“Expect the unexpected! And if you do so, God will help you do the rest.”

Beirut, Lebanon – Thirteen young adults from Nazarene churches in the Germany District went on a Youth in Mission (YiM) trip, from 7-18 August, to assist the Nazarene Evangelical School (NES) in Beirut with Vacation Bible School (VBS), among other things. They were accompanied by Philip Rodebush, who works for the Church of the Nazarene in Jerusalem.

The team helped with the summer program for the children at NES. About 50 children were present ranging from 5 to 12 years old. 

According to Seta Kejelian, a church member from Lebanon who was involved with the group, the children enjoyed the team’s creative performances and were excited to see ‘strangers’ being interested in their lives and their pain.

“They were amazed that a group of 14 Germans left their routines and lives to come and serve them. This showed them how valuable they were to others and especially to Jesus.”

In the mornings, the team helped with VBS, which had commenced three weeks prior to their arrival. Each day began with a short drama enacting one miracle story from the New Testament and was followed by crafts and games. They sang, gave devotions and assisted the children with schoolwork. The water games were especially popular with the children because Beirut is so hot.

The Nazarene Youth International (NYI) council came up with the idea of sending a German YiM team to Lebanon.

“We have not had a lot of things to offer the German young adults, such as camps,” said Christoph Nick, the youth leader at Gelnhausen Church of the Nazarene. “We thought giving some of them the opportunity to serve in a different culture would be great for them. We also wanted to do something where not only church people, who are insiders, benefit, but where non-churched people benefit as well.”

The summer program was held in Beirut’s three Nazarene churches. In addition to helping with VBS, the team assisted with redecorating the school building by painting classrooms, hallways and the courtyard, visiting church families, and sharing songs, testimonies and the Word of God during the Sunday services.

The female team members painted the scene of Jesus walking on water on one of the walls surrounding the school’s playground. According to Kejelian, the school courtyard is now a haven for students to enjoy their breaks.

While the team spent most of their time in Beirut, they also had an outreach day in a southern Lebanese village where they got a chance to interact with the local children and build new friendships.

While Nick had visited Lebanon before, for Christian Bangert and the rest of the team, this was their first time in the Middle East.

“From the first moment my feet touched the ground in Beirut, I felt welcome,” he said. “It was so great to see what we did without doing anything. Just through our presence, the kids were happy.”

The team had hoped to be a blessing to the people of Lebanon, but after the trip, they felt blessed themselves. Initially, Bangert just wanted to work and serve, but the trip soon took on a whole new meaning as he realised it encompassed much more than painting walls and looking after children. There was a stark difference in the meaning of time between the two cultures with the Lebanese being much more relaxed than the Germans. The team learned to slow down, be more flexible, enjoy their time with people and not just focus on work.

“With my German mentality I was focused on redecorating and renovating the building,” said Bangert. “I wanted to leave something that they could be happy about, like a nice classroom. However, the children there really didn’t have much, only three balls in the playground, but they were so great and it was enough for them.”

For Nathanja Klauser, another one of the team members, adapting to the new culture was both wonderful and challenging. Even though many of the people spoke English, communication was still difficult at times.

However, that didn’t stop the team from having fun with the children.

“On our first day, one little boy come to one of our male team members and asked him in Arabic, ‘Are you coming back tomorrow?’ After a local youth translated, the boy shouted and smiled all over when our team member nodded. That was great!”

One common passion between the two cultures is a love of soccer, especially the German soccer team who Lebanon supported in the World Cup. According to Bangert, the children were thrilled to be playing against “true German guys”. Many Lebanese in Beirut had German flags on their cars, even more so than was seen in Germany.

Culture night allowed everyone to communicate and bond with someone from a different background. Church members gathered in the school courtyard where the Germans and Lebanese shared cultural songs, dances, rituals and food.

According to Kejelian, the YiM team was able to accomplish many things. They proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ, shared their experience, talents and abilities and made NES a better place for the students.

“They modeled the love of Jesus that spreads irrespective of differences in race, language and generations, and demonstrated the ‘Holiness’ that is taught in the Nazarene Church. It was a privilege to have a team with great principles, Christian values and social skills. We truly enjoyed our time with them!”

The team came from eight churches across the Germany District and this was their first time meeting and working together. They came from Berlin, Mainz, Gottmadingen, Hanau, Frankenthal, Frankfurt, Gelnhausen and Wiesbaden.

“We prayed a lot. Every morning and evening we sat together and thanked God for the ones who were in good health and prayed for the ones who were sick,” said Bangert.

For Nick, when he now hears stories about the Middle East it is not just news, but faces of people he knows, these are his friends.

“They might live in a totally different culture and might not share a lot of things with the German culture, but we share the same faith and we have the same God.”

 

 

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Click on the image to view more pictures of the mission trip.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

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