud spinning sound and fall burning to the ground. The Jet had bombed a major electric plant 1 kilometer from our home and was shot at and hit by anti-aircraft guns in our area. We know this meant trouble. They will certainly revenge such an attack. I rushed out in my car to pick up our sons who were playing at some friends even closer to the event. I was again frightened by two jets flying low breaking the sound barrier and bombing the power plant again. I got home and we packed our bags as fast as we could. The border road to Syria was being regularly bombed so we decided it was safer to travel to the northern border of Syria through the city of Tripoli and visit Maha's cousin's in the city of Hama. We had to pass close by the area being bombed to get out. Not many cars were on the road and it there was an eerie quiet before the storm. We learned later that around an hour after we left that area of South Beirut, Israeli jets began one the worst bombardments since the war began. The road was safe and the border took a long time but we arrived safely in Syria. We stayed there for 3 days visiting relatives. We decided that going to Jordan for a while would be the best decision for the time. Our friends who live in Jordan were on furlough in the US and offered to let us stay at their house for a month. On Thursday we arrived in safely in Jordan and felt a great relief to be out of Lebanon and Syria at this time.



We will be relaxing, observing the events in Lebanon and praying about the best decision for the future. If things look like they will take a long time to get back to normal in Lebanon we will consider going to Canada for an extended time and serve with Carey Outreach Ministries in Guelph, Ontario or else relocate for a year to Amman Jordan staying in the region. We can have many opportunities for service here and be close enough to make trips to Lebanon after things improve there.



We thank you for your prayers and concern. Thank you for sending thoughtful e-mails expressing your concern for our safety. God has truly watched over us  and protected us from many dangers..



Yours in Christ



Mike & family

wow, Jesus thank You for Your hand of protection over them.

Sending up a praise right now.  I can't imagine living there and dealing with that, how old are the children?

Sara

Pat, I've been following your updates.  I'm so grateful they were able to find safety.  I pray for those in Christ who are in harm's way.  And I pray for leaders involved.   

As Janet said, it's easy for us to sit and watch this, and pray from a long, safe distance away.  Can you imagine the shame on us if we don't pray from our safety?   I know we are all praying for our brothers and sisters around the world, but especially in the middle east right now.

Oh, my!  What an ordeal.  We really cannot imagine being in harm's way like that.  Thank God, they are safe now.

It must be really hard to live among so many people who reject the Lord and have such hate in their hearts for their "cousins" in Israel!  Only a great love for and from God constrains people to do so.  Thank God there are many willing to serve Him in even the most difficult places and situations.  I will pray for their continued safety and that a great harvest of souls pours into the Kingdom because of their efforts.

Thank You, Father, for keeping Mike & family safe.  It's so obviously Your doing.  I pray for the people at the house in Naba Safa - that You will continue to keep them safe and that You will supply their needs of every kind.  And I pray for Mike & family where they are now - that You will give them direction and enable them to do much good.  Oh let Your truth go out in that dark area through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your prayers on behalf of Mike and family.

Dear friends of Mike and Maha;



We have rented a place in Amman, Jordan and plan to stay there for at least one year. I had to travel to Lebanon to coordinate relief work for the Marjayoun Baptist Church. I have partnered with a Baptist Relief Organization who asked me to help them coordinate the relief efforts with the church in South Lebanon.



Maha was left with the responsibility to move into our new house by herself and thankfully with the help of friends in Jordan. She has had to purchase some things by herself while I am trying to ship our Lebanon furnishings by land.



We arrived in Beirut on one of the first flights after the war. The destruction in Beirut was mainly in the Hezbollah area of South Beirut. My friend went in to the closed off area and had to wear a mask because the smell of death was so strong!



I went with a team of three other people to South Lebanon. My friend Arkan was on the team with me. The road down to the south was slow because every bridge and intersection was hit by Israeli bombs and still not fully repaired. Most of the gas stations were destroyed as well.



We first visited the Pastor of Marjayoun Baptist Church. It was amazing to hear his story of how God protected them as they hid in the basement of their church. He shared how he almost got hit by a rocket one night after he checked out his house. He was in tears and he told us the story of one family who left the church for Beirut. The father didn't want to leave but the children insisted. He was killed instantly by an Israeli air strike on their convoy. Four family members were injured, the son is a believer. Many Christians still haven't moved back to their homes.



We visited many of the bombed towns and villages in the South with members of the church and our team. It was sad to see so may destroyed homes and people without a place to stay. There were residential areas of towns almost totally destroyed with houses flattened to the ground. In some places there was the smell of death with uncovered bodies of animals and people still under the rubble. The roads were dangerous as unexploded bombs were still visible in the debris on the roadsides and in the gardens.



We distributed food, household supplies, and water to many people in the destroyed areas of the South. There is no electricity or water. People are without work and very poor. We also had a doctor with us who was received wonderfully by the people even though he was American. He was able to treat many people and give them medicine for their sicknesses. The US is being blamed for this war. Everywhere you will see written "Made in USA" on destroyed objects. The US Doctor was even told by some Hezbollah fighters "You came to kill us and now you come to heal us"! He even treated that angry Hezbollah fighter who hurt his back after flying 10 meters through the air form a missile strike. He also shared the Gospel with him! Some of us were able to speak about Jesus to the people and even pray for the sick. These Shiite (Hezbollah) even lifted up the hands in prayer as we were praying. We had fun with some many wonderful children and interacted with Hezbollah people listening to their frustrations and concerns, their sadness and woes. They are people just like us!



Please pray for the people we have visited that through our love and testimony of God's love they will find salvation and peace through faith in Christ.



Pray for peace. There still is much tension and instability in the South. Fear of more war with threats from Israel.



Pray for our protection. We were visiting the city of Baalbek, (a Hezbollah stronghold) today and were asked to show our ID's by Hezbollah security. It was a scary moment and we left the area as quickly as we could.



I plan on returning to Jordan next week with our furniture. I will be making trips back and forth to Lebanon to assist in the war relief efforts in the south. We will need extra support this year. We have had extra expense due to our trip to Jordan; 6 months advance rent in Jordan, and shipping of our belongings. I will also be making regular trips to Lebanon doing relief work that will incur extra travel expense. We ask that you will pray for our financial needs and consider how you can be involved in helping us make an impact for Christ in South Lebanon!



Yours in Christ



Mike and Maha Ghiz

Thanks for posting this report, Pat.