By Dr. Brenda Richards Brown, MEBO Board Secretary
“Yes, I have thought about suicide.”
“I am worried about my friend. She seems to have given up on life.”
Sadly, these words were shared at a Suicide Prevention workshop we were privileged to give at Beirut’s Haigazian University in November. We hear these words not just in Lebanon but all over the world. Suicide rates have escalated over the past two years. The pandemic, isolation, social media bullying, abuse… all have contributed to these feelings of despair, to the point where more and more people are considering taking their life.
This desperation in people’s lives contributed to why my husband Dale and I began a ministry giving Suicide Prevention workshops wherever God opens a door. This topic causes people who have experienced this despair or who have been touched by the ripple effects of suicide to be very vulnerable as they listen and share. This often leads to opportunities to talk about God’s love during individual conversations at breaks or after the workshops.