“To stay, to love, to serve”
Ghinwa Akiki
November 7, 2025
Airstrikes on southern Lebanon have intensified while the buzz of drones over Beirut is once again constant. Nearly a year since a ceasefire brought an end to the worst of the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, we find ourselves under the weight of new tensions and political uncertainty. Rumours of further escalation circulate once again. Lebanon holds its breath. Will there be another war?
We have lived through so many crises that it’s hard to tell where one ends and another begins. Every new challenge reminds us how fragile life can be on this earth, yet it also draws us closer to Jesus, our constant shield amid the storms.
As followers of Christ, we believe that hope is not the absence of struggle but the presence of Jesus amid it. His Church continues to serve, teach, and love, not because the circumstances are easy, but because the Gospel calls us to remain faithful wherever we are planted.
In this issue, we witness this faith in action. In Rahbe, a northern village situated in Lebanon’s poorest region, believers recently gathered to celebrate the ordination of Pastor Bahaa Mahfoud at Rahbe Evangelical Baptist Church. For decades, the congregation prayed and longed for a local pastor for their village. At last, their prayers were answered. For Bahaa, this was a dream come true. The town sits about 121 km from Beirut, in a region often overlooked and forgotten. However, on that day, the small church was filled with people who had come from across Lebanon, including first-time visitors. Bahaa could have left Rahbe, like many others who seek better opportunities abroad, but he chose to stay and serve his community. Watching that, I was reminded that sometimes faith looks less like moving mountains and more like remaining where God has placed you. God is still at work in Lebanon. He continues to raise servants to shepherd His people.
The uncertainty that envelops our country has quietly seeped into every part of life, especially education. The gap grows wider with each school year between those who can afford quality learning and those who cannot, and between public and private schools. While other countries move forward, Lebanon’s schools struggle to keep up with new challenges that emerge each year.
A few days ago, I attended the National Education Conference 2025 for Evangelical Schools in Lebanon, where educators, school leaders, and policymakers came together to address the widening educational gaps and to find practical solutions.
Thimar played a key role in organizing the conference, reflecting our commitment to education and to every child’s right to learn. In my conversation with Dr. Nabil Costa, CEO of Thimar and General Secretary of the Association of Evangelical Schools in Lebanon (AESL), he said something that stuck with me:
“We could all choose to travel and live abroad, but our calling is here. We love Lebanon, we love the Middle East… God placed us here for a reason. We have no right to walk away from that calling.”
That calling “to stay, to love, to serve” has taken on a deeper meaning this year. It does not come with comfort or clarity, but it carries peace. When we choose to remain where God has planted us, we discover that hope is not a feeling. It is a person, Jesus, who is still present, still working, still bearing fruit in uncertain times. Living in Lebanon is not easy, but each difficulty becomes an invitation to trust Him more and to witness Him in ways I could never have imagined.