Container on its way to Syria

We are glad to let you know that the container that we asked for your help in filling is on its way to Jordan. The clothing, blankets, food, and relief supplies that filled the 40 foot container will bring much needed aid to many refugees. Nonetheless, the situation in Syria continues to worsen.

Here is a letter that we received from Isam Ghattas letting us know about the current situation and asking for your prayers. May the Lord bring much needed relief to them in this desperate hour.

With love,

Lance Thollander
Greetings from Jordan!

We at Manara International are saddened to report that the conflict in Syria grows worse everyday. We’re in dire need of prayer warriors to get through this conflict that has greatly affected Jordan since Syrian refugees have entered Jordan. King Abdullah has stated that the influx of refugees in this country is not something they can manage. There are very few resources to accommodate the 240,000 registered refugees (there’s an estimated 500,000 if all were registered). In total, one million Syrians have fled their home country since the start of the war.

What can we do during this hour of conflict? Prayer is essential and we are reaching out to you for that very purpose!

Besides the horror of all those who have died, there is the painful reality that many Syrian women have had to turn to prostitution to earn money for their families to live on. Not only that, many women are being sold into this lifestyle by families desperate to survive. Please pray for the burden that is upon Syria and its people. Another prayer point is for five women (four daughters and their mom) who came to Jordan from Aleppo without their husbands to seek refuge. We are afraid that these women are in danger of compromising their faith as Christians and becoming Muslim because of the unstable and desperate situation that they’re in.

Please pray that they will receive the accommodations and food that they need to survive in Jordan. One of the daughters has a virus and we were fortunate enough to help her by paying for her hospital visit. The father of this family was killed in Syria and only his wife knows this. She has yet to share the tragic news with her daughters. She also has two sons who are currently locked up in jail in Syria. As you can see, there are a lot of burdens upon this woman’s life so please remember this family in your prayers.

Let us be one voice in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the people of Syria; that God will redeem this country to Himself and that His peace will overflow from our hearts into the nation of Syria.

With love in Christ,

Isam Ghattas on behalf of Manara International

To help support the work in Jordan and Syria, visit our contribution page.

Camp Gilead Prepares for Summer of Ministry

Camp Gilead Prepares for Summer of Ministry | Amman, Jordan

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This was the scene here in Amman in January, when the worst winter storms in two decades blasted the Middle East. It was very beautiful. But it was also very damaging and deadly. And it did not spare Camp Gilead. As most of you know, Mount Gilead lies east of the Jordan River and extends from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, sixty miles long and twenty wide.

Every summer, hundreds of children from different backgrounds encounter God in Camp Gilead’s two-and-a-half acres, where they are healed from the deadly wounds of sin. They are refreshed and strengthened in a world of trees and open sky, away from TV and traffic and the endless news of death and destruction. And every summer, many who come lost leave saved.

With the arrival of spring and the promise of summer, the children are already looking forward to attending the camps. And we too are looking forward, as we begin long weeks of preparation and training. I don’t know of camp counselors anywhere in the world who are trained as extensively and thoroughly as the young men and women who serve at Camp Gilead. But then, few counselors anywhere else have the challenges that present themselves when ministering to children who are born and raised in a perpetual war zone like the Middle East—children forced to deal everyday with fear, trauma, and hopelessness, in addition to the normal trials of childhood. The first round of counselor training begins next week, at the same time that we start to clean up the mess and damage left by the storms and flooding.

This year, we are also in urgent need of new mattresses and tents, some of which are simply worn out from years of use, some that was damaged by the storms. In addition, we need to repair damaged bathrooms and fences around the campgrounds. Will you join us in our preparations for this powerful ministry to Jordanian children and the children of Iraqi and Syrian refugees?

Pray for protection against Islamic extremists who have threatened and attacked us and the camp in the past. What God is able to accomplish in the children every year is a thorn in the devil’s side. And there is little he will not attempt to stop it. Pray that we will be able to restore the camp to its pre-storm condition. Pray for the counselors as they continue to train.

And please consider sending a gift to help us replace the worn and damaged camp equipment and purchase the truckloads of supplies we need every year to create an environment in which the Holy Spirit is free to minister to the children.

The cost breakdown for the new mattresses, tents, and repairs is as follows:

$3,900 for 130 mattresses ($30 each)

$7,280 for 13 tent canvases ($560 each)

$11,200 for repairs to facilities

Finally, please ask God to send us many children who do not know him, who have never even heard the gospel before. Thank you for your gracious support in the past. We look forward to serving the Lord with you again this year.
Peace be with you

Isam and Nihad Ghattas

Who Will Help the Syrian People?

This letter arrived in our office today from our ministry partners in Jordan. We hope it moves your heart to pray and help as it has moved ours.

Sincerely,

Lance Thollander

Who will help the Syrian people?

“I saw the tears of the oppressed and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors and they have no comforter. And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both
 is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil
 that is done under the sun.”  –Ecclesiastes 4:1-3

My dear friends,

The horrors of the Syrian uprising were inconceivable a year ago.

