Lebanon Pastor Meetings | January 2023 Update 2
- Raven Ministries
- Jan 2, 2023
- 3 min read
Lebanon
After two days in Jordan, I flew to Lebanon to meet up with Pastor Joseph. (Pastor Victor introduced us in 2017 when Pastor Joseph and I were both in Jordan for a few days.) God used the plans of a young man who wanted to work with Syrian refugees to birth the idea of visiting Jordan and Lebanon. Since, as US citizens, we are unable to travel into Syria I reached out to Pastor Victor and Pastor Joseph to see how we could help him fulfill his dream. Unfortunately, the young man had to cancel his plans. However, God used the planning process for his trip to make it clear that Luan and I are called to the Mid-East. Prior to coming, I shared with Pastor Joseph that my purpose was to hear God regarding the future role of Raven Ministries in Lebanon. Pastor Joseph was very happy with the possibility of working together and organized a dinner with around 20 Pastors. I shared with them the heart of Raven’s messages and was amazed to see how they received The Word. The message addressed The Pastor, his wife, his children and how they are the front line of attack by the enemy (strike the Shephard and the sheep scatter). After I spoke two Pastors gave an open invitation to us to return to Lebanon and share a 2–3-day conference in their churches. While in Lebanon I also had the privilege of spending an hour with a P.K. (Pastor’s Kid). Listening to the story of their life then and now, it reminded me of my experiences as a Pastor’s Kid. Later that evening I spoke to a group of 21 people and asked how many grew up in the home of a Pastor. There were 7 of us. Only those who grew up in the home of a Pastor can truly understand the experience. I was so blessed to have been able to speak a “Word in Season” into these PKs as well.
The three days with Pastor Joseph in Lebanon was a varied and rich experience as I was invited into his life. Upon arriving, I learned that Pastor Joseph’s uncle passed away the day before and we would be going to the funeral that day. It was a blessing to share a most personal time with him and his family. After returning from the funeral, we went to an international evangelism conference where he was scheduled to speak. It was great to see young people worshipping and responding to The Word. He also spent a little time driving me around Beirut where he grew up; showing me where, as a 15-year-old in the 70s, he fought in the civil war. He also shared part of his life story and how he came to know The Lord, saying “when I became a Christian, I put down one weapon and picked up another: The Word of The Lord”. What an amazing story! As we drove, we stopped to overlook the Mediterranean Sea, where God gave us opportunity to speak to a gentleman that works for one of the news outlets in Beirut. He told us he was recording a three-hour time lapse of the sunset. As we talked, we were able to move the conversation to the end times, and how every day the news is reporting events predicted thousands of years ago that are currently coming to pass. Please pray for him his name is Dillon.
Pastor Joseph also took me to Bekaa Valley Lebanon for his weekly Bible study with 13 Syrian refugees. He asked me to share the lesson and The Lord laid on my heart to speak on the Women at The Well; focusing on the fact that Jesus went there to meet just one woman, one He had never met, but knew well. I also shared from Jeremiah 1:5 that before they were conceived Jesus knew them and when they were in their mother’s womb, He formed them and that He knows them by name. After the Bible study Pastor Joseph took all of them out to lunch. One of the ladies told him they were thankful for the war in Syria because it brought her to Lebanon to hear about Jesus. On our way back to Pastor Joseph’s house we stopped for tea and to witness to the coffee shop owner. Again, he took time to minister to one.
Thank you, Pastor Joseph, Sister Lidia, and family for hosting me and sharing your daily walk with the Master. What a blessed time!
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