Our first month in the LEBANON!!

So we have now been in Lebanon just over a month!! Although the time is flying by we have really settled here and feel like we’ve liked here forever!

We can now speak a little Arabic to the boys, phrases such as come on! , Sit down shut up, but also do you want to play and ‘Bravo!!’ (Well done). We can also pick up the gist of what some of the younger boys are trying to say to us who cannot speak English, but get very excited when they learn some English words to say. Such as on the swings we get ‘go go go!’ And ‘no Big Bigg Miss!!’ This is when they want to go higher!

 

On Monday we had our first morning in school which we have been looking forwards to for the whole month, but has not happened due to various holidays, Christian and Muslim, and our intensive Arabic lessons which we endured more or less every morning for the first two weeks. We really enjoyed it however and felt really valuable. The school is for children who have, due to their backgrounds not experienced the education they should have or have been struggling and failing in school. Dar El Awlad School believes in not keeping them behind a year or two but keeping them in the correct grades for their age, to avoid shattering their confidence. This means however many of the children need a lot of specialist attention to keep up with the class, especially as they can be at completely different levels. This is something we felt able we could really help with freeing the teacher to help the rest of the class.

The holidays have been a great opportunity however for us to explore where we are living. Jess and Suzie two of the missionaries here gave us our first experience on the buses and showed us around different shopping streets and quirky cafes in Beirut as well as taking us to Bourj Hamoud, the Armenian quarter of the city. We were amazed by the contrast between some of the big western shops on some streets and the quirky tiny little shops selling Lebanese souvenirs, odds and ends ay Bourj Hamoud. Another of our new friends Sebastian, took us round some of the famous landmarks including the massive Hariri mosque where the famous assassinated ex-president is decadently laid to rest and then to spend a sunny afternoon on the beach (in the middle of November!).

This Should say 'Naomi was here in Arabic but we got it wrong and it actually says 'Naomi wiil be here'.. smooth :S

We also had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to visit the famous cedars of Lebanon. They only exist in too small reserves and we had to travel way up into the mountains, which was absolutely spectacular. Here we travelled through tiny villages, where the culture contrasted greatly to the city life in Beirut. On the way home we visited the quaint little village of Byblos, where most of the bible comes from and is the longest inhabited town in the world. The tiny cobbled streets, interesting shops, pretty cafes and picturesque port, reminded us of villages in Italy and France we had been on holiday and we were quite charmed by the place.

The next big thing starting for us is our music lessons. Paul has had an amazing amount of people eager to start the guitar at the church we are working at. Naomi and Becca could also use prayer in teaching the flute and drums particularly as Naomi has only been playing for a few months!! We are hoping though that it will be something that can really take off as the church start to reach out into the community.

Here are the links for Dar El Awlad school and Hadath Baptist Church for those wanting to know a little more about them or have a nosey!!

You can aslo view Paul’s collection of pictures at.. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150429483106259.411164.593776258&type=1&l=be3363c6ba

Thank you for all your support and prayers over the last couple of months and please continue to pray for us and all the boys and workers at Dar El Awlad, and our ministry at the church over the next few months. Bye for now!