Today, they are still inconceivable, not because we are shocked any longer at the inhumanity of man but because it is so hard for us to comprehend the magnitude and depth of the suffering.  Also because it can make us feel so helpless. No, we cannot stop the slaughter and destruction. But we can pray, and we can trust God. We cannot take hundreds of thousands of refugees into our homes. But we can share with them what God gives us. Our Father’s purpose for Jordan has always been to serve as a refuge. And he has placed Manara International on the front lines.

For decades, we have shared God’s peace and hope and comfort and helped meet the essential needs of refugees from Palestine. Then, eight years ago, when Iraqis fled the violence of the second Gulf and the terrorism and anarchy that followed, we welcomed them into Jordan as guests. And just as we were wondering how to keep our resources from being overwhelmed, civil war broke out in neighboring Syria. And again the floodgates burst open.

According to the UN, over 100,000 people fled Syria last month alone, more than doubling the total number of refugees to over 235,000 people. They left behind 5,000 new corpses, 1,600 in just the last week. Some flee to Turkey, Iraq, and Lebanon. But most come here. About 1,000 everyday—a total of 183,000 people, by one count (keep in mind that Jordan is about the size of Indiana or Austria).

All the UN can do is set up overcrowded tent camps on dehydrated, barren stretches of desert, crawling with snakes and scorpions and blasted by sandstorms. There, Syrian families who escaped the violence of their country suffer what many refer to as a “slow death” in the camps, where their chief employment is survival and they can do nothing but swelter under the scorching desert sun.

Even the UN is overwhelmed by the needs and relies heavily on non government organizations and ministries like Manara International. For several weeks now, I have been meeting with ministry leaders who want to partner with us to help the refugees.

One ministry has offered to provide Manara with all the equipment and supplies needed to set up an entire medical clinic inside one of the desert refugee camps where 16,000 people live like livestock. All we need to do is to raise $7,000 to cover expenses.

This means that your gift today of $1 will buy $100 worth of medical equipment and supplies to treat Syrian refugees, suffering from knife and gunshot wounds received in the conflict, as well as deadly waterborne diseases that are endemic to tent camps. It will keep their children from dying from common preventable diseases and provide life-saving nutritional supplements to families who arrive with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

I cannot think of any better way to leverage the Lord’s resources and help thousands more than we could by ourselves. And this is just one of the ministries that are eager to work with us on similar terms to provide food and medical and hygiene supplies to 120,000 more Syrian refugees trying to survive outside the camp.

At the beginning of this letter, I mentioned prayer. Please pray for these refugee families and for millions more who are unable to escape their war-torn country. But please also pray for my country, for Jordan.

Satan is determined to destroy this sanctuary.  For decades, Israel has tried to transfer two million Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan.  Al Qaeda is trying to use Jordan as a corridor of terrorist operations against Israel and Syria. The Muslim Brotherhood is working to take over Jordan—as it has Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya—and turn us into an Islamic Republic, subject to sharia law. If these forces succeed, Jordan would no longer be a safe haven in the Middle East, and one more Arab nation would become an enemy of Jesus Christ and his people.

I explain these realities so that you can pray more knowledgeably and effectively. And I am working to build alliances with other ministries so your power and influence will be increased exponentially for the glory of God. We need to raise $150,000—a very small amount, compared to an estimated $15 million worth of relief we can provide, if we all work together and do our part.

That means your gift of $25 turns into $2,500 worth of relief, $50 becomes $5,000, and a gift of $100 puts $100,000 worth of medical, nutritional, and hygiene supplies into the hands of doctors working inside the refugee camp.
Please consider what you can do to help today and send a gift as soon as you can.

If you are in the US, please send your tax-deductible gift to Hope Builders International, PO Box 5465, Charlottesville, VA 22905. Or go towww.hope-builders.com to give online or share by phone at 1.434.295.1124.

I thank God for the growing number of ministries that are willing to help us in the work he has given us to do in Jordan. And I thank God for you, my friend. May he bless you with every good thing, just as you are a blessing to our suffering brothers and sisters and to all those who are being saved through your generous expressions of God’s love.

In Him,

Your Ministry Partners in Jordan

A Harvest of Life in the Middle East

It is harvest time in the Middle East. Whether it is a time of celebration or of mourning depends upon what has been sown. In Jordan wheat is a precious commodity. According to archeologists, cultivation of wheat began in northern Jordan around 9600 B.C. And in many areas, it is still harvested by hand, just as it has been for thousands of years.

Sadly, however, another kind of harvest is taking place in neighboring Syria. For decades, corruption, religious intolerance, and oppression have been sown, and now the harvest has come, yielding violence, destruction, and death. Two weeks ago, a massacre left 108 dead in Houla. A few days ago, another massacre took the lives of 78 people in the village of Qubair in the Hama district. It is reported that at least half were women and children. Many of the 9,000 reported dead are Christians, caught in the crossfire between Islamic factions.

