Greetings from our family to yours.

Our family is safe and sound after the earthquake we felt here in Lebanon. Of course, nothing compared to what the Syrians and Turkish people experienced. For us, it has been a hard week, trying to cope with another disaster across the border. Our hearts are heavy! The question we ask: How long must we take counsel in our soul and have sorrow in our heart all day? (Psalms 13:2).

As you know, our church here has many Syrian families, mainly Kurdish, who have been severely impacted with this disaster. Most of these families have close relatives who still live in Syria. Some of them lost many close family members, while others are still waiting to hear about those who are still under the ruins. In this part of the world, family members and relatives live in one building or in the same village.

Moreover, some of the traumatized kids, who experienced the Beirut blast and have been on a journey of recovery, have been retraumatized again. One young girl, for example, began to recover well, but as soon as she felt the earthquake, she hasn’t been talking for a few days now! We need to experience God’s hand of healing more than ever. We plea for his mercy and grace over this part of the world.

It is also disappointing to see how politics stands in the way of providing help from the international community during this time, especially in Syria. Syria is divided due to more than 11 years of civil war. The country is already suffering and does not have the means to face such tragedy. As a result, relief efforts are not reaching where it’s needed most because of opposition and armed people who control the areas affected by the earthquake. Let us pray that this tragedy would be a wake up call for the international community to pay attention to the forgotten case of the Syrian people.

CBM is currently responding to needs in the wake of the Türkiye/Syria earthquake through global Baptist partners and affiliate agencies as we seek to respond together. Please follow this link if you would like to support these relief efforts and to find out more: https://www.cbmin.org/product/turkiye-earthquake/

Biblical Theology of Discipleship

Recently, I taught a course on biblical theology of discipleship. This course helps students to examine different approaches to discipleship practiced by the Church today and to come up with an understanding of discipleship based on the whole Bible. During the course, we focused on the concept of discipleship, rather than on the term itself, that is, following the Master. Usually, our study of the topic is limited to the New Testament, particularly the Gospels. When we speak about a biblical theology of discipleship, we should trace the concept of “following the Master” in both Testaments. For example, we study how the people of God in the Old Testament are called to follow God in a covenant relationship; they are called to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deut. 6:4-5). By doing so, we learn that Jesus’ call of discipleship was a reiteration and extension of the call God had given to His people centuries before (Mark 12:29-31). One major point students took out of this course and applied to their ministry is that they not only invite people to believe in Jesus, but also teach them how to follow and walk with Him in the real world. As we equip men and women for effective ministry, we ask you to pray that they are always found faithful to their calling, allowing God to work in their lives so that they are lifelong disciples who make disciples out of others according to the Great Commission.

1. Pray for us as a family, that God grants us peace and rest.
2. Pray for Emad’s upcoming trip to implement a few new projects with the Baptist Convention of Egypt.
3. Pray for the upcoming two courses that Emad will be teaching: Advanced OT and the Book of Exodus.

Prayer Requests of Some of Our Integrated Theology Program Students:

Atieh from Syria
Please pray for me and my wife as we venture to interact with a group of people who have a desire to hear God’s word. We pray that God grants us wisdom and that we use what we learn at seminary to communicate the gospel to them faithfully. We also pray that the Lord grants us enough time to focus on our children. We do not want to do ministry at the expense of our children.

Zineb from Morocco
Please pray for my family in Morocco and my husband’s family in Syria that they may know the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Please also pray for my daughters because they are going through their teenage years, may they experience God’s care and follow His path rather than the path of the world.

Balgis from Sudan
Recently, I took a translation course, something I have been wanting to do for quite a while. I have a vision of translating the Bible to my mother tongue because I firmly believe that more people from my Sudanese tribe will be coming to Christ, and they will be needing Bibles in their language. So, I ask you to pray for me as I pursue this endeavor.

Haroun from Sudan
Pray for me that the Lord grants me grace, wisdom, power, and energy so I may move forward in my ministry to college students according to the Lord’s calling for me.

Elias from Syria
Please pray for my ministry at my local church, and please pray that He uses me more and more for His glory.