August 4 - 6:17 pm...

It is a sunny evening in Beirut during “the golden hour”. The sun starts to go down. People relax and enjoy their social life after a long, hot day at work. It is the first day of going out after five days of lock down, due to the increased Covid-19 spread. People leave their homes, do important businesses and thereafter will go back to another lock down of 5 days. And this day, this evening, this time was a turning point in the life of every Lebanese. Coincidence or not, but the third biggest explosion in mankind history happened then in Beirut. More than 300,000 people have suffered injuries, despair & shock state, many without much food, jobless & outside their homes or offices.

Sadly, this is not the only drama. Lebanon is experiencing a difficult political and economic situation since October 2019. The Revolution drew an absolutely different line in the history of the Middle East. All around the country, thousands of people went out on the streets and blocked main roads. The protests were peaceful: people were standing with each other and not against each other, holding hands and caring for their country. That is how everything started before local, regional & international politics interfered, turning a good cause into specific targets that every side tried to get benefits from. Nevertheless, due to these protests regular life in Lebanon stopped. The Revolution affected the economy and the value of the Lebanese Pound inflated drastically. People were able to withdraw only little amounts of money from their bank accounts and many had lost their jobs meanwhile. 

On top of this, in March 2020 the Covid-19 outbreak also affected Lebanon and the country went almost to a full lock down. Even more people lost their jobs, families struggled to ensure schooling and education for their kids as well as to provide food. Even though Lebanon was doing relatively good in managing Covid-19, quarantine was the last bullet to the economy of this country. The airport was closed. Import and export of basic foods, hygiene supplies, fuel and other supplies derailed. Lebanese working abroad could not come back home and bring money to their families. People started to talk about possible famine in the country.

So, the merciless blow that took place during August made people lose homes and loved ones, in addition to already lost jobs, money and basics. They had nothing left except help from above! Only Jesus can help us carry this heavy burden now; many Christians stated after the disaster...