But, thank God, another harvest, a harvest of young souls, is also taking place right now at Camp Gilead, the summer program run by our friends at Manara Ministries. And this harvest is bringing forth life, because the life of Jesus Christ is being sown.

A great number of the children come to the mountain with sad and fearful eyes, eyes that have seen too much bloodshed and despair and hopelessness. In Gilead, their eyes are filled with the beauty and majesty of God’s creation. They crinkle with joy and laughter. And at some point, the eyes of nearly every child are opened to the love of God. They pray and invite the Lord Jesus into their hearts. And when they leave the mountain, they have their Father’s eyes.

The apostle Paul urges us “to not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” We will reap a great harvest if we take the opportunity now to sow the seeds of life into the children at Camp Gilead.

They are the future, not only of Jordan but also of the Middle East. As the Mediterranean breezes blow the grains of wheat where they will, the Holy Spirit is going to send these children throughout the region to carry the Gospel to those who are starving for truth and righteousness.

How do the local people respond to the camp offerings? Within the first 45 minutes of the three-day registration period, the entire camp was filled! Parents had signed up 900 children! That is how hungry they are for spiritual food!

Will you help us feed them?

Please share whatever you can today, wrapped in prayer and designated for Manara International.

Bringing the Balm of Christ to Middle Eastern Youth

One incredibly effective way that the Lord changes hearts in the strife torn Middle East is through the ministry of Camp Gilead in Jordan. Every summer, hundreds of children from different backgrounds encounter God in Camp Gilead’s two-and-a-half acres, where they are healed from the deadly wounds of sin. They are refreshed and strengthened in a world of trees and open sky, away from TV and traffic, and the endless news of death and destruction. And every summer, many who arrive lost depart saved. This report from Isam and Nihad Ghattas of Manara Ministries invites us all to have a part in this great work.

Dear Believing Friends,

“Is there no balm in Gilead? 
Is there no physician there? 
Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” Jeremiah 8:22

If God asked me today the question he asked Jeremiah 2,600 years ago, I would answer, “Yes, Father, there is balm in Gilead. And it is healing the wounds of your people.”God’s children are suffering throughout the Middle East—persecuted, caught in the crossfire of civil wars, and targeted in sectarian violence.

Mt. Gilead lies next to the Jordan River and extends from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, sixty miles long and twenty wide. Though the myrrh trees that produced fragrant resin no longer grow here, the hills are green and fertile and crowned with forests. The region is so beautiful that Gad and Reuben and the eastern half of Manasseh asked Moses to let them make their home here, instead of crossing into the Promised Land.

Children in the Middle East are frustrated and confused, torn between the part of them that identifies with Western ideas, values, clothing, and entertainment and their Arab but when they come to Camp Gilead, they enter a new culture, the culture of the Kingdom of God, a culture of love. They hear new teachings from the Bible, truths that answer the questions their parents, teachers, and religious leaders cannot answer. They get direction for their lives.

Last summer, Adara* opened her heart to her camp counselor. The precious seventh grader talked about the verbal and sexual abuse she had suffered. Her parents are separated and having serious financial troubles.

But Adara said she is not blaming God. “This camp,” she said, “is like a refreshing from the garbage life I’m living. I can’t change that, but from now on I have the power to decide how I live because I know Jesus is beside me, and he will give me the strength. And every day I will look up and sing, ‘unfold my wings like an eagle in the sky.’”

On the last night of seventh and eighth graders camp last year, the personal ministry time after the message continued for three hours. The children would not stop singing and shouting that they love Jesus. After ninth grade camp, the mother of one of the children called to ask which church she should send her son to. The boy had been begging her to take him to church because something wonderful had happened in his heart and he didn’t want to lose it.

At Camp Gilead, children born and raised in cities and refugee camps experience the freedom and beauty of the mountains. A child who has always been taught that he has to earn God’s favor discovers that he has a heavenly Father who loves him unconditionally. Children flourish in the love and affection lavished on them by their counselors. They are helped to see God for the first time in his creation. And they are shown how to reach out to him and let him take them in his arms. Please help us give them these wonderful opportunities.

We are beginning earlier this year so the campers have more time to get involved with the Gilead team. Eighty counselors have already started training that is equipping them to teach everything from how to overcome bad habits and resolve conflicts to the Father heart of God, and developing intimacy with Him.

The total cost for the 2012 camps—including maintenance, equipment, utilities, leadership training, and operational costs—is $51,000. Praise God, we have already received $28,000. But we still need $23,000 before we can open the camp on June 20. We cannot do it alone, but if we all do what we can, the balm will flow once again at Camp Gilead. Gifts of any size are greatly appreciated.

Please pray that God will send us many children who do not know him, who have never even heard the gospel before. Pray for strength for our counselors, all of whom are volunteers and most of whom are serving two or more camps. Every year, as many of you remember, we face great challenges—from both physical and spiritual harm. We cannot overcome these unless you stand beside us in prayer and intercession. May our Lord Jesus Christ remain the center of everything we do.

Peace be with you,

Isam and Nihad