Lebanon (MNN) – More than 1.1 million registered Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon according to Union of Relief & Development Associations (URDA).
Each person has fled, looking for a better or at least safer than what was offered in war-torn Syria.
However, not everyone has found sanctuary.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees – both from Syria and Palestine – are staying in refugee camps. Others are staying in small, cramped apartments with other families. A majority of the people in refugee camps and in apartments are living in poor conditions without proper nutrition or safety.
Yet still, some people are suffering from circumstances other than living conditions.
Farida’s Story
Heart For Lebanon shares the story of 21-year-old Farida Khalil.
“She comes from Syria. She was married with a child, got into Lebanon and was totally abused,” Heart For Lebanon’s Tom Atema says.
Khalil, her husband, and their first child fled from Afrine because of the dangerous conditions.
After arriving in Lebanon, Khalil gave birth to her second son as she was pregnant when they fled their home nation.
In a video by Heart For Lebanon, Khalil says her husband didn’t have respect for her or other women. She adds that her marriage and being a mother of two at the time was very hard.
“My choice for marriage was the result of grim setting and these were all from the war,” she says.
“His personality is not like mine. His thoughts are not like mine. He has no respect for women at all. No. She is like a machine. Only a machine. A machine to fulfill his desires to deliver children, for housework, and that’s all. But for anything else? No.”
He abused her and Khalil become severely distressed and depressed. She shares that she had four nervous breakdowns and for two years, she took sleeping pills because of how he mistreated her.
However, she says God was close and set good things ahead of her.
He brought her parents to Lebanon and Khalil met Brother Milad.
“When he found out how miserable and depressed I was, he advised me to read these books and said they would change my life,” Khalil says.
“But not only this happened, I also felt I was being created anew. I was someone lost. A big part of me was shattered and missing, but through the Holy Bible, I managed to find the missing pieces.”
She grew in her faith and Atema shares that Khalil’s husband left.
Though she was alone, the Lord helped her to grow stronger and feel less afraid.
Heart For Lebanon’s Work
“[She] got connected with our Hope Ministry Center in the south, came to faith in Christ… She went to Bible study, has grown in her faith in the last year tremendously. She now leads worship in our Sunday morning worship gathering in the south. She’s been baptized,” Atema says.
(Photo courtesy of Heart For Lebanon via Facebook)
Now, four years since arriving in Lebanon, Khalil says she wakes up every day thankful for what the Lord has done.
“I stopped being fearful of the future because I am sure and with complete faith that He is working in my life, and what is happening now is the evidence,” Khalil says.
Khalil is one of the thousands of refugees in Lebanon who have been changed by the message of Jesus Christ. But, there are still hundreds of thousands of refugees who need to hear the Gospel.
Pray for the Lord’s strength and guidance for those who are lost and hurting like Khalil was. Pray Heart For Lebanon’s work will continue making a deep impact and help in transforming refugees’ lives.
