A Life of Ministry: An Interview with Rosette Mansour

By Hunter Williamson

June 16, 2025

In May, Thimar said farewell to Rosette Mansour, our Senior Partner Relations Officer, after 40 years of faithful service.   

A few weeks before she left Lebanon to join her family in the US, we asked Rosette to share her story. Like nearly every Lebanese of her generation, war and crisis have been ever constants in Rosette’s life. They challenged her and shaped her, but they also brought her closer to God. Her life is a testimony to the transformative power of the gospel and what it means to serve in the Middle East. 

Rosette was 9 years old when she experienced war for the first time. It was 1975, the start of Lebanon’s 15-year-long civil war.  

Our interview began with that war. It has been edited for length and clarity.  

Thimar: Do you remember when the civil war began? 

Rosette: It was a Sunday afternoon. We came home from church. We were having lunch — it was spaghetti. Then in the afternoon, cars were driving crazily everywhere, and there were ambulances and fighters. We stood on the balcony facing their direction. The fighting was four or five blocks away from our house, and we didn’t know where to hide. We had to flee to my grandparents’ place. My dad was traveling at that time, so my mom and older sister went back home to talk to my dad on the phone. They were stuck at home for one week. We didn’t know if they were still alive or dead. I was so mad at my mom for leaving us behind. But thankfully, she came back, and we were all reunited. 

Thimar: What was it like to grow up during the war? 

Rosette: As you grow older, it’s the fear. I thought that the war was only killing adults or fighters. As you grow older, you realize that it’s killing everybody. I have so many friends who passed away. A friend of mine was kidnapped when he was 13. Until now, we don’t know where he is. And then there is growing up in bomb shelters. Sometimes, we’d stay in them for six months in a row without seeing the sun. Or, being stuck at school when they started bombing. Every trip to school felt like a final goodbye. So, it’s a constant fear that the first rocket might hit my home, my school, my job, or my car.

Thimar: What was your relationship with God like during your childhood? 

Rosette: I accepted the Lord when I was 13. My mom was a pillar. We would have daily devotion. We would pray every morning. Her stability, her strong faith in the Lord, helped us a lot. With all the chaos and uncertainty around us, we knew that we could depend on the Lord. 

Rosette’s journey with Thimar began before the organization officially formed. In 1985, at 22 years old, she accepted a job offer at Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS). Rosette filled several roles, including librarian, bookkeeper, and translator.  

Thimar: How did you feel about working for a Christian organization? 

Rosette: It was the golden era of my job. We used to have devotion every Monday morning. I grew in my biblical knowledge and faith by having conversations with people, theologians, and seminary students. I had the opportunity to meet students from different countries in the Arab world. It was like a small community. It enriched my spiritual life and my character.  

In 2005, Syria ended its occupation of Lebanon. But six years later, a civil war erupted in Syria, prompting millions of people to flee the country. An estimated 1.5 million Syrians would settle in Lebanon. The sight of Syrians bothered Rosette, making her realize that she had not fully healed. 

 Rosette: I tried to outsmart God, so I told him, “Okay, God, my ministry to them would be that I’d pray for them.” I was honestly praying for them, because I was once in their shoes. But it was on my son’s heart and his wife’s heart to go and serve the Syrians. 

In partnership with Thimar’s relief and development ministry MERATH, Marvin and his wife began providing food vouchers to Syrian families. Their ministry made an impact on Rosette, especially as they shared stories of how God was working among Syrian refugees.  

Rosette: At that point, I was so jealous seeing God at work and me missing out on all these blessings. I was in my cocoon, in self-pity, living in fear. I decided that I didn’t want to miss out on these things.   

Rosette began serving Syrian families, but she still woke every morning with a verse in her mind.  

On October 13, 1990, Rosette was at home in a village near ABTS when the Syrian military launched a major offensive against its foe, Lebanese General Michel Aoun, that would bring an end to the civil war. 

Thimar: Tell us about that day.  

Rosette: We woke up to the sound of severe bombings all around us. In no time, our house was filled with smoke. I was pregnant with my daughter. I wanted to grab my son, Marvin, from his crib, but I couldn’t see him because of the smoke. It was the most intense fighting I’ve ever experienced. I grabbed my son and tried to hide somewhere in the house, but there was no place to hide. We knew that it was the last day of the war and that the fighting was going to be very severe, so we decided to flee to a nearby hotel where there was a shelter. 

It was like a furnace outside. There were fires and bombs everywhere. We drove crazily on the debris of the trees for about 500 meters, and then we saw soldiers. We told them, “We are with you!” We realized that they were Syrian soldiers who had come to kill everybody. They asked us to step out of the car and made us stand against the wall with our hands up. I was carrying my son, and they prepared their guns to shoot us. 

The only prayer that crossed my mind was, “Lord, let me die before my family.” I couldn’t tolerate the idea of seeing my family die in front of me. As soon as I finished praying, I heard a big explosion, and I thought, “That’s it. I’m dead.” I opened my eyes and saw a Lebanese tank behind us. They had not seen us, because we were standing against the wall, but they saw the Syrians who were a few meters in front of us, and they fired a shell at them and killed them. We saw their bodies — we were that close — but the shrapnel of the bomb did not even hit us.  

Later that day the war ended, and Rosette returned home safely. It should have been a peaceful ending — but it wasn’t. Rosette started having reoccurring nightmares. Meanwhile, the Syrian military continued to occupy Lebanon. Rosette began to resent Syrians, especially as they kidnapped and killed Lebanese, including a family of five that she knew.  

Rosette: The trauma was so severe in me, more than I had realized. I waited a few months, but the trauma did not go. It continued, and the nightmares continued. So, I started fasting and praying, “Lord, please help me forgive and forget.” After about four years, I realized that I was back to normal.  

Or so she thought. 

Rosette: I was arguing with God, “Isn’t it enough? I’m giving them my time and energy.” But the verse was, “Love your enemies.” After about seven or eight months, the verse did not echo anymore in my mind. That was when I realized that by serving my enemies, I had no more enemies. It was a lesson. It was a transformation. It was God working in me and through me. 

The Syrian refugee crisis was just one of many challenges that God used to transform Rosette. The following years brought many more crises that both challenged her and strengthened her faith.  

Rosette: I don’t think I ever experienced peace in my country, but I learned to find peace in the Lord. You cannot change the situation, so we have to change our perspective. We have to lean on a solid rock. I learned to lean on Jesus in every situation. I believe that we learn more about God, and we cling more to Him, during turbulent and painful times. 

Living in Lebanon during war and then serving people who are in pain, you cannot but experience God. I see God in church when I worship Him, but I see Him more when I serve Him. I learned with every war just to focus on what I can do to spread hope to the people around me. And whatever I do, I do it for the Lord, because after all, we’re accountable to Him