I have had the privilege of traveling south numerous times this past summer. It was one of the good things that came out of the war. On Wednesday, some of us in Youth for Christ traipsed down to Rmeish once again, to conduct a short Christmas event for the youth of that village. It took us a few hours to get down there. The temperature dropped steadily as we moved farther south. It seemed that the weather had suddenly realized that it was the end of December and changed most dramatically in a very short time. Fortunately, we were prepared, with our hats, coats, gloves, and scarves.

On the way down, we stopped in Sidon to get permission for Scott to go with us. We had already gotten permission from the Bishop to have the event, but rumors of a ban on foreigners – and especially Americans – in the south made us nervous. However, the guards at the army headquarters in Sidon were very nice and gave permission for Scott to travel with us, as long as he stayed near the event premises and nowhere else. No trouble, please! We arrived in Rmeish around noon and quickly set up in the hall of the public school. Freezing temperatures and lack of time forced us to move quickly. There was no electricity, but we were promised lights by 4pm. We ate a hurried lunch of Shish Taouk at a snack shop next to the church, then returned to the school. When we got there, we saw that some kids had already arrived. We were pleasantly surprised that the cold weather had not kept them from coming. Around 50 young people gathered and sat down on the cold plastic chairs that we’d set in a semi-circle. Maher H led the icebreakers. This was probably the first time that the term ‘icebreakers’ had a dual meaning at an event for us. The kids were very enthusiastic, ready for fun. They participated and cheered with joy for their team. Many of them remembered us from the summer.

Maher J’s talk was very relevant and well-prepared, and although the crowd was a difficult one, I could see that some of them were hungry to hear about the Savior of the world. We ended our time with some refreshments and hot drinks, as well as gifts of Strongholds CDs. It was all very quick, but there was some time for chatting afterwards. We stopped at Maher H’s home to give the remaining cakes and bags of chips to his parents. They were sitting in the dark, since there was no electricity. Before heading off, we gathered in a circle to say a prayer of thanks to our Heavenly Father. Then, as we got in the cars, it started snowing.

A slow but beautiful drive out of Rmeish and back towards Beirut was in order. The snow fell strongly for a while, until it turned to rain and slush. As we left, I thought – as I’d done before – that it would be nice to have a YFC center in the south. What a dream… when we stopped at KFC in Sidon for a quick supper, Koko’s excitement could hardly be contained. There were some UN soldiers standing on the side of the road, backed by a jeep and tank. He grabbed Dad’s camera and asked me to go with him to get photo with them. Dad said, “Let’s order our food first.” So we went inside and chose from the menu. Then I grabbed Koko’s sleeve and pulled him towards the door. We almost hopped out in excitement, and turned towards where the soldiers were… only to find that they had gone. Koko was devastated. I felt so bad for him. He’s wanted this since the summer. Karen told him to just go stand in the parking garage of Citymall, as some from the French UN contingent hang about there at times. Don’t ask me why.

Yet, despite missing the UN soldiers, it was a pleasant day: a nice opportunity to be thankful for. The young people in Rmeish asked us to return and stay longer next time… perhaps at Easter time we can