9,000 Scriptures provided to Beirut families after deadly blast

Bible Society supporters have helped provide almost 9,000 Bibles or Scripture portions to families who have been rebuilding their lives since the deadly chemical blast that left Beirut looking like a war zone.

The explosion in August 2020 caused a massive white mushroom-shaped cloud to form over the Lebanese capital. More than 200 died, several thousand were injured and hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their homes, many of which were reduced to rubble.

The Scriptures were distributed free or hugely subsidised to families whose homes were destroyed or damaged in the blast. 

A further 3,000 Bibles have had their prices dramatically slashed as the Lebanese people suffer from hyperinflation and increasing poverty on top of Covid.

Hope for refugee children

Also in Lebanon, the Bible-based trauma healing project ‘Reconcile’, which is supported by the generosity of people such as yourself, continues to give great hope to Syrian and Iraqi refugee children living in Lebanon (where there are about 1.5 million refugees).

Camille Safar, who works for Bible Society in Lebanon, said that shifting to online ministry during the pandemic has also enabled the Bible mission team to reach many more young people.

In the first quarter of 2020, before the pandemic took hold, 2,100 young people were reached. In the first quarter of this year, however, it was almost 20 times that amount, with 40,000 young people encountering the Scriptures through online outreach.

‘They were thirsty to know more about Jesus and engage with the Scriptures,’ Camille said.

Thank you for your prayers following the blast. Despite the problems endured by people in that beautiful country, your prayerful support of Bible work there is having a huge impact. 

A version of this story first appeared in the August/September edition of the Bible a Month prayer letter. If you would like to help our Bible work in places like Lebanon on a monthly basis then join Bible a Month. Or if you want to make a one-off donation please hit the blue button below.

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