Loulwa El Maalouf, Director of Partnerships at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Lebanon, writes:
Traffic lights were late to Beirut and the rest of the country. It also took a couple of years for Lebanese to get used to them and start obeying them (as much as is humanly possible for Lebanese). They are beautiful. They represent organisation, civilisation, and equality under the law. But now we are losing them. Damaged ones are not repaired, and often they don’t work due to power cuts. Food prices have risen sharply. Bread now costs seven times more than it did back in 2019. A gallon of gas costs more than eleven times as much.
Medicine prices continue to skyrocket too; but many are unavailable, even if you can pay in US dollars.
But despite the overwhelming brokenness in Lebanon, the work of churches and Christian NGOs is profoundly encouraging, as they obey Christ and trust in the promise that God has planned something better. Often it is a drop the ocean, for no matter how much effort, time, and resources we pour into serving the vulnerable in the country, the need remains massive while corrupt politicians are unmoved.
The lies and corruption from the days of the civil war remains, but what is new is the growing number of those who have a heart to serve God. As Jesus taught us, the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed and our role is to plant seeds and it’s for God to grow them. My challenge is to trust banks again, but I trust Christ’s promise that He is coming again. And while history is moving in that direction, the work of these ministries reminds me that between broken traffic lights and stolen savings there is work for eternity to be part of in Lebanon.
