Source: Mission Network News, September 10, 2019
[On September 2], Lebanon declared a state of economic emergency. This could be mistaken for a state of emergency, but a state of economic emergency allows a government to implement economic emergency measures. Per the Associated Press, Lebanon has one of the highest public debts in the world. The country is hurting.
“Because of the Syrian refugee crisis, and the economic impact that’s having on the country, [Lebanon] has been on the verge of bankruptcy. And this is just one more step in that process. The Prime Minister, [a] couple [of] weeks back, was in the United States. He’s been all over asking the other nations to help them financially help take care of this crisis, and nobody is,” [says Tom Atema of Heart for Lebanon].
“When in great hardship, great persecution…there’s a there’s a wide-open door for the gospel like never before. I don’t want to lose sight of that in all the negativity of this topic. Muslims are coming to Christ like never before, and reaping a tremendous harvest,” Atema explains.
Heart for Lebanon is in the process of opening its new Hope Ministry Center, which officially opens October 1. This center serves the refugee community in the Bekaa valley with Bible studies, informal education for the children, job training, and more. In being the hands and feet of Christ to people who fled their homes, Heart for Lebanon is also helping relieve some of the economic pressures the Syrian refugee crisis has placed on the Lebanese people.