Lebanon (MNN)–Despite a ceasefire, Israel’s warplanes continued roaring over Lebanon to quell pockets of rogue Hezbollah resistance.
Executive Director of Interserve USA,
Doug Van Bronkhorst says their teams made the difficult decision to leave Lebanon at the beginning of the crisis.
Though they were not in immediate danger, partners left because of the uncertainty of response, including kidnappings, from some of the parties in the conflict.
Those workers leaving are torn because of their desire to show the love of Christ and to support their friends in their time of need. However, Van Bronkhorst says “I’m hopeful that they can go back because I think the ceasefire looks like it is going to stay at least for a while, and will enable them to do that.”
Interserve teams work as personnel for hospitals, particularly those that target specific diseases for which the local population is vulnerable; Teachers both for local children and for expatriate children; in Environmental development; and in Media. In that wing of ministry, they strive to provide quality television programming for Christians and creative language videos, print materials and radio programming for people wanting to know about Christ.
The unrest has made it particularly difficult for some of their projets involving partnering with other organizations to increase effective youth work and Theological Education by Extension, as well as Church ministry.
Van Bronkhorst says their staff’s ministry has been interrupted, although, “The people that they were working with did not become refugees. They tended to accept refugees from the south who moved in with them. So I think basically, their work is intact, they just have to return to it.”
VanBronkhorst says prayer is still needed. “You can argue about who won, Who lost this war, but nobody’s real goals were accomplished, whether you’re talking Hezbollah or Israel. I don’t see that anything has changed other than perhaps the introduction of more UN troops will make things a little more stable.”
