Sight Seeing

Today was our scheduled sight-seeing day and thank God we are feeling better. We were taken to Byblos, one of the oldest cities in the world. When first built strategically on the Mediterranean Sea nearly 8000 years ago by the Phoenicians it was the capitol of Lebanon and a major trading port. At that time it also had a different Arabic name that escapes this author. One of the major imports was papyrus. Many books were written here, by hand of course, and thus this city became known as Byblos, or "library" in English. The root of this word, byb, is book. It had been taken over and rebuilt many times in its history, most recently by the crusaders. The crusaders torn down the city for a final time and used the existing stones to build a fortress. Until 1922, when an excavation was initiated by a French anthropologist, much of the cities history had been lost.

Tomorrow we leave for the camp where, I am told the is no wi-fi. So parents and friends, before you start to worry because we will be out of contact for a few days, let me take a moment to speak to the situation here. Beirut, and Lebanon, is beautiful. It's inhabitants are friendly, caring people, who love Americans. Of course there are dangerous areas that we should not, nor will, venture, but the same can be said of anyone of own major metropolises. Yes, there is war in some of the "nearby" region; war is not everywhere. In fact, you would never guess in a thousand years from watching the peoples of Beirut as they go about their daily lives that fighting is happening anywhere. They go to work, enjoy their day, live a happy and productive existence; living in fear of the could be's is, to them, an idea not worth entertaining. If the group with whom we are working thought we were in any danger, our trip,and the camp, would have been canceled instantly. We are safe, surrounded by the love of Christ, and well taken care of by our hosts. So do not waste your energy worrying about the could be's; instead, rejoice with us as we support the body of Christ here in the Middle East.

Until we return to internet access, we love you and thank you all for your continued support.

"Wonderful Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, we are so blessed to be here in Lebanon. You are truly amazing. May we live in, and by, your grace as we love on these children. Please bridge the cultural and language divide as we serve those around us. We honor you and praise you for this opportunity. Amen"