Lebanese start to rebuild without help from their government

Lebanon (MNN) — Lebanon’s government stepped down Monday night following a massive explosion in Beirut and angry protests over the weekend. This means the Lebanese government can’t make any new decisions or pass new laws until a new government is elected

But Nuna from Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says this decision is doing nothing to quench the anger felt in Lebanon over government corruption.  “Even somebody that the speaker of Parliament appointed as a judge is one of his relatives. So, this is also corruption. Why would you put somebody that’s your relative, not somebody who’s really competent to the job?”

Cleaning up Beirut. (Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

The people are building the country

Nuna says people in Lebanon just want the political elite to go away so they can rebuild the country themselves. “And it’s true. The government is not doing anything. municipalities are not doing anything. Public offices are not doing anything. Even the big Beirut municipality is not on the streets to clean. People are.”

This anger has especially affected young people who don’t have anything else to do except try to create change in the country. Nuna says, “They’re coming from the North. They’re coming from the mountains. Yesterday, I met people who came four hours to just . . . help rebuild Beirut. So, it shows the drive inside people to just topple this government and replace it.”

Sharing the Gospel

Triumphant Mercy has worked with a lot of these young people as they clean up the streets of Beirut, and this has given them the opportunity to share the hope of Jesus Christ. Nuna says, “I think the Gospel is loving each other, loving others. It’s just caring for others, crying with those who cry and mourn with those who mourn. This is our biggest message now.”

Lebanon’s people have completely lost hope in their government. Pray that many will come to Christ, the King who will never fail them.

The header image shows the epicenter of last week’s explosion in Beirut (Photo courtesy of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary on Facebook)